french revolution is the milestone in world history. justify this statement. pls comment fst
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The seeds of the French Revolution were sown in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Enlightenment , a period marked by increased emphasis on the importance of rationality, reason, and matters of the material world. Thinkers such as John Locke (1632–1704); Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755); Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) had promoted political ideas emphasizing fundamental human rights and the responsibilities of governments toward their constituencies. Various eighteenth-century French philosophers, most notably Voltaire (1694–1778), had advocated for these civil liberties and mocked old orders of power, particularly the Catholic Church .
To these fomenting ideas and dissatisfactions in eighteenth-century France was added the reality of economic decline. French participation in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), often called the first truly global conflict, and the American Revolution (1775–1783)—in which the material support lent to the American colonists drained the French treasury of twice its yearly income—had left the royal treasury virtually empty. This fact was kept not only from the French people, but from the king, Louis XVI (1754–1793), until the situation became truly desperate. French society at the time was seen as comprising three estates: the nobility (the First Estate), the clergy (the Second Estate), and the commoners (the Third Estate). The first two estates enjoyed many rights and privileges, whereas the Third Estate, despite being the poorest of the three, bore the burden of taxation . Throughout 1788 Louis XVI attempted to work with the aristocrats, hoping to persuade them to increase taxes in order to make up the government shortfall. The nobles, feeling their ancient rights in jeopardy, insisted that Louis call a meeting of the Estates General.
To these fomenting ideas and dissatisfactions in eighteenth-century France was added the reality of economic decline. French participation in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), often called the first truly global conflict, and the American Revolution (1775–1783)—in which the material support lent to the American colonists drained the French treasury of twice its yearly income—had left the royal treasury virtually empty. This fact was kept not only from the French people, but from the king, Louis XVI (1754–1793), until the situation became truly desperate. French society at the time was seen as comprising three estates: the nobility (the First Estate), the clergy (the Second Estate), and the commoners (the Third Estate). The first two estates enjoyed many rights and privileges, whereas the Third Estate, despite being the poorest of the three, bore the burden of taxation . Throughout 1788 Louis XVI attempted to work with the aristocrats, hoping to persuade them to increase taxes in order to make up the government shortfall. The nobles, feeling their ancient rights in jeopardy, insisted that Louis call a meeting of the Estates General.
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