History, asked by Chamrli, 1 year ago

What were the main causes of French revolution

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Answered by ash247
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Answered by Priya999
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(a) Social Causes - On the eve of the revolution, the French society was

ridden with several inequalities. The clergy and the nobles led a life of luxury

 and enjoyed numerous privileges. On the other hand, the peasants and

workers lived a wretched life. They groaned under heavy taxes and forced

labour. The middle-class comprising of lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc also

suffered humiliation at the hands of the clergy and the nobles. This state of

social inequality was the chief cause of the French Revolution.
(b) Political Causes - Emperor Louis XVI of France was an empty headed

despot. He and his queen, Marie Antoinette, squandered money on their

luxurious living and wasteful festivities. The high posts were often auctioned,

 so inefficiency reigned supreme. The whole administration was corrupt and

each department had its own laws. In the absence of any uniform system

there was confusion all around. The people were tired of such a rotten

system of administration and wanted a change.
(c) Economic Causes - France had been continually involved in wars which

 had broken her economy. The luxurious life led by the French King Louis

XVI and his queen had made the matter still worse. The people groaned

under heavy taxes. The system was so faulty that only a fraction of the taxes

could be realized as the people were too poor to pay the taxes while nobles

 and the clergy who could pay, were completely exempted from all the taxes

. The economy became so bad that the French Government had almost

reached a state of bankruptcy. Thus the shattered economy of France proved

 a major cause of the Revolution.   


(d) Immediate Cause - Forced by financial bankruptcy, Emperor Louis XVI

was compelled to call a meeting of the Estates General in 1789 A.D. after a

 lapse of 175 years. It generated much excitement as the members of the

Third Estate were determined to put forth their problems. But when the first

two Estates i.e. the Clergy and the Nobility refused to have a common

meeting with the Third Estate, the people lost their temper. They had already

 suffered much in the severe famine in 1788 - 1789.

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