French revolution

• Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France


  1774
• Louis XVI was 20 years old and married to the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette
• Upon his accession, the new king found an empty treasury due to long years of war draining the financial resources of France
• The cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of Versailles added to the financial strain
• France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from Britain


  War added more than a billion livres to a debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion lies
• Lenders began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans given to the French government
• The French government was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone
• To meet its regular expenses, the French government was forced to increase taxes
• French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates, and only members of the third estate paid taxes
• The term Old Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789
• Composition of French society

  • Peasants
  • Nobles
  • Church
  • Richer members of the third estate
  • Clergy
  • Nobility
• Peasants made up about 90 per cent of the population, but only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated
• Members of the first two estates, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth, including exemption from paying taxes to the state
• Nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges, including feudal dues extracted from the peasants
• Peasants were obliged to render services to the lord, such as working in his house and fields, serving in the army, or participating in building roads
• The Church extracted taxes called tithes from the peasants
• All members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state, including a direct tax called taille and indirect taxes on everyday consumption items like salt or tobacco
• The burden of financing state activities through taxes was borne by the third estate alone
• the french revolution started because france had been bankrupt since 1763, so they needed to raise money by taxing their people more.
• The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789
• Rapid increase in the demand for foodgrains due to population growth in France
• Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand, leading to a rise in the price of bread
• Wages of workers did not keep pace with the rise in prices, widening the gap between the poor and the rich
• Subsistence crisis occurred frequently in France during the Old Regime, especially during harvest failures
• Peasants and workers participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity
• The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of the middle class, who earned wealth through overseas trade and manufacturing
• The middle class believed in a society based on freedom, equal laws, and opportunities for all
• Philosophers like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Montesquieu proposed ideas for government based on social contracts and division of power
• The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights served as an important example for political thinkers in France
• The ideas of philosophers were discussed in salons, coffee-houses, and spread through books and newspapers
• Anger and protest against the system of privileges arose due to Louis XVI's plan to impose further taxes
• Georges Danton faced challenges in finding employment due to his non-noble birth