The French Revolution of 1789 CE was a significant event in the modern

world. This revolution started against the feudalist mode of economy,

autocratic monarchy, over-the-top economic exploitation, class privilege,
and the apathy of the king towards the citizen of France. Apart from the
existing oppressed and dissatisfied class, there was an overall contradiction in
the economic and political structure of the state. The king was the highest
official of the government and political power was centralized. The feudal state
was the sole axis of the whole country and people lacked most civil liberties.
Moreover, there was a strict ban on freedom of speech, writing, and publication.
There was the hegemony of the church and the people were barred from
religious freedom. The king held ownership over the entire income of France
With a stagnant economy and a lack of self-government, the poor people
stormed ‘Bastille’ the king’s fortress in Paris, and ended the monarchy.
Participation of women in large numbers was another unique feature of
the French Revolution. Women marched to the Versailles on October 5, 1789,
to the main marketplace of Paris, Versailles to protest against the price hike,
this is also known as October March. The French Revolution eventually saw the
execution of King Louis XVI. The abolishment of constitutional monarchy paved
the way for the first Declaration of Human Rights, known as the Declaration of
the Rights of Man and the Citizen. In addition, as a result of the French
Revolution, there was a major shift of power from the Roman Catholic Church to
the state.

Major Causes for the French Revolution

1. Political Causes of the French Revolution

The French King Louis XVI was despotic and due to his indiscreet policies, the
colonies of India and America were removed from France, and France was
crushed in the Seven Years’ War. Added to this the king and the rest of the
nobility’s extravagant lifestyle were commenced through the treasury.
France had an absolute monarchy in the 18th century – life centred around the king,
who had complete power. Whilst theoretically this could work well, it was a system
heavily dependent on the personality of the king in question. Louis XVI was indecisive,
shy and lacked the charisma and charm which his predecessors had so benefited from.
The court at Versailles, just outside Paris, had between 3,000 and 10,000 courtiers living
there at any one time, all bound by strict etiquette. Such a large and complex social set
required management by the king in order to manage power, bestow favours and keep
a watchful eye over potential troublemakers. Louis simply didn’t have the capability or
iron will necessary to do this.
Louis’ wife and queen, Marie Antoinette, was an Austrian-born princess whose
(supposedly) profligate spending, Austrian sympathies and alleged sexual deviancy
were targeted repeatedly. Incapable of acting in a way which might have transformed
public opinion, the royal couple saw themselves become scapegoats for far more issues
than those which they could control.

2. Social Causes of the French Revolution

French society was split into three categories. The first estate included
clergy, the second was aristocracy and the third included the peasant-
laborer and the middle class incorporating the merchants and the
intelligentsia. The first and the second estate were the privileged class, the
third was the exploited one. They were exploited by kings, feudatories, and
clergy. This divided them into two classes the exploiting and the exploited class
and increased the discontent between them.
The Estates System was far from unique to France: this ancient feudal social structure
broke society into 3 groups, clergy, nobility and everyone else. In the Medieval period,
prior to the boom of the merchant classes, this system did broadly reflect the structure
of the world. As more and more prosperous self-made men rose through the ranks, the
system’s rigidity became an increasing source of frustration. The new bourgeoise class
could only make the leap to the Second Estate (the nobility) through the practice of
venality, the buying and selling of offices.

Following parlements blocking of reforms, Louis XVI was persuaded to call an assembly

known as the Estates General, which had last been called in 1614. Each estate drew up
a list of grievances, the cahier de doleances, which were presented to the king. The event
turned into a stalemate, with the First and Second Estates continually voting to block the
Third Estate out of a petty desire to keep their status firm, refusing to acknowledge the
need to work together to achieve reform. These deep divisions between the
estates were a major contributing factor to the eruption of revolution. With an
ever-growing and increasingly loud Third Estate, the prospect of meaningful
societal change began to increasingly appear to be something of a possibility.

3.Religious Discontent
There were more than a hundred thousand religious priests in France at that
time. The life of some of the priests was so opulent, while some did not even
have arrangements for two meals a day. The Churches held more than 40% of
the total land, the poor people were running out of land for agriculture. A
religious tax called Tithes, which was voluntary, was collected
forcibly. This increased the discontent among the public

4. Inherited problems

By no means did Louis XVI inherit an easy situation. The power of the French monarchy
had peaked under Louis XIV, and by the time Louis XVI inherited, France found herself
in an increasingly dire financial situation, weakened by the Seven Years War
and American War of Independence.
With an old and inefficient taxation system which saw large portions of the wealthiest
parts of French society exempt from major taxes, the burden was carried by the poorest
and simply didn’t provide enough cash.

Variations by region also caused unhappiness: Brittany continued to pay

the gabelle  (salt tax) and the pays d’election  no longer had regional autonomy, for
example. The system was clunky and unfair, with some areas over-represented and
some under-represented in government and through financial contributions. It was
desperately in need of sweeping reforms.
The French economy was also growing increasingly stagnant. Hampered by internal
tolls and tariffs, regional trade was slow and the agricultural and industrial
revolution which was hitting Britain was much slower to arrive, and to be adopted in
France.
5. Economic Causes of the French Revolution

 From the economic point of view, at that time the condition of France was
worse than the rest of Europe. The primary reason for this was the grave
expenditure of warfare, corruption, overbearing taxation, and the
extravagant life of monarchy. The first and the second estate were kept
tax-free. There was no computation of income and expenditure of the first
two estates.
 
 The seven years war emptied the treasury of the state. When King Louis XIV
got the throne he inherited an empty treasury. Under Louis XVI’s rule,
France was supporting American colonies in the freedom struggle. The war
expenditure increased an extra debt of 1 billion livres (the unit of
currency in France till 1794) to preexisting 2 billion livers.
 
 The 10% interest in the war debts kept increasing and pressurized the
French government to increase the tax rates in the country. Along
with several indirect taxes on daily use articles like salt and tobacco,
direct taxes called Taille was collected by the government.
 
 The first and the second estate were exempted from paying the taxes and
the whole burden fell on the third estate. On one hand, where the peasants
had to bear the burden of taxes the working class didn’t get their wages on
time which pushed them further into poverty. 

6.taxation & money

French finances were a mess by the late 18th century. The taxation system allowed the
wealthiest to avoid paying virtually any tax at all, and given that wealth almost always
equalled power, any attempt to push through radical financial reforms was blocked by
the parlements.  Unable to change the tax, and not daring to increase the burden on
those who already shouldered it, Jacques Necker, the finance minister, raised money
through taking out loans rather than raising taxes. Whilst this had some short term
benefits, loans accrued interest and pushed the country further into debt.
In an attempt to add some form of transparency to royal expenditure and to create a
more educated and informed populace, Necker published the Crown’s expenses and
accounts in a document known as the Compte rendu au roi.  Instead of placating the
situation, it in fact gave the people an insight into something they had previously
considered to be none of their concern.
With France on the brink of bankruptcy, and people more acutely aware and less
tolerant of the feudal financial system they were upholding, the situation was becoming
more and more delicate. Attempts to push through radical financial reforms were made,
but Louis’ influence was too weak to force his nobles to bend to his will.

7.The Enlightenment

Historians debate the influence of Enlightenment in the French Revolution. Individuals

like Voltaire and Rousseau espoused values of liberty, equality, tolerance, constitutional
government and the separation of church and state. In an age where literacy levels
were increasing and printing was cheap, these ideas were discussed and disseminated
far more than previous movements had been.
Many also view the philosophy and ideals of the First Republic as being underpinned by
Enlightenment ideas, and the motto most closely associated with the revolution itself –
‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ – can be seen as a reflection of key ideas in Enlightenment
pamphlets.

 8.Demographic and Natural Calamities

 The population of France rose from 23 million to 28 million between

1715 to 1789 which increased the demand for food supplies. Due to the debt
burden and empty treasury, the government could not keep up with the
increasing needs that directed to inflation in food prices which shifted into
an acute insufficiency of food grains.
 
 Dated back to the middle ages the pre-revolution French society was
feudalistic. Often triggered by a climatic disaster such as hail and
drought France used to fall under a cycle called the “Subsistence
Crisis”. This crisis use to start with a bad harvest due to drought leading to
 less food grain produce and lack of food. Lack of food used to make
individuals grow weak and succumb to diseases that use to turn epidemic in
a very short period. 

9.inflation

Many of these issues were long term factors causing discontent and stagnation in
France, but they had not caused revolution to erupt in the first 15 years of Louis’ reign.
The real cost of living had increased by 62% between 1741 and 1785, and two
successive years of poor harvests in 1788 and 1789 caused the price of bread to be
dramatically inflated along with a drop in wages.

This added hardship added an extra layer of resentment and weight to the grievances of
the Third Estate, which was largely made up of peasants and a few bourgeoise.
Accusations of the extravagant spending of the royal family – irrespective of their truth –
further exacerbated tensions, and the king and queen were increasingly targets
of libelles  and attacks in print.

5. Effects of the American Freedom Struggle

American war of independence happened from 1775 to 1783. French soldiers

went to cooperate in America’s freedom struggle. There they got the inspiration
of patriotism, independence, and self-respect. America’s war of Independence
became a major source of inspiration for the people of France.

6. Rise of the Middle Class

The farmers and workers could not resist the French elite. The newly emerged
middle class of the society made up for this shortcoming. This middle class
included thinkers, teachers, traders, lawyers, doctors, etc. They were neither
extremely rich nor poor, thus they held unique political importance similar to the
merchants of the Roman Empire. 

7. The Effect of Enlightenment

 At this time France was going through the renaissance period. The
philosophers and writers in France awakened the French society by
exposing the glorification of ancient traditions of France. The names of
Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu are particularly notable among
these scholars. These views spread like a wildfire among the peasants and
working-class and functioned as an ideological backbone of the French
revolution.
 
 In his “Two Treatises of Government”, Locke denied the doctrine of divine
right. Montesquieu got inspired by the American constitution and proposed
the division of power between the executive, legislative, and judiciary to
establish an accountable government and guaranteed individual
rights. Rousseau supported the freedom of the individual and developed the
idea of social contract where he claimed, “Human beings have got
freedom, equality of fraternity since time immemorial.”

8. Immediate Causes of the French Revolution

On June 20th, 1789 the members of the third house wanted to hold a joint
sitting of the three houses. When the members of the Third House came for
the meeting, they weren’t allowed inside. Therefore, the members took the
meeting in the tennis court outside the hall and took an oath that the assembly
would not be dissolved without opting for a new constitution to France. On 14
July 1789, the enraged mob attacked the Bastille and freed the prisoners,
which marked the onset of the French Revolution.