Economy While French Revolution

Economy

The economy was in constant decline. The new and inexperienced

king, Louis XIV was expected to fix all the economic problems.
Although he never fixed it in the first place, he never tried to make
new reforms that would provide solutions to the problems of the
peasantry. The anger among them was justified.
Economic causes

The economic condition of France formed another cause for the outbreak of the French
Revolution. The economic condition of France became poor due to the foreign wars of Louis XIV,
the seven years War of Louis XV and other expensive wars. During the reign period of Louis XVI,
the royal treasury became empty as extravagant expenses of his queen Marie Antoinette.

To get rid of this condition. Louis XVI appointed Turgot as his Finance Minister in 1774. Turgot
tried to minimise the expenditure of the royal court. He also advised the king to impose taxes on
every classes of the society. But due to the interference of Queen Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI
dismissed Turgot.
Taxes
1. The taille
2. Obligatory payments made to their lord and the catholic church
3. The vingtième

These heavy taxes were levied on the peasantry and the nobility had to pay as low
as 1/90 of their income.
Situation that led to summoning of Estates General
Person who was appointed by the King as the Finance Minister of France in 1783 was Callone.

Then Callone proposed to impose taxes on all the classes. But he was dismissed by the king. In this
situation, the king at last summoned the States General. The economic instability formed one of the
most important causes of the French Revolution.
The Estates General
Due to rising anger among the people for
the taxes, the king summoned selected
representatives from all three Estates. It
was called on 5 May 1789 in Versailles.
Louis XIV tried to raise a new revenue
tax but the 3rd estate denied the
decision.The 3rd Estate realized
anything in their favour will be overruled
by the first 2 Estates, the national
assembly was formed.
GDP
French per capita economic growth in 1815-1913 as follows:

1815-1840: irregular, but sometimes fast growth

1840-1860: fast growth;

1860-1882: slowing down;

1882-1896: stagnation;

1896-1913: fast growth

Import and Export
Industry trade as a share of total
French trade tripled between 1859–60,
when it accounted for about 14
percent of trade, and 1872, when it
accounted for 38 percent. While some
products lost market share, French
factories survived and thrived by
producing unique brands. The
researchers point out that the sectors
that concerned protectionists most —
cotton, wool, and silk cloth — did see
intensified competition, but exports
and imports rose together.
Impacts of French Revolution
The economic impacts of French revolution were pretty disastrous. The difference in
the form of the ruling government, half the Europe turned its back on France and so,
trade relations were harmed. The prices of goods rose substantially and too many
taxes got imposed, and too many harvests got destroyed. There was also a growth in
wages. The market forces were under change too.

Loss of Commerce and Loss of Haiti can also be considered in the effects on
economy. It caused France to lose a lot of money after Haiti’s independence.
Thank You
Made by- Aadit, Aarjav, Lavya