French Revolution
The major cause of the French Revolution was the
disputes between the different types of social classes
in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799
was one of the most important events in the history of
the world. The Revolution led to many changes in
France, which at the time of the Revolution, was the
most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to
the development of new political forces such as
democracy and nationalism. It questioned the authority
of kings, priests, and nobles. The Revolution also
gave new meanings and new ideas to the political ideas
of the people.
The French Revolution was spread over the ten year
period between 1789 and 1799. The primary cause of the
revolution was the disputes over the peoples'
differing ideas of reform. Before the beginning of the
Revolution, only moderate reforms were wanted by the
people. An example of why they wanted this was because
of king Louis XIV's actions. At the end of the
seventeenth century, King Louis XIV's wars began
decreasing the royal finances dramatically. This
worsened during the eighteenth century. The use of the
money by Louis XIV angered the people and they wanted
a new system of government. The writings of the
philosophies such as Voltaire and Diderot, were
critical of the government.
They said that not one official in power
was corrupt, but that the whole system of government
needed some change. Eventually, when the royal
finances were expended in the 1780's, there began a
time of greater criticism. This sparked the peasants
notion of wanting change. Under the Old Regime in
France, the king was the absolute monarch. Louis XIV
had centralized power in the royal bureaucracy, the
government departments which administered his
policies. Together, Louis XIV and the bureaucracy
worked to preserve royal authority and to maintain the
social structure of the Old Regime.
At this time in French history, the social
classes played an...
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