The French Revolution commenced in the year 1789 and ended in the late 1790’s. As the name says, this revolution occurred in France. It was one of the most violent revolutions to happen. The French Revolution was inspired by the enlightenment ideals. Even though it had not succeeded in achieving the goals it had and at times fell apart into a crazy mass murder, this movement still played a pretty big role in shaping nations we know of now by demonstrating the power in the will of people.
The French Revolution has three major causes, economic, social, and political. During the 18th century, France was the focus of monarchy, they had an endless power and they had declared themselves as representatives of God. At any time they wanted, they could have arrested anyone they chose and put them in a prison.
Their social condition was terrible at this point in time as well. Their society was divided into three ways, Clergy, Nobles, and Normal People. They clergy was in two parts higher and lower clergy. The higher clergy did not pay much taxes as anyone else to the monarchs, managed churches, monasteries, and educational institutions. The Nobility people were considered as the second estate. They too did not pay taxes to their king. The common people were triggered by their rights. They eventually became rebellious people. France’s economy was an outbreak and became poor due to the wars of Louis XIV.
Louis XIV was a very powerful monarch. He reigned for seventy-two years. That's longer than any other known European sovereignty. “In that time, he transformed the monarchy, ushered in a golden age of art and literature, presided over a dazzling royal court at Versailles, annexed key territories and established his country as the dominant European power.” says the history website publisher. Louie was actually forced to abdicate family laws in constant fear of falling into the revolutionary band. After Mazarin, Anne of Austria’s son died Louis had broken the tradition by proclaiming that he would rule without a chief.
He saw himself as a representative of God. That meant he had all power of the monarchy. He chose the sun as a symbol to represent his position. He made the image of an omniscient and “Roi-Soleil” which meant “Sun King”.
After his death and the death of Louis XV the throne had been passed onto Louis XVI. In a last attempt to help resolve the country’s financial crisis, he assembles the States for the first time since 1614 to represent the three estates of the people.
On June 12, fear and violence started to consume the capital. The Parisians started to increase their panic as the rumors commenced that an increasing military group began to come together. On July 14, a popular revolution finally ended the strikers had attacked the Bastille, as they had been trying to secure gunpowder and the weapons. Although he externally accepted the revolution, he resisted the advice constitutional monarchs were giving out to him. He allowed the reactionary of Marie Antoinette. The fall of the Bastille is a historically important symbolic act against the royal power; many now consider this date to be a Holiday in France.
A wave of strong emotions had swept away the countryside. Angrily fighting against years of abuse, peasants robbed and had burned the territories of those who collected their taxes. Peasants had played a huge role in the French Revolution. They suffered a lot throughout time. They lost half of their incomes due to the nobles, tithe church, royal taxes, and the taille on the land. “Known as the Great Fear (“La Grande Peur”), the agrarian insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what the historian Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.” Says the history website publisher. This day the Declaration of rights for the man and citizen had been created.
In October 1789, a huge crowd walked into Versailles and forced Antoinette and him to move to Tuileries. In June 1791 many opposed the royal couple. At this time the hatred became to be stronger than it was. The two had then been forced to go away from Austria. Louis had been forced to accept the constitution of 1791. This brought him down to be only known as a figurehead.
In April 1792 the legislative assembly declared war against the Austrians and Prussia. In August 1792 Louis and Antoinette had tried to escape on a carriage, they were caught and were arrested. Louis was put on trial for treason (betraying his country) by the National Convention. In September a flood of violence was occurring in Parisian.
In January of 1793, he was executed. A crowd of 80,000 cheered as they chopped off his head. Marie Antoinette then followed in October of the same year. In June of the same year, the Bloody Reign of Terror was unleashed. This was a ten month period of-of suspected enemies were executed by the thousands.
On August 1795 the National Convention, made of those who survived during the Bloody Reign of Terror, made France’s first bicameral legislature. The directory ’s four years in the power were filled with the financial crisis and above everything else political corruption. “By the late 1790s, the directors relied almost entirely on the military to maintain their authority and had ceded much of their power to the generals in the field. On November 9, 1799, as frustration with their leadership reached a fever pitch, Bonaparte staged a coup d’état, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s “first consul.” The event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era, in which France would come to dominate much of continental Europe.”