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The French Revolution was a pivotal event to the reconfiguration of European’s political,

economic, and social landscape. The revolution shook France from 1789 to 1799, ending with

Napoleon Bonaparte’s ascension. During the insurgency, the French nation remodeled her

political structure, getting rid of ancient establishments such as the feudal system and absolute

monarchy. The French citizens had become very discontented with the French monarchy and

King Louis XVI’s deficient economic policies leading to the uprising. While it caused immense

bloodshed, it showed that power lies within the people and that individuals can come together

and bring forth change. This essay will discuss the French Revolution and what caused it.

Causes of the French Revolution

Prior to the revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, the Bourbon dynasty,

which had divine right to the throne (Guettner 13). Being an absolute monarchy, no individual or

group had the right to fight king Louis XIV’s command. He also had a team of administrative

agents at his disposal, who were not only obedient to him but could also perform myriad tasks to

enforce his will (Ahmed 4). Besides, the Bourbon Dynasty claimed that God had put them on the

throne and no one had any right to them except God. The monarchy, thus, lived a life of

extravagance, and anyone who tried to oppose them met severe punishment. Individuals were

subjected to a system known as ‘lettre de catche’ where arrests were made without notices from

the king (Chikumbu 2). Upon trial, the law courts were awfully corrupt, ruling in favor of the
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monarch. Consequently, the people detested the absolute monarchy and wished to get rid of the

old regime.

Another cause of the French Revolution was the inequality that existed within the French

society during the second leg of the 18th century. The French people were divided into three

divergent classes, namely the First Estate, Second Estate, and Third Estate. The First Estate was

made up of the Roman Catholic Church’s clergy, and it comprised 0.6% of the total population.

The clergy enjoyed certain privileges that came mostly from being a monopolistic power in the

worship sector, and their wealth. The 169,500 individuals had accumulated a lot of riches due to

the income they made from tithe and the vast landholdings, that is, 10 percent of France’s land

(Guettner 24). They were also exempted from tax. The next class, the Second Estate, comprised

of the nobles, who achieved their status by birth. The population of the nobility was about

120,000 to 350,000, making up 0.4 percent of the people (Guettner 25). Nonetheless, they owned

between 25 and 30 percent of France’s land. The nobles also played the most significant roles in

France, taking up top leadership positions in the military, government, church, and the courts of

law. Moreover, they owned or invested in metallurgical and mining firms, controlling the largest

chunk of the heavy industry (Ahmed 5). The Third Estate, comprised the bulk of French

population and were separated by their extensive differences in their wealth, occupation, and

education level. They constituted peasants, shop owners, skilled craftsmen, and other city

workers. With the rising prices and low wages, they had very low purchasing power (Ahmed 6).

A large portion of what they earned was also unfairly channeled to the hefty tax levies. Still,

under the feudal system, they were obligated to land owners to work for free. The labor was

mostly inhumane and intensive (Chikumbu 1). While the First and Second Estates lived an
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extremely luxurious lifestyle at Versailles with King Louis XVI, individuals in the Third Estate

lived a deplorable life. They were fed up with the unfair system, setting the revolt in motion.

France’s pre-revolutionary flawed finance government was another cause of the French

Revolution. France continued to experience a severe annual deficit because of increased

government expenditure brought about by the spending on wars and the extravagance of royalty

(Goodwin 15). Despite measure such as increasing taxes, the deficit on government budget

continued to increase forcing the monarchy to borrow. However, the lenders feared that the loans

would not be repaid causing them to withhold from lending. Not even the nobles and affluent

members of the French society were willing to offset the bad economic situation leading to

bankruptcy. In the end, king Louis XVI ended up losing his royal authority (Ahmed 7). The

citizens, on the other hand, could not accept the poor economic conditions any further, resulting

in the upheaval.

Key Events from 1789 to 1799

On June 17, 1989, with the support of most parish priests, the people of the Third Estate

declared themselves as the National Assembly. On June 20 of the same year, members of the

Third Estate refused to leave King Louis XVI’s tennis court until the constitution of France was

changed. While the king reluctantly yielded to their demands leading to the formation of July 9’s

National Constituent Assembly, he secretly plotted to have the assembly dissolved. The stalling

of the fulfillment of demands, as well as, food shortages angered the cities and provinces.

Besides, rumors of the king’s plot to revolt against the Third Estate gave rise to the Great Fear in

July 1789. On July 14, the Parisian people seized the only mark of royal domination, the Bastille.

Due to the Great Fear, there was an upsurge of the peasants against their masters in the

provinces. On August 4, the feudal system and tithe were abolished. The assembly then
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presented the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen which promoted equality on August 26.

After the king refused to sanction the declarations, the women marched to Versailles bringing the

king and his family back to Paris (Ray 4).

In July 12, 1790, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy ordered the clergy to pledge their

allegiance to the new state under oath but a majority of the clergy declined. In June 20-21 1791,

king Louis XVI and his family tried to escape France but were seized at Varennes and taken

back to Paris. People started losing faith in the king after his botched escape attempt. April 20,

1792 saw war declared on Austria, then on Prussia, Britain, and Russia successively. In August

10, the Second Revolution was born, where the Parisians attack the Tuillery palace overthrowing

the monarch. On 21st September 1792, France was declared a republic after the abolishment of

the monarchy. In January 21, 1793, the former king Louis XVI was executed. In August, France

mobilizes its citizens to protect the Republic against invading armies (Schwart 7). September

1793 to July 1794 marked a period of war and terror under the Committee of Public Safety’s

authoritarian rule (Goodwin 179). The committee was made up of 12 members but Robespierre

was the perceived leader. In July 28, 1794, Robespierre and other committee members were

overthrown and executed (Goodwin 173). On August 22, 1795, the Republic is redesigned into a

collective executive known as the Directory. A newly formed constitution tries to return France

to the pre-revolutionary stages, giving power to the affluent. November 1799 marks the ascent of

Napoleon Bonaparte as he leads a coup against the Directory.

Was the French Revolution a Success?

The French Revolution was a definite success because it resulted in the oppressed

individuals rising up and fighting for their rights. After the revolution, France’s citizens had

rights, diminishing the persistent inequalities. Moreover, by creating a new constitution, the
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people’s rights were protected and sovereignty given to the people. Ultimately, the uprising was

a win for the people.

Conclusion

In summary, the French revolution led to the abolishment of the absolute monarchy and

feudal regime. The social and political inequalities that existed, together with, the economic

crisis in France led to the members of the Third Estate getting angry since they were on the

receiving end of all the social injustices. They had, thus, had enough and revolted against the

monarchy which was living lavishly while the poor majority was suffering. In the end, though

the upheaval was marked by war and blood baths, the people’s sovereignty was upheld. The

French Revolution is, therefore, proof that ultimate power belongs to the people.
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Works Cited

Ahmad, Farhad. "French Revolution: Political Causes and Consequences." (2018).

Chikumbu, Constantine Anotida. "THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1789". 2015, Accessed 15

Oct 2019.

Goodwin, Albert. The French Revolution. Routledge, 2016.

Guettner, Darius Von. "The French Revolution." Melbourne, Australia.: NELSON CENGAGE

Learning 30 (2015).

Ray, Michael. "French Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019,

https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution. Accessed 15 Oct 2019.

Schwartz, Robert. History 151 The French Revolution: Causes, Outcomes, Conflicting

Interpretations. retrieved 10/15/2019, from:

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255s13/French_Revolution_Lecture/Fre

nch%20Revolution%20introduction.pdf