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what were the causes of the french revolution

For the greater part of history the French revolution was believed to have been the product of social and economic unrest. The country was at the time facing a deteriorating economic condition coupled with a lag between the intellectual development and social political condition that was stagnant. In this situation it was the middle class, also known as the Bourgeoisie which was in the worst social position. This was the educated class which was heavily taxed whereas the ruling nobles and the clergy were exempted from taxation.

Social Causes of the French Revolution

The vast majority of the French public belonged to the working class whose hard earned money was being used to finance the foreign wars and the court extravagance along with being the treasury with which to repay national debt. Although on the face of it the King had consolidated absolute monarchy which should have put an end to feudalism, the small land owners and the peasant class were still bound to extremely unfair contracts with the feudal lords. This tension and frustration of the working class was the result of the oppressive rule of the monarchist regime. Although the regime had been very successful in defending France from foreign invaders and sorting out internal religious and other disputes it was believed to have been extremely unfair to the general public. 

Economic Causes of the French Revolution

The cost of affording a respectable or even a sustained lifestyle had shot sky high with the rise in bread prices and basic necessities. On top of which the working class was obliged to pay heavy taxes to finance the governments running. This obviously led to the feeling of resentment within the bourgeoisie who wanted a more equal system of governance in France. From this point of view they were the forerunners of the whole revolution but there was another side to this social awakening and that was the decrease of importance in the belief of God.

Religious Causes of the French Revolution

If we are to be fair in analyzing the root causes of the whole revolution then we will have to admit that the religion of Christianity had a big role to play in it. The religion itself is not to be blamed but it is what the nobles and priests did under the banner of religion that is to be condemned. The Christian rulers of that time were known to be extremely intolerant which resulted in the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in France. Moreover the principles of Christianity were distorted by the priests to gain power over the people and maintain their nobility as a result intellectually straight jacketing the government. This is the only reason why the monarchist regime of France was being considered as being backwards. When the ruling party is unjust and carries with it the banner of a religion then that religion gets the blame for being unjust. Consequently the revolutionary movement was also seen as an anti God movement because of the dealings of the so called men of God. It is actually those people who practiced injustice under the banner of religion and persecuted the people that gave birth to the atheistic spirit of the revolution and the deeds of the so called men of God can be seen as one of the major causes that ultimately led to the revolt. 

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The major three causes which resulted to French revolution were-
1- social cause - The French society was divided into three estates , the first two consisted of clergy and nobility respectively, the third estate consisted of merchants, businessmen, lawyers and peasants.Third estate didn't had equal rights and the other estates enjoyed other privileges.
2- economic cause- third estate had to pay all the taxes imposed by the king as the other estates were exempted from it.The prices of bread rose which was the main staple diet of the people and there was subsistence crisis.
3- immediate cause- Rumors spread that the king will order his troops to attack Paris ( as people were revolting) and then 4000- 5000 people gathered and formed people's militia.

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The causes of the French Revolution are complicated, so complicated that a debate still rages among historians regarding origins, causes and results. In general, the real causes of the Revolution must be located in the rigid social structure of French society during the ancien regime. As it had been for centuries, French society was divided into three Estates or Orders. The First Estate consisted of the clergy and the Second Estate the nobility. Together, these two Estates accounted for approximately 500,000 individuals. At the bottom of this hierarchy was the vast Third Estate which basically meant everybody else, or about 25 million people. This social structure was based on custom and tradition, but more important, it was also based on inequalities which were sanctioned by the force of law.

Bankruptcy of the Government:Over the course of twenty-five years after the Seven Years' War, the government of France could not manage it's finances on a sound basis. This was worsened when France aided the American Revolution against Great Britain. The problem lied and continued because of the government's inability to tap the wealth of the French nation by taxation. There was a great paradox in France being a rich nation with a government in poverty. The deteriorating finances of the government is what triggered the prolonged differences between the Bourgeoisie and the aristocracy.

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.(a) Social Causes - On the eve of the revolution, the French society was ridden with several inequalities. The clergy and the nobles led a life of luxury and enjoyed numerous privileges. On the other hand, the peasants and workers lived a wretched life. They groaned under heavy taxes and forced labour. The middle-class comprising of lawyers, doctors,teachers, etc also suffered humiliation at the hands of the clergy and the nobles. This state of social inequality was the chief cause of the French Revolution.

(b) Political Causes - Emperor Louis XVI of France was an empty headed despot. He and his queen, Marie Antoinette, squandered money on their luxurious living and wasteful festivities. The high posts were often auctioned, so inefficiency reigned supreme. The whole administration was corrupt and each department had its own laws. In the absence of any uniform system there was confusion all around. The people were tired of such a rotten system of administration and wanted a change.

(c) Economic Causes - France had been continually involved in wars which had broken her economy. The luxurious life led by the French King Louis XVI and his queen had made the matter still worse. The people groaned under heavy taxes. The system was so faulty that only a fraction of the taxes could be realized as the people were too poor to pay the taxes while nobles and the clergy who could pay, were completely exempted from all the taxes. The economy became so bad that the French Government had almost reached a state of bankruptcy. Thus the shattered economy of France proved a major cause of the Revolution.

(d) Immediate Cause - Forced by financial bankruptcy, Emperor Louis XVI was compelled to call a meeting of the Estates General in 1789 A.D. after a lapse of 175 years. It generated much excitement as the members of the Third Estate were determined to put forth their problems. But when the first two Estates i.e. the Clergy and the Nobility refused to have a common meeting with the Third Estate, the people lost their temper. They had already suffered much in the severe famine in 1788 - 1789. In this way the calling of the Estates General in 1789 A.D. proved to be the immediate cause of the French Revolution.

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THE CAUSES OF FRENCH REVOLUTION WERE:-

  1. Meeting of the estate generals
  2. Demand for universal adult franchise
  3. Meeting of the newly formed national assembly
  4. Storming of bastille
  5. Revolt by peasants.

thumbs up plzzz :)

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