Essential+Causes+of+French+Revolution

JOSEPH CHO ** “The essential cause of the French Revolution was the collision between a powerful rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges” ** **  Assess the validity of this statement as an explanation of the events leading up to the French Revolution of 1789. ** ** Thesis: **The horrible conditions upon the peasants such as overwhelming taxes pushed the lower class over the edge to start the French Revolution

** Three Estates **  - // 1st Estate - Clergy //  l exempt from taxes  l but has to agree to pay a “voluntary” contribution every 5 years  - // 2nd Estate – Nobility //  l owned 20-30% of land  l Leading positions in government, military, the law courts, and the higher church offices  l The French Nobility was split into 2.  u The Nobility of the Robe  n derived their status from office holding  u The Nobility of the Sword  n Claimed to be descendants of the original medieval nobility.  l Exempt from taxes.  - // 3rd Estate – Peasants //  l the commoners of society <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l 70-85% of the population <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l Serfdom no longer exists on any large scale in France <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 140.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level6 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> u peasants still had obligation to their local landlords <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l Also contained skilled artisans, shopkeepers, and other wage earners. <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l Paid vast majority of taxes ** INSERT WITTY TITLE FOR THIS PARAGRAPH HERE ** <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> - ‘Relics of feudalism’ <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level4 lfo2; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l Survivals from an earlier age included the payment of fees for the use of village facilities like four mill, community oven, and whine press, as well as tithes to the clergy. <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> - Taille <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level4 lfo2; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancient Régime France <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level4 lfo2; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l tax was imposed on each household and based on how much land it held <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> - Tithe <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 100.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level4 lfo2; text-indent: -20.0pt;"> l 1/10 of increase arising from the profits of land and stock allotted to the clergy for their support or devoted to religious or charitable uses - Financial crisis l All the payments fell on the peasants u Tax exemptions for nobility and clergy l War debts u Seven Years War u American Revolution l Government was almost bankrupt - Legal divisions among social classes l Couldn’t move classes u Peasants were ignored for being lowest class n Had no voice

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