French Revolution and Various Economic Factors Essay

Submitted By jamiebei123
Words: 445
Pages: 2

There are a lot of factors that contributed to the eruption of violence and the French Revolution in 1789. First of all, various economic factors contributed to the French Revolution. The king and his government were outspending their income, putting the nation in debt. As a result, taxes were raised, fomenting discontent among the estates. Poverty was rampant and bread became scarce as a result of high flour prices. As the cost of flour began to rise people were left to starve, unable to afford bread anymore. This ultimately became an important source of revolt as bread was one of the main sources of food. Also, the King supported the American Revolution by sending them a tremendous amount of resources. He sent his forces that were capable of rivaling the British to America where the war of independence was raging. This act was a key point in the victory over the British. However this gesture eventually caused the French Monarchy's budget to dry up. In addition to the economic factors, there were some political and social factors that caused the French Revolution. The General – Estates system was based on the concentration of all political, social and economic power between three estates: the clergy as the 1st estate, nobility as 2nd estate, and the rest of the population, the poorest and largest group of people as 3rd estate. The inequality in distribution of powers and rights between these different estates was the main cause of the explosion of anger amongst 3rd estate representatives. The 3rd estate was divided into two categories. The first category was known as bourgeoisie (middle class – rich) and the second as commoners. They used to highest taxes to the government, but they were not given any privileges like those of the nobles; neither they were freed from taxes nor