Causes of the French Revolution

Extravagant Lifestyle of French monarchy

Excesive taxes to the third Estate

Economic

Monetary Crisis due to costly wars

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Thoughts put Forward by Enlightenment

French Revolution

Poor Harvests

The Rise of Bourgeoisie

Social Inequality due to the Estate system

Parliaments’ Successful Opposition to Reforms

Inadequate Leadership of Louis XVI

Others

Social

Political

Causes of the French Revolution

• 1st Estate: Members of the Roman Catholic clergy. Only about 0.5% of the population was part of the 1st Estate.
• 2nd Estate: Nobles, representing about 2% of the population. Members of the 2nd Estate also owned approximately 20% of the land.
• 3rd Estate: Comprised the rest of France's population. They had very little rights and paid nearly half of their income in taxes.

Social Inequality in France due to the Estate System

• Proposals to include the aristocrats as citizens were denied.
• This might have decreased the monetary emergency in the country and would have diminished the resentment of the Third Estate.

Parliaments’ Successful Opposition to Reforms

• Thinkers like John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu questioned the conventional outright power of the ruler.
• Division of power
• Liberalism ideology
• Rationalism

• The bourgeoisie were the rich people of the Third Estate.
• They sought to achieve political balance with the other two domains and free themselves of the medieval regime.

The Rise of Bourgeoisie

Poor Harvests

• Unfortunate harvests made the cost of flour increment decisively, which thus raised the cost of bread.
• Common laborers of France were spending upwards of 90% of their day-to-day pay on bread.

The French Revolution was a period in France when individuals ousted the government and assumed command over public authority. The Revolution started in 1789 and finished in the last part of the 1790s.