The French Revolution is one of the most significant and famous events of world history. Lasting from 1789 to 1799, it resulted, among other things, in overthrowing the monarchy in France. There were various reasons which brought about the Revolution. These include intellectual reasons like the ideas put forward by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment; cultural reasons like the rise of the bourgeoisie class; political reasons like the ineffective leadership of French monarch Louis XVI; social reasons like the unjust Estates System; financial reasons like French involvement in expensive wars; and economic reasons like the rise in price of bread. Here are the 10 major causes of the French Revolution.
#1 SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN FRANCE DUE TO THE ESTATES SYSTEM
In the 1780s, the population of France was around 24 million and 700 thousand and it was divided into three estates. The First Estate was the Roman Catholic clergy, which numbered about 100,000. The Second Estate consisted of the French nobility, which numbered about 400,000. Everyone else in France; including merchants, lawyers, laborers and peasants; belonged to the Third Estate, which comprised around 98% of the French population. The Third Estate was excluded from positions of honor and political power; and was looked down upon by the other estates. It was thus angered and resented its position in French society. This led to them coming together to launch the French Revolution in 1789.
#2 TAX BURDEN ON THE THIRD ESTATE
The First Estate in France, or the clergy, owned 10% of the land though it comprised less than 0.5% of the population. It was very wealthy and paid no taxes. It had many privileges, including the collection of tithes. Tithes was one-tenth of annual produce or earnings taken as a tax for the support of the Church. The Second Estate, or the nobles, owned about 25% of the land. They were exempted from paying many taxes and were allowed to collect dues from peasants. In contrast, the Third Estate was forced to pay heavy taxes while the other two were exempted. This burdened the Third Estate leading to their questioning this unjust Estates System and planning to overthrow it.
#3 THE RISE OF THE BOURGEOISIE
The bourgeoisie were the rich men and women of the Third Estate who started to become influential in the years leading to the revolution. They evolved into a new caste with its own agenda and political aspiration. The bourgeoisie resented the position of the First and the Second Estate, which they believed was derived from their efforts. Moreover, they aspired to attain political equality with the other two estates. The desire of the bourgeoisie to rid themselves of feudal and royal encroachments on their personal liberty, commercial prospects and ownership of property was one of the reasons which led to the French Revolution.
