Causes of the French Revolution

Causes of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was an epoch of great political and social change in the late eighteenth century. Within this time period, France underwent a drastic change as Enlightenment ideas swept through the nation, redefining the government and social life of the French with ideals such as liberty, equality, and fraternity. No other period of history would have such a large influence on France as the French Revolution. Although the monarchs of the time before the Revolution tried their best to restrict the growing influence of the Enlightenment, they were forced to cope with several factors that caused the Enlightenment ideas to spread even further: a poor economic situation and national debt, large unemployment rates, and rising costs of food resulting in starvation. Many other factors played key roles, but the three mentioned are the most apparent and possibly had the largest impacts.

In the events leading up to the Revolution, King Louis XIV of France had continually put problematic matters off until they called for immediate action. One such matter was a national debt, which was caused by an inequitable taxation system, the many wars of the 18th century, and a massive spending spree by the royal family. The Third Estate wasn't at all blind to national economic status; the life of luxury that the royal family was living was particularly disgusting to them, as they had to work hard to earn money while the royal family didn't and was spending money earnestly. This unfair condition prompted decreasing support for the government and the rise of a revolution.

Not only were the commoners becoming increasingly angry at the careless spending spree for the personal gain of the royal family, but the increasing unemployment rate was forcing many common families into poverty. French commerce at that time was not very successful and many companies were forced to reduce the number of employed workers and business locations in order to stay in business while others were forced to dissolve altogether. Either way, the number of jobs was declining with each passing year, and the government was failing to provide new opportunities to poverty-stricken families. Because of this, many in the Third Estate began rallying behind a new cause to abolish the established absolute monarchy and its unfair Estates-General.

Among the two reasons stated above, the most critical factor that triggered the Revolution was probably the government's lack of ability to provide for the common needs that all humans require in order to survive: