At this time in history the King had absolute control and exercised a heavy tax on the lower class and expected a great deal of work with no ability to have a voice. It is because of these actions by the king and society that the people demanded liberty, creating riots, storming’s, and battles in an effort to change their lifestyle. There are many influences for the desire for equality found in the French Revolution. Originally it is seen at the beginning as the people were separated into classes with very different expectations and responsibilities. Those with a nobility and clergy titles had fewer taxes and lighter burdens; whereas those placed in the commoner class were the workers, providers and
After the French Revolution though, the republic slowly began shifting to a totalitarian regime, first under the Committee of Public Safety and then completely under Napoleon Bonaparte .The facts show that the American Revolution was more successful in establishing a stable and long-lasting republican government that started a precedent for Europe, while the French Revolution’s republic failed to last, being turned into a totalitarian regime. Events leading up to the American and French Revolutions occurred for a similar reason: unfair representation. The people in the American colonies became progressively upset with Britain and its Parliament when they refused the colonists’ representation, while still imposing many different taxes on the colonists. Upset over this tax on one of their most valued imports, the colonists dumped all the tea into the Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party. This showed that the colonists were willing, and able, to live without depending on the British government.
The American Revolution was a war fought mainly because the colonies did not agree on the economic policies Britain was enforcing to the Americans, therefore leading the Americans into a fight for independence. The French Revolution occurred for very similar reasons. Peasants in France were a large majority of the population, all having to struggle to pay unfair taxes, as the citizens with wealth had no taxes at all to pay. Peasants also had no say in their Government, as America with Britain. After the 13 colonies gained their independence using Enlightenment ideas, the French knew that it was possible to overthrow a government.
Britain’s domestic stability formed another major influence upon the philosophes, especially given the corruption and inefficiancy of the French government. To citizens of the day, it seemed as if Britain was guided by Enlightened principles. The English practiced religious toleration, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. Parliament provided a powerful limit of royal authority, and the courts protected Enlgish citizens from arbitrary abuses at the hands of government. Lastly, the English economy was not overly regulated, a pre-capitalist reform that many philosophes longed for.
Some historians say that Charles is totally to blame for this war, while some say that parliament is totally to blame for it. I am going to tell you about it. There were many reasons for why the king was to blame one of the reasons for why the king was to blame was because of his money problems. Charles was not good with money and always had very little. He had closed down parliament and had to think of ways of getting money without asking the parliament's help.
This campaign did weaken Great Britain but it actually put France in even more debt than there was already. More debt lead to more taxes, but the French monarch could not tax the wealth nobility. As a result, "the financial minister, Jacques Necker, attempted to levy taxes on the nobility. That action brought the wrath of the aristocrats, as a result he was forced to dismiss Necker and abandon the new tax in 1781” (“Louis XVI”). As time went
That document amalgamated a variety of Enlightment ideas drew from the works of political philosophy. The French Revolution was influenced by Brotherhood because the irate citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille together, it was an expression of the power of the people to take politics into their own hands. Fiscal irresponsibility influenced the Revolution because after debts where brought to an higher level then before then taxes were raised on the people to end the financial trap which was not easy and required the support of the aristocracy. Democracy influenced the French Revolution the new construction of politics, in which all individuals were equal, ran counter to prevailing ideas about collective identities defined in guilds and orders. People on all levels of society learned politics.
In the following I will explain to what extent Louis was responsible for his problems. For Firstly, Louis XVI made the mistake of restoring parlements to France in which members of the first and second estate could remonstrate his edicts therefore, effectively they could control his reign and only allow the edicts that suited themselves to be passed. He let venality run rife and the top positions in government were then filled with the self interested rich rather the the capable. Louis XIV had prohibited his nobles and clergymen from holding too much power and perhaps this is a reason for the problems Louis XVI faced in asserting his will. Though, Louis XVI did not posses much will, in fact he was a rather disinterested and undetermined leader.
This social and population imbalance led to thoughts of revolution, which later became a reality for these nations. A clear difference between the two revolutions is how they were able to overthrow their governments. In France’s case, the third estate had built up so much anger due to over taxation, along with not having the ability to move up in social class, even if they became successful and rich. They overthrew their governments with riots and battles that ultimately led to the downfall of the French government. Haiti on the other hand had a little help from their friends.
In the royal court there was now the opportunity for rich bourgeoisie to gain office. Similarly, through his militaristic policy of advancement through rank rather than purchase of office to increase competence amongst nobles and gain a monopoly on military violence, Louis XIV had opened another door for bourgeoisie to perforate nobility. It is in this power vacuum in which the aristocracy supposedly battle for its own prominence in the