Long Range Causes of the French Revolution

672 Words3 Pages
The French Revolution was a major overthrow of the French government in 1789. Many injustices existed in prerevolutionary France. Political, social, and intellectual factors combined to bring forth of the French Revolution. These long term causes contributed to the discontent felt by many French people, especially those of the peasants and workers. The ideas of the intellectual of the Enlightment brought democratic reforms. The inequality of the social classes caused dissatisfaction between the peasants and nobles. The political factors of having an Absolute Monarchy also influenced the coming of the French Revolution. On the eve of revolution, France was an absolute monarchy. Absolutism is a political system in which rulers have complete power over the government and the lives of people in their nation. Louis XIV, who inherited the throne in 1643 as a five year old, ruled France for 72 years. He continued to strengthen the monarchy. As shown in the cartoon in Document 4, an absolute king issued laws, levied taxes, appointed officials, jailed people, and made war. Louis’s claim to absolute power was strengthened by a court preacher, Bishop Jacques Bossuet. Bossuet argued that as a God’s representative on Earth, a King was entitled to unquestioning obedience. Louis XIV also took the sun as the symbol of his power and commanded complete loyalty from the people. Anyone who criticized the government could be arrested and put in prison without a trial, thus under absolutism, most people in France were denied basic rights and any say in government. The major discontent in France during 1789 was the social inequality that presented in the social classes. The French populations were divided into three estates. The clergy was the First Estate; the nobles composed the Second Estate. These two classes held enormous wealth, did not have to pay taxes, and enjoyed other
Open Document