Due to this debt the government then resulted in printing money and this resulted in inflation. Inflation destroyed savings of the middle class and especially effected land owners as they relied on rent. State employees and factory workers purchasing power fell by 25% because of the value of the Iire. The state also spent 148 billion lire on the war effort and inflation increased with the price index quadrupling, and rising from 100 in 1914 to 413 in 1918. Conscription soaked up rural unemployment and some peasants grew prosperous.
In this essay I will discuss if hyperinflation was completely caused by the Treaty of Versailles (1918-19). The Treaty of Versailles was responsible for thee suspension of the Ruhr, this was a place of great industrial power and brought in a lot of money to Germany. However when it was taken away from the Germans, there was halt in the industrial production which caused the collapse of the German economy. This meant that there were very few goods therefore the government printed the money. This lead to prices rocketing and the savings unfortunately became worthless.
But this soon changed as Henry VIII doubled household expenditure and started costly wars against both France and Scotland. With his wealth rapidly decreasing, Henry VIII imposed a series of taxes devised by his finance minister, Thomas Wolsey. Soon the people began to resent Wolsey's taxes and a new source of finance had to be found: in 1544, Henry reduced the silver content of new coins by about 50%; this was repeated to a lesser extent the following year. This, combined with injection of bullion from the New World, increased the money supply in England; which led to continuing price inflation. This threatened landowners' wealth, which encouraged the landowners to become more efficient, and enclosure was seen as a way of doing
This debt was further accentuated by her involvement in the American Revolution from 1775, and the government continued spending more than they were receiving in taxes. This ensured that by 1788, the royal treasury was empty. This forced heavier taxes upon the 3rd estate, such as the hated gabelle, which angered them as this level of taxing was not enforced upon the higher estates, despite the fact that they had more money. However, the 3rd estate faced graver problems than this as, from 1788 – 1789, a series of bad weather events resulted in bad crops. This was a devastating blow to France as the
On top of which the working class was expected to pay heavy taxes to finance the governments running. This obviously led to the feeling of resentment within the bourgeoisie who wanted a more equal system of governance in France. From this point of view they were the forerunners of the whole revolution but there was another side to this social awakening and that was the decrease of importance in the belief of God. The political discontent of France was one of
The French’s hatred for the English lead them to help the Americans break free from British rule. When Louis XVI came to power, the country was already in huge debt, and him and his wife, Marie Antoinette, only made it worse by spending money on unnecessary luxuries. As the Revolution drew nearer, the cost of bread, which was a key part of the French diet, was extremely high. The French citizens were outraged and started riots in the streets of Paris. The inefficient tax distribution didn’t help the cause.
In addition, the takeover of railway lines of the army thwarted food, armours and weapons to reach the army quickly. In Moscow only, they have been receiving 2,000 railway wagons of grain per month in 1914 but until 1916, it had been cutting down to 300 wagons. This was not enough to feed people in the city per day. This resulted in the people of Russian become irritated and take part in the strike forcing the Tsar to abdicate. Secondly, the economy of Russia was awfully damaged.
The first revolution in 1917 overthrew the Tsar, hoping that a new government would be formed, and that this new government would end the war. The war had caused the price of food to be multiplied by seven, had weakened the government, which received less money since alcohol sale had been forbidden, and the state had a monopoly on alcohol. The soldiers sent to the front were exhausted and had lost hope, and many of them did not want to fight anymore. Thus, when the Provisional Government came to power and did not do anything to end the war, people were still hungry and angry. This is very important because food is one of the most important and basic things people want, and lots of revolutions broke out because of famine.
They had no trade unions for protection. Their homes were crowded and poorly built. Economic recession between 1899 and 1903 had also led to growing unemployment due to strikes throughout the Empire. If the Tsar had improved working and living conditions, there would never been a need for change in the empire. There was a long-term social and economic cause of the 1905 revolution, which was the continuing discontent of both peasants and landowners to the Emancipation act of 1861.
Firstly the lack of agricultural workers and horses to tend the fields as well as the takeover of the transport system by the military, hindered the food production of Russia. While Moscow was receiving 2,200 rail-carts of grain, however by 1916, only 300 carts were able to enter the city. This means that there was little food to go around, and when rumours of food cuts to already strained rations, turn to riots, in which the February revolution started. Secondly , the war crippled the Russian economy. Taking loans from Britain and France, as well as dropping the gold standard so as to print money (Robles), inflation was bound to rise.