At causes of French Revolution they are the target of an intense debate on how it was possible to mobilize a diverse population around the fall of monarchic power. In general terms, studies of this revolution point to a group of ideological and economic reasons.
On the one hand, Enlightenment thinkers proposed that a laic State and representative. The government, according to the enlightenment, should be based on institutions legitimized by the entire population. You citizens should enjoy legal and tax equality. Equality and freedom should be the foundations of a State capable of meeting the needs of its people.
Mind Map - French Revolution
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Context lived by France at the end of the 18th century
At the same time, the administrative failure of french monarchy, the interests of bourgeoisie and the agricultural crisis accounted for the French context in the late eighteenth century. During this period, France was a predominantly agrarian country. Of the approximately 25 million inhabitants in the country, about 3/4 lived in rural areas. Peasants were bound by feudal customs, by which the agrarian nobility held possession and the right to exploit land.
peasants
Many of the peasants, unable to support the conditions of life in the countryside, sought the city of Paris in search of other work options. At that time, Paris did not have the proper conditions to house this new population contingent. In this way, the Parisian streets were crowded with unemployed and miserable protagonists of yet another trace of the French crisis.
As if the wear and tear of rural labor relations at the time were not enough, a series of bad harvests in the the end of the 18th century provoked a crisis in the agrarian economy that was reflected in the rise of food consumed in the cities. The inflationary rates on the price of bread, for example, signaled the total collapse experienced by the French economy at that time.
Bourgeoisie
While all this impoverishment of the population was being observed, a portion of French society had interests in the restructuring of the national economy by changing the French political game. THE bourgeoisie, which was emerging in the field of mercantile economy, had excessive tax collection and the absence of public policies as a limiting barrier to its economic interests.
clergy and nobility
Among the various social groups dissatisfied with the situation in the country, theclergy, royalty and feudal nobility they enjoyed tax exemption and supported themselves through the control of the productive forces and the indiscriminate use of public money. The life of luxury and comfort enjoyed by such groups created a strong climate of hostilities in French territory. That society constituted by the privilege of a minority and whose power was legitimized by religious belief began to run great risks.
In the 1780s, this set of problems reached its peak between the years 1786 and 1787. In these two years, the French industry crisis and the high agricultural products reached their most alarming levels. In addition, spending on the War of United States Independence further worsened the financial situation of the French monarchy.
Due to the impasse and pressure from society, the King Louis XVI summoned the “General States” aimed at reforming national laws. It is at this moment that we have met the conditions in force for the French revolutionary process to start.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
*Mental Map by Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/revolucao-francesa2.htm
