French Revolution
...Revolution
possible, such as population growth, the expansion of the
middle classes, and the rise of an informed public, there
were three immediate causes of the Revolution. One was the
diminished authority of the royal government. Another was
the revolt by the nobility, who sensed a weakening
monarchy. The third cause was the crop failure.
The government of France was in a financial crisis. The
country was deeply in debt from the financing of the wars of
Louis XIV. To deal with the nation's economic problems,
Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General in
1789.
The Estates General was made up of representatives from
each of the three social classes, or Estates. The First Estate
consisted of the clergy, the Second Estate consisted of the
nobility, and the Third Estate consisted of the commoners.
The Third Estate, which made up 98 percent of the
population of France, was underrepresented. Since the
Estates General had to vote separately and by order, the
Third Estate would almost always be outvoted by the First
Estate and the Second Estate who would get to vote first.
Because of this, the Third Estate wanted its traditional
number of representatives to be doubled so that it matched
the other two orders put together. When Louis XVI refused
their demand, the Third Estate, led by Abbe Emmanuel
Sieyes, changed its name to the National Assembly. The
National Assembly sought to give France a constitution.
Louis's threat to dissolve the National Assembly ignited the
masses of France into action. As he stationed his army in
and around Paris, crowds of Parisians stormed the Bastille
on July 14, 1789. There they hoped to find weapons and
other ammunition to use in resisting and fighting the troops of
the king. The Bastille was captured and torn down.
This event and numerous other tumultuous events made
Louis realize...
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