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The Age of Enlightenment
The enlightenment was a time where many philosophers stood up to voice their opinions about different topics to the world. Politics, Religion, Economics, etc. The enlightenment played a very crucial role in the French Revolution, because this was a period of time where the Third Estate felt they could really get their ideals about the government out onto the streets. It helped them feel apart of something, or that they were making some sort of a change. -
The Three Estates
The citizens of France were sectioned into three groups. The Clergy, the Nobles, and the "Peasants". The first two estates occupied about 3% of the population, but owned about 45% of the land. The third estate had to pay the taxes, and had no say in creating and changing laws. -
The American Revolution
The American Revolution played a big role in the French Revolution. As the Patriots were fighting England for their rights and land, the Third Estate got ear to the news, and believed that if they could make a revolution, then they could do the same thing for their country. Also, when King Louis XVI heard of American Revolution, he believed that by helping out the Americans, he would be showing the citizens that he could be influential in a good way. -
The Financial Crisis
The crisis started under Louis XV, where he gave the country's debt to Louis XVI. When Louis XVI married Marie-Antoinette, they began pulling the country into more debt, because of their wild spending, and Louis XVI spent lots of money and resources on the American Revolution. This made the King tax the Third Estate more heavily, so the country would not die. -
Poor Crop Seasons
Agriculture was a big chunk of France’s economy, and used about 75 percent of all production, and land use. With France's population on the rise, the country depended more on crops. France’s food supplies were affected by poor harvests in 1769, 1770, 1775 and 1776. Because of these poor harvests, the demand for crops sky rocketed driving up the price for everyone. This made the Third Estate's lives much more difficult. -
The Estates General
The king called a meeting, in which all estates gathered together to talk about the country's problems, and also potential solutions. Instead, the Clergy and the Nobles would vote with each other so they wouldn't have to pay taxes. This resulted in the Third Estate becoming frustrated with the government. -
The Tennis Court Oath
During the Estates General, the third estate found themselves locked out of the government building. The estate gathered together in a nearby tennis court, and swore that they would not disband until their futures' were better. -
The French Inflation
Inflation means, "a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money." The French government decided during the Estates General to increase the price for bread, and everyday items, in order to decrease the amount of debt that France was in. This idea resulted very badly for the Third Estate, because of their place in society. They had to pay the taxes for the country, and because the rises in food, they had an even harder time eating. Stores ended up being robbed/looted.
