Find out the real cause of the French Revolution

        During that period of time, the Third Estate in France also lived very poorly. Their ways of living were considerably filthy and disgusting. As taken from Arthur Young’s Travels in France: “…their town of Combourg one of the most brutal, filthy places that can be seen; mud houses, no windows, and a pavement so broken as to impede all passengers, but ease none.” This passage described the town of Combourgh, which, according to Young, was filled with ‘filth and poverty’. And here is another passage from the first hand document, describing the poverty of the lower social status: “The poor people seem poor indeed; the children terribly ragged - if possible, worse clad than if with no clothes at all…One third of what I have seen in this province seems uncultivated, and nearly all of it in misery. What have kings, and ministers, and parliaments, and states to answer for their prejudices, seeing millions of hands that would be industrious idle and starving through the execrable maxims of despotism, or the equally detestable prejudices of a feudal nobility.”

Another reason for the French Revolution to occur, linked with the conditions of Third Estate was dealing with the financial difficulties of France. Over the century, there was an unmanageable national debt, almost leading the nation into a bankruptcy. Extravagant spending by Louis XIV during his reign on the palace of Versailles and supporting the arts didn’t help much either. Furthermore, the wars France participated in during the reign of Louis XV, the grandfather of Louis XVI, such as the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence, left the country in a much bigger debt. The unjust methods of the government, which the Third Estate didn’t have any control of, also led to the nation’s financial difficulties. Seeing the nation’s economic power shaking, Louis XVI increased the tax in order to solve this problem. The nobility didn’t want to pay any tax, increasing the peasants’ hardships in dealing with tax. Poor harvests in 1787 and 1788 also caused the peasants to barely be able to feed themselves, let alone pay more taxes. This condition left many people without any job, resulting in a huge increase in unemployment and once again, caused poverty.

        Just before the French Revolution was initiated, France had sent troops and supplies to aid the American revolutionaries, fighting against the Great Britain. The ideas of the American constitution, which eventually led to the American War of Independence were published in France and discussed among the intellectuals. Many regarded America as the model of a perfect society, with ideas of liberty and equality as its political view. The French soldiers who befriended American armies and participated in the war returned to France with fresh, new ideas of politics and independence, believing that they too, deserved the same equality as the American revolutionaries. Fighting against tyranny and believing that all men were created equal and therefore have equal rights and voice – these beliefs also then sparked and motivated the Frenchmen to start a revolution for equality.

        The Enlightenment ideas also influenced the philosophical thinking of the Third Estate. Widely circulated among the people, a vast majority of the bourgeoisie criticized absolute government and the unfairness of the society. Despite the strong efforts of the French monarchy and the Catholic Church to ban the works of Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau, their influence soon spread throughout France, sparking interests of revolution everywhere. The Enlightenment beliefs also challenged the absolute rights to rule. The bourgeoisie began to become critical of the class system and started to believe that men should prosper through effort, opportunity and education, and not classed by birth.  They also introduced ideas of equal rights and finally, the abolition of the Estate system. Inspired by such writers, soon a widely known document were drafted, known to this day as the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

        Food scarcity was also another possible cause for the Revolution to happen. In the eighteenth hundreds, common people were starving in the streets of France. Bread constituted the staple of most urban diets, so sharp price increases were felt quickly and were loudly protested at grain markets or at local bakers’ shops. Different crop failures in the 1780s caused these shortages, which of course led to high prices for bread. The peasants was definitely double-stricken by both economical and agricultural problems. When told that the people were starving and had no bread to eat, the young queen of France ignorantly stated, “Let them eat cake!” This insensitive and sarcastic remark from their renowned queen angered the people and could possibly be one of the reasons why the French Revolution finally occurred.

        The French Revolution was also significant from all of other world revolutions because during the period of time, France was ruled by a weak king. When King Louis XVI came into power, it was clearly understood to both him and the rest of the French society that he was not as capable as his ancestors in handling a country. Awkward and timid, no man appeared less like a king than Louis XVI. Unfortunately, he was also an absolute monarch, a very unpopular form of government at the time, and was able to control all aspects of France. Ascending the throne at age twenty, Louis XVI was not prepared and was poorly educated. Being weak and quiet, his greatest fault was thinking that all advices given to him were good and he was always ready to follow them. However, never did he guess that listening to and following a bad advice regarding a nation’s future would later led into a revolution and cost him his life.

Marie Antoinette was another possible reason of the French Revolution. Like most noblewomen, she was raised in an isolated atmosphere. Her life at the French court was, like Louis', utterly isolated from the non-aristocratic world. It wasn’t just that she was ignorant to all the problems outside the Court – it was that she didn’t know at all what it was like out there. Marie Antoinette, like Louis XVI, was also not prepared. She loved parties, and all she knew beside that was spending extravagantly on the fine things that extraordinary French craftsmen could make, not to mention all her spending on the newest fashion. Being the reason of the storming of the Versailles by the Paris women, Marie Antoinette was also one of the biggest influences on her husband, Louis XVI, in matters such as handling the country.

From all these evidences, some possible conclusions could be made. In other countries, society was being divided as well, but by thin, almost invisible lines. Yet, it was clearly known that there was quite a distance between the rich and the poor. India, a country in South Asia, also used the same system as the French, and the only difference was that it was called as the caste system. In Great Britain and the Netherlands, royal absolutism was also practiced, yet it was only in France that a revolution occurred. As for debts and bankruptcy, before the Empress Maria Theresa came into power, Austria suffered from virtual bankruptcy, yet there was no revolution. Nevertheless, the government didn’t set the taxes on the common people, ordering them to pay for the nation’s debts. This is one point that could be considered as one of the significant causes of the French Revolution. Enlightenment ideals, which reached its peak during the eighteenth hundreds, were circulated throughout Europe, yet it was in France that a revolution occurred. This, however, might be once again motivated by the visible divisions of the society. Bread, being the staple food of France, was in a high price during this period of time. After a poor harvest, which was none of the peasants’ fault, they were expected to purchase bread at a high price and were unable to feed themselves. Also, the ignorant comment of the Queen Marie Antoinette regarding their lack of food, might add to their rage of the increase in price of bread. In this case, which one is the bigger cause, the price of the bread or the Queen’s insensitive remark, could be debated. King Louis XVI, being the weak king that he was, was probably one of the major causes as well. King Louis XIV and King Louis XV were also absolute monarchs and they used the country’s money for extravagances, yet there was no revolution during both of their reigns. Seeing the opportunity, as they were ruled by a weak king, this might be what had caused the idea of revolution to first spark in the minds of the common people.

        The situation during the French Revolution was unique in many ways. It was a time of which the old ways and new ideas intertwined, a time of splendid and rich arts, a time of gaining power and territory, and certainly a time of change. Equality, liberty, independence and freedom of speech all were the results of the French Revolution. This marked time in history certainly has a valuable teachings to all people: that all people could express what they wanted in their society and actually have it if they tried. There is no exact cause of where the idea of the French Revolution came from, because it is impossible to go back in time. In conclusion, the opinions stated throughout this essay are as seen from a perspective of what really happened and what might have caused it during that period of time, and is certainly not the exact truth of what had happened.