One major reason for the French Revolution is the incapability of the French ruler in management of finance. In the 18th century, the French government spent more than it had collected in taxes as the ruler could not manage the country’s funds well. Most of the money was spent on two wars with Britain, mainly the Seven Years War and the American Revolution instead of helping to improve the living conditions of the commoners although there were food shortages. Moreover, a large sum of money was also spent on palaces, entertainment and gifts by the kings of France. The large amount of money spent hence put forth a high taxation system in which the nobles, clergy and the Church did not need to pay any tax and it was the commoners who suffered from the heavy taxation. Although the ruler, Louis XVI tried to reform the taxation system, he failed as the nobility and the clergy refused to accept the new reforms. He did not try to introduce new reforms after that and thus, had to borrow the differences in expenditure and revenue, leading to a constant loan cycle. The national debts accumulated and France went bankrupt. This incited anger in the commoners as they thought their ruler could not manage the country’s finance well and did not care about their welfare. They would rather spend money on wars than use the money to help them solve their problem of food shortages and improve their lives. As a result, they wanted to rebel as they did not want such an incapable leader who cold not even manage the country’s finance well. Therefore, the French Revolution was caused by the incapability of the French ruler in the management of finance.
