Causes of the French Revolution

Causes of the French Revolution

Question VI-1-8: Describe the main effects of the French Revolution.
Or
"The Revolution of 1789 was the outcome of realities, but it cannot be denied that without the help of enlightenment, it could not have arisen." Discuss.
Or
"The Revolution of 1789 was the outcome of Realities, it can not be denied that without the help of enlightenment it could have not risen." Discuss.
Or
Discuss the main causes responsible for the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1789.
Or
What were the main causes of the French Revolution of 1789?

---

Attention Readers:

The present question and related questions are now available in Free Google Book at the following links:
1. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=0YzZDwAAQBAJ
2. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=gBTbDwAAQBAJ

---

Answer: - In May 1789, Louis XVI had called a session of Estate General to get approval for the reforms to restore the financial order and check the anger which was rising due to hunger. Within three months, a new setup replaced the earlier one and in the next three years, a totally new setup replaced the monarchical form of governance. Louis XVI was removed. The hunger, new ideas and Estate General were the causes which were seen on the surface of the upheaval. The main reasons lay deep below in the history of France and numerous circumstances, which are discussed as per the followings.

Political Causes
1. Shortcomings of Old Regime: - The contemporary regime had lost it relevance.

It had the following shortcomings: -

Arbitrariness of the Kings: - The rulers of France of Bourbon family from Louis XIV to Louis XVI were despots. The main machinery of their operation was ‘Letter de Cachet’. There was no freedom of life and provision for legal remedy.
Weakness of the Local Administration and Total Confusion: - The local administration was full of defects. Originally, France was divided into 40 divisions headed by governors. Since the days of Henry IV, the whole of France was divided among the Intendants who were 36 in numbers. There was 12 judicial court of high court level covering the main forty divisions. The jurisdictions of all such administrative division overlapped. In short, there was total confusion in the government.
Incompetence and Corruption in Administration: - The corruption was prevalent in the whole of the administration. The important posts were sold to the highest bidder. There were no representative bodies to check the functioning of such posts. If there were some representative bodies, they have become redundant. The municipalities and the corporations differed in their way of working for different cities.
Centralization of Powers: - The powers were totally concentrated in the hands of the king. The forty posts of governors were mainly sold. The main administration was in the hands of Intendants who were only answerable to the king. Their powers were practically unrestricted. All the other representative bodies had become either redundant or non-existent.
Defective Organisation of Judiciary: - The judicial administration was also confusing and complex. There were seventeen courts of law in France. There was no universal law. There was no book for the judges for their guidance. The different laws were in force in different areas. There was an overlapping of the jurisdictions of the courts.
Restlessness in the Army: - The dissatisfaction among the soldiers had played an important role in the rise of the revolution. They were sulking under the strict discipline of incompetent higher military officers. They were not given good food and adequate salary. They were highly dissatisfied with the rules of promotion. The people also knew about the prevailing dissatisfaction of the soldiers. They were confident they would side with the people if they rose in revolt against the royal administration.
The weak personality of Louis XVI: - Louis XVI became the ruler of France in 1774. He was fearful and not confident of himself at the time of sitting on the throne. He was incapable of facing the prevailing problems and not a farsighted man. He evaded his responsibilities by engaging himself in his hobby of making locks and shootings deer from the window of his palace. He was easily influenced by others but not bold enough to take the decision. The people got frustrated and revolted against him.
The Evil Influence of Queen Mari Antoinette: - Queen Mari Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI and daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria. However, the French people did not like her and always referred to her as ‘Austrian Lady’ in contempt. Mari Antoinette was extravagant and further defamed herself in France by her behaviour. She had complete control over Louis XVI. She interfered in the administration of France.
Extravagance of French Kings: - The despotic kings of France were extravagant also. They lived a life of untold luxury. The king was lost in the splendour of Versailles leaving the administration of empire in the hands of sycophants. The overspending had increased during the reign of Louis XV and XVI. This had pushed France into debt.
Lack of Representative Bodies: - There was no representative legislative body. Earlier, Estate General was such a representative body in France but it was never convened after 1614. The French people cherished the working of the British Parliament. They wanted a similar representative body in their country also. They wanted to dismantle the existing setup and this is what the revolution was all about.

II. Social Causes
The French society was mainly divided into three sections – Nobles, Clergy and the Commoners. The nobles and the clergy enjoyed special rights given to them by the state. Both the sections formed hardly one per cent of the whole French population. On the other hand, the commoners were maximum in numbers but they were neither having any status nor any right. They bore all the burden of taxes. The dissatisfaction was rising due to such a disparity.

III. Economic Causes
The economic condition of France had completely deteriorated by the middle of the eighteenth century.
Misuse of the State Money: - The kings of France were pleasure-seekers and extravagant in their habits. It was estimated in 1789, that the maintenance cost of the palace was twenty crore dollars. Indeed, it was a tomb of the nation. Louis XVI continued with the extravagant expenditure of the court like his predecessors. His wife rather helped in increasing the expenditure further. On the eve of the French Revolution, France was completely bankrupt.
Unfair distribution of Taxes: - The commoners bore the burden of all the taxes. A big section of the commoners was poor but they were made to pay all the taxes. On the other hand, the nobles and clergy were rich and could pay taxes but no tax was imposed on them. The commoners were made to part with 80% of their income. It was difficult to survive with the remaining income. They were tired of their economic oppression.
Faulty System of Tax Collection: - The system to collect taxes was also faulty and oppressive. The tax collection rights were sold in open bidding. Such a bidder, who bought the right of collection of taxes, was called Farmers and the system was called the Farming of the taxes. The Farmers collected more taxes than the permitted amount but deposited a lesser amount in the exchequer. They were one of the main causes of the poverty of the people.
The Unserviceable National Debt: - France was counted among the richest country of her contemporary times. However, the actual reality was totally different. France had a good income but it was under huge debt. There was no financial planning on the account of income and expenditure. Necker, the finance minister, estimated that in 1788, that France was liable to pay sixty crore dollars. On the other hand, France was not in a position to pay even interest on her loan because of the empty treasury.
Decline in Trade: - Trade of France was declining steadily. The government paid no attention to the growth of the trade. The traders paid numerous toll taxes at various places. Hence, the trading community was not happy.
Financial Assistance to America: - America was in possession of Britain. The Americans revolted against British rule. France gave military and monetary help to the Americans fighting for their independence because she wanted to take revenge with Britain. However, it proved a costly option for France.

VI. Contribution of PhilosophersFrance gave birth to numerous scholars, thinkers and philosophers during this century. They wrote political literature in which they had criticised the shortcomings of the state extensively They tried to spread an opinion that there was a need for the fundamental changes in the political and social structure of Europe. An educated and emerging middle class of France was especially attracted and influenced by their views and thus revolutionary thoughts started emerging. Therefore, some historians call the philosophers of France the ‘Prophets of Revolution’. Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Dante were on the top among the leading philosopher who ushered in the French Revolution.

IV. Effects of American War and Event of Ireland.
Effects of American War of Independence: - The French soldiers had participated in the American War of Independence along with the American Revolutionaries who were fighting on the question of equality and liberty. It had left a great influence on the French soldiers. It is said that French thoughts and American example caused the revolution.
Effects of the Events of Ireland: - Ireland had also revolted against the oppressive policies of Britain and managed to gain relief between 1779 and 1782. The events of Ireland also encouraged them to revolt.

V. The Famine of 1788The famine took place in various part of France and people started to starve. They migrated to Paris to escape starvation. In Paris, the rumour spread that the entire foodstuff had been bought and stored by the royal family. It infuriated the people of Paris. The Paris people gathered in a big mob and brought back the king and the queen from Versailles to Paris. After the fall of Bastille on July 14, 1789, it was the second most spectacular event wherein the public had participated in open in October 1789.

VI. Immediate Cause
The convening of the session of Estates General became the immediate cause of the French Revolution. It was convened to reform the economic condition of the country. France had become bankrupt due to the overspending and heavy borrowing by the royalty. Compelled by the circumstances, Louis XIV called the session of Estate General on May 1, 1789. All the three sections of the French society were represented in the Estate General assembly. However, the numbers of the members of the third Estate, that was the Commoners, was equal to the numbers of the members of the two other sections of the assembly taken together. The Third Estate placed demand after demand before the assembly and the king. The king was ultimately made to accept their demands, which were acceptable to neither the clergy, nobility nor the royalty.

In this manner, the session turned into the immediate cause of the eruption of the revolutionary events. It was marked with the fall of Bastille on July 14, 1789, and the Bread March of the Paris people (Parisians) to Versailles in October 1789, from where the king, the queen, and his son were brought back to Paris. There in Paris, he was made to sign the resolutions passed by the Estate General which had been, by then, dominated by the members of the third estate or their well-wishers. It reached its climax when the National Convention was organised to write the constitution and ultimately, the execution of the King before the court established by the new constitution and establishment of the Republic of France. The king was beheaded in 1792 and Republic of France was established.

Word Count: 1859

Important Note:
यह एक अति महत्तवपूर्ण प्रश्‍न है ।
इस के आने की सम्‍भावना बनी रहती है ।
परन्‍तु यह एक लम्‍बे उत्तर वाला प्रश्‍न है ।
इसे लिख कर तैयार करो ।

Edited again on September 19,2005.

CATALOGUE OF BOOKS BY SUMIR SHARMA on Amazon

CATALOGUE OF BOOKS BY SUMIR SHARMA ON GOOGLE BOOKS