Why was the French economy so poor in 1789?
Literally speaking, revolution is turning the other cheek or doing a complete 180 degree turn. It is used to refer to eras or events that have a significant impact on politics, economics, or society. When a group of people rebels against the current administration and attempts to overthrow it, that is considered a political revolution. Like the French Revolution, it is often connected with bloodshed and can escalate to civil war. Political revolutions that do not involve bloodshed, on the other hand, are possible. This occurs when a country’s economy undergoes a major shift due to the introduction of new production technologies that significantly speed up manufacturing and increase production.
Like the English Revolution, which resulted in the creation of a constitutional monarchy that still exists today, certain revolutions can bring about dramatic change. Others, like the European Industrial Revolution, require a long time to affect the current order, like the time it took for it to expand from England to Europe. As with the changes they bring, some revolutions last longer than others. That country’s revolution lasted 10 years until part of France’s original autocracy was reinstated after that. In order to put France on the path to democracy, it took yet another revolution. The consequences of previous revolutions have proven permanent. When industrialization began in Britain and Europe, there was no going back to pre-Industrial Revolution ways of doing things.
Revolutions are generally defined as events that initiate major changes in political, social, and/or economic systems.
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, had the greatest impact on the political history of Europe and the modern world. Others see it as an example of what a revolutionary movement should look like. There are multiple factors that contribute to political revolutions, according to this paradigm. A revolutionary scenario can be caused by a variety of reasons that change over time. Political revolutions often begin and conclude with a single event, although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact dates of their beginnings and endings.
Typically, a revolution is led by a well-educated elite group that wants to establish a Constitution and implement liberal reforms in the country. Radicals, on the other hand, often take over the process. In the eyes of radicals, nothing short of a revolution is acceptable. It’s not uncommon for violence and anarchy to break out. Revolutions sometimes entail dictatorship and fear, which suspends human rights.
France (and most European countries) were ruled in a totally different fashion from democracy during the eighteenth century. The term “Old Order” or “Ancien Regime” refers to France prior to the French Revolution. It was a strict system, and only a select group of people were given preferential treatment. This resulted in a bleak economic scenario that sparked a rebellion. As a result of the poor harvest, there were widespread protests in France from peasants, the middle class, and the impoverished. There were a lot of unemployed individuals moving to areas like Paris, but the strain was already starting to mount. Incompetent and feeble, Louis XVI was blind to the gravity of the situation.
Three estates were established in French society. There was a distinct role for each estate in society. A person’s social status was extremely important. Two estates had advantages over their members because they had special privileges. The process of moving from one estate to another was challenging.
People who were not nobility, clergy, or monarchs made up the third estate. Regardless of their degree or money, these persons were considered third-class citizens. 97% of French people belonged to this social strata, which included the bourgeoisie, peasant farmers, and other wage earners.
85% of France’s population was made up of peasants (farmers). They paid the highest taxes in the country, along with the 8 percent of the population who worked in the town. The vast majority of the peasants were utterly destitute, with a few exceptions. They had a harsh life, having to fight whenever France went to war, paying taxes that sometimes amounted to three-quarters of their income, and being obliged to work on roads and for local landowners.
The bourgeoisie, which included bankers, attorneys, merchants, and doctors, comprised 4% of the population. In spite of the fact that many were well educated and some were quite affluent, they were almost never given top posts and had no hope of becoming leaders of the nation. Taxes were also a factor.
Marie Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun painted this portrait of Marie-Antoinette. For more information, visit www.artprints-on-demand.com.
French King Louis XVI assumed power in 1774. Marie-Antoinette, an Australian royal, proposed to him when he was just 15 years old. At the royal palace at Versailles, they enjoyed opulence and splendor (which had been built at a great cost by Louis XVI). Nobles who wanted to impress King Louis XIII and land high-paying government positions also resided in the palace of Versailles. They passed their time by going on hunts, gambling, fishing, and consuming copious amounts of alcohol.
When it comes to the King’s actions, he had complete control and was not held accountable by the people. The king’s character is critical in an absolute monarchy. A decade into his rule, Louis and his wife were despised by the public.
In addition to the Kings’ lack of moral character and Marie Antoinette’s extravagant lifestyle, the royal administration was widely despised. In the eyes of many, the King was too powerful. Letters of cachet, which were royal warrants authorizing detention without trial, are particularly resented by them. More than 14,000 letters of cachet were sent out during the reign of Louis XVI to those who were critical of the government.
Only a small percentage of the population in France had any doubts about the way their country was being handled. They had never known anything else. A select group of well-educated individuals began to raise concerns about the state of affairs in the eighteenth century. A collection of writers and thinkers known as the Philosophes shared a manner of thinking known as Reason, and they are referred to as such. To avoid accepting things without questioning or testing them, they refused to do so. They started writing long before Louis XVI came to power, and their publications influenced public opinion even after their deaths, so that educated people began to agree that they wanted reforms (change for the better).
Louis XVI assumed control of a country that was in dire financial straits. Many historians argue that the French Revolution was sparked by a confluence of social and political unrest, popular alternative ideologies, and economic hardships. The Ancien Regime has lasted for centuries. France’s financial collapse triggered the revolution.
- Since its engagement in the American Revolutionary War in 1776, France has been insolvent. The government was unable to repay the debt it had taken on.
- In spite of France’s economic woes, the people of France were furious that the King and Queen, as well as the nobles, were spending lavishly.
- As a result of rural poverty being so widespread, many individuals were forced to seek jobs in urban regions. An increasing number of people were out of work.
- Peasants were taxed more harshly by the nobles, who controlled the land, in order to preserve their standard of living.
- As a result, in 1789, the country’s economic woes worsened, and people were anxious for a solution.
Why was France so deep in debt?
Due to their support for the American Revolution, France was in debt by 1789. France, thank you for your service in World War I and World War II. In addition, King Louis XVI was paying down the nation’s debt with more than half of his annual budget. Under a number of different finance ministers, Louis tried to make changes to the system.
What happened in the summer of 1788 and spring of 1789 to make the financial situation worse?
How did the economic situation deteriorate throughout the course of the summer and spring of 1788? The uprising caused a political crisis. Desperate because of the economic downturn, the king convened a conference of the Estate General, an alliance of the estates seeking a say in governance.
Why did the French Revolution broke out in 1789?
It began in 1789 and ended in 1794, when Napoleon Bonaparte came to power. When King Louis XVI convened a gathering of the Estates General, he was unable to raise further levies. This escalated into a demonstration against the situation in France. It was on July 14th of that year that the Parisian mob stormed the Bastille fortress because they were fed up with the squalor of life and dissatisfied with their King and Government (a prison). When all was said and done, just four or five captives were discovered.
Versailles (the Royal palace) was demolished in October of 1789, and King Louis and his family relocated to Paris (the capital city). In 1791, he attempted to depart, but was intercepted and forced to accept a new administration. It was superseded by the “National Convention” from October 1791 to September 1792 after the King’s power was replaced by the “legislative assembly.” As soon as the declaration of the French Republic was made, the King was arrested and put on trial. In time, the revolution grew more violent and more radical. On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was put to death. A total of 1,400 persons believed to be potential enemies of the French Republic were killed in Paris in the six weeks thereafter.
Historians today see the French Revolution as a pivotal moment in European and North American history, as well as the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution being influenced by the same ideals. The iconic motto “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” advocated for the equitable treatment of all people and a free society. The effects of the Revolution were felt across France and the rest of Europe. The fall of the monarchy, the rise of the middle class, and the rise of nationalism were among the many new events.
Why was France in debt in the 1770s and 1780s?
An escalating financial and social crisis in the late 17th century necessitated by King Louis XVI and his Finance Ministers led to a revolt, which this area of Archives and Special Collections’ rare book collection depicts.
Financial Crisis of the 1780s
After France’s engagement in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) and the American Revolution (1776–1783), the country faced a serious financial crisis in the late 1700s (1775-1783). In addition, the royal family and the French court at Versailles were corrupt and lived extravagant lifestyles, which did little to alleviate the mounting debt. As a result, the aristocracy was unable to win over the ordinary people in the face of public discontent because of the rising egregious abuses of power by the monarchy, French nobles, and the clergy.
Jacques Necker (1732-1804)
In October 1772, King Louis XVI appointed Jacques Necker as Director-General of Finances. He rose to prominence as a result of a series of financial reforms in France. Rather than raising taxes, he relied heavily on loans to pay down the French debt and exorbitant interest rates. As a result of his efforts, France abolished the practice of serfdom. Following publication in 1781 of the first-ever public record of royal and government finances, Necker was obliged to step down from his position as comptroller-general of France (this text could also be credited as one of the causes of the French Revolution).
In his later years, he continued to write and remark on France’s financial position, and in 1784 he published his famous Traité de l’administration des finances de la France (Call No. HJ1082.N3 1784). This book provides a historical description of taxation in France, as well as anecdotes about the grain trade, regional legislatures, and more. The Traité was a bestseller at the time, despite its three-volume format, and is claimed to have sold more than 80,000 copies. Necker’s reputation grew as a result of the Traité, which helped bring him back to the post of directeur-général des finances in 1788 after he was fired in 1781. Anyone interested in how France’s finances were handled in the final days of the former administration should read this book.
Sur l’administration de M. Necker in 1791 (Call No. HJ1082.N8 1791) and De la révolution francaise in 1797 (Call No. HJ1082.N8 1797) are examples of Necker’s other works that reflect on his time in office and the events of the revolution (Call No. DC161.N36 1797).
Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802)
To disguise France’s onerous interest payments on its enormous £112 million loans, Necker “cooked the books,” according to a subsequent investigation. Charles de Calonneas was appointed Controller-General of Finances in 1783 by King Louis XVI when he saw that France was in serious financial difficulty. Calonne, who was tasked with inspecting all of the royal finances and records, discovered a crooked and fraudulent financial structure. In order to reduce the country’s debt, there was no straightforward way to raise funds The only way to raise money was through taxation, which only applied to peasants because the aristocracy was immune from taxation.
Calonne attempted to secure extra loans to keep the government solvent in order to avoid raising taxes. It was instead proposed that France’s catastrophic financial predicament could only be remedied through an all-encompassing taxation reform package devised by him. It was for this reason that Napoleon convened an Assembly of Notorious Gentlemen on February 14, 1787, to convey his financial situation to them, as well as his proposal for taxing all property without distinction—meaning that the aristocracy would lose its tax-exemption. Not surprisingly, the aristocracy rejected Calonne’s idea and turned against him, leading to his dismissal and exile in 1788.
When Jacques Necker returned to office in 1788, Calonne moved to Great Britain and maintained a heated communication with him. As French example, Calonne wrote a response to Necker’s 1781 Compte Rendu au Roi (Call No. HJ1082.N62C3 1788) in which he discusses their views on the State deficit and compares the real account records of that year to Necker’s Compte Rendu au Roi. Also included is a detailed breakdown of the French government’s financial situation.
Additionally, the collection includes Calonne’s memoir: Memoirs of the Minister of the State, Mr. de Calonne, in opposition to the 1791 decree (Call No. HJ1082.C3 1791).
Estates-General (1789)
This recommendation came from a meeting of notables conducted by King Louis XIII on February 22, 1787. the clergy (the first estate), nobility (the second), and commoners were all represented in this historic assembly of the French estates of the realm, the Estates General (Third Estate). It hadn’t been held since 1614.
In the Résultat du Conseil d’État du Roi (Call No. JN2415 1788.A45), the State Council meeting held at Versailles on December 27th, 1788, is reported. It was written by the Director-General of Finance, Jacques Necker, who was back in that role for the meeting.
It is possible that the next Estates-General will have less than 1,000 deputies.
As far as feasible, the population and each local area should be included in this number;
There are three things to keep in mind when it comes to deputies:
It is expected that these preliminaries will be used as a basis for completing the essential work of preparing the letters of convocation and any other documents that must accompany them without delay.
Royal decree, issued January 24, 1789, called the Estates-General, which consisted of a Lettre du Roi and a Règlement (Call No. DC163.7.C6 1788). These documents summoned the Estates General and gave instructions for the selection of each member of the Estates-General who attended the meeting. According to his letter to the Estates-General, King Louis XIII wanted to get right down to business in order to solve the financial crisis:
Amé and féal, our love and devotion. We need the support of our devoted subjects to help us overcome our current financial difficulties… We need your help. We tell you and signify that our goal is to begin keeping our country’s states free and generous beginning on Monday, April 27th, in our city of Versailles.. (“Lettre du Roi” in Collection sur les Etats-generaux, 1788).
Estates-General assembled on May 5, 1789, and the first item on their agenda was a verification of powers, rather than a discussion of the nation’s financial issues. It was clear that the three estates had quite diverse views on this matter and the structure of the legislative body in general. Because of this, even though Napoleon allowed the Third Estate more numerical representation, the Paris Parlement insisted that each estate have one vote, no matter how large or little, meaning that the Third Estate was not given more influence in parliament. Because the Third Estate outnumbered the First and Second Estates, the Third Estate sought to convene as a single body and each delegate had one vote, which was not something that appealed to the First and Second Estates and the talks eventually ended in a stalemate.
With this deadlock, the Third Estate decided to proceed with verification on its own, with or without the participation of members from the other two estates.” Third Estate broke away from Estates-General on June 17th, 1789, strengthened by community-wide support and declared itself the National Assembly. As a result, it also gained power over taxation by doing so. Several members of the other estates followed suit soon after. A year later, the French Revolution began as a result of this, as the Estates-General were legally abolished.
Archives & Special Collections has a number of other interesting documents on the Estates-General, including:
Commuters of the Comte de Mirabeau (Call No. DC140 .C59 1789). An significant figure in the early days of the French Revolution, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791), was a member of the aristocracy elected to represent the Third Estate at the Estates-General. The letters he wrote to the king and various politicians are collected in these books.
The Galleria of the United States and the French ladies (Call No. DC145 .G3 1789). Short biographies of significant members from the Estates-General are included in this volume, along with a section on important women.
A collection of information about the countries of origin (Call No. DC163.7.C6 1788). The Lettre du Roi and the Reglement are among the key papers in this collection that deal with the Estates-General.
What were the main causes of the French Revolution of 1789 Class 9?
Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign: He took power from Louis XVI in 1774. Withdrawal of France’s resources during wartime was a result of him. He increased taxes on the third estate to pay for his regular lavish spending.
There were three estates in France: the first (the monarch), the second (the clergy), and the third (the commoners). The clergy and nobles constituted 10% of the entire population of the First and Second Estates. All the privileges were theirs. Of the remaining 90%, a third estate was responsible for paying all forms of direct or indirect taxes. As a result of this form of prejudice, the third estate spearheaded the revolution.
Increasing costs: France’s population had grown. A rise in the demand for food grains was a result of this. Consequently, the cost of bread skyrocketed for the poor, who could not afford to purchase the product. As a result, the wealth disparity grew wider.
People like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Napoleon Bonaparte all advocated for equal rights, equal laws, and equal chances in a community. The French people were inspired by their visions.
During the eighteenth century, socioeconomic classes known as the “middle class” began to form. These people grew rich by growing the export trade of manufactured goods. Legal and administrative officers were also well-educated professionals. There was a belief that no one should be given an advantage in life because of their birth.
How much did the French government spend servicing its debt in 1789?
In 1789, how much money was spent by the French government? The government spent half of its budget on debt repayment.
What economic problems did France have 1789?
In 1789, what economic difficulties did France experience, and how did these contribute to the spread of unrest in the country? Bad harvests in France sent food prices skyrocketing, leaving many of the country’s poorest peasants and city people starving. People started rioting for bread. Nobles’ manor houses were attacked by peasants in the countryside.
What were the causes of the financial crisis that gripped France?
There were many hardships faced by peasants, including low incomes, excessive taxes, bad crops, and the lack of legal protection. What triggered France’s financial catastrophe, and why was it so devastating? Deficit spending was necessitated because of the nation’s massive debt and the high cost of the wars that were fought. The economic downturn and weak harvests were further issues.
How did France benefit from the revolution?
The Prefect in each department, selected by the government, reinforced central control over the regions by the separation of France into departments. Trade barriers between French provinces are being removed. The dissolution of guilds, which functioned as cartels and raised the cost of goods.
