French Revolution: Causes and Key Events
The French Revolution
Causes of the Revolution
In 18th-century France, significant social sectors desired change. The bourgeoisie, though economically prosperous, faced obstacles to progress due to regulations on free trade and production. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, they sought political reform, advocating for an end to state intervention, aristocratic privilege, and absolute monarchy. A powerful aristocracy clung to old feudal models, concerned with privileges that harmed those with fixed incomes. A severe economic crisis further complicated the situation. The living conditions of peasants worsened due to increased feudal burdens. Simultaneously, an industrial crisis in 1786, partly caused by the French market opening to English competition, led to the closure of many workshops and factories, accentuating unemployment among workers. Royal finances suffered from a chronic deficit, primarily because the aristocracy paid no taxes, while the Third Estate bore the full tax burden.
The Call of the Estates General
Calonne, minister to Louis XVI, proposed taxing the nobility as the sole measure to alleviate the financial crisis. The nobility vehemently opposed this, demanding that only the Estates General could approve new tax burdens. This noble revolt triggered a major political crisis, obliging the monarch to summon the Estates General for May of the following year. The Cahiers de Doléances (Notebooks of Complaints) gathered petitions to the king. All documents revealed discontent with the monarchy, but the aspirations of the Third Estate included the abolition of feudal rights and privileges.
The Uprising of July 1789
The Estates General convened in Versailles on May 5, 1789. Meetings and deliberations traditionally occurred separately by estate, with each having a single vote. The nobility and clergy intended to impose their will, but the representatives of the Third Estate called for a joint meeting with a vote per person. The representatives of the Third Estate, meeting on June 20 in the Tennis Court (Jeu de Paume), declared themselves the National Assembly and vowed not to disband until the nation was endowed with a constitution guaranteeing its rights. The monarch conceded, and the Estates General officially became the National Constituent Assembly on July 9. Calls for mobilization culminated on July 14 with the assault on the Bastille prison, a symbol of absolutism. News of the events in Paris spread throughout the French countryside, igniting a widespread anti-seigneurial revolt with very violent episodes across France.