The French Revolution Essay

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The French Revolution was a period of time from 1789 to
1799 in France where there was political instability. It
officially began on the 14th of July, 1789, when the
Bastille, which was a symbol of the King’s harsh policies,
was stormed. The King, Louis XVI, the Queen, Marie-
Antoinette and about 40,000 people were all brutally
murdered. But there was also a positive side, the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally
adopted on August 1789 and feudalism was abolished.
This essay will address the issues of the three estates
system, food shortages and the fiscal crisis. It will also be
argued that the most significant cause of the French
Revolution was the social inequality that stemmed from
the three estates system. …show more content…

The French Revolution was a period of time from 1789 to

1799 in France where there was political instability. It
officially began on the 14th of July, 1789, when the
Bastille, which was a symbol of the King’s harsh policies,
was stormed. The King, Louis XVI, the Queen, Marie-
Antoinette and about 40,000 people were all brutally
murdered. But there was also a positive side, the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally
adopted on August 1789 and feudalism was abolished.
This essay will address the issues of the three estates
system, food shortages and the fiscal crisis. It will also be
argued that the most significant cause of the French
Revolution was the social inequality that stemmed from
the three estates system.

Firstly, the three estates system's labelling of social

inequality was the most significant cause of the French
Revolution. Pre-revolutionary France was split up into
three different “estates”. The first estate, consisted of the
clergy and made up of 2% of the population. Most of the
first estate were rich, such as the bishops and abbots who
owned most of the country’s land; however, the parish
priests lived just like peasants (Hetherton). The second
estate consisted of the nobles and occupied 1% of the
population.