Brief Explanation of the Immediate cause of the French revolution

 The financial crisis that occurred during the French Revolution was caused by several
reasons, including: First and foremost, the cost of living had increased significantly while
wages had remained the same. This meant that people had less disposable money and were
unable to manage unexpected expenses.

 Most of the taxes were placed on the poor, while the rich paid very little in tax. This led to
anger among those who were struggling to make ends meet because they had to pay more
than the rich.

 The wealthy aristocracy-maintained control of the government through the voting system,
while the poor had little influence over how it was run. This caused irritation and
dissatisfaction among those who felt they weren’t being fairly represented.

 Government spending was another cause of the financial crisis. The government was
spending more than it earned in taxes, resulting in debt accumulation. As a result of this, the
interest payments increased, putting even more pressure on the government’s finances.

 Finally, a series of bad harvests. This meant less food was available, and food prices rose
sharply. This puts even more pressure on people’s finances and causes widespread hunger
and malnutrition.

 Finally, the involvement in the war of independence in America put a strain on the country’s
resources, both financial and human. This meant that there was less money to go around,
and people were being taxed heavily to pay for it.

 This created economic problems for France and made it difficult for the government to pay
its debts. It had reached approximately two billion livres (French currency).

 All of these factors combined to create a perfect storm that led to the breakout of the
French Revolution. The financial crisis was the immediate trigger, but the underlying causes
were a combination of long-term factors that had been building up for years.

 In this way, financial embarrassment took to a perfect storm that resulted in the financial
ruin of many common people in France.
 Meetings of the Estates-General: A meeting, after 1614, was summoned for the first time by
King Louis XVI on May 5, 1789. Director-General of Finance, Jacques Necker, and Author of
‘What if the Third Estate?’, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes were the key people involved.

 King Louis XVI declared the meeting of the Estates-General for the sole purpose of increasing
taxes to handle the debt that had been acquired during the American Revolution.

 The voting system of this meeting was decided as One-Vote from each Estates, which made
the Third Estate unhappy. It resulted in a declaration of the National Assembly by the
Commoners (June 13, 1789).

 The Tennis Court Oath:

 After the Declaration of the National Assembly by the Third Estates, the deputies of this
Assembly came together in an indoor tennis court, Jeu de Paume on June 20, 1789.

 It was an Oath taken against the decision made by King Louis XVI during the Meeting of Third
Estates-General and was not disbanded until the adoption of a new constitution of the
kingdom.

 The Tennis Court Oath can be taken as one of the iconic scenes during the Revolutionary era.
It resulted in new events which included – the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen and Fall of the Bastille

 Fall of the Bastille

The storming of the Bastille was done by the Third Estate’s revolutionaries with a demand of
wanting more votes to their side and gunpowder of that fortress for a future attack.
Thousands of men attacked the Bastille and demanded the surrender of the leader of
Bastille, Governor de Launay. When Governor de refused to do so, they invaded the
courtyard and started storming the Bastille.
Military leader, Governor de Launay, was beheaded and the prisoners were let free. About
100 revolutionaries lost their lives, and all the participants were given the title ‘Winners of
the Bastille.
 Women’s march on Versailles

The march on Versailles by the women was a result of the shortage of bread and high prices
due to the weak French economy.
The women’s march on Versailles took place on October 5, 1789, where one woman took
the lead by beating a drum, and many other women followed her in the market of Paris
carrying kitchen knives and simple weapons.
The march started with a demand for enough bread and a reasonable price and ended with
an order for arms. The number of women had reached up to 60,000 by the end of that
march.
The women’s march then went to the Palace of Versailles demanding the response of King
Louis XVI. Few of the marchers invaded the courtyard and beheaded few guards.
The march was a success as it was able to force the king to come back to Paris and support
the Declaration. The participants of this march were given the title ‘Mothers of the Nation.’

 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Rights of Man and the Citizen was declared and passed by France’s National Constituent
Assembly on August 26, 1789, defining individual and collective rights during the
Revolutionary period.
The major drafts of this declaration were made by General Lafayette working along with
Thomas Jefferson.
Primary rights of this declaration were: rights of liberty, security, property, and fraternity.
These rights were enjoyed by the men who were above 25 years old, paid taxes, and were
not allowed to be called servants. They were all known as active citizens.

Differences between active and passive citizens (women ) started creating problems and
resulted in the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in September
1791.

 Royal Flight to Varennes

Royal Flight to Varennes is the attempt made by the royal family on June 20, 1791, to flee
after their imprisonment.
King’s brother had advised the king to flee from the prison and go to Austria. He could come
back later with an army of soldiers and sharp weapons.
King and his family disguised themselves and attempted to flee Paris, but unfortunately, they
were recognized by the locals at Varennes.
Due to this event, King Louis XVI was called a traitor, as he, along with this family, tried to act
against the law and take foreign assistance. He was then suspended from the National
Assembly.
 Execution of King Louis XVI

King Louis XVI took over the throne in 1774, since then the French Economy was facing
economic problems.
France was mismanaged and led to various crises during King Louis XVI reign. Citizens of
France were not happy and resulted in the loss of respect towards their king.
After the Fall of the Bastille, King Louis XVI and his family were imprisoned. They tried to
escape the prison but were caught by the locals and returned to Paris ( 1791).
National Convention declared King Louis XVI guilty for crimes against his citizens and
scheduled his execution for January 21, 1793.
King Louis XVI was guillotined on the morning of January 21, 1792. With this, the 1000 years
old French Monarchy was over.

 Dissolution of the National Assembly

Dissolution of the National Assembly was done on September 30, 1791. It dissolved on its
own and passed the governance to the newly formed Legislative Assembly.
The National Assembly was formed by the Third Estate and implemented its revolutionary
events for two hears (1789-1791) and passed on to the Constitution of 1971 with full power
given to the Legislative Assembly.
After the dissolution of the National Assembly, none of the members of the National
Assembly was elected or had the right to take a seat in the new assembly.

 The Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror, a dark-violent period of the French Revolution, started from September
5, 1793, and lasted till July 28, 1794.

With the fall of the Bastille, the government of France was facing various crises. France was
under the attack of foreign countries, and there was a rise of civil war from different parts of
the country.
The Committee of Public Safety which was led by Maximilien de Robespierre was taking
control of France during the period of terror.
This committee consisted of 12 members whose motive was to protect the country against
foreign attacks.
During this period, about 17,000 people were executed, 500,000 were arrested, and 10,000
died in prison.
By the end of this period, Robespierre was found to be creating conspiracies against France.
He was then executed on July 28, 1794.
The Reign of Terror ended on the same date with the execution of Maximilien de
Robespierre.
  Wars
Wars Come with Price French Revolution
During the first few years of the French Revolution, it was being observed by other European
powers from afar.
France was out of the observation by the leading countries: Russia, Austria, and Prussia as
their focus was towards the partition of Poland.
With the execution of King Louis XVI, a new group- the emigres of Austria, were in an urge to
act against France, as the Queen was the sister of Austrian Emperor Leopold II.
Revolutionary France was looked at as a threat or fear by the European Monarchies.
With the hope of gaining power over other powerful countries, France initiated by declaring
war against Austria on April 20, 1792, and against Prussia in the same year.
The French Revolutionary Wars began on April 20, 1972, and it ended on March 25, 1821.
The initial period of the war was difficult for France as it faced various failures and crises, but
with Napoleon Bonaparte as their leader, France was able to get victory over most
territories (the Italian Peninsula to North America).

n ancient fortress, which was built during the Hundred Years’ War in
the 13th Century to protect Paris, was stormed on July 14, 1789.