French Revolution: The Beginnings
- Four main causes
- debt
- taxation issues
- failure of reform
- famine
- Debt
- debt of French government was around 8 to 12 billion livre
- King Louis XVI spent a lot of money on very luxurious things
- still had war debt form the Seven Year's War (1756-1763)
- much of their debt was complied because they weren't exploring like England
- England was able to use the colonies as a steady source of income
- France had not completely bought into Mercantilism
- Taxation
- France, at this time, was heavily involved in trading (good)
- however, to be a great trading country, you cannot have high tariffs, so you need to tax heavily on your people
- the masses of people of France were not too thrilled with the idea. Also, nobles did not pay any taxes
- Failure of Reform
- some French "economists" stated that the nobles should be included in taxation
- this plan backfired, and the peasants had to pay even more than before
- France continued to stick with their economic plan even though they continued deeper and deeper in debt
- Famine
- crop failure in the 1780's didn't help much
- supply and demand occurs here with bread-the price continued to rise and many people were starving
- got to the point where peasants thought the crown had wished for them to die (conspiracy?)
- Guillotine
- the condemned person is secured at the bottom of the frame, with his or her neck help directly below the blade
- however, it continued to used long after French Revolution and was France's standard method of execution until 1981
- Marie Antoinette
- born in Vienna, Austria
- Married Louis XVI
- Became the Queen of France
- had 2 sons and 2 daughters
- very popular with people at beginning of her reign
- very unpopular at the end of her reign
- executed by the Guillotine
- Napoleon
- military leader during the late stages of the Revolution
- Became the Emperor of the French in 1804
- Known for
- Napoleonic Code
- Height
- Battle Tactics
- Waterloo
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