The French Revolution
Four main causes of French Revolution
-Debt
-Taxation issues
-Failure of Reform
-Famine
Debt
-the debt of the French gov’t was around 8-12 billion livre
-Louis XVI spent a lot of money on very luxurious things, instead of being financially responsible
-also they still had war debts from the Seven Years War with England (1756-1763)
-much of their debt was because of lack of exploration
-England was using its colonies as a source of income
-France had not bought into mercantilism either
Taxation issues
-France was heavily involved in trading
-however, they couldn’t have high tariffs, so they had to heavily tax the people
-people hated this
Failure of Reform
-some French economists stated the nobles should be included in taxation
-this plan backfired, as peasants had to pay even more than before
-France continued with this plan even though their debt increased
Famine
-crop failure of 1780s
-supply and demand occurred with bread
-got to the point where peasants thought the crown had wished for them to die
Marie Antoinette
-born in Vienna, Austria
-married Louis XVI
-became the Queen of France
-had two sons and two daughters
-very popular with the people at the beginning, unpopular at the end
-executed by the guillotine
Napoleon
-military leader in later stages of Revolution
-became the Emperor of France in 1804
-known for:
-Napoleonic Code, height, battle tactics, Waterloo
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