The Ills of French Society Did Not Begin in 1789
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- Category: History: European
- Date Submitted: 02/25/2010 10:45 AM
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The ills of French society did not begin in 1789, but two circumstances made that year a turning-point in history.
Discuss this statement with reference to long-term, mid-term and short-term causes of the French Revolution.
A revolution, from the Latin word “revolutio” which means "a turn around", is an enormous change in the structure of the power that takes place in a relatively short period of time. Aristotle described two types of political revolution: there is first the complete change from one constitution to another and there is the modification of an existing constitution.
Revolutions have occurred through history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.
One of the biggest revolutions was the French Revolution, which did not really start in 1789. The problems started years before and the population had already start to change the government of the absolute monarch Louis the XVIth, but two major circumstances made the year 1789 a turning point for France and history. They were the reform of the social system and the creation of the National Assembly.
France was going badly, the social system was injustice personified. France was divided in three estates: the First Estates, the clergy; the Second Estate, the nobility; the Third Estate, the rest of the population. The French social system was traced on the feudal system from the Middle-Ages. The first and the second estates had both lots of privileges and practically no law which concerns them, while the third estate had practically no privileges and paid an exorbitant number of taxes to the church and to the King, they had practically no rights.
People were unhappy in France, and besides the unequal tax system, there was the enlightenment who has also affected the Third Estate. The Enlightenmentis a period of time in the eighteenth century, when some educated people began...
Discuss this statement with reference to long-term, mid-term and short-term causes of the French Revolution.
A revolution, from the Latin word “revolutio” which means "a turn around", is an enormous change in the structure of the power that takes place in a relatively short period of time. Aristotle described two types of political revolution: there is first the complete change from one constitution to another and there is the modification of an existing constitution.
Revolutions have occurred through history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.
One of the biggest revolutions was the French Revolution, which did not really start in 1789. The problems started years before and the population had already start to change the government of the absolute monarch Louis the XVIth, but two major circumstances made the year 1789 a turning point for France and history. They were the reform of the social system and the creation of the National Assembly.
France was going badly, the social system was injustice personified. France was divided in three estates: the First Estates, the clergy; the Second Estate, the nobility; the Third Estate, the rest of the population. The French social system was traced on the feudal system from the Middle-Ages. The first and the second estates had both lots of privileges and practically no law which concerns them, while the third estate had practically no privileges and paid an exorbitant number of taxes to the church and to the King, they had practically no rights.
People were unhappy in France, and besides the unequal tax system, there was the enlightenment who has also affected the Third Estate. The Enlightenmentis a period of time in the eighteenth century, when some educated people began...