The French Revolution

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION France has a great history filled with blood, tears, poverty, Kings, and its most famous, the French Revolution (1789-1791). The French Revolution was caused by France's financial crisis, which was growing daily since the 1780's. The great extravagances of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and finally of Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, nearly emptied the treasury, despite Louis's efforts at reform (Corzine, p. 21). The economic state of France was very poor. 98 …

…and Necker - eased the financial crisis for a time by controlling government spending and reducing expenses at Versailles. The Catholic Church and nobles, who formed the 1st and 2nd Estates, were given special privileges by the King. They only made up about 3-6% of the French population from 1774-1793. The Third Estate were subdivided into "The Bourgeoisie", "The Peasants" and the "The Urban Poor of Paris", one having even less privilege then the other.