Causes of the French Revolution Essay - 2205 Words

Causes of the French Revolution The French Revolution was essentially a class war between the emerging Bourgeoisie against the Privileged class, this meant they saw the Privileged class as the only hurdle between themselves and equality within French society. Many of the ideas they pursued stemmed from the enlightenment and they believed that in order to gain their full economic, social and political potential and gain equality, the Bourgeoisie had to eradicate the privileges that were halting their rise in society. To do this they had to seize power for themselves and gaining power within the government and making badly needed changes, such as, improving the tax system, creating a fair system of production where profits went†¦show more content†¦Taxes and prices were another battlefield for the Bourgeoisie and the Aristocracy to fight on. The tax base in France fell on the middle class who were the producers. Some of the taxes in France were: the Taille which taxed commoners, nobility exempted, the Capita tion which was a poll tax on where you lived and what services you used, nobility exempted, the Vingtieme was a five per cent tax on all income, again the nobility didnà ­t have to pay. There were also taxes on salt and a tax whenever a person passed over a provincial border, these taxes meant that a large cut of their profits from their work went to the government. This was made worse when the government found itself in major debt. Because the government supported the Aristocracy, who didnà ­t pay taxes, the middle class was taxed even more. This created resentment for the Aristocracy because they were the ones who were getting all the money through their privileges yet it was the lower, poorer, classes who were getting taxed. This spurred an even bigger will for equality. To solve this problem their had to be an equal society where taxes were paid according to wealth or land and most importantly by everybody. To achieve this the Bourgeoisie had to be able to voice their views an d opinions, thus they had to be able to hold office in government. But the privileges of the nobility stopped them from doing this. Therefor it is shown that the Bourgeoisie were fightingShow MoreRelatedCauses Of The French Revolution1119 Words   |  5 PagesThe French Revolution The French Revolution of 1789 was one of the biggest upheavals in history. You may be wondering what exactly led this to happen, but there were multiple long range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions ultimately led to the discontent of many French people especially those of the third estate. The ideals of the Enlightenment brought new views to government and society. Before the revolution, the majority of France were living in poverty. 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