Lyndon Caoyonan
10/13/14
World History 1st Period
Mr.White
Events that Shaped the French Revolution
Before the year 1789, France has been ruled under a feudal government ruled by monarchs, clergy, and nobles while the peasants of the country remain in a struggle for survival. But on August 4th, 1789, everything will change, forever. Prices of everyday items are going up, the economy slowly going into crises following the departure of the previous king of France: Louis XIV, France is slowly going toward disaster. After a young king Louis XVI has been crowned in 1774, France had been fighting for its life to stable the economy, and for the people who inhabit the country. With Frances loss of colonial possessions in North America, and the destruction of the French Navy, France had been on the path of rebellion with this massive failure of gaining land in the "newly explored" continent.
While following in the American Revolution, France decided to aid the Americans, and succeeded, at a massive price. Although many historians believe in some other causes that influenced the French Revolution, the economic hardships, the influence from the American Revolution, and the Old Regime/The Enlightenment in France all were the major influences to the French Revolution.
The first major contribution to the Revolution in France begins with the economic hardships in France. Following the era of King Louis XIV, France had seen what a powerful leader King Louis XIV was, but know one would have expected that the next king would ignite a revolution. While King Louis XVI is whole nother cause of the Revolution, his influence in the economy was a powerful blow in Frances downfall. Before his debts in the American Revolution, the king's wife, Marie Antoinette, was a virtually hated person in France. Not only was...