French Revolution Essay -- essays research papers fc

Why was there a French Revolution? Between, 1789  ¡V 1799, many events occurred in France that caused an outbreak within the people thus leading to a revolution. This culminated in the France becoming a democratic government. This essay will argue that the resentment of absolute government, financial difficulties, the famine, rise of philosophes and the ongoing feud between the estates are all the major causes of why there was a revolution in France. Firstly before going into the topic, the word  ¡Ã‚ §revolution ¡Ã‚ ¨ must be defined.  ¡Ã‚ §A revolution is a relatively sudden and absolutely huge change. This may be a change in the social or political institutions over a relatively short period of time, or a major change in its culture or economy . ¡Ã‚ ¨ In eighteenth-century France, as we have seen, the philosophes came forward and gave their views, which were taken seriously by the public. The views of the philosophes contrasted from teaching maths to teaching about how the world was created. France was in desperate need for help with the country in deep financial trouble and much controversy over the monarchy yet the philosophes were anything but revolutionaries, as they never tried to force one . This is because they did not intend to create harm but to give the people French new ideas on topics. The enlightenment was an intellectual establishment . Diderot's Encyclopedia, banned in the 1750s, was reprinted in a less expensive format with government approval in the 1770s. Among the younger generation, the great cultural hero was Rousseau whose Confessions caused a sensation within the public and changed their minds to free thinking by writing books that were very appealing to the people. These books taught people of different ideas. From this, we can see the beliefs of the philosophes were a main factor in the cause of the French revolution. Eighteenth century France was an absolute monarchy , mainly because of the effort of Louis XIV. The French king had absolute control over all aspects of French political, social, and economic structures. The Estates General, which was a representative institution in that it was composed of representatives from each of the Three Estates, was the only voice the people of France had ever had. The king could do whatever he wanted without being asked as the punishments were severe if anyone complained. An example is the change of the r... ...sentment of absolute government, financial difficulties, the famine, rise of philosophes and the ongoing feud between the estates which all culminated in France having a revolution and becoming a democratic government. Bibliography „h http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture12a.html; accessed on 19/4/05, 17/4/05, Title The French Revolution: The Moderate Stage, 1789-1792; author  ¡V Steven Kreis „h http://jon.plainculture.com/archives/the-french-revolution/; accessed on 12/4/05, Title - Causes and Effects of the French Revolution, author unknown „h http://www.people.memphis.edu/~kenichls/1302FrenchRevolution.html; accessed on 16/4/05; Title - The Causes of the French Revolution; author - unknown „h http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture13a.html; accessed on 19/4/05, 17/4/05, Title The French Revolution: The Radical Stage, 1792-1794, author  ¡V Steven Kreis „h http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/WestEurope/FrenchRev.html accessed on 17/4/05, 18/4/05; Title  ¡V The French Revolution; Author - David W. Koeller „h Encyclopedia Americana volume 12; accessed on 15/4/05, Published in New York, Published in 1970; Title  ¡V French Revolution; Author - Unknown