Why the French Revolution happened

 

 Reasons for the French Revolution of 1789: -

 Answer:

       Through this great revolution came the spontaneous protest of the exploited and oppressed people against the existing system of state and society based on inequality and injustice.  The socio-economic inequality and exploitation combined with political weakness and constitutional unprincipledness created an explosive situation in 1789.  Historian Alfred Koban likens the situation to a catastrophic flood in a combination of numerous small and large rapids.

      The French Revolution was not an accident, nor was it organized for any reason.  Due to political-socio-economic philosophical influences and various other reasons, the gathering started a groundbreaking revolution.

 Political reasons for the French Revolution:

 Autocratic monarchy: -

  Believing in the doctrine that the king's power was God-given and that he was God's representative, he concentrated all power in his own hands.  The king was at once the ruler, the judge, and the legislator, and the destiny of the people.  Under authoritarian rule, there was no such thing as individual freedom in France.  By trampling on the hopes and aspirations of the people, the king ruled according to his whims and fancies.

 Wealth and luxury of Versailles Palace: -

       Louis XIV, despite being a dictator, tried to benefit the people.  But Louis XV was completely indifferent to the rule and indulged in luxuries.  Louis XVI was charismatic in his personal life and interested in the welfare of his subjects.  But due to his lack of character determination, he could not realize his aspirations.  To satisfy their military aspirations and luxuries from generation to generation, they lost the immense wealth of the country.  Indrapuri and Bilas Niketan Versai Rajprasad were inscribed on the tombs of Shubhashub.

 The dominance of the aristocracy and bureaucracy: -

        Taking advantage of this weakness of the royal power, the corrupt elite bureaucrats sought to spread their dominance.  They have to exploit in the name of governance with the help of attendants for their self-interest.  They used royal arrest warrants without the king's knowledge, and the intents of their enemies became oppressors for their self-interest.  To the people of France, they are called greedy wolves.

       Incidentally, the French emperor Louis XVI was fully aware of the complexity of the situation.  He came to power in 1774 and undertook a reform program.  To alleviate the miserable financial crisis, various measures were taken by the ministers like Turg, Necker, Kalon and The Bryan to restructure the austerity measures.  But all these efforts failed due to the opposition of the influential elite.  In the hope of overcoming the revenue crisis, Louis XVI was forced to convene a meeting of the States-General.  Thus the failure to reform the monarchy opened the door to revolution.

 Social causes of the French Revolution: -

     

 Inequality and corruption in social life:

       There were elite communities that were mainly divided into three classes.  The aristocratic and priestly communities were included in the first and second classes and the dispossessed middle and lower classes were made up of the third class.  The first two classes enjoyed all the powers and privileges of social and political life.  But the third class, the middle and lower classes, which made up the majority of the population, was deprived of all rights to political, social and economic life.  They were also deprived of all rights in state and social life.  But the first two classes, despite getting all the facilities, were exempted from paying taxes.  There was no limit to the misery of the agrarian community, which included the third class, and they had no dignity in social life.  They worked on the land of the zamindar.  They had no independent entity.  We had to live on the grace of the zamindar.  Even though they were suffering from poverty, they could not get relief from taxes.

 Dissatisfaction with the educated and affluent middle class:

     There was no shortage of highly educated and wealthy people in the middle class.  Even though they were advanced in terms of education, they did not get any status in the life of the state and society. Due to this, protests arose in their minds against the discriminatory and corrupt conventional and social system.

 The economic reasons for the French Revolution: -

 Inequality and injustice in economic life:

       Inequality and injustice in the economic life of France were some of the main reasons for the French Revolution.  The population of France grew dangerously, and in 1789 the population of France reached two and a half crores.  On the other hand, abnormal price rises overwhelm the economy as the production system does not improve.  As a result of rising food prices, three-quarters of the common man began to spend on food.  In the eighteenth century, France's economic situation was discriminatory and inconsistent.  The first two classes of the aristocracy enjoyed all the benefits of social and political life.  They were exempted from paying taxes and received various favours.

 The plight of farmers:

       But the poor oppressed third class, the peasantry, which made up the vast majority of the country's population, was deprived of all rights.  But they were given the maximum responsibility to perform their duties towards the state.  Despite their extreme poverty, they were burdened with the highest taxes. One-tenth of them had to pay to the church as a religion.  In this way, the financial life of the afflicted peasants was in dire straits. In addition, in the two years 1787 - 1789, inflation increased drastically and as a result, three-quarters of the income was spent on bread alone.

 The regime's inability to compensate the country for the huge amount of money due to the ongoing war:

      France has suffered enormous financial losses as a result of its constant warfare for more than a century.   They made no effort to improve the country's industrial trade.  They only tried to meet the expenses of the government by increasing the public tax.  But their policies were based on inequality and corruption.  This flawed and discriminatory policy has led to the collapse of France's economic base.

 Sixteenth Louis Cortes States-General and the Beginning of the Revolution:

      When this catastrophe occurred in the economic life of the country, France lost a lot of money as a result of providing military aid to the Americans in the American freedom struggle.    In France, the debt burden is alarming.  In 1789, the national debt was about two and a half billion livers.  Louis XVI and his ministers, meanwhile, we're unable to stabilize the economy through fiscal reforms.  The empty treasury could have been filled by imposing taxes on the privileged classes only, but the influential elite strongly opposed fair tax distribution.  Opposition from the elite made the advent of the French Revolution inevitable.  They were unwilling to reduce their chances and thwarted the economic reform efforts of the Bourbon monarchy.  With the cooperation of the elite, Louis XVI would have been able to get out of the financial crisis and resist the revolution.  But seeing no other way, Louis XVI was compelled to convene a Test General Session, which was convened by the King.  The King's convening of the States-General Assembly marked the beginning of the fall of the dictatorial monarchy.  The catastrophe in the economic public life of France as a whole accelerated the pace of the French Revolution.

      There is a lot of controversy about how economic factors are responsible for the advent of the French Revolution.  Michelle's idea opened the door to the poverty revolution with the oppression of the old system.  Tamweel, on the other hand, felt that the peasants were opposed to special rights and equality because of their economic prosperity.  Professor Labrus has analyzed economic reasons differently, stating that from 1730 to 1780, there was a touch of economic progress.  But after 1780, a period of decline began.  The crop crisis and food crisis of 1788 intensified the protests and the people resorted to violence.  Thus the French Revolution took place in France in 1789.