Discuss the economic causes of the French Revolution (1789) .
Discuss the economic causes of the French Revolution (1789) .
The economic causes of the French Revolution.
The economic crisis that has been raging in France since the reign of Louis XIV , was largely responsible for the French Revolution. Originally, the French treasury became depleted by the end of the eighteenth century. A variety of flawed tax systems, the luxury of the royal family, inflation, etc., bring about a financial catastrophe in France. Adam Smith, a British economist, says of France's economy at the time: "France was a huge museum of erroneous economies." There were various economic reasons for the French Revolution -
1. Tax inequality: -
At that time taxes were not evenly distributed among the French. France's first-class clergy and second-class aristocracy, although able to pay taxes, were exempted from paying taxes. In France, the third community had to pay 96 percent of the revenue, while the first and second community had to pay the remaining 4 percent. After paying all the taxes, they had one-fifth of income in their hands, with which it was impossible for them to make a living. According to Karlyle, one-third of the farmers lived on potatoes only for one-third of the year. The people of the third community were desperate to get rid of this huge tax burden.
2. Tax evasion and torture: -
The imposition of various taxes on the French was flawed. Such as: Capitation (Productive Tax), Tail (Land Tax), Gabella (Salt Tax), Whitingme (Income Tax), Tide (Religion Tax), AIDS (Alcohol, Tobacco Tax), Corvi (Labor Tax). In addition to this, the feudal lord had to pay taxes in Taraj, Sauce, Shopper, Banali etc. These taxes were levied on the French. Individuals hired in exchange for some money were given the responsibility of collecting taxes. They used persecution and torture in the name of tax collection for the sake of extra profit, which angered the French.
3. The luxury of the royal family: -
From the time of Louis XIV, the luxury of the French royal family has become a myth. Butterfly King Louis XV drowned in luxury and wasted a lot of money. According to the historian Goodwin, the number of servants of Queen Mary Antaenet was 500. The Palace of Versailles employed 18,000 people. The members of the royal family used to wear new clothes and waste money by wasting a lot of food at the banquets. In fact, the economy is weakened by the incompetence of the kings who are intoxicated with luxury by forgetting their royal duties. As a result, the people went against the king and the members of the royal family. The historian Goodwin wrote in his book, ‘’ The French Revolution’’ , about the luxury of the royal family .
4. Wrong war strategy: -
From the time of Louis XIV onwards, the erroneous war strategy had created an economic crisis in France. Bourbon King Louis XIV has repeatedly fought for influence in Western Europe and emptied the coffers. Unnecessary warfare wasted a lot of money even during the reign of the next King Louis XV. When Louis XVI helped the colonists in the American War of Independence, France went bankrupt. The government was forced to take loans to alleviate this economic crisis. In order to cover the deficit in other sectors due to the war, it was necessary to take a loan of 200 crore livres (189 AD). The previous year, the French government had spent 316 million livres on interest on loans. At the time, the government had to spend 75 percent of France's meager income on defense and interest. Regarding the cost of the war, Turgo, the finance minister of King Jared Louis, said that the state would go bankrupt if another cannon was fired.
5. Inflation: -
Inflation also played a role in shaping the French economy . The prices of essential commodities and food grains have gone up sharply due to rising inflation. Although the prices of goods increased by 75%, the wages of the workers did not increase in that proportion. A decade before the beginning of the French Revolution, there was a riot for bread in the city of Lions, Paris. Many people left the village and moved to the city because Louis XVI failed to meet the food needs of the French. In fact, fluctuations in revenue value were a major feature of the economy in 18th century France. Overwhelmed by this inflation, the French went on the road to revolution.
6. Underdeveloped Agricultural Economy: -
Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy in France. Although 80% of the people here were farmers, the agricultural system was underdeveloped. Production per acre did not increase as agricultural crops were produced on uncultivated land. No such attempt was made by the government to improve the agricultural system. Due to the conservative attitude of the farmers and the lack of machinery, the agricultural system of France could not be improved. In such an agricultural structure, the condition of the farmers became deplorable due to the effect of the rise of commodity prices in the eighteenth century. So the historical C. E. Labraz says that in the eighteenth century, it was the peasants who suffered the most as a result of rising prices.
Conclusion: -
Economic factors were one of the reasons for the French Revolution. France's economic prosperity, originally from 1730 to 1770 AD, deteriorated over the next ten years. The financially strapped French went on the road to revolution for a simple and normal life. The revolution was inevitable when King Louis XVI convened a session of the General Assembly or National Assembly to address the acute financial crisis of the state. The historian Riker blames the economic reasons for the French Revolution, saying that the root cause of the revolution was economic ("The fiscal causes lay at the root of the revolution").
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