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In the late1780's the conditions in France where horrible. Food prices were sky rocketing because of bad crops. The taxes were too mainly because of King Louis XVI and Antoinette's spending and putting them selves to far into debt. This left the poor people more poor because they were basically spending all their paychecks on the taxes. Only the nobles and other higher ranking people didn't have to pay any taxes. The King and Queen showed no concern what so ever of the well being of their kingdom. They King and Queen abused their power. This Forced France into more debt then what it was when King Louis XVI took the throne.
Like many nations at that time (and even some in the developing world today) social conditions for a small minority of people were very good. The well-off and those with private incomes, and, above all, the aristocracy (those related to the royal family) lived in absolute luxury. If you visit France today, and visit, as a tourist, some of the castles and country houses that date from this period that are open to the public, you will get some idea of the opulence that these people enjoyed. Rooms lavishly decorated, food brought in at great expense from far off lands, fine clothes, ability to travel and so on were daily expectations of life for these people.
However, for the vast majority of France life was very different. The majority worked on the land or lived in poverty in the large cities. Disease was widespread, malnutrition was commonplace, and generally people lived in squalour. To say that the rich aristocrats did not care was an understatement; they not only did not care, but continually upped taxation so that the poor became even poorer and the rich even richer. Any attempt at a revolt was quickly squashed and the perpetrators executed swiftly.
However, towards the end of the 1700s the poor did stage a successful coup, and the French Revolution began. A notorious French prison, the Bastille, was stormed and its occupants released. Mounting pressure by a huge number of the poorest people in France eventually made the aristocracy crumble. Almost all the aristocrats were rounded up, stood trial, and were executed by guillotine. The revolution came to a head when both the king (Louis) and his queen Marie Antoinette were executed in a square in Paris (La Place de la Concorde) - a place which is still there today.
If you travel to London and visit Madame Tussaud's Wax museum, in the chamber of horrors is the blade that executed the king and Marie Antoinette - still bloodstained from those violent times.
Nowadays France is a republic with a president (like the USA). However, because a few aristocrats did escape the Revolution, there are still alive today some of the descendents of those aristocrats, including the heir to the French throne, if ever France decided to return to a monarchy.
The social structure was:
- First was the priests very rich, powerful and influencle
- Second were kings/nobles very rich absolute monarch
- The third group was divided into two: bourgeois's - merchants, doctor's, lawyers, etc. and common people, the poor, exploited, and suffering
the economic condition of France was quit worse as the king Louis xvi was spending most of the country budget on interest payment because of the lone taken for war . now to meet the regular expenses he was forced to increase taxes on the people . but this measure was also fail because of the feudal system i.e.. the clergy and the nobles didn't pay taxes so the the burden of the financing activities of the state was borne alone by the third estate alone who were them self not financially stable as they were the poor farmers landless labours.
French society in the eighteenth century was wracked by instability and class conflict. The excesses of the nobility had stirred up great resentment.
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What century was the French Revolution in?
18th Century American Revolution was fought with help from France.
Why did the French Revolution confirmed or contradicted the main political trends of the eighteenth century?
This sounds suspiciously like a homework assignment. For a good grade, 2-3 pages of writing would be required - well-researched, and including citations!
What is French revolution and Atlantic revolution?
The French revolution was the period of revolution in France at the end of the eighteenth century starting with the pre-revolution or the aristyocratic revolution in 1787 progressing to more radical events such as the strorming of the Bastillle, the rise of the Jacobins and Sans-cullottes. The Atlantic revolution refers to the idea of a period of many revolutions occurring arround the same time such as the American Revolution (the war of independence) the uprisings in other areas of Europe such ad in Holland and Geneva. The idea of the Atlantic revolution influencing the French revolution has become more criticised in recent years but if you want to know more try reading 'France and the Atlantic Revolution of the Eighteenth Century, 1770-1799' by Jacques Godechot.
16th century french astrologer?
nostradamus
What groups in French society at the beginning of the French Revolution was the largest?
The Third Estate
How did eighteenth-century French society differ from medieval French society?
During the eighteenth century, the French people were split up into three groups; the clergy, noblemen, and peasents, but during the medieval times of France, there were two social groups of people, the smart and the dumb.
What events involved France in the late eighteenth century?
The french revolution from 1789 to 1799.
What has the author David Wakefield written?
David Wakefield has written: 'Fragonard' 'French eighteenth-century painting' -- subject(s): French Painting, Modern Painting, Painting, French, Painting, Modern
With what were the eighteenth-century French philosophes concerned?
The eighteenth-century French philosophes were concerned with promoting reason, scientific inquiry, and individual freedoms. They challenged traditional authority, such as monarchies and the Catholic Church, advocating for social and political reforms based on rational principles. They played a key role in the Enlightenment movement, which emphasized reason, progress, and tolerance.
What has the author May Smith written?
May Smith has written: 'The Influence of French on Eighteenth-century Literary Russian' 'An introduction to industrial psychology'
Which country provided the international intellectual language of the mid eighteenth century and was the center of cultural life?
France was the country that provided the international intellectual language of the mid eighteenth century and was the center of cultural life. French culture and language were highly influential in philosophy, literature, and the arts during this period.
Second person who create a car?
The second person who built an automobile was Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. He built it in the eighteenth century, and he worked for the French army.
What did the ‘Christian witches’ do to Le Brun?
Was one of the finest eighteenth-century French painters and among the most important women artists of all time
What century was the French Revolution in?
18th Century American Revolution was fought with help from France.
What has the author Clare Le Corbeiller written?
Clare Le Corbeiller has written: 'French Eighteenth-Century Porcelain at the Wadsworth' 'China trade porcelain: patterns of exchange' -- subject(s): Art collections, Catalogs, China trade porcelain 'Eighteenth-century Italian porcelain' -- subject(s): Italian Porcelain 'German porcelain of the eighteenth century' -- subject(s): Catalogs, German Porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Porcelain
What has the author Marion Monaco written?
Marion Monaco has written: 'Shakespeare on the French stage in the eighteenth century' -- subject(s): Adaptations, French drama, History, History and criticism, Stage history, Theater
What has the author Friedrich Christoph Schlosser written?
Friedrich Christoph Schlosser has written: 'Dante. Studien' 'History of the eighteenth century and of the nineteenth till the overthrow of the French Empire, with particular reference to mental cultivation and progress' 'History of the eighteenth century and of the nineteenth till the overthrow of the French empire' -- subject(s): History 'Fr. Chr. Schlosser's Weltgeschichte' -- subject(s): World history 'F.C. Schlosser'
