Examining the Multifaceted Factors Behind the French Revolution

This essay examines the multifaceted factors that led to the French Revolution, emphasizing the influence of Enlightenment philosophy, social inequalities, and economic hardships. It discusses how the grievances against the authoritarian monarchy and the Catholic Church, coupled with the rise of the bourgeoisie and France's financial struggles due to involvement in the American War of Independence, contributed to the revolutionary fervor. The essay further explores the impact of deregulation in the grain market and the symbolic storming of the Bastille, concluding that a combination of cultural, social, economic, and political factors collectively ignited the revolution, leading to the establishment of the National Convention.

Running Head: FACTORS BEHIND FRENCH REVOLUTION
FACTORS BEHIND FRENCH REVOLUTION
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1FACTORS BEHIND FRENCH REVOLUTION
The French Revolution was the cornerstone of liberation and freedom from the bondage
of the medieval and authoritarian regime and paved the way for republicanism in modern days.
The storm of Bastille on 14th July 1789 was the symbol of the initiation of the revolution that
ventilated the motto of Freedom, equality and fraternity. The reasons behind the French
Revolution were as follows,
As far as the cultural factors were concerned, it can be argued that the French Revolution
was an outcome of the enlightenment philosophy that ventilated grievances against the
authoritarian and monarchical government as well as the tyranny resulted by the Catholic
Churches (Khoirunnisak et al. 2018).
On the other hand, the social factors were also played significant role in the French
Revolution. The emergence of the bourgeoisie as the Third Estate created huge exposure for the
lower class to get equal benefits like the first and second estate. It can be argued that the political
equality and social rights instigated the French bourgeois to make political demands in the
Constituent Assembly (Gueniffey 2018).
In addition to this, the French involvement in the American War of Independence led
France indebted. As a result of that the French monarch Louis XVI compelled to implement new
taxations in order to restrain the economic balance. The high imposition of taxes and the burden
instigated the common people of France to evoke war against the monarchy (Goodwin 2016).
In addition to this, the political understanding also created opportunities for the French
Revolution. In the rural sectors the Third Estate population succeeded to develop a power nexus
and the French government was unable to control the mob. the provincial parliaments were also

2FACTORS BEHIND FRENCH REVOLUTION
refuted the authoritarian control of the first and second estate in terms of the clergy and the
aristocracy and as a result of that the French Revolution became inevitable (Stammers 2017).
According to Goodwin (2016) it can be argued that the economic impact created a lot of
impression for staging a revolution against the strong edifice of the French monarchy.
Deregulation in the grain market with the hike in the food price fostered unrest among the
peasants and the poor. Furthermore, during the food scarcity the high price the mass showed
protest against the government policies that prompted a mass revolution in the form of French
Revolution.
The immediate effect of the French Revolution was identified as the demolition of the
Bastille fort on 14th July, 1789. It can be argued that the Bastille Fort was a symbol of torture and
nocturnal activities that the French rulers were supposed to practice in Bastille (Stammers 2017).
However, that was not true at all but the rumours made Bastille as the symbol of their grievance.
It can be concluded that not a single factor was contributed to the French Revolution
paramount. Each and every factors were contributed equally to evoke war against the French
monarchy and the clergymen. As a result of that the in 1792 a National Convention was set up in
order to meet the interests of the Third Estate. However, the intensity of the aftermath of French
Revolution was a matter of further investigation.

3FACTORS BEHIND FRENCH REVOLUTION
Reference
Goodwin, A., 2016. The friends of liberty: the English democratic movement in the age of the
French Revolution. Routledge.
Gueniffey, P., 2018. A History of Violence in the French Revolution.
Khoirunnisak, T., Adha, Z.A., Hirda, M.I. and Santoso, H.D., 2018. RELEVANCE OF SOCIAL
CONDITIONS BETWEEN FRENCH REVOLUTION AND CHARLES DICKENS’S NOVEL
A Tale of Two Cities. In PROSIDING SEMINAR NASIONAL & INTERNASIONAL (Vol. 1, No.
1).
Stammers, T., 2017. The Coming of the French Revolution. Macat Library.