France & the Revolution

             The primary issue that plagued France during the period leading up to the "Tennis Court Oath" and the "Oath Abolishing Feudalism" was the disparity between the different social classes in French society. One driving force of this disparity was the amount of monies spent by the monarchy and the first two estates of France that were funded by taxes levied, tithes demanded and rents imposed upon the Third Estate. Another was the lack of respect that the nobility showed towards the middle class of the Third Estate, the bourgeoisie. This group of about a million people consisted of doctors, lawyers, merchants, manufacturers and entrepreneurs who were the wealthiest demographic group in France; yet were still classified as members of the Third Estate and thus treated as inferior by the first two. Finally were the desperate conditions endured by the peasants; twenty-five million people held down with no hope or means of improving their lives.
             Louis XIV's reign truly exemplified the concept of an absolute monarch who only had God to answer to. It was only on his deathbed that he that expressed regrets about his life as advice to his heir, Louis XV. He encouraged his great-grandson to do more for the people of France than he had done. "My child, you will soon be the king of great realm... Try to preserve peace with your neighbors. I have been too fond of war. Do not imitate me in that, nor in the too great expenditures I have made. Lighten the burdens of your people as soon as you can, and do that which I have had the misfortune not to accomplish myself."
             The reign of Louis XV clearly shows that he did not pay much attention. Even though he was able to avoid the costs of wars until 1740; Louis XV's appetite for opulence, plus the lack of a proper banking system and the lack of fiscal support from the nobility created a financial disaster in France.
             In light of the failures of his grandfather,...

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France & the Revolution. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 05:35, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/23030.html