Candide

             What are the most important political events to have shaped 'French national identity'?
             The term 'national identity' means what distinguishes France from other countries in their and others eyes, it can also be seen as an aspiration e.g. what France would like to be. The French are a patriotic nation who are very proud of their culture. Their history has included many long and violent wars; many times they have nearly been taken over by other countries. In this essay I will attempt to demonstrate the major events to have created the identity of the French people that we see today.
             It is difficult to know where to begin when discussing which were the most important political events to have shaped France. However a good starting point is the French Revolution. Before the revolution French society was very different. France was a feudal society with the monarchy having absolute power; the church and the state were very closely linked. The French had financed the American war of independence against the English; as a result of this the monarchy was bankrupt. In February 1787 the controller general of finances introduced heavy taxation of the noble classes in order to solve the debt problem of the monarchy, however this move alienated the aristocracy. In the 1780s famine struck France, the peasants were starving. The aristocracy refused to provide money to help their situation, whilst Louis XVI had no money for famine relief. At the time "peasants only owned about 40% of the land, they had to lease the rest from the nobility, the urban middle class and the church" . As a result of this there was an explosive situation brewing. The peasants began widespread attacks against the nobles. On July 13th 1789 large groups of Parisians began attacking armourers shops searching for weapons , the next day a large crowd invaded the HÔtel des Invalides and seized thousands of rifles, then they invaded Bastille (...

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Candide. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:33, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/76988.html