French Revolution
In the 1700's there was social unfairness in France. Taxes and laws were different in each province causing confusion and injustice. Louis XIV and Louis XV both left big debts when they died, and this made France nearly bankrupt. The clergy and nobles had plenty of money but the king couldn't tax the wealthy. Louis XVI asked the First and Second Estates to accept a land tax, but they refused. In 1789, the country was in need of money and almost completely broke.The French Revolution was the result of the unhappiness of the French majority with their government of that time. One of the main reasons for their unhappiness was the legal division among the social groups that had been ongoing for several centuries. The French were divided into three estates, religious leaders or clergy making up the first estate, nobles in the second, and the peasants and commoners the last estate. An important part of the third estate was the large, wealthy middle class that included traders, government official
The French government had run up a high debt due to fighting in the Seven Years' War and in the American Revolution. One particular idea that inspired the French revolution was the suggestion that the right to govern the country came from the people. The parliament in Paris forced the French king, King Louis XVI to call a meeting of the Estates (generaly, made up of representatives of the respective estates, in order to borrow more money). In order to stop a uprising, King Louis XVI allowed the formation of the National Assembly but also sent armies around Paris to break up the Assembly. When the king was trying to tax the second and third estates it made those people angry and that meant that the whole country was feeling the need to rebel so the French revolution was really inevitable. They vowed not to break up until a constitution had been written. This vow later became known as the Oath of the Tennis Courts. Members of the first two estates agreed on having each of the three estates take up matters and vote on them separately. They wanted each representative to have his own vote and a constitution to be written. Many of them left the country and became known as emigres. King Louis XVI called the meeting, and mistakenly, started the French Revolution. The third estate was bothered by the fact that they were the only providers of their country's tax revenue. Even with the refusal of the King and the first two estates, the third estate declared them the National Assembly and congregated at a tennis court. Many of them were extremely economically important but unrecognized as they belonged to the third estate, not the first or second.
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