The social, economic and political causes of the French Revolution.

1. THE CAUSES AND THE COURSE OF
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

2. LESSON OUTCOMES
Define the term
'revolution'.
The social causes of the
Revolution
The political causes of
the Revolution – how the
French were governed
The economic causes of
the Revolution –
bankruptcy
The philosophers –
inspired the people to
protest

4. WHAT IS REVOLUTION?
• A revolution is a dramatic change in society. The word revolution
generally represents a complete turnaround from one way of doing
things to another.
• This happened in France in 1789. Ordinary citizens revolted
against the Old Order of government, known as the Ancient
Régime and replaced it with a government based on democratic
principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.

5. THE SOCIAL
CAUSES
• The French Revolution
had been divided into 3
Estates:
• First Estate – the
Clergy
• Second Estate – the
Nobles
• Third Estate – the
Commoners

6. The Third Estate was heavily taxed –
80% of their income could be taken
from them. But the rich First and
Second Estates were not taxed.
The factory workers were cruelly
treated. They were poor and lived in
dreadful conditions in the towns.​
The peasants on the farms hated the
feudal system. In return for the
protection of a noble, the peasants
had to work for him.​
The wealthy professionals, called
the bourgeoisie, were angry because
they had no say in the government
and no freedom of speech and they
could never be promoted because
the nobles got all the top positions.​

7. THE POLITICAL CAUSES
• King Louis XVI had a weak personality and inability
to rule efficiently.
• His Austrian wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, dominated
him.
• He believed that God had given him the power to
rule.
• The King had absolute power – what he said was law.
• With a lettre de cachet (= a letter bearing the King’s
seal), anyone could be sent to prison without a trial.

8. THE ECONOMIC CAUSES
• People were starving in France in 1789 because of a severe drought, which had
caused a lack of food, making food prices too high for them to afford.
• The rich First and Second Estates were not taxed, as the King did not want to lose
their support.
• Louis XVl demanded heavy taxes from the Third Estate because France was almost
bankrupt as a result of:
• Debt because Louis XV had spent a fortune on his Versailles palace.
• Marie Antoinette’s extravagant lifestyle, spending huge amounts of money on
clothes and court entertainment.

9. THE PHILOSOPHERS
• The philosophers were intellectuals who wrote articles that encouraged the French people
to question the Divine Right of Kings, which meant that a king’s authority came from God
and no one could ever criticise the king. They inspired to protest and fight for their rights.
• Voltaire openly attacked the abuses in the church and the political tyranny of the Ancien
Régime (Old Order).
• Rousseau wrote the Social Contract, which said that all citizens should submit themselves
to the General Will of the people (democracy).
• The revolutionary motto was:
• Liberty - freedom
• Equality - no social classes
• Fraternity - brotherhood.