The Causes Of The French Revolution
France was stricken by financial problems for over a century. The wars of Louis XIV caused debts who grew when wars were fought in the 18th century. These debts were not exceptional as Great Britain had the same debts. Why did these debts cause a bankruptcy in France but not in Great Britain? The cause laid in the tax system. In Britain everyone, clergy, nobles and citizens paid taxes. In France, where society was dominated by status, clergy and nobility were exempted from taxation.
Under the reign of Louis XV and Louis XVI different ministers tried to tax the nobles. This measures encoutered much resistance from the parliaments (law courts), which were dominated by the nobility. When in 1788 all attempts were failed, the King decided to summon the Estates-General, the first since 1614, which would met in May 1789. The King tried to make the Estates meet in a modern way but the parliaments decided that the Estates-General would meet in the same way as it met in 1614: in different chambers for every class. But society had changed. The bourgoisie had grown in the last 200 years and were the persons who had the money. Now they had the chance to seize the power they wanted to have.
