THE
FRENCH REVOLUTION
The French
Revolution was an exciting, dramatic, and violente pisode in western history.
The rise of the middle class, the use of the guillotine, the fall of monarchy,
the outbreak of European warfare, the growing role of women, and the harsh
realities of mob violence all contributed to making this episode truly
significant and memorable.
By 1789 the French Government of
Louis XVI was in trouble. Significant discontent was evident throughout
the country. Intellectuals were dissatisfied with the scope of absolutist
controls, the bourgeoisie was antagonized by the excessive financial burdens
that fell upon them, the peasants decried the various feudal obligations
that remained, and the urban workers struggled to survive amidst inflating
prices and stagnant wages. It was the financial issues that forced the
King to call a meeting of the Estates General, a national assembly that
had not met since 1614. Needless to say there was tremendous excitement
about that meeting as hopes for change arose from all sides. France would
never be the same again.
The
courses of the French Revolution:
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