Question

State any five events which led to the outbreak of French Revolution during the late 18th century.

Answer 1

Hint: French Revolution, also called Revolution of 1789, revolutionary movement that shook France between 1787 and 1799 and reached its first climax there in 1789—hence the conventional term “Revolution of 1789,” denoting the end of the ancien régime in France.

Complete answer:
The French Revolution refers to the time from the Estates General of 1789 to the establishment of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of the ideals are perceived to be foundational of Western modern democracy.

Around 1700 and 1789, the French population rose from 18 to 26 million people, resulting in huge numbers of unemployed people and dramatic rises in food prices due to low harvests. Widespread civil unrest prompted the first convocation of the Estates General since 1614 in May 1789.

Reasons for French Revolution are
1) The fight with Britain over an independent America: The French empire incurred mounting debt as a result of this war. This necessitated levying new taxes on the general population.
2) Privilege based on birth: People were given rights and positions based on their ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' the common citizens became enraged as a result of this.
3) Concentration of influence among the privileged: The first and second estates possessed all of the power and wealth. This wealthy class was at the hands of the masses.
4) Subsistence Crisis: As the world's population grew, so did grain production, resulting in a demand-supply deficit for wheat, the staple diet. Wages did not catch up with inflation. People's lives were getting more complicated.
5) A new class has arisen as a result of expanded international trade. This class was affluent not as a result of birth, but rather as a result of its willingness to take advantage of opportunities. People from the middle class began to speak out about rights dependent on kinship.

Note:
i) The Revolution set in motion a series of wars that lasted until Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
ii) This seemed doubtful at first; the 1791 Constitution expressly forbade "war for the sake of invasion," and while traditional conflicts between France and Austria resurfaced in the 1780s, Emperor Joseph cautiously accepted the changes.