Causes of the French revolution
Political crisis
The system was very unequal, one of the main causes since the poorest citizens were the citizens paying the most tax while the nobles and the clergy collected the taxes and lived in luxury.
The King, with the first and second estate (clergy, nobles), made all the decision, political and economical, and showed no mercy to people who disobeyed. So the third estate (common people) no choice but to follow along.
Moreover, the Nobles and Clergy had all the power and all the money. This made the third estate really upset since they couldn't acquire any money because rank was determined by birth and not by talent.
The King, with the first and second estate (clergy, nobles), made all the decision, political and economical, and showed no mercy to people who disobeyed. So the third estate (common people) no choice but to follow along.
Moreover, the Nobles and Clergy had all the power and all the money. This made the third estate really upset since they couldn't acquire any money because rank was determined by birth and not by talent.
Economical Crisis
There were many problems with the French Economy; however, one of the biggest problems was King Louis XVI inability to solve various problems, such as:
An unfair tax system:
The third estate rented their lands from the nobility/lords and paid high taxes to get the right to grow crops, where they had to give most of the crop to the lords, anyway.
The nobles mostly kept the biggest part of the taxes they collected for themselves instead of giving it to the King, as they were supposed to.
The peasants worked hard and began to starve when the prices of flour increased and they were unable to buy bread.
The King’s spendings:
The King and Queen used a vast amount of money to serve around 15,000 people living in the Royal Court. These people spent much but gave little in return.
The American War of Independence:
The War drained France for a lot of money as they supported the Americans; who needed money to win over Britain. The King gave away a great many money and even built a huge navy army and all this would eventually consume the French resources.
An unfair tax system:
The third estate rented their lands from the nobility/lords and paid high taxes to get the right to grow crops, where they had to give most of the crop to the lords, anyway.
The nobles mostly kept the biggest part of the taxes they collected for themselves instead of giving it to the King, as they were supposed to.
The peasants worked hard and began to starve when the prices of flour increased and they were unable to buy bread.
The King’s spendings:
The King and Queen used a vast amount of money to serve around 15,000 people living in the Royal Court. These people spent much but gave little in return.
The American War of Independence:
The War drained France for a lot of money as they supported the Americans; who needed money to win over Britain. The King gave away a great many money and even built a huge navy army and all this would eventually consume the French resources.