The French Revolution took place in the 18th Century.The main causes were financial and constitutional.The french involvement in the American revolutionary war caused a financial strain. Also the common people didn't have power or freedom.The king ruled as an absolute monarch.The clergy and nobles enjoyed special privileges.Commoners had to pay heavy taxes.Nobles and clergy didn't have to pay taxes and the could outvote the commoners.
In 1789 the country was bankrupt. Louis XIV spent way too much and his successors were just as bad. Then anyone who tried to introduce financial reform he dismissed. Even among the commoners taxes were not equal. The tax gatherers took whatever taxes they could. Some provinces were exempt from certain taxes. Peasants suffered from feudal dues as well.It also didn't help that Maire Antoinette was just as bad as Louis XIV when it came to spending money.
The peasants had to pay dues to the king,nobles,and the church. Thanks to the writers of the age ,such as Voltaire, the people began to think for themselves. The success that the Americans had in their war encouraged the french to do the same. A mob stormed the Bastille,a old french prison, and the walls were torn down. The french revolution had begun.
For more info on this subject checkout http://history-world.org/french_revolution.htm
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