Chapter 18: The French Revolution
Research Topics
On the Eve of the French Revolution
What were the chief social conditions under the ancient regime that ultimately led to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789?
Sudden and revolutionary changes in the political, economic and social structure of France were precipitated by a financial crisis facing Louis XVI in the years leading up to 1789. French society was a closed society in which the status and privilege according to each of the three Estates was the defining feature.
What were the chief social conditions under the ancient regime that ultimately led to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789?
Sudden and revolutionary changes in the political, economic and social structure of France were precipitated by a financial crisis facing Louis XVI in the years leading up to 1789. French society was a closed society in which the status and privilege according to each of the three Estates was the defining feature.
- The Condition of the French People (1792), Arthur Young
English agricultural observer Arthur Young details the social conditions of the French people during the early years of the French Revolution - The Three Estates, (c. 1789)
Contemporary cartoons that graphically represent the social roles played by the Three Estates at the end of the ancient regime. - What is the Third Estate? (1789), Abbé Sieyès
Abbé Sieyès eloquent statement that the Third Estate was oppressed but could become "everything." - The Cahiers of the Third Estate of Carcassonne (1789)
List of grievances of the deputies of the Third Estate presented to the Estates General. - The Decree Abolishing the Feudal System (1789), National Assembly
The National Assembly abolished many of the abuses of the ancient regime. - Observations on the French Revolution, (1818), Madame de Staël
Madame de Staël details the corruption and inefficiency of the monarchy of Louis XVI.
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