...The French Revolution The book that was reviewed is titled “The French Revolution: William Doyle”. It addresses some of the causes of the French revolution and the effects it had. The French Revolution is known as one of the most significant events in the world’s history. Its impact hardly can be overvalued due to globally caused implications. Therefore, it is considered as generally valid birth of civilized principles. Appropriate analyzing requires plenty of items considering. However, there is the try to outline the most significant causes and effects of great historical event. Let’s start with the causes of the French Revolution. A major cause was social injustice and class inequalities. 18th century in French history was the time of feudal abutment. Naturally that is accompanied by different rights and duties for its members. The division of French society members was provided by Estates. In fact, prerevolutionary France experienced three of them: first, second and third estate respectively. The contrast between them was too significant and frustrated the lowest class. The first most privileged Estate was for about 2 percent of the entire population. At the end of scholastic influence era, the power of the Church was unrestricted. As for corresponding benefits, the Estate was out of tax duty. Moreover, the Church was authorized for income tithe claiming. Curiously enough, this minority owned more than 15% percent of France’s lands. The second Estate was nobility. As well...
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...contrast: The French and American Revolution Revolution has been seen throughout many nations during man’s reign on this earth. While there are a multitude of factors and reasons behind what creates an uprising of a country, the conclusions of these revolts certainly have one thing in common, that is change. As seen in the American and French Revolutions, citizens dealt and suffered unjust rule, taxation, and social isolation. These two rebellions took place in the same era and are generally grouped together by scholars, even many who would argue that one influenced the other. Under closer examination, while many comparisons can be made, many profound contrasts can be distinguished. This essay will review main occurrences in these two historical events, focusing on the comparisons and contrasts of factors such as causes, goals, and outcomes of both the American and French Revolutions. Both the American Revolution and the French Revolution were born of dire economic conditions. While this similarity is true, each country had their own separate financial issues that led to each respective rebellion. The roots of the American Revolution stemmed from the taxation upon the Colonists by the monarchy of the British. Taxes were not something that citizens of the new world were unfamiliar to, but the issue was more vested in just reasoning behind the increased taxes on the Colonies, this idea birthed a familiar phrase of the revolution, “taxation without representation”. The French Revolution...
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...THE LIBERAL REVOLUTION -UNDER THE IDEA OF ENLIGHTENMENT "Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!"-Kant Contents ENLIGHTENMENT AS AN IDEA: 3 FRENCH SOCIETY: 3 THE LIBERAL REVOLUTION: 3 CRITICISM ON THE IDEA OF LIBERALISM: 4 CONCLUSION 5 BIBLIOGRAPHY 6 ENLIGHTENMENT AS AN IDEA: “Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage… Sapere Aude! Dare to Know! Have the courage to use your own understanding is therefore the motto of the Enlightenment.” Immanuel Kant (Columbia.edu) The eighteenth century Enlightenment proved to be a movement of the intellectuals who dared to prove all the aspects in life scientifically. These individuals were greatly affected by the scientific revolution. They were, in addition, advocating the appliance of the scientific methodology to the understanding of life. Throughout the age of enlightenment, science became popular and there were many philosophers like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Montesquieu, etc who applied the natural laws to the social life. These people and their writings had a huge impact on the French Revolution. FRENCH SOCIETY: Prior to the revolution, the French society was buried under the burden of taxes-levied by the State, rents paid to the lord, contributions collected by the clergy, as well as under the forced labor exacted by all three. People were reduced to foraging for food because of the recurring famines. The famines were caused by both manmade...
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...To what extent was the French Revolution of 1789 a bourgeois revolution? The French Revolution was a revolutionary movement which signified the end of the ancien régime and the increase of the ‘bourgeois’ class. However, it is still a long debated topic of interest when it comes to the idea if the French revolution was a bourgeois revolution or did other events come into play. Throughout 1787 and 1789 ‘one step led to another through a series of moves and counter-moves that later proved to have been an escalation’ of problems already highlighted earlier on in the history of France. To begin with, we analysis the idea presented in the original question of to what extent was the French revolution of 1789 a bourgeois revolution. When it comes to the events that led to the French Revolution ‘the origins must therefore be sought not merely in the general conditions of Europe, but in the specific situation of France’. This was due to the ongoing conflict between the ‘vested interests of the old régime and the new rising social forces’ which were much more prominent in France. These new rising social forces are more than likely the bourgeois class so this clearly highlights the fact that the French revolution was indeed to with if not caused by the bourgeois. It has also be stated that the French revolution was purely down to an uprising which instated the ideology and literally actions which allowed the ‘middle class to assume power by overthrowing the political and social order...
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...How the French and Indian War Affect the Revolutionary War The American Revolution was gradually built up throughout the 1700s, but the French and Indian war had a huge contribution to the American sense of individualism and liberty that led to its break from England. The French and Indian war taught the divided colonials many things that would help them in the upcoming war with England, including military experience, realization of the fallibility of England, anti-English sentiment, growth in colonial unity, the elimination of the threat that France and its Indian allies posed to the colonies. Without the contributions of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution could have been much more difficult to begin and carry out. The experiences of colonials in the French and Indian War were invaluable in their revolution, specifically in the war with England. The colonials under George Washington gained military experience, and learned they could defeat a bigger force. In the initial conflict of the war that was only formally declared two years later, Washington was sent as a lieutenant colonel in command of around one hundred and fifty colonial militiamen in order to secure the claims of several Virginians in Ohio Valley. They encountered a small force of French troops about forty miles from the French Fort Duquesne. After a short battle, the French leader was killed, and his troops retreated. This gave the colonials that fought there, including Washington, valuable...
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...The French Revolution was a very important event in the history of the world. France was under a feudal-like system called “The Old Regime”, and it consisted of 3 estates. The 1st and 2nd estates were the richest while the 3rd estate consisted of the middle class and the poor. The 3rd estate is the one that started the French Revolution. The most important causes of the French Revolution were the lack of power for the third estate, the over taxation, and the ideas of the American Revolution. One of the most important causes of the French Revolution was the lack of political power for the 3rd estate. Before the French Revolution, the 3rd estate had almost no political power. It can be speculated that the lack of political influence was the...
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...Renaissance/Reformation Scientific Revolution • Characteristics of Humanism/how it spread - Theories of Copernicus, Newton • Roles for women - Rulers support of scientific academies • Calvin’s teachings • Attitudes toward Anabaptists Economics • Goals of Protestant princes - mercantilism • Opposition to Spanish rule in UPN - decline of Hanseatic League • Places where major faiths co-existed - causes of 16th century inflation - Changes in Russian serfs status in 17th & 18th centuries Absolutism - purpose of “putting out” system Attitudes toward the Edict of Nantes - theories of Adam Smith Thomas Hobbes & Jacques Bossuet - 18th & 19th centuries’ standard of living Constitutional nations in 17th century improvements Factors supporting French absolutism Factors in decline of Sweden Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland 18th Century Results of the Thirty Years’ War - Partitions of Poland -Enlightened Despots’ achievements/ Reforms 19th Century - Britain’s foreign policy concerns Attitudes toward the Corn Laws - Peasant demands in French Revolution Goals of liberals, nationalists - Lasting changes of French Revolution Support for Greek independence - Critics of the French Revolution Theories of Thomas Malthus - Achievements of women in French Luddites Revolution Influences in French politics in 1830s - utilitarianism ...
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...American Revolution Section one American Revolution dates back to the early colonial years. During the stat of the year 1650, Great Britain began to control, limit and restrict their American colonists by forcing them to follow and adhere to some of harsh rule such as the Navigation Act. This restriction took effect alongside many more restrictions. Thus between the year 1650 and 1776, a number of the colonists found it difficult to enjoy freedom and finally they opted to unite and rebel against their home country. Among the causes of revolution were high taxation, legacy in political issues and general restriction of civil liberals. All these added up to the strong forces that propelled the colonists to revolve. This section is going to answer the big question whether or not the American Revolution was successful and the major reasons behind the success. To start with, the American Revolution was indeed successful. Several aspects highly contributed to this success. Americans were under what we can describe as the strongest and one of the most stable leadership ever in the region. For instance, they were led by people like General Washington George who were extremely skilled and mastered the entire terrain of the country. The Britain forces came from across the Atlantic Ocean and they had no prior knowledge and experience of the American revolutionaries combat. In addition, the British had a general problem of transporting and supplying their equipment across the large Atlantic...
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...When people think of World History, some might think of the American and French Revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were two major events that happened in the late 1700s and made an enormous impact for the original 13 colonies in America, Great Britain and France. This essay will cover the similarities and differences between these major events, such as: The factors that led to the wars, ended the wars, important figures during the wars and much more. Sit back, relax and maybe even learn something new. First and foremost, let’s start at the beginning and see what factors led to the revolutions. On April 18, 1775 General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, got a set of instructions from England to seize all stores...
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...The Haitian Revolution was influenced initially by events in France, especially the French Revolution of 1789. According to Yvette Taylor Kanarick in Caribbean History Core Course, “The events unfolding in France were to profoundly affect the course of the St.Domingue revolution.”1 On August 26, 1789, the newly convened Estates General passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. France was divided into a rigid oppressive social class system just as St.Domingue. The first and second classes were made up of the clergy and the nobility, the third class was made up of all others from lawyers down to peasants. This unequal class structure created the atmosphere for the oppressed persons to fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, the people of St.Domingue, who were also French subjects, demanded their share of the slogan of liberty, equality and fraternity. This demand resulted in several conflicts between the different classes, which will later impact the revolt of the enslaved persons in the colony. The different classes were fighting for different reasons. The white plantocracy wanted equality with the whites in France and to rid themselves of the royalist bureaucracy to which they were subjected. The free coloureds on the other hand wanted equality with the whites politically and socially as well as an end to discriminations against them, while the enslaved people just simply grasped the opportunity to seek their freedom...
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...The Enlightenment removes some of the power of the French government and the church, and inspires a new type of society that is based on rationale, and not inherited power. More and more people are taking in this idea of equality and individual freedom. The American Revolution showed the French people that it is possible for a government with Enlightenment ideas integrated. Some American diplomats such as Benjamin Franklin have lived in Paris, where they talk with French authorities and respected people. Also, contact between the Americans and the French that helped the Americans win the war helped spread these revolutionary ideas to other people in France. This is important to the thesis because it shows one of the causes of the French Revolution, and the effects of The Enlightenement can...
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...1700s, France was an absolute monarchy with many detrimental issues. King Louis the 16th claimed divine right. This was the idea that God had a pointed him king. Christianity was use to manipulate the power structure and kept the clergy and aristocrats in power. Frances peasant population was being unfairly tax, bearing the weight of all of Frances revenue. The cost of previous wars had driven the country into a deep national debt. Famine was wide spread amongst the poorest a Frenchman. These are just a few of the factors that led to the French Revolution from 1789 to 1799. Enlightenment gave way to the scientific revolution that challenged widely held beliefs about the universe. This new way of thinking challenged the validity of the French estate system. Philosophers like Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire and their beliefs in the natural rights of man inspired both the French and the American revolutions. Additionally, Frances war debt was another contributor to its revolution. During the rule of King Louis the 15th, France was engaged in three costly wars. The war of Austrian cost France about 1billion dollars. After the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, France paid fifty percent of its annual revenue towards the interest from loans use to finance its Wars. This drove the country into an inflationary state that eventually led to higher taxes. Under the estate system, the Third Estate, the poorest of Frances citizens, bore the burden of paying all of Frances taxes....
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...Luke Rodia HIS 1012 Assignment 2: How far were the 1848 revolutions stimulated by socio-economic rather than political factors? The revolutions of 1848 were a series of simultaneous revolutions across a number of countries, mainly in Europe. A number of different reasons brought about these revolutions but each individual country had different reasons to why they had a revolution. As a result of this we cannot fully determine whether the 1848 revolutions were driven by socioeconomic or political reasons until we have looked at each major case individually, as this will allow us to make an accurate judgement on why the revolution occurred. To look at each country and their revolutionary events will allow us to see whether the 1848 revolutions were linked in any way, either politically or socioeconomically or if they were individual events which happened at the same time. On top of this we need to address the fact that not all European countries had revolutions, and some countries did begin to have revolutionary movements but they failed to take off as full revolutions. Once these points have been addressed then we can understand what stimulated the 1848 revolutions. The years leading up to the 1848 revolutions had set the tone for revolution. Across Europe there was wide spread hunger due to a failure in crops. Jones writes in his book “But events elsewhere had already taken on dangerous proportions. The potato crop in 1846 and 1847 had been destroyed by disease, causing food...
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...Notre Dame in 1804. The frontiers of the ancien regime had been expanded up to and beyond France’s natural borders, with the momentum of expansion following in direct correlation with the pace of France’s military conquests under the leadership of Bonaparte himself. The ‘Great Empire’ is often referred to as a single entity embracing French controlled Europe, but territories were in fact separated depending on the levels of French control. Territory ruled directly from Paris was known as the pays reunis which compromised of France’s natural frontiers (borders of the Rhine, Alps and Pyrenees) as well as annexed territories of Piedmont, Parma, Papal States and Holland after 1810. It was also divided into the pays conquis, which were nominally independent satellite states and formed a zone protecting the borders of the French Empire from attacks from countries such as Britain. These were ruled by Frenchmen who were usually close to Napoleon as a family member or as a close friend, such as Jerome Bonaparte who was King of Westphalia and Joachim Murat who was King of Naples. When discussing impact, the effects of Napoleon and his policies on factors such as economies, religion and nationalism in satellite states that composed the Napoleonic Empire will be taken into account, whether positive or negative on the states. Napoleon changed the running of countries in the European Empire to promote stability. For example, Napoleon appointed family members and close friends as leaders...
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...* * * * * * * Inspirations for the French Revolution * University of Phoenix * As French philosopher Denis Diderot stated, “Man is born to think for himself.” His bold ideology became the backbone of a revolution that would forever change the social and political situation in Europe (Repression, 2006). The French Revolution demanded the end of a corrupt monarchy, giving the country back to its citizens. Not only did the idea of individuals thinking for themselves flourish, but so did the ideas of national unity, individual liberty, and social equality. Out of the new sense of unity and liberty, however, a large amount of hubris entered the general attitude of French citizens, creating massive egos and the ultimate violence that led to the Reign of Terror. * The American Revolution that took place between 1765 and 1783 provided an example to those in Europe fighting for their rights. By declaring independence, America proved that “old regimes” can be overthrown. Those who fought in America and returned to France began to tell stories of a life where men are equal and freedom is a reality. With the enactment of the United States Constitution in 1788, ideas of the Enlightenment were solidified and validated (Impact of Revolution, n.d.). Enlightenment thinkers gained great momentum, calling for social and political change all over Europe. French revolutionaries eventually created the slogan, “Liberté, egalité, fraternité,” as a direct result...
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