The Frech Revolution was an event that took place in Europe during a ten year period from 1789 to 1799. It came right after the American Revolution which occured only a decade ealier. France was the most advanced and the most wealthiest country in Europe, with a large population and a prosperous foreign trade. France's culture was widely praised and emulated by the rest of the world. But all this success hadn't led to good only, with high taxes, high prices, and disturbing questions raised by The Enlightenment ideas of Rousseau and Voltaire, came to a great unrest in France.
The Revolution was helped caused due to the economic and inequalities in the Old Regime. The French Revolution caused the transformation of France, which went from absolute monarchy to a republic of theoritically free and equalized people. A feudalized system came about in the 1770's called the Old Regime. This caused France to be divided into three larger social groups, or estates. The first estate were clergy of the Roman Catholic Church and only made up 1 percent of the population in France. They had privilages including access to high offices and exemptions from paying taxes, and owned 10 percent of the land in France. It provided education and relief services to the poor and only contributed 2 percent of its income to the government. They scorned the Enlightenment ideas.The second estate were made up of rich nobles and only made up 2 percent of France. Most of their wealth was off land they owned. The nobles owned 20 percent of the land and paid no taxes. They also scorned The Enlightenment ideas as radical notions that threatened their status and power as privileged persons.
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