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Causes of French Revolution - Coggle Diagram
Causes of French Revolution
Unfair tax system
Peasants rented land from wealthy lords; paid them taxes to have the right to grow crops on land.
Paid Catholic church tax = tithe (1/10 of earnings)
Paid tax to the king = taille
Paid landowners ½ of the crops they produced
High Food Costs
A severe drought in 1788 caused crop failure - cost of flour
began to rise
Previously peasants spent 50% of income on bread 🡪 Before Fr.
Rev. that rose to 88%
American Revolution (1775-1783)
Louis XVI angry that Britain took France’s N. American territories during
the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763)
Secretly started sending supplies in 1775
Am. Rev. was well received in France seen as the Enlightenment spirit in
action against British tyranny
Recognized America as a sovereign nation in 1778, signed a military
alliance, and went to war w/Britain 🡪 spent over a billion livres on war 🡪
huge debt
Extravagant Court Spending + King Louis XVI could not
implement financial reform
King, Queen (Marie Antoinette), and ministers spent enormous sums on
luxuries
Tried to pass a law to tax nobility, but they refused
Could not find money to boost economy did not know what to do