The members of the Third Estate formed the National Assembly to force the king to make reforms. He was a weak king and didn't realize how bad the situation was for the commoners in France. The 'Era of Enlightenment' presented new ideas such as 'liberty' and 'equality.' Also, the American Revolution represented a new type of government where the people ruled rather than a king.īefore the Storming of the Bastille, King Louis XVI had been losing power within the French government. However, in the 1700s, the culture began to change. However, the cost of bread skyrocketed and people were hungry and starving.įor hundreds of years the people of France had blindly followed the king and accepted their place in life. The common people mostly ate bread to survive. Higher taxes angered the common people, especially since the nobles didn't have to pay their share.įrance was experiencing famine at the time. The nobles and the clergy were largely exempt from paying taxes.

The commoners of France (the Third Estate) had to pay the majority of the taxes. With such great debt, the king had no other option than to try and raise taxes. Also, the government had borrowed to fight Great Britain in the Seven Years' War and to help the Americans in the Revolutionary War. The king had borrowed heavily to maintain a lavish lifestyle. In 1789, the French government was in a major financial crisis. There wasn't one event or condition that led to the French Revolution, but, rather, a number of factors came together to cause a perfect storm leading to the revolt of the people against the king. There was little chance for people to move from one estate to another. Most of France belonged to the Third Estate. The people of France were divided into three social classes called 'estates.' The First Estate was the clergy, the Second Estate was the nobles, and the Third Estate was the commoners. The king had total power over the government and the people. To understand what caused the French Revolution, we have to understand what France was like before it all happened.

We. the revolution audio glitch