Causes of French Revolution

French Revolution started in 1789 with the accumulated resentment French people had towards the King, Louis XVI. The resentment was accumulated from many aspects, such as unfair treatment, the king’s incompetence and poverty. Social, political and geographic factors is definitely the causes of French revolution. The General Estate was one of the most inhuman systems which planned the seed of revolution. The General Estate was the system used before French Revolution to divide the French population. The French population was divided in three sectors, clergy, noble and the commoners. People in the third Estate, commoners, had to work and pay tax, whereas the people in the first and second Estate did not.

Taxation was collected from the commoners to the noble and clergy, and was also spent by them. It led the people in the first two Estate which was only 10% of the population controlled 99% wealth of France. This unfair treatment caused the people in the third Estate united by their common identity, the commoners. This division among the people and extreme wealth distribution also inspired Social nationalism where the commoners stood up and fought for their own welfare. Every system has its own merit. However, Louis XVI, the king of France, was too incompetent to utilize it. France was one of wealthiest and the most powerful nations in Europe. However, the entire nation was in debt after Louis the XVI decided to involve in the American Revolution.