{"id":2716,"date":"2016-06-28T06:35:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T06:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2716"},"modified":"2026-02-23T17:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T17:49:09","slug":"french-revolution-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/french-revolution-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"French Revolution: A Detailed Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\u00a0French Revolution<\/a>\u00a0was a major event in the history of Western societies, and had a profound effect on the world today.\u00a0 Beginning in 1789, the French Revolution saw the French people overthrow their\u00a0absolute monarchy<\/a>\u00a0and bring about a republic that was based on the principles of equality, liberty and fraternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FRANCE BEFORE THE FRENCH REVOLUTION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before the French Revolution<\/a>, French society was structured in the relics of\u00a0feudalism<\/a>, in a system known as the\u00a0Estates System<\/a>.\u00a0 The estate to which a person belonged was very important because it determined that person\u2019s rights and status in society.\u00a0 Usually a person remained in one estate for his or her lifetime, and any movement from upwards in the estate system could take many generations.\u00a0 The first estate was the clergy, the second estate was the nobility and the third estate was the peasants.\u00a0 While the peasants made up the vast majority of the people in French society, over 96%, they lacked any political or economic power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1789, this began to cause anger amongst the peasant class, as many of them began to question the authority of their monarch,\u00a0Louis XVI<\/a>.\u00a0 Additionally, several other elements combined to cause the French Revolution to begin.\u00a0 For example, in the decades before the French Revolution, Europe was being transformed by the\u00a0Age of Enlightenment.\u00a0 The Enlightenment<\/a> involved an intellectual movement, in which famous thinkers and philosophers challenged some of the basic foundations of society, including: role of the government, basic human nature, sources of authority and ideas centered on liberty.\u00a0 These new ideas cause people in France to begin questioning the role and authority of Louis XVI and inspire French commoners to work to overthrow their absolute monarch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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