MAKING OF A NEW NATION 1776 1800
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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bad weather caused a grain shortage and bread prices rose
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the taxes were so high that business could not be conducted
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the population of France had decreased
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -Throughout the 18th century, France faced a mounting economic crisis. A rapidly growing population had outpaced the food supply. A severe winter in 1788 resulted in famine and widespread starvation in the countryside. Rising prices in Paris brought bread riots.
Detailed explanation-2: -The causes of the French Revolution can be narrowed to five main factors: the Estate System, absolutism, Enlightenment ideas, food shortages, and the American Revolution.
Detailed explanation-3: -Unemployment is high and the government’s finances are weak. “France’s fundamental economic problem, ” the OECD says, “is a lack of growth.” The latest figures for economic activity (gross domestic product or GDP) for the first quarter of the year show growth of 0.5%.
Detailed explanation-4: -French involvement in the Seven Years’ War and the American War of Independence added substantially to the state’s debts. Jacques Necker, finance minister from 1777 and 1781, had largely funded France’s war effort through loans. As a result the state debt ballooned to between 8 and 12 billion livres by 1789.