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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allmembers of the population were living luxurious lifestyles
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LouisXVI and Marie Antoinette were heavy spenders
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LouisXVI had aided the Americans in the revolution against Britain doubling France’sdebt
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both red and blue are correct
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Detailed explanation-1: -France’s Debt Problems France’s prolonged involvement in the Seven Years’ War of 1756–1763 drained the treasury, as did the country’s participation in the American Revolution of 1775–1783.
Detailed explanation-2: -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.
Detailed explanation-3: -The American Revolution [1775-1783] cost France 1.3 billion livres. By 1789 France’s total debt was 4 billion livres or $40 billion. France was on the verge of bankruptcy with no means to pay.
Detailed explanation-4: -The spark that ignited the French Revolution (1789-1799), one of the most important events in modern global history, was actually government debt, accumulated during the course of two wars, and the desire of King Louis XVI to increase taxes to pay off that debt.