FRENCH REVOLUTION
FRANCE UNDER NAPOLEON
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Sale of Catholic lands
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Sale of French lands (Louisiana Purchase) to the U.S.
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Heavy burden of taxes on the 3rd Estate
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Doubling the government’s debt through lavish spending
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Detailed explanation-1: -He also borrowed heavily in order to help the American revolutionaries in their war against Great Britain–France’s chief rival – thereby nearly doubling the government’s debt. In 1786, bankers refused to lend the government any more money, and Louis faced serious problems.
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: -His mercantilist policies discouraged imports through high tariffs and tried to build up export industries whose sales abroad would increase the amount of money flowing into the kingdom. Building up France’s economy was just one part of Louis XIV’s program for increasing the country’s power.
Detailed explanation-4: -Causes of debt The French Crown’s debt was caused by both individual decisions, such as intervention in the American War of Independence and the Seven Years’ War, and underlying issues such as an inadequate taxation system.
Detailed explanation-5: -Louis XIV began his personal reign with effective fiscal reforms. He chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert as Controller-General of Finances in 1665, and Colbert reduced the national debt through more efficient taxation.