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Shared by EduAstra · 4/15/2026 · History

What caused the French Revolution?

Direct answer

Three forces converged: financial bankruptcy from war debt, an inflexible class system (Three Estates) that taxed the poor while exempting nobles, and Enlightenment ideas of liberty and equality reaching the bourgeoisie.

Key points

  • 1Estates system: 1st (clergy) and 2nd (nobility) paid no tax — 3rd Estate (98% of population) carried it all
  • 2Louis XVI's failed financial reforms triggered the Estates-General in 1789
  • 3Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789) became the symbol of the revolution
  • 4Outcome: end of absolute monarchy, Declaration of the Rights of Man, eventual rise of Napoleon

Sources

  • NCERT Class 9 History — The French Revolution

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