The destruction of the Bastille
The destruction of the Bastille came as the culmination of years of oppression and poverty suffered by the Third Estate of France, who had become more and more angered by the class system, King Louis XVI's abuse of power, and price inflation. This, accompanied by the inspiration brought on by the Enlightenment documents and by other successful revolutions, made the Third Estate realize it was time for a change. The French class system was one of the main factors leading to the decision to storm the Bastille. The class system in France divided the French populace into three parts; the First Estate, Second Estate, and Third Estate. The First Estate consisted of the king, his family, and the clergy. The Second Estate consisted of nobles, while the Third Estate consisted of everyone else. The Third Estate made up 97% of the French population and was treated horrendously by the first two estates. They had to work hard for very little, and most of what they managed to earn went to the first two estates, who gave them no say in the government. All of the Third Estate suffered because of the problems presented to them. However, it was
Another factor in the decision to attack the Bastille was the king's abuse of power. The fact that all of the taxing, law-making, and decision-making rested in the hands of one person was, depending on that person, the thing that made or broke a monarchy. If the person in power was just, wise, and capable, then the monarchy was a success. However, if the person in charge was harsh, foolish, and incapable, then the monarchy was a failure. The French monarch was the latter of the two. The actions of King Louis XVI, the ruler at the time of the revolution, contributed greatly to the peasants' decision to destroy the Bastille. Louis abused his power constantly; he over taxed his subjects; he wrongly imprisoned people; he spent much of France's money on the construction of the Palace of Versailles; and he fired the French financial minister, Necker, when Necker warned him about his spending. His actions caused the French to lose faith in the monarchy and, eventually, to despise it. Once the seeds of revolution had been planted in the Middle Class, they needed a way to spread their desire and ideas, and they used everything they
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Approximate Word count = 765
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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