Essay | An Examination of Factors Leading to the French Revolution

In the analysis of the death throes of the old order and a thorough examination of the socio-political causes of the French Revolution, the grievances and remonstrances of the Third Estate sharpened the conflicts and tensions they engendered and swept the way for the final revolution in 1789. The Third Estate of that era was by no means homogenous, with the affluent bourgeoisie paving the way for the intellectual Enlightenment, to the 20 million peasants at the bottom of the social scale, who suffered the brunt of the taxes imposed by the monarchy and the First and Second Estates. There were various grievances of the Third Estate which led to the acrimonious dispute for their rights, of which the economic burdens ranked the heaviest on the list. Encumbered by economic burdens in the form of seigneurial rights and dues, deprived of social rights of individual liberties, and with a...
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