French Revolution Swot Analysis

The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.

People made their money from land-ownership and commerce was something that would have been looked down upon a few decades earlier. Mandarin’s gradually lost their prestige and were not much better off materially than the merchants and peasants they governed. Commerce and business became not only respectable, but also desirable to develop a country. The French also began to educate more natives and open up the middle and upper levels of government to the locals. When Duong Thieu Chi got a job in the colonial government, the French had become more militant and structured (Elliot, p. 85).

During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment,

They had a strong state government, they were allies with the French. They had free trade

They country was in a lot of debt because of all the foreign wars, invasions, and colonization. For example, the American Revolution, the French-Indian War, wars with Spain, and colonization of South America and Africa all took place overseas and cost a lot of money. Also, a lot of the French nobles fled the country, but the king was still giving them money when they were living in other courts of European monarchs. The French King agreed to do this because

Lastly, the economic causes of the French revolution were the high taxes for the middle class people during that time. The slaves worked day and night to earn money but because of the taxes that the nobles proposed, they could not pay for it. Therefore, there was a large economic strain on France which was not the case with Haiti since they were thriving due to free labour and surplus goods. Despite their differences, the French and Haitian revolutions are also similar because of St. Domingue which was the common link between France and Haiti.

It truly had a huge impact on the rest of the world. The French did not have slavery and haiti did support slavery. The conditions before the french revolution were good because of economic growth, foreign trade and good agriculture. The growth of number of people rose, prices increased with the development of capitalism system. The standard of living started to suffer so they had to work in order to eliminate the suffering.

The militaristic inclination of France during the late 18th and early 19th century was the culmination of the idealism of the newly adopted French political system, and the abrupt character of French people's motivation to implement these ideals. As discontent with the despotic system of government in France increased in magnitude and scale, the will to fight in order to achieve equality became gained momentum. Factors such as the rapid spread of enlightenment ideals, the socio-economic inequity of the three estate system, and leaders’ utilization of French citizens’ new sense of justice to incite warfare, all come together to create an militaristic, imperial French nation. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, enacted July of 1789, provided the foundation

The French, not at all like the Haitian slaves, were under a legislature as nationals and were trying to overthrow their current government. In doing so, they wanted to create a new government where they had rights that could settle their social needs as well as repair the damages caused by the war and decrease France’s debt. France was going through an internal battle because for 175 years the estates general wasn’t in session and when it was in session in 1789, King Louis XVI asked for more money but locked out the third estate. The third estate had no voice, rights and were just poor peasants suffering from having to pay 40% tax. Louis XVI was the king of France and thusly was considered in charge of its monetary emergency and the disparity of the French society.

However, Americans were able to succeed because of their quick increase in population and economy. One of France’s financial problems came from the money they loaned America during the war. Arthur Young traveled throughout France and saw that “lands held by the nobility are taxed very little [and] lands held by commoners are taxed heavily” (Doc B). This comes back to the idea of inequality and how the government supported a class system in France that negativly affects the third estate. Because commoners’ land was taxed so much, they were unable to feed themselves.

Do the ends justify the mean? If you were an American soldier ready to be deployed for a massive land invasion of Japan, the atomic bombs saved your life. World War II ended when the United States dropped the atomic bombs and saved thousands of American lives. The French Revolution faced a similar dilemma. The rallying cry for the revolution was equality, liberty, and fraternity, bringing the first democracy to France.

Consequently, these countries now controlled the resources found in their respective colonies. European industries, especially those of food, textiles, and automotive, significantly benefited from Africa’s plentiful cotton, palm oil, sugar, metals, rubber, and so on (Document D). Several countries, such as Great Britain, would profit over $20 million yearly in exports following African colonization (Document E). Gaining abundant resources through the colonization of Africa was essential for European industries to survive economically. Africa’s resources were the principal factor that drove European

By conquering more land he expanded France’s resources and

France, which grew in trade and wealth, became the new power. With

The now rich soil brought about by the agricultural revolution let the crops give the nutrients which helped peasants withstand childbirth and live longer, leading to an increase in population. Since the Europeans were able to feed their families from the excess food, it allowed them to find time to learn new trades and develop new skills. The businesses increased from the expansion of the population of those living in cities and towns. They were given land from the king through an agreement called a charter.