When Did the French Revolution Start and End
The French Revolution began due to the unfair and terrible treatment of a large proportion of the French population known as the third estate. 97% of the people of France worked hard to feed their families and made little to no money doing it. On top of that they did not own the land that they worked, and their work benefited the wealthy and filled their pockets with gold. They were required to pay rent, dues and taxes leaving them with very little money to even dream of owning their own land.
Prior to the revolution the people of France belonged to three estates or castes. The first estate was the religious leaders and those in charge of the church. These people owned 10% of the countries land and made up only 1% of the population. The second estate consisted of those who were nobility. The lived on manor that were inherited and not worked for and made up 2% of the population of France and owned 25% of the land. They collected dues and rent from the peasants that worked and lived on the land they owned.
The third estate saw this as unjust and unfair and sought to develop a new constitution for France that would create equality for all. The Estate-Generals of the third estate met together in a tennis court after being locked out of meeting with the king and began what we now know as the French revolution in 1789. Disturbed by the revolution this was beginning to spark King Louis XVI placed troops throughout the capital city. This was misinterpreted as a move to squash the new constitution and revolt began. Many battles took place including the storming of the Bastille in July and the March on Versailles in October. The latter which forced the royal court back to Paris. In September of 1792 France became a republic and the Revolutionary Wars broke out. The next year King Louis XVI was executed. France remained in a state of turmoil until a Consulate was formed under Napoleon Bonaparte and the revolution ended in 1799.
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