The French Revolution of 1789 had many causes, both short and long term. Thanks to inapt ruling for the better part of the century, France was in disarray financially, and thus, as so much depends on the economy, in most other ways as well. However, a Revolution such as the one in France does not come about simply because people are discontent. There also needs to be the concept of a better way of life, and some goal for the revolutionaries to strive for. This was provided by the philosophes, as the main French thinkers of the Enlightenment period were called. The ideas that they introduced into a society hungry for change were probably the most important, albeit indirect, cause of the Revolution.
The climate for the Revolution had been present for quite some time before it actually broke out. The root of the problem was the absolute monarchy as way of government, and the unreasonable power of the Church.…
