HIS241H1 Lecture Notes - Bourgeoisie, Girondins, Tennis Court Oath
Document Summary
With less than these, you cnanot have a revolution. You can have riots or uprisings, but no rev. French revolution is an example and a paradigm for. France had been an absolutist monarch since 16thc; as long as they were successful there was little domestic opposition. Louis xiv was even successful in foreign policy; seeking absolute security even menaced all of his enemies. French parliament was nev- er called in, so he could rule however he pleased. But in the second half of his reign, he was defeated in wars repeatedly. By time louis xvi was around, there was a deap-seeated problem: opposition form those would wanted to reinstate the parliament, and they had found their voice criticizing. Fighting wars pissed off their own people even if they were trouncing the english in the latter part of the 18thc. They brough the country into debt and the people wanted to bring back the parliaments, challening the authority of the king.
