The French Revolution is an important historical event of Europe as well as the entire world. Prior to the revolution’s outburst, the economic, social and political conditions were unscrupulous. However, most global revolutions never erupt for a single reason. This essay discusses political causes and results of the French Revolution, Development of nationalism in French revolution and three consequences of industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Political causes of French revolution
Over the period of 18th century, France was a center of autocratic monarchy. As such, the monarchs in France had unlimited powers and therefore declared themselves God’s representatives on earth (Hampson, 2013). They also engaged in extravagance and lived a life of opulence. Having wielded so much power, they would arrest any person at will and imprison them. Their unlimited powers made them pay no attention to their subjects.
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Goodwin, (2016) explains that between 1643 and 1715 there was a very powerful monarch Louis XIV, he often referred to himself as the state. He was very hardworking and efficient. As such he had a robust foreign policy and participated in so many wars. He was later to be succeeded by Louis XV between 1715 and 1774. He was a weaker monarch and had indigent foreign policies. He took France in a seven-year war against England which ended up economically draining France as well as bringing no gain to it. Consequently, France overspending on war led to their bankruptcy. Louis XV died and was succeeded by Louis XVI from 1774-1793. He was an innocent man but was married to Queen Marie Antoinette who loved affluence and lived extravagantly. Being a daughter of the Australian Empress, the Queen was always proud and interfered substantially with matters of the state. Owing to the bankruptcy that France had slid into, her extravagance sowed seeds of revolution. There was a defective administration and extravagance that would become the political cause for the French Revolution.
Political results of French revolution
The political outcomes of French revolution includes the following: firstly, the establishment of human rights. The French revolution brought about a conversation and deliberations on the human rights as well as the rights of women and slaves. Due to this, a movement was formed that for the rights of slaves and women ion the world. Secondly, the revolution brought about a fast development of democracies and republics. The revolution wiped out the French aristocratic and oppressive Monarchs to come up with an accountable government build from a democracy. Power ceased to be a preserve of the bourgeois who claimed as their right, the involvement in leadership, politics and administration.
Development of nationalism in French revolution
The French Revolution was critical in creating the idea of nationalism because it promoted the concept that people owned the state and thus individuals belonging to that state had important stakes in it. Although the idea was not exclusive for French people, it was manifested strongly in France than any other part of Europe as at then. Before the revolution, individuals identified themselves more as the subject of particular rulers. For instance one would identify with King Louis XIV. He was notorious for referring to himself as the state and people kind off bought into that concept thinking that he and the state were one and the same. When the oppression became unbearable, people felt not loyal to the King. However, with the French revolution, the concept changed. People understood that they were all citizens of the state which belonged to all of them and that they had a stake in it. The French people therefore came to identify strongly with their state helping nationalism. Thus people conceived the idea of associating themselves with their state and feeling that they have a stake in it.
Three Consequences of Industrialization in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Industrialization in the 19th and 20th century had the following influences: the first is economic consequence. Working in the industries affected the lives of people outside their working environment. A transformation of their lives followed from the income they earned as wedges or salaries which enabled them to invest and grow their economic statuses. Also, the revolution brought about urbanization. The income that individuals earned from working in the industries led to growth of small towns as a result of trade. Many of the industries were located in a given area which grew to become an urban centre. The revolution resulted in growth and accumulation of wealth by individuals who became rich and built the small urban centres which were later to be the towns (Fernihough, & O'Rourke, 2014).
The second is social consequences. The industrial revolution resulted into the emergence of new families and class structures which adjusted to the new wedge economy die to enhanced production from household to industries (Fernihough, & O'Rourke, 2014). The old divisions into clergy, nobility and commoners shifted to working class and middle class. Enterprises also emerged from different households as classes came about due to the difference in income levels. Further, the populations migrated from rural to urban areas, some of whom moved in search of jobs in the industries. As other people acquired wealth and invested in the industries or in trade centers, others would get employment as workers in the industries improving their standards of living.
The third is technological consequences. The industrial revolution in the 19th and 20th century led to the invention of the steam engine which provided cheaper movement of goods and services through the water bodies (Fernihough, & O'Rourke, 2014). Also, technologically, the revolution brought about the railroad system which eased transport ensuring materials could be transported cheaply vial rail. The travelling made easier also brought t about long distance relationships which would later lead to intermarriages.
References
Hampson, N. (2013). A social history of the French Revolution (Vol. 22). London: Routledge.
Goodwin, A. (2016). The French Revolution . London: Routledge.
Fernihough, A., & O'Rourke, K. H. (2014). Coal and the European industrial revolution (No. w19802). National Bureau of Economic Research . Retrieved from http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/papers/13183/Coal%20-%20O'Rourke%20124.pdf.
