French revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

French revolution - Essay Example The revolution reached its climax in 1789 upon the reconvening of the estates-general, France’s ancient legislative arm, when it became apparent that the higher class had refused to give away their privileges in the interest of saving the nation’s crippling economy. The ordinary French citizens seized this chance to force a revolution. The revolution thus got born out of a battle to attain equality and remove oppression and thus reshaped France’s social and political dimension. The French revolution served an unexpected blow to the nobles. The revolution saw the abolition of privilege and the declaration of rights of man and citizen (Hunt 62). The document of declaration made it clear that each French citizen was equal. The nobles had managed to monopolize all of the country’s wealth and had become adamant in their refusal to share the tax burden that got inflicted on the country’s wealth. With the onset of the revolution, a few nobles who sensed da nger switched sides and fought for the revolution. The nobles who still remained adamant to their privileges faced the fury of the revolution mob (Tackett 101). Many got sent to the guillotine. The revolution achieved the aim of bringing equality among the French citizens. The abolition of privilege also saw a new tax system get put in place where every citizen got to pay his tax share according to the wealth he possessed. Nobility got completely ended. The revolution also saw the abolition of church privileges that impacted on the clergy. The clergy got considered as first class citizens and most of them made up the noble class. Most of the clergy were bishops who got nominated by the king. The clergy got viewed in the same league as the aristocrats. Church property got confiscated early in the revolution. Church lands became nationalized and got sold leading to a full tenth of France’s lands to change hands. The revolution brought a massive redistribution of land that previ ously got consigned to the clergy. In present day France, church property belongs to the locals (Tackett 33). Priests got demanded to take new oaths of allegiance and loyalty to the state. Those who refused got imprisoned, executed or went into hiding. The clergy got employed as salaried officials of the state. The revolution also provided a beacon of hope and freedom to the lives of the ordinary people in France at the time. The revolution led to the creation of new political forces that centered on democracy and nationalism. This new forces gave the ordinary people hope of having an equitable and just society (Hunt 101). The revolution saw the birth of a new government system that shunned monarchy and aristocracy. The ordinary people became the significant beneficiaries of the fruits of the revolution. In the old order French society, not everyone got to enjoy rights. The revolution made a huge step towards having all men enjoy equal rights. The document of declaration of rights o f man and citizen showed promise to the ordinary people who got placed in the lower echelons of society. The French revolution did not only impact and shape the political arena in France; the revolution had a far reaching political consequence on the continent of Europe too. Most European countries at the time of the French revoluti