In order to understand the long-term economic impact that the revolution had on France, one needs to first have a general idea of what their economic situation was like at the beginning of the revolution and during the revolution. In 1789 when the revolution began the nation was in an immense amount of debt, (See, 1968, p. 93) most of which was blamed heavily on the war. Even though the war was responsible for the larger portion of the debt it was not the only reason for the overwhelming debt that France was in. There were other circumstances that added to the situation. The financiers that were in charge of making financial decision then were not as reliable as they should have been. For them, the idea of clearing the people of France from debt was to borrow money from international countries. This would not necessarily be a bad thing if they had also developed an appropriate plan to repay these additional debts. However, they did come up with a plan which later proved to be unsuccessful. They came up with “assignats” which was a compulsory currency, in fact it was more like a bond that obligates them to make payments which during those time would be a piece of land or a church property (Thom,182). This came to an end when the value of the assignats dropped and it became more and more unaccepted as a form of payment. And at this time the country plunged into even more debt.
The financiers did not only create assignats, but they also decided to increase taxes to assist with the paying off of the country’s debt. The increase of taxes did not favor the economy, but it took a turn for the worst, it actually led to one of the hardest time the French population had to experience. During this time the nation experienced riots, famine and people dying from hunger (Shovlin, 119). This did not affect the Nobles and Wealthy as much since they had already accumulated property. They used their money and wealth to bribe the King (Louis XVI) yearly so as to exempt them and their families from this tax increase; and meanwhile the poor and middle class families were struggling to pay their taxes and keep their families alive. It was very hard during that time for the farmers and merchants because when the tax collectors collected their taxes it was even higher than it really should be, this was because the tax collectors themselves would add more to the amount, which they later used feed their families and fatten themselves. However, it was during these hard times that the government and the financiers decided to inform the people of France of how much debt that they were really in (Shovlin, 218).
The French Revolution, which began in the year 1789, was a very difficult time for France. The nation ventured through several unsuccessful methods of trying to manage the economical problems they were facing. The public (the French people) or the communities of France were unaware because most parts of the country were in debt. With years of trial and failure, France was able to plough its way through patriotism to gain back some form of stability to their country’s economy. This is a true example of what it means to come together as one for the better good. The people of France truly expressed their loyalty to their country, a true attribute that was or is still needed by many other countries. During the revolution, France economy underwent a series of circumstances that crippled the country’s economic development. Despite of these circumstances, France was able to conquer the problems at hand and at the same time influenced their country’s economic development on a long-term basis. The revolution was without a doubt a tough time for the nation of France, but with a lot of persistence and dedication the people prevailed.
In 1792 a new political order was formed and France became a Republic. With this new convention the King Louis XVI was killed. With the king gone it was a fresh start for the country. But nothing in life came easy because even though the new convention meant well, there was still havoc within the French communities and coming to a solution was still difficult. When the king was executed his rulings were no longer followed and so the people still needed to be out of debt and they also needed a firm control over their country (Shovlin, 203). In the late part of the year of 1792 the convention received a petitioner’s demand for price control as the price for supplies such as grain were extremely out of control. In December of that same year the convention held a meeting and discussed in length the problem that people were facing with the price of supplies. It was in that meeting that Creuzé- Latouche president of the Sine agricultural society brought to the conventions attention that society really misunderstood what agriculture truly is (See, 1968, p. 106). He explained how due to the wealthy and their gullible way of been dazzled by expensive fabrics and elegant furniture that they were better than farmers because they didn’t have or expressed the need for those items. He went on to say that if it wasn’t for that, people would consider each other on an equal level. In that same meeting, Creuzé mentioned that the convention should put a limit on the amount of land space that people used for cultivating. The convention took what he said and embarked upon it. It was through this movement that the people of France embraced the way of Patriotism by cultivating grains to assist with the stabilizing the nation’s debt.
After being away, in 1799 Napoleon returned to France and joined the council. He was very impressed with the way the convention handled the country’s debt recovery and so he too got involved with the cultivating of grains. (Thom, 177)That was not the only thing that Napoleon did to encourage the reform, he encouraged change that created stability in the governing of the country. Napoleon promoted higher education, developed codes for taxes and he was even responsible for establishing the Bank of France. He was a strong believer in change for the better and it was through his leadership and a country’s will to develop its economy that the people of France today are still standing strong.
Works Cited
See, Henri. Economic and Social Conditions in France during the Eighteenth Century. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc, 1968.
Shovlin, John. The Political Economy of Virtue. New York: Cornell University Press, 2006.
Thom, Martin. The French Revolution: An Economic Interpretation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.