The French Revolution Class 9 History | CBSE Notes, NCERT Solutions & Exam Guide
The French Revolution was a pivotal event in the making of the modern world, fundamentally changing the concepts of liberty, freedom, and equality that are often taken for granted today. I. Context and Pre-Revolutionary France (The Old Regime) Financial Crisis and Debt In 1774 , Louis XVI ascended the throne of France, finding an empty treasury. This was largely due to long years of war that had drained France's financial resources, including the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at Versailles. France's assistance to the thirteen American colonies in gaining independence from Britain further added over a billion livres (French currency, discontinued in 1794) to an existing debt of more than 2 billion livres. Lenders began charging 10% interest on loans, forcing the government to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone. To cover regular expenses like maintaining the army, court, government offices, or universities, the state w...