The Spark of the French Revolution

Towards the turn of the 19th century, the age of enlightenment had reached it’s peak and was more influential as ever before. The ideas of the Enlightenment were spreading and affecting the people of Europe, especially France, at an exponential rate. As these thoughts of civil liberties, the resentment of noble and clerical privileges, and the resentment of royal absolutism became known by a great majority of the French, oppressed population it seem as if change was the only option and it had to occur on a large scale. John Locke, preached on the idea of civil librities that should be a right and not only a privledge of upper classes. Also, with constant struggle economically and agriculturally the people of France felt that Louis XVI was incapable of ruling their country successfully, which reinforced the idea of creating a constitutional monarchy. The thoughts and concepts, established by the enlightened thinkers of the time, provided the spark for the inevitable French Revolution.