- Intellectual movement of writers and thinkers.
- Challenged ideas about religion, nature and absolute monarchy.
- Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu led the way in France
- They targeted church and despotic govt
- The church was seen as wealthy, corrupt and intolerant.
- The King was challenged as God’s servant.
- These ideas appealed to revolutionaries.
Growing Resentment
- Between tithes, feudal dues, taxes and corrupt laws/judges anger grew.
- Taxes were raised between 1749 and 1783 to pay for France’s wars. Church tithes alone took between 5-10% of peasants’ income.
- Rents, however, increased as the population grew and demand for farms grew – Popn: (1705 - 22.4m) to (1790 - 27.9m).
- Urban workers’ prices rose by 65% (1726-1789) but wages only went up by 22%.
No comments:
Post a Comment