<P> The essence of the revolutionary situation which existed in France in the 1780s was the bankruptcy of the king , and hence the state . This economic crisis was due to the rapidly increasing costs of government and to the overwhelming costs incurred by fighting two major wars : the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War . These costs could not be met from the usual sources of state revenue . Since the 1770s , several attempts by different ministers to introduce financial stability had failed . The taxation system was burdensome upon the middle class and the more prosperous peasants , given that the nobles were largely able to exempt themselves from it . As a result , there was `` an insistent demand '' for reform of these abuses of privilege , for an equitable means of taxation and for improved government processes . David Thomson argued that the bourgeoisie and peasantry had `` something to lose , not merely something to gain '' in their demands for a fairer society and this fear too was a major factor in the revolutionary situation . </P>
<P> The essence of the revolutionary situation which existed in France in the 1780s was the bankruptcy of the king , and hence the state . This economic crisis was due to the rapidly increasing costs of government and to the overwhelming costs incurred by fighting two major wars : the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War . These costs could not be met from the usual sources of state revenue . Since the 1770s , several attempts by different ministers to introduce financial stability had failed . The taxation system was burdensome upon the middle class and the more prosperous peasants , given that the nobles were largely able to exempt themselves from it . As a result , there was `` an insistent demand '' for reform of these abuses of privilege , for an equitable means of taxation and for improved government processes . David Thomson argued that the bourgeoisie and peasantry had `` something to lose , not merely something to gain '' in their demands for a fairer society and this fear too was a major factor in the revolutionary situation . </P>
what was an immediate cause of the french revolution
what was an immediate cause of the french revolution
bankruptcy of the king , and hence the state
bankruptcy of the king , and hence the state