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(Of the Elim Pentecostal Church in Zimbabwe)
"A" LEVEL HISTORY REVISION
COMPILED BY:
K. MUTUKUMIRA
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789-1799)
"The influence of the great French thinkers was the most important cause for the 1789 revolution in France." Critically examine this assertion.
Demands: The key issue in the question is to assess whether the great French thinkers contributed mostly to the outbreak of the French revolution. Other factors should also be analysed to come out with a balanced assessment
Introduction
The view that the influence of the great French thinkers was the most important cause for the $\mathbf{1 7 8 9}$ revolution is a subject of historical debate. While one can appreciate the role of these French philosophers in stirring up the revolution, it is however incorrect to rank it as the most important cause. Other factors such as the king's incompetence, the financial crisis, the ambitious nobility and poor harvests seem to have played a far much better role in bringing about the crisis of 1789 than the writings of these philosophers.
Side A: Role of the great French thinkers
-brought what D. Thomson calls the 'the revolutionary spirit'.
-their doctrines created an atmosphere of criticism of the Old Order.
-their works created an awareness on the people of the injustice of the Ancien Regime.
-they attacked the caste system, resented the idea of one man being more important than the others.
-they preached the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.
-they supplied much of the theory which underlay the revolution (D. Richards).
-the philosophers gave cohesion to the discontent and aspirations of widely varying social classes.
-they brought a unifying body of ideas, a common vocabulary. of hope and protest
Side B: Other factors
-Louis XVI's incompetence and intransigence
-influence of Marie-Antoinette
-dismissal of finance controller generals like Turgot and Necker
-institution of autocratic monarchy was no longer corresponding to the needs of the time
-financial crisis
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