Page 53 - Key to Social Studies 5
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Major Causes of the Revolution
1. Debt and Taxes
A war with Britain had left the country in
nancial trouble. The king had to raise taxes to
buy ships, weapons, and supplies.
2. Famine
France was faced with famine, or extreme
scarcity of food, and bread prices increased so
much that people could not buy food.
3. Changes in Culture
Place du Tertre and the Sacre-Coeur, Paris
New ideas began to threaten the power of the
clergy and the noblemen.
After the French Revolution, the French republic was declared, or announced, but this republic was
ended by Napoleon when he declared himself the French emperor and brought most of Europe under his
control. He was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The Battle of Waterloo
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