What were the long term causes of the French Revolution?
It begins with a financial crisis. Louis XIV’s building projects, like Versailles, and his wars emptied the treasury. His successor, Louis XV also carried on wars (Seven Years War, American Revolutionary War, etc) beside his extravagant style. When Louis XVI became king France was bankrupt. He had to call a meeting of the Estates General for money. So the expenditures of his predeccessors was a long term cause of the French Revolution. Another long term cause was the discontent of the French people. Most of the common people were poor and suffered from taxation, whereas the clergy and nobles were not taxed. The middle class (bourgousie) felt that they were not represented in the government. So when the Estates General (French parlement) was called into session the common people saw that they far outnumbered the clergy and nobles. They decided to change things by first trying to make a constitutional monarchy and finally changing the government to a republic. People are more liable to r