Years of lavish spending by the monarchy, disjointed taxation systems, the tax-exempt status of the clergy and nobility, and France’s totally LOGICAL decision to fund the American Revolution steered France head-first into a financial crisis. After many failed attempts at financial reform, the heavy burden of taxation was still on the Third Estate, which comprised the commoners of France. According to the Pareto principle, we can approximate that about 80% of France’s wealth and land was in the hands of only 20% of the population, and 100% of the financial burden was put on 80% of France’s population with only 20% of France’s wealth. (That’s a bit problematic.) This crisis reached a tipping point in August 1788 when the French treasury was declared empty. Like almost every other peasant uprising, the French one was precipitated by the scotch of the peasants’ subsistence built on top of accumulated resentment of the government and loss of faith. (Tip for ruling a country: 子贡问政，子曰：“足食，足兵，民信之矣。”子贡曰：“必不得已而去，于斯三者何先？”曰：“去兵。”子贡曰：“必不得已而去，于斯二者何先？”曰：“去食。自古皆有死，民无信不立。”  Basically, you can let your people die, but never let your people lose faith in you.)

This video was made by the group in our homeroom studying the French Revolution: Wontaek, Alicia, Niko, Isabella, and Johnson. We each explained one aspect of the French Revolution: Estates General and Paris Commune, Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen and Constitution of 1791, King’s Execution, Reign of Terror, and Napoleon, respectively.

Here is the video:

*Please read the credits carefully and note that Johnson Chiu was the only one editing; the rest of us had almost no say in the questionable editorial choices.