Liberty, Equality, and Blood

The French Revolution began in 1789 not as a call for democracy but as a demand for reform. France was bankrupt from war spending and royal excess.

Bread prices had doubled. The nobility and clergy paid almost no taxes while commoners bore the full burden. When King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General to address the fiscal crisis, the representatives of the common people broke away and declared themselves the National Assembly.

This launched the most transformative political upheaval in European history, one that would inspire revolutions worldwide for centuries.