French and English Revolution

Thousands of revolutions have taken place throughout the course of the

history of the world. These revolutions have changed the politics, history, and

all other facets of civilization of certain groups. Most revolutions follow a

basic set formula of events: a leader is overthrown, radical and extremist

groups take control for a period of time, and then the government is

eventually restored to it's original state. Both the English and French

Revolutions followed this basic formula with various differences along the

way. The English Revolution which took place in the seventeenth century,

and the French Revolution, which took place in the late eighteenth century to

early nineteenth century, both share many similarities and differences with

one another.

One similarity of both revolutions was the causes: financial problems.

Both King Charles I and Louis XVI were experiencing debt because of

financial problems left behind from previous monarchs. Both kings placed the

extreme tax burdens on the already poor peasants which further angered and

oppressed them. Both kings had to summon on Parliament and the Estates

General to raise revenue. Both monarchs attempted to use force to maintain

their power but eventually lost to the liberal people who wanted a reformed

government. The extremist period of both the English and French Revolutions

consisted of a semi-dictator; Cromwell in England and Robespierre in France,

who set up a totalitarian military state. Lastly, both the English and French

had to carry out two attempts at establishing a constitutional monarchy in

order to finally have a stable, lasting government.

In both the English and French Revolutions the monarch was the

establishment being revolted against. In the English revolution it was more of

the Parliament rebelling against the monarchy whereas