Inflation+Before+and+After+the+Revolution

__Question: How did the lives of French citizens change before and after the French Revolution regarding inflation?__

=  INFLATION IN FRANCE  =

**What was France's economy like before the French Revolution?**
Before the French Revolution between 1715 and 1771, it is evident that France's economy was thriving. Not only was their trade second to Great Britain, the sale for sugar, coffee, and indigo to the Caribbean colonies was prosperous. The advances in technology was definitely one of the main factors for the economic success, especially in transportation. The growing population in the 1760s made it almost necessary for people to have a way to transport quickly from once place to another. At this time, although there is no exact number recorded for the inflation rate, the living costs were incredibly fair. However, with this increase in population came an increasing percentage of families that did not have an adequate supply of food. The agriculture in France had dropped about 10% due to insufficient government planning and storage of grain for emergency usages. Agriculture was definitely one of the main sources of income for France as it was about three-quarters of it. With the food shortage of food also came financial crisis for the government. The gravity of France’s debt was already critical in the 1870s, but their interference in The Seven Years’ War and American Revolution caused France to fall even deeper in debt. To make matters worse, there was a hailstorm in July of 1788 that destroyed a large percentage of the crops as well as insufficient harvest in the winters during 1788 and 1789. As prices for goods increased, the living cost of France increased as well. It is clear that the booming economy came to a halt due to the unfortunate shortage of food, national debt, and natural disaster that occurred.

This is a very famous trading relationship called the Triangular Trade. This involved countries in Europe, Americas and Africa.

**What changes did France experience economically after the French Revolution?**
France's economy is infamous for the extremely high inflation rate after the French Revolution. The living cost had actually increased 62% which meant that the average cost of goods increased by that amount.This inflation caused 21 million individuals to be categorized as peasants during the 18th century. Although their standard of living may have been better than that of Europe in general but, the people of France had to suffer the dire consequences. The land of France was not put to good use due to the fact that peasants owned about 30-40% of the available land. However, they could not make use of it without selling it to someone wealthier and working for them in return for shelter. The main cause of the increase in living cost was due to the high taxes. The taxes had increased due to the costs of the war that went directly to the king, church and lord of the manor. Another factor was the rapidly increasing rent payments that were levied from anyone who owned land. The increases in both goods and living costs resulted in the decrease in real wages. Although the nominal wage stayed constant, the value of money had become so low that a slice of bread could be sold for about a pound of silver. The French Revolution definitely had a negative effect on the economy of France as the cost of living had increased tremendously due to inflation.

Due to the fact that the value of money had decreased drastically, people often carried around piles of money to buy extremely expensive goods.

**Citation:** Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 11: The Origins of the French Revolution." //The History Guide -- Main//. 30 Oct. 2006. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .

Smitha, Frank E. "Political Reform and Fall of the Bastille (1789)." //MacroHistory : World History//. Lexiconn. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .

Smitha, Frank E. "Following Terror, a New Constitution and Defeat for the Paris Mob." //MacroHistory : World History//. Lexiconn. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sydenham, MJ. "The French Revolution." //Discover France - French Arts, Culture, Tourism//. The Wharton Group. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/History/DF_revolution.shtml>.