During the early 1600’s both France and England had established colonies in the New World. The English dealt mainly in trade and the French often dealt with furs. These colonies brought in a large amount of income for both countries, helping feed the rift that existed between the lower and upper classes.

The upper classes weren’t the only ones in France and England angling for cash; the royalty was also looking for money. How these rulers conducted their search would eventually create the difference in their ruling tactics. In England the king used threats and violence to get taxes from his noblemen. These noblemen in turn created safeguards that they hoped would protect them from the king’s search for money. These safeguards took form as the Parliament. England’s way of governing came to be known as “Parliamentary Monarchy”.

France’s ruling system, known as “Absolutism”, was

Financial exhaustion from the Seven Year’s War (1756-1763) led France and England to search for revenue that would prove politically unstable. England heavily taxed and regulated the American colonies and the colonists began to resist, saying the king was suppressing the rights of the American colonists. Tensions rose and in the 1760s to the 1770s the colonists fought with the English for independence. The year 1783 saw the Treaty of Paris and the end of the American Revolution.

very similar but not quite the same. Instead of using scare tactics on those who were to give him money, Louis XIV made nobles dependent on him. Nobles progressed up the social ladder by the king’s goodwill. Hence, French nobility did not feel the need to enact safeguards.

Pre-Revolutionary Europe was characterized by four distinct social circumstances: first, the aristocracy inherited certain very enviable privileges such as governmental power and tax exemptions. Second, established churches interacted very closely with the state and nobles. Third, urban labor was split into working groups called “guilds”. Finally, the lower class was very low. It consisted of rural peasants who were subjected to very high taxes and feudal dues. The result of these four components: there was a large group of overworked, underpaid people who provided a high lifestyle for those few in charge.

A strong economy does not necessarily a strong political scene. The slightly different ruling tactics used by each country did not mean they would both be free from civil unrest. Politically France and England were very similar and they b

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