How Did The French Revolution Contribute To The American Revolution

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The increased circulation of goods, people, and ideas across the Atlantic Ocean in the 18th century contributed to the outbreak of revolution on both sides of the ocean, in the British colonies in America, in England, and in France. These were known as the Atlantic Revolutions. This increase of economic movement that spanned from Europe to Africa to the Americas caused increases in revenue that stimulated the English economy to the point where manufactured goods got cheaper. This flow of money allowed people to gain both more economic power and political power, allowing social mobility in a hierarchical society. The rise in English calls of economic and political liberty in mercantile activity came at the same of the increasing expansion of slave production in the Americas. The English state also has been applying “benign neglect” to the colonies for quite a while, allowing them to govern themselves with little interference from the distant king, in return for loyalty. Problems arise in 1763 when the King begins taxing the colonies because of the loss in money during the Seven Years’ War, which was by the English and French over dominance in the Atlantic Ocean motivated by wanting to keep a balance of power in a multipolar world. This increase …show more content…
France, at this time, is attempting to address issues related to irrational contradictions in society regarding economic and political power, and the rising of middle class challenging the power of the nobility. Enlightenment thinking influences thinking and questioning about the irrationality of the French construction of society, which gives them faith that they, as a nation, can move forward and make progress. By example of the ongoing American Revolution, giving the French visions of a constitution and an “easy revolution”, France believes they can easily copy, but the major factors that differentiate England from France creates more upheaval in