Submitted by Anonymous on 12/31/2000 10:00 PM Flag This Paper
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Through the advancement of a country, it must undergo serious political disagreements in order to decide what is best for the country. Revolutions occur, and the country is improved because of them. The predominantly seventeenth century English revolution and the eighteenth century French Revolution are prime examples of this. However, these two revolutions are very different. The impact the revolutions had on the countries’ governments, economy, and institutions of society such as the church differed greatly.
First, the two Revolutions differed due to their governmental issues. In England, James II was the leader. The Anglicans had monopolized the church and state, and by his ordering of religious toleration, he threatened their power. “The laws keeping Dissenters and Catholics from office had given Anglicans a monopoly in local and national government and in the army and navy. James Ii acted as if there were no Test Act, claiming the right to suspend its operation in individual cases, and appointed a good many Catholics to influential and lucrative positions,” (P + C, 178). His daughter, Mary took the throne, and once again secured the liberties of England. In France, the government was divided into three separate estates, and your importance varied, depending on which class you belonged to. “The First Estate was clergy, the Second Estate was nobility, and the Third Estate included everyone else- from the wealthiest business and professional classes to the poorest peasantry and city workers,” (P + C, 362). The king mistakenly favored the nobility, as no other kings had done, and thus lost the support of the bourgeoisie. The governmental structure in England was a king who tampered with religious power; while in France the king chose the wrong side.
Secondly, the two revolutions differed due their economics. England led a prosperous economic system, which offered strengths in exports. “Coal was mined around Newcastle, and was increasingly used, but was...