Geographical Factors
- Winter of 1788-1789 was very cold. It caused the piles of snow to block the roads which made trade and travel impossible. When the snow melted it caused floods in some areas.
- Then in the summer of 1789 parts of France was hit by a drought. Because of these conditions it destroyed the crops.
- Because the price of flour rose most people could not afford to buy food.
- There was a lot of riots in the country side as hungry people attacked wagons carrying grain.
- Many people distrusted the queen because she was Austrian, France and Austria had been in war before. People believed she was a spy from the Austrian government. People blamed the queen for the starvation because she used to spend lavishly while others were starving. There was a rumor about her that when she was told that the people could not afford bread she said “”let them eat cake”. This rumor was not true.