This is the first lecture from the Modern Scholar course Liberty and its Price: Understanding the French Revolution taught by Professor Donald M.G. Sutherland.
In this lecture esteemed professor Donald M.G. Sutherland sets out to define revolution and how the French Revolution has in turn changed the definition of revolution. He then examines a number of the proposed causes of the French Revolution that have been debated since then. He concludes that no one could've predicted in summer of 1789 that in a few years King Louis XVI would be executed, over 16,000 people would be killed by the guillotine during the Reign of Terror, and that a military officer named Napoleon Bonaparte would rise to become the dictator and emperor of France.
For more information on this course or to get it on audio download check out: Liberty and its Price: Understanding the French Revolution.