The French Revolution, the official end of the ancient regime which had governed France as a monarchy for nearly three-hundred years, emerged as a result of the erosion of the feudalism, the rise of wealthy commoners who resented their exclusion from political power, government bankruptcy, and widespread crop failures. This volume analyzes the French Revolution with accessible discussions of relevant aspects of the struggle. Important events and personalities are situated within larger historical frameworks to broaden student understanding of the subject. Chapters include a breakdown of the revolution's complex origins, the emergence of the National Assembly, the conditions that steered the conflict toward violence, Napoleon and the revolution's end and its legacy in the subsequent two centuries.