But even if the revolution was a mess, its ideas changed human history far more, I will argue, than the American Revolution. INTRO Right, so France in the 18th century was a rich and populous country, but it had a systemic problem collecting taxes because of the way its society was structured. They had a system with kings and nobles we now call the Ancien Régime. Thank you, three years of high school French. And for most French people, it sucked because the people with the money, the nobles and the clergy, never paid taxes. So by 1789, France was deeply in debt thanks to their funding the American Revolution. Thank you, France, we will get you back in World Wars I and II.