What were the immediate effects of the French Revolution?

Of all the complexities and events of the French Revolution, picking the immediate effect is probably the easiest. The French Revolution brought about the dissolution of a system of monarchy that dated back to the Fifth Century. The king and his wife were eventually executed as were thousands of nobles. In its place, a republican form of government that was inspired by the European Enlightenment was instituted.

As the peasants revolted in rural areas against the lords and tax collectors, the centuries-old feudal system of government was also abolished. The aristocracy was virtually eliminated in France often through the use of public executions at the guillotine. While there were far-reaching long-term implications to the French Revolution, the most immediate result was a new political and social class system in France.