French Revolution [individual assignment]
French Revolution (1789–1799)
The French Revolution (1789–1799) became a turning point in the development of modern national state. Its reasons are the confrontation between ordinary citizens (Third Estate) and elite, which consisted of the Catholic clergy (First Estate) and the aristocracy (Second Estate). There was unfair tax system (the middle class had to pay heavy taxes). Added to this were the political ineptitude of France’s kings and the long-term debt (this was worsened in the 1770s by France’s financial support of the American Revolution). Also Enlightenment philosophy inspired people to seek fair government, social contracts and civil liberties. the time of 1787 to 1788 was marked with a financial crisis, inflation and unemployment and food shortages. Searching for a solution Louis XVI summoned the Estates General (delegates from each estates – mainly lawyers from the Third one). In June of 1789, the delegates of the Third Estate, with liberal members of the First and Second Estates, formed a new governmental body, the National Assembly. They demanded a constitution. In July, people seized the Bastille, the castle-prison in Paris. The Assembly guaranteed civil liberties in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (the Marquis de Lafayette). Future assemblies were to be elected by popular vote. Aristocratic status and privileges were done away with. Church and state were separated. Policy was guided by the motto “Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality”.
Initially the new rights, including voting, applied only to white, Catholic, adult males. With time did Jews, Protestants, and blacks gain those rights. Women did not until well into the 1900s. Slavery was not ended in France’s colonies until 1794. Louis XVI, encouraged by Marie Antoinette, secretly plotted counterrevolution, as did many former aristocrats.
Revolution took a sharply radical turn. In April 1792, France went to war with Austria and Prussia. Other countries, including Britain, joined in against France. The economy worsened and early military failures caused mass hysteria. Radical parties became more influential. In the fall of 1792, a new constitution stripped the king of all powers and proclaimed the French Republic. Election brought radicals to power. The most important of them were the Jacobins, led by Maximilien Robespierre, a lawyer. The Jacobins created an executive body, the Committee of Public Safety. Between the summer of 1793 and the summer of 1794, Robespierre and the Committee carried out a Reign of Terror, searching for traitors and counterrevolutionary foes. More than 300 000 were arrested and 30 000 to 50 000 were killed, many beheaded by the guillotine, including King Louis XVI. In July 1794, a coup within the Committee executed Robespierre, ending the Terror.
From 1794 to 1799, a more moderate regime, the Directory, presided over the revolution. However, it proved unpopular and was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte, a talented general. Napoleon claimed to be a man of revolutionary ideals, but in reality he created a new dictatorship and in 1804 crowned himself emperor.
Napoleon is best known for his military career. From 1805 to 1811, his victories made France the most powerful in Europe; the only major nations not under his direct or indirect control were Britain and Russia. After this, several factors brought about Napoleon’s downfall: his inability to counter British naval power, bloody guerilla resistance to his authority in Spain, and his invasion of Russia in 1812. He was defeated and exiled in 1814. In 1815, he escaped and had to be beaten again at the battle of Waterloo. Peace was restored at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). Napoleon died in captivity in 1821.
What made the French Revolution so important? For one, it did away with absolute monarchy in Europe. Also, the French Revolution, like the American Revolution, inspired future uprisings. The greatest legacy if both the American and French revolutions was to cause people to demand greater popular participation in government and to force nineteenth-century governments to be more attentive to their desires. The story of modern politics is primarily this story.
Questions for experts
1. What were the causes of the French revolution? In your opinion, what prevented the French politicians from compromises with the discontent and, thus, keeping their authority?
2. What were the main forces of the revolution?
3. What were the main outcomes of the revolution?
4. Compared to (with) other revolutions, what were the distinct features of the French revolution? (Before answering, read about other revolutions in the theme 10 section).