THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

The French Revolution was a watershed event in modern European history that began in 1789 and
ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens
razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as
absolute monarchy and the feudal system.

Background to the Revolution

The causes of the French Revolution, though, are difficult to pin down: based on the historical evidence
that exists, a fairly compelling argument could be made regarding any number of factors.
a. Social Inequity: Since the Middle Ages, France's population was divided into three orders, or
estates. The clergy were the First Estate. The titled nobility were the Second Estate. The Third
Estate was made up of the rest of society including the bourgeoisie (middle class), poor city
workers, and rural peasants (the largest group). Widespread inequality between the rich and poor
classes alongside growing dissatisfaction with the antiquated feudal system among the poor
fueled the brewing conflict.
b. Political changes: Resentment among the bourgeoisie about being excluded from political
power grew and the French monarchy, no longer seen as divinely ordained, was unable to adapt
to the political and societal pressures being exerted on it. Intellectuals began to publish works
calling social reforms.
c. The Enlightenment: Countless ideas from the Enlightenment contributed to the French
Revolution. Locke’s ideas of overthrowing government that does not respect the social contract,
as well as Rousseau’s ideas of the general will and the French government’s failure to represent
the general will of the people, were major factors. The Enlightenment also stripped away at
religion, especially Catholicism, directly attacking the divine right theory that Louis XVI of
France used to justify his position. The American War of Independence also paved the way for
revolutionary ideas, for example that everyone is born equal or has the right to resistance against
an unjust ruler.
d. Financial Crisis: King Louis XVI’s extravagance and France’s involvement in the American
Revolution had left France on the verge of bankruptcy. On the eve of the revolution, the French
economy was in crisis. Despite these problems, the French king and his ministers continued to
spend enormous sums of money on wars and court luxuries. The queen, Marie Antoinette, was
especially known for her extravagance and this too caused popular resentment. When the
government decided to spend huge sums to help the American colonists against Britain, the
budget went into total crisis. Crop failures in 1788 compounded existing economic restlessness.
Peasants were unhappy with the depletion of royal coffers, two decades of poor harvests,
drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices. Peasants had heavy taxes imposed on
them while the other estates got off scot-free. They expressed this resentment through riots, loots
and strikes.
 EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION
The Revolution occurred in four major phases each following on the heels of the previous
The Moderate/Liberal Phase:
Beginning in 1789 and ending in 1791, this first phase is characterized by the transformation of France
from Absolute Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy. It starts off with King Louis XVI’s attempt to
assemble the Estates General for the first time in over 150 years, to discuss his impending financial
reforms including the abolition of tax exemption for the first and second Estates. The meeting
scheduled for May 5, 1789 ends in disarray owing to an inability of the Estates to agree on key issues
such as system of voting and others. The third Estate then declare themselves the National Assembly.
They meet in a Tennis Court and swear not to disband until they have drafted a constitution for France.
With support of radical reform-minded members from both the First and Second Estates, King Louis
grudgingly accepts the National Assembly although he summons troops around the cities.
While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed
with turmoil. A severe winter led to a bad harvest and the price of bread rose. Crowds of angry women
stormed into the shops. In July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille Fortress. In the
countryside, rumours spread from village to village. They looted hoarded grain and burnt down
documents containing records of manorial dues. A large number of nobles fled from their homes, many
of them migrating to neighbouring countries. The series of peasants’ revolts and urban uprisings saved
the National Assembly from the king’s attempt to restore his authority.
In August 1789, the National Assembly produced The Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document
that embraced Enlightenment ideals like liberty, equality, freedom from oppression, freedom of the
press, and the right to property. As profound as the document was, it left out the women. The National
Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the powers of the
monarch. The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which
was indirectly elected. In June 1791, Louis tried to escape from Paris and flee the country but the royal
family was recognized near the border, taken back to Paris, and immediately placed under house arrest.
In August 1791 Austria and Prussia issued a joint memorandum – the Declaration of Plinitz – against
the Revolution.

The Radical Phase/2nd Stage of the French Revolution (1792-1794):

The second revolution began immediately after the imprisonment of the king when mobs attacked
prisons and massacred nobles who they believed were conspiring with their foreign enemies. These
attacks were known as the “September Massacres”. The National Assembly was torn into competing
factions –Girondists: moderates who believed the revolution had achieved its goals and Montagnards:
radicals who believed revolution could achieve more and spread to other countries with absolute
monarchs. On 21 September 1792 the newly elected assembly called The Convention abolished the
monarchy and declared France a republic. In April 1792, believing that the émigrés (nobles who fled
France) were plotting counterrevolutionary measures in Austria and Prussia, the National Assembly
declared war on both countries. By 1793, France had also declared war on Britain, Holland, and Spain.
Despite efforts made by the Girondins, Louis XVI was judged by the Convention, condemned to death
for treason, and executed on January 21, 1793; Marie-Antoinette was guillotined nine months later.
The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Maximilien Robespierre, leader of
the Jacobins (an extremely radical political group) followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
All those whom he saw as being enemies of the republic - ex-nobles and clergy, members of other
political parties, even members of his own party who did not agree with his methods - were arrested,
imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. Tens of thousands lost their lives under the Reign
of Terror, while more than a quarter-million more found themselves in prison.

The Thermidorian Reaction/3rd Phase of the Revolution (1795-1799):

Those around Robespierre, and many others in the National Convention, began to fear they might be
the next victims of Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. In July 1794, Robespierre was arrested and
guillotined, ending the Reign of Terror following which the Thermidorian Reaction began. The
National Convention, controlled now by moderates, ended the terror, released many political prisoners,
and removed Jacobins from scores of government positions. The Directory was the first constitutional
republic, which had an executive body of five directors, as well as a bicameral legislature. Instead of
moderation and reconciliation, however, France under the Directory saw a period of crisis and
discontent: Royalists desired the restoration of the monarchy, whereas Jacobins hoped to regain power
as a result of ongoing economic struggles. The political instability of the Directory paved the way for
the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1799, Napoleon seized power and founded a
Consulate which ruled France until he crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804.

The Napoleonic Era (1799-1815):

Upon seizing control, Napoleon initially installed an enlightened despotism known as the Consulate.
Under the 1799 constitution he became the First Consul. The 1802 constitution made him Consul for
Life and in 1804, Napoleon declared himself ‘Emperor for Life’. He instituted a number of important
enlightened reforms like the Napoleonic Code, which provided freedom of religion, a uniform law
codes, social and legal equality, property rights, and end feudal dues. He also ended dechristianization
and implemented a state-wide compulsory education, known as the University of France.
Napoleon was undefeated against his three main continental enemies, defeating Austria, Russia, and
Prussia multiple times. During his tenure, he took control of large amounts of mainland Europe.
However, Napoleon failed to subdue England, and was defeated in his attempt to crush the English
Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar by Admiral Nelson. As a result, Napoleon employed the Continental
System, a method of economic warfare. He prohibited trade with the British by blockading all coasts of
Europe from English export. Unfortunately for Napoleon, this failed, as the British still were able to
smuggle goods into Europe, and were also able to trade with their colonies, Asia, and the United States.
Napoleon eliminated the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1806 consolidated it into 40 states and named it
the Confederation of the Rhine. After Alexander I of Russia withdrew from the Continental System,
Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. For the first time, Napoleon failed, as the Russian army employed
scorched-earth tactics to defeat Napoleon’s army. However, Napoleon quickly raised a new army, but
this army was crushed by the Quadruple Alliance of England, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at the Battle
of Nations/Leipzig in 1813. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, but he managed to escape and
return in 1815 in a period known as the Hundred Days. The Quadruple Alliance again crushed his new
army at the Battle of Waterloo, led by the great British General Wolsey (Duke of Wellington).
Napoleon was then exiled to the island of Saint Helena where he died in 1821.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

The revolution in France had a profound impact on the lives of all peoples in Europe. Its effects proved
lasting and France and Europe never really returned to the conditions of the old order.
Decline of Absolutism: Rule by divine right and absolute monarchy were challenged by the principle
of national sovereignty proclaimed by the Revolution. The nation, not the king, was recognized as the
ultimate legitimate and legitimizing source of authority in the French state. All the laws of the old
feudal regime were annulled. Church lands and lands held in common by the community were bought
by the middle classes. The lands of nobles were confiscated. Privileged classes were abolished
Growth of Nationalism and the Nation-State: The French Revolution gave the term ‘nation’ its
modern meaning. A nation is not the territory that the people belonging to it inhabit but the people
themselves. From this followed the idea of sovereignty, that a nation recognizes no law or authority
above its own. And if a nation is sovereign, that means the people constituting the nation are the source
of all power and authority. There cannot be any rulers above the people, only a republic in which the
government derives its authority from the people and is answerable to the people.
Decline of Catholicism and Religion: Beginning with the reign of Terror, several attempts were made
to abolish religion in France including the plundering of religious buildings, execution of clergymen
and banning of public and private worship. The Catholic Church as an estate of the realm in a
confessional state was displaced by the concept of the French nation or people as a focus of common
allegiance in a secular state. Church and state, identified for centuries, were separated. Government
repossessed church properties and religion was never to rise to prominence again.
Birth and Spread of Ideologies: The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were some of the most
important legacies of the French Revolution. These ideals spread from France to the rest of Europe
during the nineteenth century and were adopted by other revolutionaries. It inspired revolutionary
movements in almost every country of Europe and in South and Central America. For a long time the
French Revolution became the classic example of a revolution which people of many nations tried to
emulate.