General Sir John Kotelawala Defence

University
Ratmalana

Assignment 01

Course module – International Relationship

Name – A.A.N.K.S.Amarasinghe
Student Reg. Number – D/BLM/22/0005
Intake – 39
Semester – 02
What is french revolution?

The French Revolution was a time of significant social upheaval that lasted from 1787 through 1799.
It aimed to rethink the essence of political authority and radically alter the relationship between the
rulers and those they controlled. The battle between revolutionary and conservative forces
continued back and forth.

French society before the revolution

France was the most populous (25 million people) and wealthiest nation in Europe in 1774. The
biggest city in Europe was Paris. There are 650,000 people there. France's population as a whole was
divided into three classes. A third level or "Tier etat" group grew economically at a time when the
clergy numbered about 130,000 and the nobility about 400,000, but they lacked the necessary
political influence and social standing.

Madame Roland, also known as Marie-Jeanne Phlippon Roland, was a radical Girondin society
representative of the bourgeoisie, or the economically powerful educated class. The tale of her
having to eat there with the servants was used to agitate the rest of the populace against the
aristocrats when she accepted an invitation to visit an aristocratic woman's home. Paris started to fill
up with eateries and salons in 1764 where literary groups like Madame Roland and others
congregated. The French bourgeoisie met there for intellectual and literary discussions.The
bourgeoisie, wealthy and educated members of groups like the Jacobins and Girondins who were
not members of the aristocracy, demanded "liberty, equality, fraternity" in order to be on an equal
footing with those who were above them rather than to allow those who were below them to be on
an equal footing with them.

The clergy who held important positions like Cardinal, Aga Rajaguru Prasadi, Rajaguru Prasadi, and
Ashramadhipa were also members of the aristocracy and wealthy society. Most of the priests and
church deacons in the Corporation of Religions who did not hold senior positions were destitute. The
underprivileged clergy sided with the revolutionaries during the conflict with their clergy.Between
1756 and 1763 the Europeans were bankrupted by the imperialist wars. While the British coffers
were empty, the French coffers were spent by the king and the elite, and American war aid began to
run out.

Some 4000 families, known as noblesse de robes, arose among the French nobility who paid for the
positions of magistrates and councilors. In 1945, he sold his court and administrative positions to the
nobility. As a result, bribery and corruption were rampant in the country. The church was supported
by public taxation in the crowned world because it was anticipated that churches would help the
nation advance morally. However, 200,000 Huguenots in France had left the country when the high
positions and financial benefits of the church were transferred to the nobles, the payment of the
taxes that kept the churches open to the peasants, and when there were conflicts between the rise
of the Protestant Church and the decline of the Catholic Church. The first group of immigrants to
depart France was this one. The French abandoned their churches and returned to superstitious
worship because they were unsure of what the national church was.

Arthur Young, a farmer who goes for a stroll in France in July 1789, encounters a local woman. She
laments the fact that she is continuously on the verge of ruin as a result of feudal taxation. He
observes that the innocent woman likewise expresses her hope that some informed group will come
to the right conclusion to avoid this tax catastrophe.

Louis XVI did not anticipate becoming a monarch. He inherited the French throne at the age of 20
after the untimely deaths of his father (1765) and grandfather (1774).

Since the revolution, the populace has argued that the right of the people should extend to
"everything" (tout) in the nation since the "third tier" (Tier État) or everyone else who is not an
aristocrat or a priest should receive the entirety of the nation's riches.

Maximilien Robespierre was a politician and attorney from France. Janogha belonged to the fervent
Jacobin Society. The oldest and illegitimate child of four children, Robespierre was born. His
opponents refer to him as a ruthless tyrant, while his fans refer to him as The Incorruptible.

He declared, "You can't build an omelette without breaking eggs. He was the most influential person
during the French Revolution, which was started in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity but
failed to uphold those ideals because it was mainly motivated by a hate of the nobility.

Louis the 16th, the king, questioned what was right for himself and his subjects. The church was
given the responsibility of educating the populace about why the feudal people had unequal wages.
The church was charged with requesting God's blessing for a successful harvest. Louis XVI authorized
Protestantism and Judaism in addition to the Catholic Church.populace, an effort was made to
reconcile the issues between the populace and the government. He set the slaves working for him
free. However, the clergy and nobility retained their ability to own slaves. torture of suspects and
witnesses is forbidden. At 3% interest, loan programs for the underprivileged were launched.The
bourgeoisie, gathered in the coffee shops (Madame Roland of the Girondin gang, Robespierre of the
Jacobin gang, etc.), who claimed that the aristocrats had no place and who fought for their place
without considering the place of the citizens below them, did not comprehend what the likes of
Voltaire had to say about freedom. The appreciating wave was joined by philosophical concepts.
Government and religion ought to be kept apart, according to Voltaire.He argued that everyone's
unalienable rights ought to be safeguarded. He said that there ought to be a place where you may
practice the religion you like. He argued that people should be allowed to voice their opinions. But
neither the corrupted bourgeoisie nor the aristocracy could comprehend them. They destroyed the
nobility and took their power and social standing for themselves by using freedom for all as a
weapon.A drought ravaged France in 1788, destroying all of the country's harvests. From Normandy
to Champagne, 180 kilometers of productive soil were ruined by an ice hail. The worst Hemanta
entered after 80 years in 1788–1789 Numerous fruit trees perished. Floods in the spring of 1789
were a kind of harassment. Few people actually perished of famine. But most people felt helpless.
People began fighting with one another when they became hungry.time of lawlessness and horror
descended upon the nation in the summer of 1789. Because of food robbers, citizens started using
weapons during the Great Fear. 400,000 people will own firearms in six months. The populace
attacked tax collectors, feudal lords, and anyone they believed to be a monopolist with pistols,
machetes, and sickles. Houses and businesses were burned down. The wine barrels of Masuran were
empty.
French Revolution of 1789 – Background

French involvement in the American revolution in 1776 was an expensive venture that nearly
bankrupted the nation. King Louis' lavish expenditures contributed nothing to the situation.

Poor rural and urban populations have become uneasy due to empty royal coffers, bad harvests, and
rising food prices. The imposition of taxes that offered no help just made the situation worse. As a
result, widespread strikes, riots, and looting were commonplace.

Charles Alexandre de Calonne, the controller general, suggested a universal land tax before the end
of 1786. As had been the case for centuries, this tax reform would no longer exempt the favored
groups, such as the clergy and the nobles.To pass these measures, the King called a meeting of the
Estates-General. The French middle class, clergy, and nobility were represented in the Estates-
General. The Estates-General were last convened in 1614.

The conference, when the three estates' grievances would be conveyed to the king, was scheduled
for May 5, 1789.

Cause of French Revolution of 1789

1. Social - In the late 18th century, France's social structure was incredibly unfair and oppressive. The
first two Estates, which included the nobility and clergy, represented the most privileged segments
of French society. They were not required to pay state taxes. On the other hand, the Third Estate,
which was made up of farmers and laborers, made up the bulk of the populace. In addition to having
enormous taxes, they lacked social and political rights. They were therefore utterly unhappy.

2. Economic - Louis XVI's repeated wars had left the State's finances barren. Due to the flawed taxing
system and France's participation in the American War of Independence, the issue became even
more complicated. The Third Estate was increasingly burdened with taxes while the privileged
classes were exempt.

3. Political - Louis XVI, the French Bourbon king, was a tyrannical ruler with a weak will who lived in
outrageous luxury. The general population, who at the time was living in abject poverty and
widespread hunger, became very disenchanted as a result.
4. Intellectual - French thinkers actively rejected the "Divine Rights Theory" during the 18th century.
Philosophers like Rousseau promoted the ideas of human equality and popular sovereignty while
rejecting the idea of absolute monarchy. They were crucial in highlighting the flaws in the ancien
régime's political system and expressing the anger of the general public.

Stages of French – Revolution

Stage I – The meeting of the Estates-General

Despite the fact that there are more non-aristocratic members than aristocrats in terms of
population. However, the other two bodies have the ability to override them.

Members of the Third Estate (the non-aristocratic class) started organizing support for equal voting
rights that would be based on head and not by status prior to the Estates-General assembly on May
5th.

The middle class believed that budgetary and judicial change was urgently needed, while the nobles
opposed giving up the privileges they had benefited from under the old system. The initial goal of
the assembly and the authority of the king who called it were forgotten when the dispute over the
voting procedure evolved into open antagonism between the three orders.

On June 17, 1789, the Third estate assembled on their own after additional negotiations had failed
and publicly adopted the name National assembly. The swearing-in ceremony was held at a
neighboring indoor tennis court. The Tennis Court Oath was the name of this oath. The new
assembly's members committed to stay together until reforms were implemented. Loius XVI was
forced to incorporate the three assemblies into the new system since he had no other choice.

Stage II – The French Revolution Begins

At Versailles, the National Assembly kept on meeting. Paris had been overtaken by dread and
violence in the interim.

There were rumors of an impending military takeover. This sparked an uprising that culminated in
the capture of the Bastille citadel on July 14, 1789. This incident signaled the start of the French
Revolution.Rural areas experienced a wave of revolutionary fervor that sparked a peasants' revolt
that resulted in the burning of several tax collectors' and nobles' mansions.

The country's aristocracy fled in large numbers as a result of the rebellions. The National Assembly
eventually gave a deadly blow to feudalism on August 4, 1789, which is when this time period
became known as the Great Fear. Finally, the previous order was over.
Stage III – Declaration of Rights of Man

The Rights of Man and of the Citizen were ratified by the National Assembly on August 4, 1789. The
charter was based on democratic ideals and incorporated both philosophical and political concepts
from thinkers of the Enlightenment, such as Jena-Jacques Rosseau. The statement was released on
August 26, 1789.

On September 3, 1791, the constitution was ratified. It represented a brand-new French society in
which the king would have less authority and a moderate parliament would hold the most sway. The
radical members of the assembly, such as Goerges Danton and Maximilien de Robespierre, desired a
trial for the king and a move toward a more republican form of governance, and this was insufficient
for them. On September 3, 1791, the French constitution came into being. The assembly's most
radical members, including Maximilien de Robespierre, who wanted Loise XVI to face trial, did not
find its moderate stance on reducing the king's powers sufficient.

Stage IV – Reign of Terror

On August 10, 1792, a group of insurgents assaulted the royal house in Paris and detained Louis XVI,
giving the revolution a more radical edge.

Many people who were dubbed "enemies of the revolution" were murdered in Paris the next
month. The revolution's more moderate voices were among them. The National Convention, which
declared the foundation of the Republic of France and the repeal of the monarchy, took the place of
the Legislative Assembly.

On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was found guilty of treason, sentenced to death, and executed.
Nine months later, he would be followed by Marie Antoinette, his wife. The Reign of Terror, the
most violent and volatile period of the French Revolution, began with the king's execution.

A radical faction led by Robespierre was in charge of the National Convention. Thousands of people
were put to death under his watch for alleged treason and counterrevolutionary actions. Up until
Rpbespierr's own execution on July 28, 1794, the Reign of Terror lasted.

The French people's uprising against the abuses perpetrated during the Reign of Terror entered a
moderate phase after the execution of Robespierre. Thermidorian Reaction was the name given to
this.

Stage V – End of the French Revolution

The creation of a new constitution that established France's bicameral legislature was approved by
the National Convention on August 22, 1795. This convention was now made up of moderates who
had survived the excesses of the Reign of Terror.

The Directory, a five-person group chosen by the parliament, would hold the authority. Through the
efforts of the army, which was now under the command of a young and successful commander
named Napoleon Bonaparte, any opposition to this organization was eliminated.

Financial difficulties and corruption characterized the Directory's rule. They had also given up a lot of
control to the army that had supported them in maintaining their position of power. Eventually,
animosity toward the Directory reached a boiling point, and Napoleon personally orchestrated a
coup d'état to remove them from office. Napoleon declared himself to be the "first consul." The
Napoleonic era, during which France would increasingly dominate continental Europe, was about to
start after the French Revolution.

Significant of French Revolution

For all its faults, the French Revolution is highly regarded as the turning point in modern history as
the rise of new ideas steeped in liberalism, enlightenment and democracy. These ideals were carried
throughout Europe by French armies that fought many wars in order to preserve the Republic’s
existence. It inspired the common folk in Europe to rise up against their own Monarchs in a wave of
revolutionary fervour. Although most were harshly put down, the revolutions would continue into
the early years of the 19th century which saw the fall of many absolute Monarchy all over Europe.

Above all, the French Revolution brought an end to feudalism and made a path for future advances
in broadly defined individual freedoms

Results of the revolution

 the elimination of the remnants of the feudal system which contributed to the rapid
development of capitalist relations
 establishing a republican system based on democratic principles
 the final confirmation of the French nation
 Establishment of authorities established on the basis of electoral law
 Recognition of the first constitutional norms that guaranteed the equality of citizens before
the law and the opportunity to use national wealth.
 The solution to the agrarian problem,dissolution of the monarchy
 Adoption of the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights.
However, positive transformations also include a number of negative features

 Introduction to property qualifications

 Ignoring the opinion of the majority of citizens led to new riots
 The establishment of a complex administrative division hindered the formation of an
effective management system.