FRENCH REVOLUTION

CAUSES
causes common to all the revolutions of the West at the end of the 18th century
the most violent and the most universally significant of these revolutions

Ancien Régime: the political and social system of the Kingdom of France from the
Late Middle Ages (circa 15th century) until the French Revolution
failed because of the continuous wars and the general unhappiness caused by the
tyranny of the monarchs, often seen as bad sovereigns

increasingly numerous and prosperous elite of wealthy commoners—merchants,

manufacturers, and professionals, often called the bourgeoisie—aspired to political
power in those countries where it did not already possess it
they claimed better living conditions and better treatments from the state and to
be included in the political life of the country

French population grew from 18 million in 1700 to 26 million in 1789

economic depression caused by the higher demand of food and its price rise and by
state debt caused by the anglo-french war between 1778 and 1783

EVENTS
dramatic act of defiance by representatives of the nonprivileged classes of the
French nation (the Third Estate)
wanted to do a meeting but were locked outside of their usual meeting place in
versailles
they believed that the king was responsable for this and so occupied a nearby
tennis court, where they promised to never separate until a new constitution

the Great Fear of July 1789, a period of panic and riot from the peasants after
rumors of an "aristocratic conspiracy" started to circulate

after the dismission of prime minister Necker and it culminated with the storming
of the bastille in which a great group of peasants assaulted and seized the
fortress and prison of the Bastille, symbol of royal tyranny

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen proclaiming liberty, equality,
the inviolability of property, and the right to resist oppression (ideals of
liberte egalite fraternite)
written by lafayette with the help of thomas jefferson

AFTER
Brissot prepared a petition demanding his deposition, and on 17 July, an immense
crowd gathered in the Champ de Mars to sign. Led by Lafayette, the National Guard
was ordered to "preserve public order" and responded to a barrage of stones by
firing into the crowd, killing between 13 and 50 people
The massacre badly damaged Lafayette's reputation; the authorities responded by
closing radical clubs and newspapers, while their leaders went into exile or
hiding, including Marat

impact on literature with commentaries on politics and expressions of personal

freedom shown in novels, plays and poetry of the period (French Revolution had
demonstrated the real possibility of large-scale political change)
especially seen in the Lyrical Ballads (William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor
Coleridge’s 1798 collection of poetry)
the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which was quickly suppressed. This revolt is seen as
the foundation for Irish republicanism, which eventually led to the independence
and partition of Ireland and the establishment of an Irish republic.