The first writings on the French revolution were near contemporaneous with events and mainly divided along ideological lines. At first it brought liberal and democratic ideas, the end of guilds, serfdom and the Jewish ghetto. French interference with localism and traditions was deeply resented in Switzerland, although some reforms took hold and survived in the later period of restoration.[248][249]. When the parlements refused to collect them, Calonne persuaded Louis to summon the Assembly of Notables, an advisory council dominated by the upper nobility. Cobban argued that the revolution was primarily a political conflict. Both failed to attract international support. September 20-21, 1792 A new assembly, the National Convention, meets, abolishes the monarchy, and establishes a republic. Parents often brought their children. Although those numbers have been challenged, Franois Furet concluded it "not only revealed massacre and destruction on an unprecedented scale, but a zeal so violent that it has bestowed as its legacy much of the region's identity. Hostile to the federalist system, the right to autonomy and the right to independence for the peoples of the empire, the Jacobins conceived power only concentrated in Paris. The French Revolution, which lasted from 1787-1799, Turned France upside down. After about 800 years of rule by a king, the French staged a revolution in 1789 and proclaimed the first republic in 1792. [16] National taxes could only be approved by the Estates-General, which had not sat since 1614; its revenue functions had been assumed by regional parlements, the most powerful being the Parlement de Paris (see Map). [232], The Revolution meant an end to arbitrary royal rule and held out the promise of rule by law under a constitutional order, but it did not rule out a monarch. The current King. His method was to require all deputies be approved by the Estates-General as a whole, instead of each Estate verifying its own members. Those arrested in the provinces were now sent to Paris for judgement; from March to July, executions in Paris increased from five to twenty-six a day. Washington proclaimed neutrality instead. June 7: Day of the Tiles in Grenoble, first revolt against the king. Historian Reynald Secher claims that as many as 117,000 died between 1793 and 1796. This led to the "Constitutional Act 1791", which split the Province into two separate colonies, each with its own electoral assembly, the predominantly French-speaking Lower Canada and predominantly English-speaking Upper Canada. The new "sovereign" was now the "people." Although Robespierre himself was one of those excluded, his support in the clubs gave him a political power base not available to Lafayette and Bailly, who resigned respectively as head of the National Guard and the Paris Commune. Emboldened by this, on 22 September the Convention replaced the monarchy with the French First Republic and introduced a new calendar, with 1792 becoming "Year One". [4][5], Between 1700 and 1789, the French population grew from 18million to 26million, while Paris alone had over 600,000 inhabitants, of whom roughly one third had no regular work. [86], Accompanying this was a campaign for war against Austria and Prussia, also led by Brissot, whose aims have been interpreted as a mixture of cynical calculation and revolutionary idealism. [54] Announcing his acceptance of the August Decrees and the Declaration, Louis committed to constitutional monarchy, and his official title changed from 'King of France' to 'King of the French'. Nevertheless, as a potent symbol of the Ancien Rgime, its destruction was viewed as a triumph and Bastille Day is still celebrated every year. Black and coloured generals were effectively in control of large areas of Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue, including Toussaint Louverture in the north of Saint-Domingue, and Andr Rigaud in the south. [173][174], The Convention voted for the abolition of slavery in the colonies on 4 February 1794 and decreed that all residents of the colonies had the full rights of French citizens irrespective of colour. He was executed on 28 July with 19 colleagues, including Saint-Just and Georges Couthon, followed by 83 members of the Commune. [266], Jean Jaurs, in his Socialist History of the French Revolution (1901-4) presented a social and economic interpretation of the revolution influenced by Marx and Michelet, and provided an analysis of the role of peasants and the urban poor in the revolutionary decade. [163], Fighting continued for two reasons; first, French state finances had come to rely on indemnities levied on their defeated opponents. Slaves initiated the rebellion in 1791 and by 1803 they had succeeded in ending not just slavery but French control over the colony. In January 1790, the National Guard tried to arrest Marat for denouncing Lafayette and Bailly as 'enemies of the people'. Harvest taxes were ended, such as the tithe and seigneurial dues, much to the relief of the peasants. [29], To assist delegates, each region completed a list of grievances, known as Cahiers de dolances. Since this meant the legitimacy of deputies derived from the Estates-General, they would have to continue sitting as one body. Recognizing other peoples would have meant having to recognize their own sovereignty and thus their right to independence. These factors resulted in the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792, abolition of the French monarchy and proclamation of the French First Republic in September 1792, followed by the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793. [110], At Cholet on 17 October, the Republican army won a decisive victory over the Vende rebels, and the survivors escaped into Brittany. [84] The second was non-juring priests, whose opposition to the Civil Constitution led to a state of near civil war in southern France, which Bernave tried to defuse by relaxing the more punitive provisions. The outcome of the French Revolution, which began in 1789 and lasted for more than a decade, had numerous social, economic, and political effects not just in France but also in Europe and beyond. The third stream is those liberal writers, such as Germaine de Stal and Guizot, who accepted the necessity of reforms establishing a constitution and the rights of man, but rejected state interference with private property and individual rights even if supported by a democratic majority. Using troops from Bonaparte's Army of Italy under Pierre Augereau, the Council of 500 was forced to approve the arrest of Barthlemy, Pichegru and Carnot. [80] Restricting the franchise to those who paid a minimum amount of tax meant only 4 out of 6million Frenchmen over 25 were able to vote; it largely excluded the sans culottes or urban working class, who increasingly saw the new regime as failing to meet their demands for bread and work. The revolt failed and Og was killed. At one end of the political spectrum, reactionaries like Cazals and Maury denounced the Revolution in all its forms, with extremists like Maximilien Robespierre at the other. Executive power was in the hands of five Directors, selected by the Council of Ancients from a list provided by the lower house, with a five-year mandate. [145], It has been suggested the Directory did not collapse for economic or military reasons, but because by 1799, many 'preferred the uncertainties of authoritarian rule to the continuing ambiguities of parliamentary politics'. [204] This sparked a counter-revolutionary movement led by women; while supporting other political and social changes, they opposed the dissolution of the Catholic Church and revolutionary cults like the Cult of the Supreme Being. [177], In republican controlled areas from 1793-99, freed slaves were required to work on their former plantations or for their former masters if they were in domestic service. Other units loyal to the Convention stormed the building that evening and detained Robespierre, who severely injured himself attempting suicide. The second stream is those writers who celebrated the democratic republican values of the revolution. The song is the first example of the "European march" anthemic style, while the evocative melody and lyrics led to its widespread use as a song of revolution and incorporation into many pieces of classical and popular music. It brought economic freedoms and agrarian and legal reform. They were tolerated by officials because they had widespread support and were a link between elite male physicians and distrustful peasants who needed help. They expressed these demands using pamphlets and clubs such as the Cercle Social, whose largely male members viewed themselves as contemporary feminists. However, it was clear power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people. [157], From 1701 to 1801, the population of Europe grew from 118 to 187million; combined with new mass production techniques, this allowed belligerents to support large armies, requiring the mobilisation of national resources. He was married to Marie Antoinette and was executed. Belgium now had a government bureaucracy selected by merit. [123] A middle position suggests violence was not inevitable but the product of a series of complex internal events, exacerbated by war. Louis XVI | Palace of Versailles [218], The central elements of 1789 were the slogan "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" and "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen", which Lefebvre called, "the incarnation of the Revolution as a whole."[219]. After defeating a second Austrian army at Jemappes on 6 November, they occupied the Netherlands, areas of the Rhineland, Nice and Savoy. [83], Although a minority, the Brissotins control of key committees allowed them to focus on two issues, both intended to portray Louis as hostile to the Revolution by provoking him into using his veto. Napoleon as emperor set up a constitutional system (although he remained in full control), and the restored Bourbons were forced to go along with one. Fearing the consequences if they did not act first, his opponents attacked Robespierre and his allies in the Convention next day. (quoted in, Le systme de la terreur suppose non-seulement [] le pouvoir arbitraire et absolu, mais encore un pouvoir sans fin (quoted in, Censer and Hunt, "How to Read Images" LEF CD-ROM, Aulard in Arthur Tilley, ed. The British take Charleston, S.C., capture a large patriot army, and deal the rebels one of their worst defeats of the war. His fall in first 1814 and then 1815 saw the return of the French monarchy, clearly a national return to pre-revolutionary times, even if France could not return to that era. [212][2] The revolution represented the most significant challenge to political absolutism up to that point in history and spread democratic ideals throughout Europe and ultimately the world. The French Revolution ( French: Rvolution franaise [evlysj fsz]) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Nearly everyone was Catholic, but the Church was repressed. However, moderate deputies were uneasy at popular demands for universal suffrage, labour unions and cheap bread, and over the winter of 1790 and 1791, they passed a series of measures intended to disarm popular radicalism. The French Revolution literally redefined the word "revolution." After 1789, it meant the overthrow of a social and political order, and its replacement by something new. Despite limited support from sections of the military, it was easily crushed, with Babeuf and other leaders executed. [47], Assisted by Thomas Jefferson, then the minister to France, Lafayette prepared a draft constitution known as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which echoed some of the provisions of the Declaration of Independence. [159] However, the expiration of the 12-month term for the 1792 recruits forced the French to relinquish their conquests. "La Marseillaise" (French pronunciation:[la masjz]) became the national anthem of France. [26] More than two-thirds of the clergy lived on less than 500 livres per year, and were often closer to the urban and rural poor than those elected for the Third Estate, where voting was restricted to male French taxpayers, aged 25 or over. In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen she insisted that women deserved rights, especially in areas concerning them directly, such as divorce and recognition of illegitimate children. In response to this measure, women in many areas began circulating anti-oath pamphlets and refused to attend masses held by priests who had sworn oaths of loyalty to the Republic. Like the clergy, this was not a uniform body, and was divided into the noblesse d'pe, or traditional aristocracy, and the noblesse de robe. [233][234] The conservative Catholic enemies of the Revolution came to power in Vichy France (194044), and tried with little success to undo its heritage, but they kept it a republic. The French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. When presented to the legislative committee on 11 July, it was rejected by pragmatists such as Jean Joseph Mounier, President of the Assembly, who feared creating expectations that could not be satisfied. [31] The lifting of press censorship allowed widespread distribution of political writings, mostly written by liberal members of the aristocracy and upper middle-class. From the French Revolution to a Stable Democracy [16] Following partial default in 1770, within five years the budget had been balanced thanks to reforms instituted by Turgot, the Controller-General of Finances. Despite a series of military victories, many won by Napoleon Bonaparte, political divisions and economic stagnation resulted in the Directory being replaced by the Consulate in November 1799. Emboldened by this success, in February 1793 France declared war on the Dutch Republic, Spain and Britain, beginning the War of the First Coalition. After the abdication of Napoleon III in 1871, the monarchists probably had a voting majority, but they were so factionalised they could not agree on who should be king, and instead the French Third Republic was launched with a deep commitment to upholding the ideals of the Revolution. French Revolution of 1848: Causes & Effects - Study.com The Revolutionary War was a war unlike any otherone of ideas and ideals, that shaped "the course of human events." With 165 principal engagements from 1775-1783, the Revolutionary War was the catalyst for American independence. Regarding the last point, King Louis XVI's record was in doubt early in his reign, as the lack of an heir in the first seven . This French Revolution site contains articles, sources and perspectives on events in France, 1781-1795. Meanwhile, the men who controlled the Jacobins rejected the Revolutionary Republican Women as dangerous rabble-rousers. [104], Key areas of focus for the new government included creating a new state ideology, economic regulation and winning the war. The election results were cancelled, sixty-three leading royalists deported to French Guiana and new laws passed against migrs, Royalists and ultra-Jacobins. "[236] They also note that the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars caused England, Spain, Prussia and the Dutch Republic to centralize their fiscal systems to an unprecedented extent in order to finance the military campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. These victories led to the collapse of the anti-French coalition; Prussia made peace in April 1795, followed soon after by Spain, leaving Britain and Austria as the only major powers still in the war. [189], Cockades were widely worn by revolutionaries beginning in 1789. "[220][titlemissing], One of the most heated controversies during the Revolution was the status of the Catholic Church. Above all the antagonism helped stimulate and shape German nationalism. [147] On 9 November 1799, the Coup of 18 Brumaire replaced the five Directors with the French Consulate, which consisted of three members, Bonaparte, Sieys, and Roger Ducos; most historians consider this the end point of the French Revolution.[148]. "What's after Political Culture? On 5 October, Convention troops led by Napoleon put down a royalist rising in Paris; when the first elections were held two weeks later, over 100 of the 150 new deputies were royalists of some sort. [214] Some modern historians argue the concept of the nation state was a direct consequence of the revolution. As internal and external threats to the Republic increased, the position worsened; dealing with this by printing assignats led to inflation and higher prices. Cockades with various colour schemes were used during the storming of the Bastille on 14 July. Growing disorder meant many professional officers either left or became migrs, further destabilising the institution. Among the most significant were Marat's L'Ami du peuple and Elyse Loustallot's Revolutions de Paris[fr]. In 1789, faced with a grave financial crisis, the king summoned a meeting of the Estates General at the palace. On arrival in September, the commissioners announced that slavery would remain in force. Activists included Girondists like Olympe de Gouges, author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, and Charlotte Corday, the killer of Marat. George Washington and his unanimous cabinet, including Jefferson, decided that the treaty did not bind the United States to enter the war. [221] In 1788, it held a dominant position within society; to be French meant to be a Catholic. The latter derived rank from judicial or administrative posts and tended to be hard-working professionals, who dominated the regional parlements and were often intensely socially conservative. Rates varied widely from one region to another, often bore little or no relation to the amounts set out in official decrees, and were collected inconsistently. For the next seven years, the hostilities known as the French Revolutionary wars continue between France and various European powers. ", Desan, Suzanne. However, the two entered negotiations over the Louisiana Territory and agreed to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, an acquisition that substantially increased the size of the United States. [162] In October 1797, a series of defeats by Bonaparte in Italy led Austria to agree to the Treaty of Campo Formio, in which they formally ceded the Netherlands and recognised the Cisalpine Republic. [231] Others argue the redistribution of land had an immediate positive impact on agricultural productivity, before the scale of these gains gradually declined over the course of the 19th century. French Revolution - The National Archives [88], Bernave's inability to build a consensus in the Assembly resulted in the appointment of a new government, chiefly composed of Brissotins. [138] The power of the Parisian sans culottes had been broken by the suppression of the May 1795 revolt; relieved of pressure from below, the Jacobins became natural supporters of the Directory against those seeking to restore the monarchy. [263][264] In his The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856), Tocqueville stressed the continuities between the reforms of the old regime and the revolutionary period, and argued that the revolution occurred because the middle classes and peasantry were becoming freer and more prosperous under the old regime and therefore more conscious of the remaining aristocratic privileges and feudal impositions. Responsibility is disputed, but even moderates expressed sympathy for the action, which soon spread to the provinces; the killings reflected widespread concern over social disorder [95], On 20 September, the French army won a stunning victory over the Prussians at Valmy. Her personal letters to leaders of the Revolution influenced policy; in addition, she often hosted political gatherings of the Brissotins, a political group which allowed women to join. In the Austrian Netherlands, the Brabant Revolution succeeded in expelling Austrian forces and established the new United Belgian States. When this resulted in escalating inflation, the response was to impose price controls and persecute private speculators and traders, creating a Black market. [245], In Ireland, the effect was to transform what had been an attempt by Protestant settlers to gain some autonomy into a mass movement led by the Society of United Irishmen involving Catholics and Protestants. One of the first of these "pamphlets" into print was A Vindication of the Rights of Men by Mary Wollstonecraft (better known for her later treatise, sometimes described as the first feminist text, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman); Wollstonecraft's title was echoed by Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, published a few months later. '[42], The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. French Revolution of 1848 - Wikipedia A chronology of key events in modern French history: 1789 - French Revolution ends rule of monarchy going back to 9th Century; followed by establishment of the First Republic. "[229], In the cities, entrepreneurship on a small scale flourished, as restrictive monopolies, privileges, barriers, rules, taxes and guilds gave way. [6] Antiquated farming methods and transportation networks failed to keep up with these numbers. There is no evidence of a negative effect of French invasion. [117], The Law of 22 Prairial (10 June) denied "enemies of the people" the right to defend themselves. Colonial products accounted for about a third of France's exports. Battle of Yorktown - Definition, Who Won & Importance - History The Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, a militant group on the far left, demanded a law in 1793 that would compel all women to wear the tricolour cockade to demonstrate their loyalty to the Republic. [28], The Second Estate elected 291 deputies, representing about 400,000 men and women, who owned about 25% of the land and collected seigneurial dues and rents from their tenants. Uprisings followed in Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulon, Marseilles and Caen. A new page in the history of France was being written. [132], A committee drafted a new constitution, approved by plebiscite on 23 September 1795 and put into place on 27th. As the royalists and their British and Spanish supporters were also offering freedom for slaves willing to fight for their cause, the commissioners outbid them by abolishing slavery in the north in August, and throughout the colony in October. [46], With the suspension of the 13 regional parlements in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. Franois Furet argues the intense ideological commitment of the revolutionaries and their utopian goals required the extermination of any opposition. [101] The Girondins made a fatal political error by indicting Marat before the Revolutionary Tribunal for allegedly directing the September massacres; he was quickly acquitted, further isolating the Girondins from the sans-culottes. More than Words: The Printing Press and the French Revolution., This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 21:37. For their opponents, Enlightenment ideas on equality and democracy provided an intellectual framework for dealing with these issues, while the American Revolution was seen as confirmation of their practical application. Most importantly, Britain preferred peace, and as Emperor Leopold II stated after the Declaration of Pillnitz, "without England, there is no case". Andress, David. [239]" Yet in Britain the majority, especially among the aristocracy, strongly opposed the French Revolution. They suggest that "areas that were occupied by the French and that underwent radical institutional reform experienced more rapid urbanization and economic growth, especially after 1850. The French Revolution deeply polarised American politics, and this polarisation led to the creation of the First Party System. [166][167], People of colour also faced social and legal discrimination in mainland France and its colonies, including a bar on their access to professions such as law, medicine and pharmacy. Many left for the provinces. Next morning, some of the protestors broke into the Royal apartments, searching for Marie Antoinette, who escaped. [10] One historian concludes "neither the level of French state debt in 1788, or its previous history, can be considered an explanation for the outbreak of revolution in 1789". Others like Throigne de Mricourt, Pauline Lon and the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women supported the Jacobins, staged demonstrations in the National Assembly and took part in the October 1789 March to Versailles.
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