The French Revolution began in 1789 when the French people turned against their king, Louis XVI and his government. They hoped for the same ideals particularity, the ideals of liberty and freedom. The French Revolution became an important event in European history and other nations across Europe were inspired to achieve similar freedoms. They also wanted the feudal system to be abolished.
Causes:
The French spent a lot of money
to assist the colonies in the American War Of Independence. This left the country bankrupt due to their involvement in the American War Of Independence and King Louis XVI overspending. On the other hand, the country experienced drought, poor harvest and the prices of bread was very high. This didn't go well with the Third Estate who were lawyers, peasants and merchants as they expressed their anger by rioting, looting and striking because they were paying most of the taxes, yet the King and his government failed to provide for relief.The Third Estate were very unhappy because they were paying all the taxes e.g
the Taille(A land tax paid to the state), the Tithe( A tax of 10% of earnings or crops, this went to the Catholic Church), the Gabelle( A tax on salt that had to be paid by the Third Estate) and the Corvee( when members of the Third Estate had to work several days a year maintaining the roads across France without getting paid)
As King Louis XVI was having financial problems, he thought of a tax increase so he called for a meeting of all the three estates. The First Estate was made up of Clergy(Bishops and Priests), The Second Estate was made up of Nobility( Aristocracy- Lords, Dukes and Marquis) and The Third Estate was made up of (everyone else- Lawyers, Merchants and Peasants). This meeting was called The Estates-General. The meeting was held in Versailles on 5th May 1789.
There was a problem at the meeting. The First and Second Estates knew the Third Estate could out-vote them so they believed that one vote should be given to each Estate so that they could out-vote the Third Estate by 2:1. This didn't go well for the Third Estate so they decided to create a separate National Assembly. The following day the representatives of the Third Estate were locked out of the Estates-General so they went to the Royal Tennis Court where they took an oath in which the members of the National Assembly promised each other that they would not break up until a new constitution was written which took into account all of their grievances. This oath became known as the Tennis Court Oath.
The Third Estate Swears The Tennis Court Oath
The tensions between the Estates and also between the King and the poor people of Paris increased. There was fear that King Louis might use force to break up the National Assembly.
The Bastille:
On 14th July 1789 the mob stormed the Bastille in search of guns and ammunition so that they could protect themselves from any attack. The mob was known as the sans-culottes which basically means without trousers. They were known as sans-culottes because they couldn't afford the silk knee-length stockings that were fashionable among the rich.
The Storming of the Bastille in 1789
(" In that instant, a discharge from the Bastille killed four people") This was a quote from Thomas Jefferson who was an American minister to France in 1789. He was an eyewitness to the violence that erupted in Paris and Versailles. In Jefferson's account of event of the Storming of the Bastille, he said the Governor wandered how they got in. They took all the arms and set free the prisoners. The fall of the Bastille is celebrated as a national holiday called Bastille Day, every year on 14th July.
The Rights Of Man:
On 26 August, the National Assembly passed a new law called the Declaration of the Rights Of Man. This law outlined the main beliefs of the Revolution. They wanted to abolish and replace the ancien regime with a new law with the three main ideals of the French Revolution,
( Liberty, Equality and the Right to Resist Oppression)
Civil Constitution of the Clergy:
In December 1790, another law called the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed but it was rejected by Pope Pius VI and by many of the French Clergy. This law stated that all members of the clergy had to take an oath of loyalty to the revolution, the local assemblies would elect the clergy, not the pope and all church's land could be seized and sold.
Flight To Varennes;
The king didn't want to share his powers with an assembly and in 20th June 1791, King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette tried to flee France but they were caught at Varennes. They were brought back to Paris and placed under guard.
Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette are captured at Varennes
Many First Estates and Second Estates from France emigrated to nearby countries.
These people who fled the country became known as emigres. The revolutionaries became worried that the monarchies of nearby countries might invade France as they feared that the revolution could spread and endanger their thrones. On the other hand, the emigres were forming armed groups trying to organize an invasion. On 20th April 1792, France declared war on Austria. In the very beginning of the war, France was defeated.
Outbreak Of War Against Austria:
The Austrians got assistance from the Prussians and closed in on Paris. The Parisian mob assumed the king and the aristocrats betrayed them. On 10th August 1792, the Parisian mob began to riot in Paris and they occupied Tuileries Palace where the royal family was staying. Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette were found and imprisoned in the Temple.
The mob demanded to create a republic in which the members of the Assembly agreed to. A new assembly called the National Convention was set up and on 21 September, France was declared a republic.
France Becomes A Republic:
When France became a Republic, there were calls for Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette to be tried. In December 1792, Louis stood trial and on 14th January 1793, he was found guilty of treason and was sentenced to be executed . In February 1793 England, Prussia, Austria and the Netherlands formed an alliance in war against France and France was defeated again.
King Louis' execution
The Jacobins and Maximilian Robespierre:
Jacobins were an important political party of radical politicians who believed it was necessary to execute anyone who opposed the revolution and they were known as the Jacobins after the church where their first meeting took place and they were supported by the sans-culottes. They were led by a French lawyer named Maximilian Robespierre, his nickname was the"Incorruptible"because of his honesty and dedication to the revolution.
Maximilian was very popular with the sans-culottes because of his attempts to get lower food prices. Robespierre became the most influential member of the Committee of Public Safety which was created to remove those who opposed the revolution.
Reign Of Terror:
The Committee of Public Safety passed the Law of Maximum, this law placed the strict controls on the price of bread. Another law called the Law of Suspects was passed and it allowed them to arrest and even execute anyone believed to be against the revolution. About 300,000 suspects were arrested and 17,000 were executed. Marie-Antoinette was one of the people sent to the guillotine in October 1743.
The Guillotine
This period became known as the Reign Of Terror. Some people were killed using the guillotine which was named after Dr Joseph Guillotine. Sometimes if the guillotine was slow, boats(barges) full of prisoners were sunk on the River Loire, drowning all on board. Robespierre was overthrown and he was sent to the guillotine on 28th July 1794 because he had gone too far, he killed innocent people who supported the revolution as he thought they were against it.
After his death, the Law of Maximum was abolished and the bloodiest period of the revolution came to an end. A new five-member committee called the Directory was set up to rule France.
Results Of The French Revolution:
1. The bourgeoisie(middle class) had gained a lot of power, they were far more important in politics. Before the revolution the power had been with the king and the rich.
2. The French offered to militarily assist any nation that wanted to follow their lead. Ireland, among others took up the French's offer in the 1790s.
3. There was an increased belief in the ideals of France across Europe. The personal beliefs of liberty and equality before the law, the political concepts of republicanism and democracy and national brotherhood all became commonplace.
4. These ideals inspired other nations around Europe were inspired to achieve similar freedoms.
5. The government forced all able-bodied men over the age of 18 into the army which is known as conscription. Their army became huge and won important victories across Europe. These victories made a young general called Napoleon Bonaparte to become very popular. In 1799 he discovered the Directory and became France's new leader. He crowned himself "Emperor Of France"
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| Napoleon as the "Emperor Of France" |
May 5, 1789- Louis XVI called Estates-General to a meeting in Versailles to approve a tax plan.
June 17, 1789- The Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly and made the Tennis Court Oath.
July 14, 1789- The people of Paris stormed Bastille
August 27, 1789- The National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
June 20,1791-Louis XVI and his family tried to flee France but were arrested.
January 21, 1793- Louis XVI sentanced to the guillotine.
July 28, 1794- Robespierre was beheaded.
1799- The Directory fell and ended the French Revolution.
Bibliography:
www. Britannica.com
www. French History.com
www. eyewitnesstohistory.com/frenchrevolution
