Impact of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution
THE IMPACT OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Enlightenment principles and the American Revolution gave the bourgeoisie new ideas to help them confront absolutism and the stratified state system of society. They proposed new forms of social organisation and government. All of this led to the revolutionary cycle that began in France in 1789.
THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS
The economic crisis was the result of a series of poor harvests since 1760.
The financial crisis was caused by the monarchy’s lack of money. To resolve this problem, Louis XVI’s ministers proposed that the privileges begin to pay taxes, they refused.
1789: A REVOLUTION BREAKS OUT
The Estates-General met in Versailles.
The Third Estate representatives decided to leave the meeting when the privileged classes refused to allow them greater representation and insisted on one vote per estate rather than one per representative.
The representatives of the Third Estate met in a pavilion in Versailles and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly and they promised to draft a constitution.
On July 14, they stormed the Bastille. The revolution spread to the countryside, where nobles’ homes were burnt.
Louis XVI, in 1789, accepted the National Assembly, which made France a constitutional monarchy and ended the Ancien Régime.
PHASES OF THE REVOLUTION
The Constitutional Monarchy: this was driven by the moderate bourgeoisie, who aspired to abolish the Ancien Régime, elect a parliament by selective suffrage and establish a constitution.
The Social Republic: the radical bourgeoisie, encouraged by the working classes, proclaimed the Republic and began a transformation into a democratic and equal society with universal male suffrage and social laws.
The Conservative Republic: despite the radicalisation of the French Revolution, the moderate bourgeoisie took power and implemented a new moderate liberalism.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
THE CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
The moderate bourgeoisie tried to reach an agreement with the king and the privileges classes to make France a constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. To do this, the National Constituent Assembly:
abolished feudalism and approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
drew up a constitution based on the separation of powers, national sovereignty and legal equality. Census suffrage was also introduced.
Once the Constitution was approved, a Legislative Assembly was formed. This drafted new laws. Also, a new army, the National Guard, was created to defend the Revolution.
Church property was expropriated and sold.
A constitutional monarchy was established in 1791, but the royal family and the privileged classes didn’t accept the changes and asked absolute monarchies in Europe to help restore absolutism.
The Austrian army invaded France and Louis XVI escaped from Paris (Flight to Varennes) but he was arrested.
THE SOCIAL REPUBLIC
The betrayal by the and the military invasion led to the revolt by the common people. On 10 August 1792, they stormed Tuileries Palace and imprisoned the royal family. A republic was declared and the second phase of the Revolution began.
THE GIRONDIN CONVENTION
The Girondins were the more moderate bourgeoisie and controlled the Republic.
The National Convention was elected by universal male suffrage.
Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed.
In response to the king’s death, monarchies in Europe formed an absolutist coalition against France.
Inside the country, counter-revolutionary revolts broke out and the former privileged classes organised royalist plots.
THE JACOBINS CONVENTION
The Jacobins were the most radical sector of the bourgeoisie.
A new constitution that recognised popular sovereignty and the right to social equality was enacted.
The leader of the Jacobins was Robespierre.
To reject the Austrian invasion, a mass levy was organised that forced all citizens to join the army. To stop conspirators, the Reign of Terror was imposed.
Freedoms were suspended and people opposed to the government were either imprisoned or revolutionary courts ordered their execution by guillotine (Law of Suspects).
A series of social laws were introduced to satisfy the demands of the sans-culottes.
Church lands were sold and education became compulsory.
Many people opposed the dictatorial government, and a coup in July 1794 ended the Jacobin government. Robespierre and other Jacobin leaders were executed by guillotine.
THE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLIC: THE DIRECTORY
The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the Revolution and it entered its third and final phase.
Jacobins laws were cancelled and exiles from the Reign of Terror were encouraged to return.
A new Constitution granted executive power to a collegial government, known as the Directory, and restored census suffrage.
The Directory was permanently unstable because it faced opposition from the aristocracy.
Common people supported the return of the Jacobins.
In this context of crisis and war against the absolutist powers, general Napoleon Bonaparte organised a coup in 1799 that ended the Directory.
NAPOLEON RULES EUROPE
THE CONSULATE
Napoleon’s coup d’état was supported by a large part of the bourgeoisie. His aim was to implement the more moderate ideologies that had inspired the French Revolution in 1789.
In 1799, Napoleon was named consul, and the Consulate’s rule began. This was a period of autocratic and authoritarian rule. Napoleon aspired to put an end to the political instability of the Revolution.
The Constitution of 1800 of the new political system didn’t include the separation of powers or a declaration of rights. Liberties were very limited and censorship was imposed to control public opinion.
The state was organised into departments which implemented government policies. The public finance sector was reformed, and state schools were created to educate an elite of civil servants.
Napoleon allowed exiles to return if they accepted the new government and signed an agreement with the Church called a concordat, and a civil code for all citizens was drawn up
A commercial code was established to stimulate the economy, the Bank of France was created, and new banknotes were issued.
THE NAPOLEONIC EMPIRE
Napoleon began his conquest of Europe in 1803 and was crowned emperor by the Pope in 1804. His large army and the use of new military tactics enabled him to defeat most European monarchies.
In 1808, the French invaded Spain and Joseph Bonaparte was made king.
Napoleonic Empire extended from Germany to Spain. France now controlled most of Europe.
THE FAILURES OF NAPOLEON
The French armies occupied the European nations by force and made Napoleon’s family members or army generals, their leaders.
They also collected taxes, appropriated their wealth and recruited soldiers.
THE FALL OF NAPOLEON
In 1895, Napoleon was finally defeated in Waterloo by Great Britain and Prussia and he was exiled on the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
WHAT WAS THE LEGACY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION?
– It was based on respect for fundamental and basic human rights, and on the principle that all the citizens had the same rights and should choose representatives to govern their nation.
THE BASIS OF DEMOCRACY
People as citizens with rights recognised by the state.
Popular sovereignty.
The Constitution as the fundamental law that established the rights of both citizens and rulers.
Equality before the law and an independent justice system.
The organisation of state administration into provinces and town councils.
POLITICAL LIFE AND THE PRESS
The political clubs born during the Revolution were the precursors of political parties in democratic systems.
Citizens who defended similar ideas and proposals formed groups to participate in politics and have more influence in the Assembly.
The classification of political parties as left or right came from the French National Assembly.
The political press also grew out of people’s interests in comparing different political opinions and debating them.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CULTURE
The state should be secular, with no official religion and should accept religious freedom.
For the first time, the need of equal, compulsory education for all citizens was considered, although it was never put into practice.
In the Napoleonic Era, the first state schools were founded.
To make art and culture accessible to all citizens, the first public museums were created.
BETWEEN ABSOLUTISM AND LIBERALISM
THE RESTORATION OF ABSOLUTISM
Between 1814 and 1815, the powers that defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna.
The four great powers reshaped the European map.
The Congress of Vienna established the ideological principles of the Restoration, such as the legitimacy of the absolute monarchs and the denial of national sovereignty. It also called for a balance of power between the victors through periodic meetings and the rights of intervention.
In 1815, the Holy Alliance Treaty was signed. This meant that the absolute monarchs would unite against any threat of liberal revolution.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAVE OF 1830
The Congress of Vienna didn’t respect the liberal principles.
Liberalism and nationalism became the two main opposition forces causing the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to start. These revolutions ended the restoration of absolutism.
The movement began in France. Louis Philippe I became the new constitutional monarch. He was called the “Citizen King”.
A revolt also broke out in Poland, which was under the autocratic rule of the Russian Empire.
THE SPRING OF NATIONS (TIPO TEST)
Many people lived under the rule of an empire or were fragmented into various states.
The revolutions of 1848 showed how countries under the control of empires wanted to pursue the idea of nationalism and the creation of new liberal governments.
In the Austrian Empire, the revolt in Vienna was liberal in character. There were also nationalist uprisings in Hungary, Bohemia, northern Italy and the German Confederation.
In France, a popular uprising proclaimed the Second Republic, which adopted a number of democratic measures, male suffrage, press freedom…
Democratic reforms and many nationalist aspirations were consolidated.
THE NEW CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY:
– The revolutions of 1848 were significant because they demonstrated the emergence of democratic ideals and also the importance of workers as a political force.
– Democrats identified themselves with the basic principles of liberalism, but were against the concept of national sovereignty proposed by census suffrage.
– They defended the principle of popular sovereignty and the extension of collective rights.
WHAT NEW STATES WERE CREATED IN EUROPE IN THE 19TH CENTURY? (TIPO TEST)
GREEK AND BELGIAN INDEPENDENCE
Independence movements developed in plurinational empires. Many Greeks wanted independence from the Ottoman Empire and Belgium asserted its independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
The Greeks had to pay high taxes, they were excluded from state administration jobs and they felt dominated by a group of people with different religion and culture.
In 1822, the Greeks declared independence in Epidaurus, but it was not recognised by the Turks.
In 1827, with the help of French and British military intervention, the Greeks defeated the Ottoman Empire. Greece gained its independence in 1830.
BELGIAN REVOLUTION
Belgium was made part of the Kingdom of Holland by the Congress of Vienna.
Belgium became a liberal monarchy ruled by Leopold I.
An armed conflict followed Belgium’s declaration of independence. It finally ended when the Netherlands recognised Belgium’s independence in 1839.
ITALIAN AND GERMAN UNIFICATIONS
Italy was divided into several states.
Germany was divided into 36 states and associated with the German Confederation.
ITALY
Prime Minister Cavour started a unification process. They declared war on Austria and annexed Lombardy. At the same time, a popular uprising led by Garibaldi overthrew the absolute monarchies in central and southern Italy.
Victor Manuel II of Savoy was proclaimed king of Italy.
The Papal States were annexed by Italy.
The newly unified state established its capital in Rome.
8. THE NEW ART OF THE BOURGEOISIE
A>ROMANTICISM: AN EMPHASIS ON EMOTIONS
Romanticism spread throughout Europe in the first decades of the 19th century as a reaction against Neoclassicism that was a prevalent before.
This new movement brought a new aesthetic and celebrated a love of freedom and the glorification of the individual. It promoted emotion over the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
B>REALISM
Romanticism was displaced by Realism in the second half of the 19th century.
REASONS:
*The evidence of new social inequalities.
*Poverty, child labour and the exploitation of workers.
*The advancement of science in the 19th century.
Realist artists were interested in understanding the reality of their time and made every effort to describe it truthfully.
Gustave Courbet, Honore Daumier and Jean François Millet, reflected the daily lives and social problems.
C>MODERNISM
Modernism emerged in the late 19th century and was basically an architectural movement, although painting and sculpture also played a part.
Painters decided to abandon everyday subjects to capture symbolic and conceptual themes.
The movement was decorative and inspired by forms found in nature. Women were a recurring theme.
Gustav Klimt and Alphonse Mucha, who was also an important poster artist.