The French Revolution: Causes, Key Events, and Aftermath (1789-1799)
The Roots of Revolution
Why is the French Revolution historically significant?
Because its ideas changed human history.
Financial and Social Causes
The structure of the Ancient Regime meant that only the Third Estate paid taxes. The expenses of the state were very high, and the government did not have enough money solely from the taxes collected from the Third Estate.
Failed Attempts at Reform
Louis XVI tried to reform this system under various financial ministers. He called for democracy on a local level. All attempts to fix the financial crisis failed, and France declared bankruptcy.
Ideological Causes
The Enlightenment questioned the structure of the Ancient Regime, especially the idea that the power of the king came from God. The ideas defended by the Enlightenment gave people a reason to avoid paying taxes and eliminate the privileges held by the nobility.
Summary of Immediate Causes
- Bankruptcy.
- Hailstorms that ruined the harvests, causing rising food prices and hunger.
- People criticized the luxury in which members of the aristocracy, including the King and the Queen, lived.
- The ideas of the Enlightenment.
- The nobility did not want a financial reform.
- The influence of the British and American Revolutions.
The Beginning of the Revolution (1789)
The Estates-General
It is the French national parliament. It was formed by representatives of the First Estate (nobles), Second Estate (clergy), and the Third Estate (the rest of the population).
The Voting Conflict
There was a vote by state, but the Third Estate wanted a vote by each representative so that they could have a majority in the parliament.
The National Assembly
The Third Estate left the parliament and created their own National Assembly because they wanted to have one vote per representative, and the First and Second Estates did not agree. It is an association formed by the Third Estate with the purpose of demanding rights.
The Tennis Court Oath
It is the place where the Third Estate met when they left the parliament. They met there because, once they left the parliament, they did not have any place big enough to meet and compose the constitution.
The Storming of the Bastille
The Bastille was the old prison of Louis XVI.
Sequence of Events
- The Third Estate met in the Tennis Court.
- The representatives swore they would not leave until they composed a constitution.
- Louis XVI sent an army to Paris to stop them.
- People saw this as an offense and seized the Bastille.
- Significance: The Bastille was a major symbol of the Ancient Regime, and this act was seen as a rebellion against it.
Establishing New Rights and Conflicts
The Decrees of August
They abolished feudalism, privileges for nobles, and unequal taxation. They established a Bill of Rights (The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen).
Rights Comparison: France vs. America
In the French constitution, the rights were applied to everybody, whereas in America, they were applied only to non-slaves.
The Women’s March on Versailles
It was a protest organized by French female peasants against Marie Antoinette because it was rumored she was hoarding grain somewhere in the palace. It concluded with the trip of the Queen and King from Versailles to Paris.
Underlying Issues of the March
The protest was about the lack of food and a complaint against a political system that caused economic contractions, which were hardest on the poor.
The Radical Phase and the Reign of Terror
The Jacobins
They were the most radical wing of the Third Estate. They wanted to abolish the monarchy in France and establish a republic. They also wanted the army to be controlled by the National Assembly and not by the King.
Foreign Intervention
Austria and Prussia intervened because they were related to the French monarchy and wanted to ensure the Ancient Regime survived in Europe, preventing the French Revolution from spreading.
Suspension of the Monarchy
Because the French monarchy, allied with Prussia and Austria, fought against the revolutionaries, the Assembly decided to suspend the monarchy. They subsequently created a republican constitution.
Execution of the Monarchs
They executed King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette.
The Reign of Terror (1793-1794)
The execution of the monarchs signaled the start of the Era of Terror, where everybody who was against the revolutionary ideas was executed. It was a phase of the French Revolution characterized by terror and totalitarianism. Its leader was Robespierre.
The Fall of Robespierre
He was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety. At the end of the phase, he was guillotined in the month of Thermidor (July 1794).
Victims of the Terror
Approximately 16,000 enemies of the revolution were executed.
The Rise of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte
He was a leader of France and became the First Consul of France.
The Coup of 1799
The coup in 1799 meant that he had an unlimited executive power. His rule was an authoritarian government.
Conclusion
Critique of the Revolution
Despite the revolution promoting positive ideas like liberty, equality, and fraternity, those ideals were not upheld by the leaders during the process.