The Rise of Bourgeois Revolutions: From America to Napoleonic Europe

Posted on May 13, 2024 in Computers

1. The Bourgeois Revolutions

The Bourgeois Revolutions enabled the bourgeoisie to gain political power and social status. These revolutions took place in the late 18th century and early 19th century.

  • American Revolution: The independence of the United States.
  • French Revolution: This put an end to absolute monarchy and the Estates System. This marks the beginning of the Modern Age.

2. The American Revolution (1775-1783)

Great Britain fought against 13 colonies located on the Atlantic coast of North America.

2.1 The Causes of the War

  1. Ideological factors: Enlightenment ideas were the basis for the independence movement.
  2. Political factors: The British Parliament made decisions about taxes and other issues related to the colonies.
  3. Economic and social factors: There was a wealthy colonial bourgeoisie who wanted the freedom to trade without interference from Great Britain.

The conflict was caused by the high cost of the Seven Years’ War in which Great Britain fought against France. Great Britain won the war, but George III increased taxes on products in order to pay his war debts. The colonies refused to pay these taxes. There were various protests. The British government sent troops to Boston to close the port. This marked the beginning of the conflict.

2.2 The War of Independence and its Consequences

Some colonies decided to fight for independence. In 1775, they created their own army, which was led by George Washington. At first, Great Britain had some military success, but the colonists took actions that were politically significant. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress proclaimed the Declaration of Independence.

Great Britain recognized American independence and the birth of the USA in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

In 1787, the United States Constitution was adopted, based on Enlightenment principles. The United States became a symbol for the struggle for liberty and equality.

United States Constitution

  • Type of government: Federal republic
  • Popular sovereignty: Expressed through male suffrage
  • Separation of powers: The President was the executive branch, Congress was the legislative branch, and the Supreme Court was the judicial branch.

Rights: Citizens were free and equal before the law. Slavery continued to be legal.

3. The French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of violent political and social change, which saw the abolition of the absolute monarchy and the end of the Estates System of the Ancien Régime. Beginning in 1789, it is considered to be the first European bourgeois revolution.

3.1 The Causes of the French Revolution

  • The influence of the Enlightenment: French intellectuals and bourgeoisie supported Enlightenment ideas and wanted to put them into practice.
  • Economic crisis: The French monarchy was in debt because of the court’s excessive spending.
  • Social crisis: The economic crisis affected each of the three estates differently.
  • Political crisis: Louis XVI’s ministers suggested that the privileged estates should pay taxes. The nobility and clergy refused and demanded that the king call the Estates General. Louis XVI governed France as an absolute monarch; however, he was forced to call the Estates General in 1789.

Unequal Representation

In the Estates General, the three estates met separately. Each estate had one vote, even though the Third Estate had twice as many representatives as the other estates.

3.2 The Events of the French Revolution

Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General in 1789 in order to increase taxes. This meeting was the beginning of the French Revolution.

National Assembly

The Third Estate asked for a new voting system in which each representative would vote individually. When the king refused, the Third Estate declared that, as the true representative of the nation, it was forming a National Assembly. The king locked the National Assembly out of the Estates General, so they met at a tennis court nearby. They declared that they would not leave the tennis court until France had a Constitution.

The Constituent Assembly

Finally, the king agreed to the Third Estate’s demands. A new Constituent Assembly was formed to write a constitution. This was a triumph for the bourgeoisie because the monarchy was no longer absolute.

News that troops were being sent to Versailles led to a riot in Paris on July 14, 1789, in which people attacked the Bastille. The popular revolt spread from Paris to other cities and also the countryside. This is known as the Grande Peur.

In response to these events, the Constituent Assembly passed a range of legal reforms, which they hoped would satisfy the demands of the peasantry. They abolished feudal privileges and the tithes paid by the peasantry to the clergy. The Assembly also established equality in the payment of taxes. In 1790, the Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. The clergy would now be paid by the state and would be elected by the people. All these measures led to discontent among part of the clergy and to the emigration of many nobles to other European countries. Louis XVI asked Austria for support against the revolution. He also tried to escape from France.

In 1791, the Assembly approved the Constitution, which established:

  • A constitutional monarchy in which the powers of the monarchy were limited by the Constitution.
  • Limited male suffrage: Only men with a certain amount of property could vote.
  • Separation of powers: The monarch had executive power, the Assembly had legislative power, and the courts had judicial power.

The Legislative Assembly

After the Constitution of 1791 had been adopted, there were elections for the new Legislative Assembly.

Two main political groups:

  • Girondins: Represented the interests of the wealthy bourgeoisie. Supported constitutional monarchy and limited suffrage.
  • Jacobins: Represented the petite bourgeoisie. More radical views: Abolish the monarchy, wanted to establish a republic, and introduce universal manhood suffrage.

In August 1792, the people of Paris attacked the Tuileries Palace, the monarchy was abolished, and France became a republic.

The Convention

This was the most radical phase of the Revolution. A new assembly, the Convention, was elected with universal manhood suffrage. In 1793, the Convention agreed to execute Louis XVI. The Jacobins took control of the government and imposed a dictatorship known as the Terror. They were led by Robespierre and supported by the sans-culottes.

The Terror
  • A popular revolutionary army was formed to fight the war against France’s European enemies.
  • There was widespread repression of counterrevolutionaries.
  • The Constitution of 1793 was adopted.
  • The Law of Maximum was adopted.

The Directory and the Consulate

The moderate deputies overthrew the Jacobins in 1794, and in 1795, they adopted a new Constitution and re-established limited male suffrage. They also introduced a new way of government: the Directory, a conservative government made up of five members. In 1799, General Napoleon Bonaparte organized a military coup. Napoleon established a new way of government called the Consulate. In 1802, Napoleon was named First Consul for Life.

4. Napoleonic Empire

In 1804, Napoleon declared himself Emperor of France.

Main political achievements:

  • His domestic policy consolidated the changes made during the Revolution. He established the Civil Code.
  • His foreign policy made France an empire as a result of his victories.

Great Britain was the only country that Napoleon never defeated. Napoleon spread the revolutionary principles of liberty and equality that ended absolute monarchy. From 1812 onward, Napoleon’s military order started to decline, and he failed in his invasion of Russia. In 1813, his army was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig. He was finally defeated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

5. The Consequences of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire

The main cause was the crisis and the subsequent fall of the Ancien Régime. The Ancien Régime led to a number of important changes.

  • Political changes:
    • Other forms of government, such as the constitutional monarchy and the republic
    • Constitutions based on popular sovereignty were adopted
    • Political parties started to appear
    • The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen established equal rights, but only for men.
  • Economic changes:
    • All citizens had to pay taxes
    • The law guaranteed free trade and respect for private property.
  • Social changes:
    • The Estates System disappeared; everyone was equal before the law.
    • The bourgeoisie could now participate in politics.

6. Spain Under the Reign of Carlos IV

In Spain, Carlos IV’s reign began in 1788. It coincided with the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire. In 1793, Spain joined the First Coalition against France. In 1795, Spain signed the Peace of Basel with France and left the coalition. In 1795, the French Revolution had moved in a more moderate direction. As a result, Spain allied with France against Great Britain.

Consequences of the alliance:

  • The signing of the Treaties of San Ildefonso: Spain promised to help France. Spain and France were defeated by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar.
  • The signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which allowed the French to cross Spain in order to occupy Portugal. Napoleon took advantage and occupied part of Spain, too.

Finally, in May 1808, Fernando VII and his father, Carlos IV, were moved to Bayonne. There, they renounced their rights to the Spanish throne, and Napoleon named Joseph Bonaparte king. He imposed the Bayonne Constitution.

7. Spanish War of Independence

On May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid rose up against the French occupation, but they failed. The Spanish War of Independence began.

7.1 The Course of the War

Local and provincial councils were formed to fight against the French. For the first time in Spain, people were voting to choose their representatives. These committees were led by the Central Council, which had executive and legislative power.

The war:

  • 1808: Spanish forces won several victories, like the Battle of Bailén, that stopped the French from reaching Andalusia.
  • 1808-1812: Guerrilla warfare
  • 1812-1813: The Central Council signed a military alliance with Great Britain. In December 1813, Napoleon signed the Treaty of Valençay. As a result, Fernando VII returned to the throne.

7.2 The Cádiz Cortes

The Central Council took refuge in Cádiz. In 1810, it was replaced by the Regency Council, which called the Cádiz Cortes. It was no longer based on the Estates System. There were 223 deputies who were elected by the Spanish and American provinces.

Different groups emerged:

  • The supporters of Enlightenment ideas who wanted the end of the Ancien Régime in Spain.
  • The absolutists who wanted the king to be restored.

On March 19, 1812, the Cádiz Cortes approved Spain’s First Constitution.

  • Constitutional monarchy
  • Popular sovereignty with limited male suffrage
  • Separation of powers
  • Guaranteed rights and freedoms
  • Catholicism as the official state religion

8. Neoclassicism

Is an artistic style developed between 1760 and 1830.

Neoclassicism imitated classical Greek and Roman art characterised by simplicity.

●      Architecture: well-proportioned and imitate classical temples and triumphal arches, with columns and domes. Arc du triomphe.

●      Sculpture: usually made of white marble. Represented mithological themes or prominent figures.