French Revolution: Difference between revisions

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	The <b>French Revolution</b> occurred during the years ]-], just a few years after the ].		The <b>French Revolution</b> occurred during the years ]-], just a few years after the ].

			<b>The Revolution: the Old Regime deposed</b>
			The French Revolution was greatly influenced by the American Revolution in the way that French troops who fought on the side of the ] brought new enlightened ideas to France.

	The King of ], ] was overthrown in a popular ], caused in part by the rise of a middle class no longer controllable by the old regime, by ideological changes brought about by such authors as ], ], ], and other theorists of ], and most proximately by the financial disarray of the government resulting in sharply higher taxes.		The King of ], ] was overthrown in a popular ], caused in part by the rise of a middle class no longer controllable by the old regime, by ideological changes brought about by such authors as ], ], ], and other theorists of ], and most proximately by the financial disarray of the government resulting in sharply higher taxes.

			<b>The Revolution: the causes</b>
			France was stricken by financial problems for over a century. The wars of ] caused debts who grew when wars were fought in the 18th century.
			These debts were not exceptional as ] had the same debts.
			Why did these debts cause a bankruptcy in France but not in Great Britain ?
			The cause laid in the tax system.
			In Britain everyone, clergy, nobles and citizens paid taxes.
			In France, were society was dominated by status, clergy and nobility were exempted from taxation.
			Because of this system government couldn't levy enough taxes to fill up the deficit.
			Citizens were upset because they were the thriving spirit of the nation. The nobles did nothing but were exempted.
			Peasants who had pieces of land just enough to feed themselves had the heaviest tax weight of all.

			The second problem was food scarcity. Different crop failures in the 1780s caused these shortages, which of course led to high prices for bread.
			The peasants were double stricken by the economical and agricultural problems.

			Under the reign of ] and ] different ministers tried to tax the nobles. This measures encoutered much resistance from the parliaments (law courts), which were dominated by the nobility.
			When all attemps were failed in ] the King decided to summon the Estates-General, the first since ], which would met in May 1789.
			The King tried to make the Estates meet in a modern way but the parliaments decided that the Estates-General would meet in the same way as it met in 1614: in different chambers for every class. But society had changed.
			The bourgoisie had grown in the last 200 years and were the persons who had the money. Now they had the chance to seize the power they wanted to have.

			<b>The history of the Revolution</b>
			Right from the beginning the Estates-General were divided about what to do.
			Instead of discussing the taxes of the king, they began to discuss the way in which decisions should be made. The Third Class wanted that the Estates would meet as one body and the voting would proceed per person, not per class.
			When the King doubtfully rejected, the members of the Third Class declared themselves the National Assembly, the true representatives of the people.
			They swore that they wouldn't break up until France had a new constitution.

			Under the influence of conservative nobles the king decided to send troops to ] to disperse the Assembly. The people saw this as a provocation and the poor laborers of Paris attacked the Bastille.

	The storming of the ] ] on ], ], is commemorated today as ]. Although only seven prisoners were released -- four forgers, two lunatics, and a dangerous sexual offender -- it became a potent symbol of all that was hated of the ''ancien régime''.		The storming of the ] ] on ], ], is commemorated today as ]. Although only seven prisoners were released -- four forgers, two lunatics, and a dangerous sexual offender -- it became a potent symbol of all that was hated of the ''ancien régime''.
			After this violent act nobles fled the country.

			In August the Assembly abolished feudalism and published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and in 1790 the church lands were confiscated and new paper money was introduced. The paper money caused high inflation.
			The King tried to flee in June ] to join the fled nobles, but was halted.
			He reluctantly accepted the new constitution in September 1791, which made France a ].
			The king had to share power with the elected National Assembly.

			New factions emerged such as the ] (constitutional monarchists), ] (liberal republicans) and ] (radical revolutionaries).
			The King, the Feuillants and the Girondins wanted to to wage war.
			The King wanted war to become popular or being defeated, both actions would make him stronger. The Girondins wanted to export the Revolution through Europe.
			War was waged on Austria (], ]) and on Prussia (a few weeks later).
			War went bad and prices rose sky high.
			In August 1792 a mob assaulted the Royal Palace in Paris and arrested the King.
			On ], ] monarchy was abolished and a republic declared.
			The revolutionary calendar was introduced.

			The legislative power in the new republic was vested in the National Convention, while the executive power was vested in the Committee of Public Security. The Girondins became the most influential party in Convention and Committee.

			On ], ] King Louis was executed with a Convention majority of 361 to 360 (only 1 vote!). The execution caused more wars with European countries.

			When war went badly prices rose and the sans-culottes (poor laborers and radical Jacobins) rioted and counterrevolutionary activities began in some regions.
			This caused the Jacobins to seize power through a parliamentary coup.
			The Committee of Public Security came under the control of ].
			The Jacobins unleashed the ]. Thousands of innocent people found the death under the guillotine under accusations of counterrevolutionary activities.
			In 1794 ] had ultraradicals and moderate Jacobins executed, so eliminating popular support.
			On ], ] Robespierre was deposed by moderate Convention members and executed the next day.

			In ] a new constitution was drafted, which installed the Directoire.
	The new French Republic soon was at war with its neighbors. It helped revolutionaries in other countries to set up their own republics (e.g. the ], but soon these states were little more than vassal states.
			The executive power was vested in five directors who were annually appointed by a bicameral parliament (500 representatives, 250 senators).
			The new regime recieved opposition from remaining Jacobins and royalists.
			Riots and counterrevolutionary activities were supressed by the army.
			Through this way the army and its successful general, ] gained much power.

			On ], ] Napoleon staged his coup and began his reign and ended the revolution.
	Unfortunately, unlike the American Revolution, which brought about a ], the French revolution resulted in a condition of general civil war known as the ], culminating in the rise to power of ].

	see also ]		see also ]
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	* September 30: Dissolution of Constituent Assembly		* September 30: Dissolution of Constituent Assembly
	* October 1: Legislative Assembly meets		* October 1: Legislative Assembly meets
	* August 27: ] (William II and Lepold II)		* August 27: ] (Frederick William II and Lepold II)

	]		]

Revision as of 21:07, 3 March 2003

The French Revolution occurred during the years 1789-1799, just a few years after the American Revolution.

The Revolution: the Old Regime deposed The French Revolution was greatly influenced by the American Revolution in the way that French troops who fought on the side of the United States brought new enlightened ideas to France.

The King of France, Louis XVI was overthrown in a popular rebellion, caused in part by the rise of a middle class no longer controllable by the old regime, by ideological changes brought about by such authors as Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Turgot, and other theorists of the Enlightenment, and most proximately by the financial disarray of the government resulting in sharply higher taxes.

The Revolution: the causes France was stricken by financial problems for over a century. The wars of Louis XIV caused debts who grew when wars were fought in the 18th century. These debts were not exceptional as Great Britain had the same debts. Why did these debts cause a bankruptcy in France but not in Great Britain ? The cause laid in the tax system. In Britain everyone, clergy, nobles and citizens paid taxes. In France, were society was dominated by status, clergy and nobility were exempted from taxation. Because of this system government couldn't levy enough taxes to fill up the deficit. Citizens were upset because they were the thriving spirit of the nation. The nobles did nothing but were exempted. Peasants who had pieces of land just enough to feed themselves had the heaviest tax weight of all.

The second problem was food scarcity. Different crop failures in the 1780s caused these shortages, which of course led to high prices for bread. The peasants were double stricken by the economical and agricultural problems.

Under the reign of Louis XV and Louis XVI different ministers tried to tax the nobles. This measures encoutered much resistance from the parliaments (law courts), which were dominated by the nobility. When all attemps were failed in 1788 the King decided to summon the Estates-General, the first since 1614, which would met in May 1789. The King tried to make the Estates meet in a modern way but the parliaments decided that the Estates-General would meet in the same way as it met in 1614: in different chambers for every class. But society had changed. The bourgoisie had grown in the last 200 years and were the persons who had the money. Now they had the chance to seize the power they wanted to have.

The history of the Revolution Right from the beginning the Estates-General were divided about what to do. Instead of discussing the taxes of the king, they began to discuss the way in which decisions should be made. The Third Class wanted that the Estates would meet as one body and the voting would proceed per person, not per class. When the King doubtfully rejected, the members of the Third Class declared themselves the National Assembly, the true representatives of the people. They swore that they wouldn't break up until France had a new constitution.

Under the influence of conservative nobles the king decided to send troops to Versailles to disperse the Assembly. The people saw this as a provocation and the poor laborers of Paris attacked the Bastille.

The storming of the Bastille prison on July 14th, 1789, is commemorated today as Bastille Day. Although only seven prisoners were released -- four forgers, two lunatics, and a dangerous sexual offender -- it became a potent symbol of all that was hated of the ancien régime. After this violent act nobles fled the country.

In August the Assembly abolished feudalism and published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and in 1790 the church lands were confiscated and new paper money was introduced. The paper money caused high inflation. The King tried to flee in June 1791 to join the fled nobles, but was halted. He reluctantly accepted the new constitution in September 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. The king had to share power with the elected National Assembly.

New factions emerged such as the Feuillants (constitutional monarchists), Girondins (liberal republicans) and Jacobins (radical revolutionaries). The King, the Feuillants and the Girondins wanted to to wage war. The King wanted war to become popular or being defeated, both actions would make him stronger. The Girondins wanted to export the Revolution through Europe. War was waged on Austria (April 20, 1792) and on Prussia (a few weeks later). War went bad and prices rose sky high. In August 1792 a mob assaulted the Royal Palace in Paris and arrested the King. On September 21, 1792 monarchy was abolished and a republic declared. The revolutionary calendar was introduced.

The legislative power in the new republic was vested in the National Convention, while the executive power was vested in the Committee of Public Security. The Girondins became the most influential party in Convention and Committee.

On January 21, 1793 King Louis was executed with a Convention majority of 361 to 360 (only 1 vote!). The execution caused more wars with European countries.

When war went badly prices rose and the sans-culottes (poor laborers and radical Jacobins) rioted and counterrevolutionary activities began in some regions. This caused the Jacobins to seize power through a parliamentary coup. The Committee of Public Security came under the control of Maximilien Robespierre. The Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror. Thousands of innocent people found the death under the guillotine under accusations of counterrevolutionary activities. In 1794 Robespierre had ultraradicals and moderate Jacobins executed, so eliminating popular support. On July 27, 1794 Robespierre was deposed by moderate Convention members and executed the next day.

In 1795 a new constitution was drafted, which installed the Directoire. The executive power was vested in five directors who were annually appointed by a bicameral parliament (500 representatives, 250 senators). The new regime recieved opposition from remaining Jacobins and royalists. Riots and counterrevolutionary activities were supressed by the army. Through this way the army and its successful general, Napoleon Bonaparte gained much power.

On November 9, 1799 Napoleon staged his coup and began his reign and ended the revolution.