THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

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What is a Revolution?

The Ideals

The French Revolution

• The French Revolution began on 14th July 1789.
• 7000 people gathered in front of the town hall in Paris and formed a people’s militia.
• They stormed the fortress prison Bastille.
• The Bastille was destroyed for two reasons, 
• they waned to find ammunitions and
• it stood for the tyrannical power of the king.
• They destroyed the Bastille and sold its stones as souvenirs of its destruction.
• After this event, France saw continuous riots for some days.
• People were protesting because of the high prices of Bread.
• These events led to France becoming a Constitutional Monarchy.
• The Jacobins took over the government and in 1793, they ordered the execution of Louis XVI. Queen Marie Antoinette also met with the same fate shortly after. 

The French Society

• The French Society
• First Estate
• Consisted people from the church, also known as clergymen
• Second Estate
• Comprised people of Nobility
• Third Estate
• Big businessmen, Lawyers
• Peasants and artisans 
• Small peasants and servants
• 90% Population – peasants, small peasants and servants.
• 60% land owned by nobles, church and rich members of the third estate.
• Privileges for first and second state from birth, example – exemption from taxes.
• Tithes – tax collected by the church.
• Taille –  tax to be paid to the state.
• Only the third estate paid taxes.

Louis XVI

• Louis XVI ascended the throne in 1774.
• He found the treasury of France empty.
• Helped America to gain independence from Britain.
• France’s Finances suffered.
• 2 billion livre loan of the French throne.
• Maintaining the court of Versailles had become a problem as well. 
• the lenders started charging a 10% interest on the loan.
• Louis XVI belonged to the Bourbon dynasty of kings. He was Married to an Austrian princess, Marie Antoinette.

French Government and Taxes

• How did the government manage its expenses?
• It imposed heavy taxes on people.
• indirect taxes on daily necessities, like salt.
• Only the third estate paid taxes.
• The third estate alone carried the burden of state finances through taxes.

Subsistence Crisis

Philosophers and Philosophies

• Two Treatises of Government
• John Locke
• Argument against the divine rights of the Monarch.
• The Spirit of Laws
• Montesquieu
• Legislative, Executive and  Judiciary
• The Social Contract
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Universal Adult Franchise
• Montesquieu’s idea was first implemented by the US.

The Estates General

• The Government had to increase taxes.
• The Estates General was called on 5th May 1789.
• 300 members each from first and second estates
• The third estate sent 600 members.
• The Estates General – political body which took decisions on taxes.
• Peasants, Artisans and Women were denied entry to the Assembly.

Outbreak of the Revolution

• Each Estate had one vote in the estates general assembly
• Third estate wanted one vote for each member of the assembly.
• King rejected this proposal
• Members of third estate walked out of the assembly.
• On 20th June 1789, Third Estate gathered in the indoor tennis court of Versailles. 
• The crowd called themselves The National Assembly.
• Leaders – Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes.
• Mirabeau brought out journals and delivered speeches.
• Abbe Sieyes – a priest – wrote a pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’.
• People started rioting against the high prices of bread.
• Harvests were bad, people stood in lines for bread.
• Angry women stormed into stores to acquire bread.
• King ordered his troops to move into Paris.
• Crowd got agitated, start of revolution.

Result of the Revolution

• Louis XVI gave recognition to the National Assembly.
• France became a Constitutional Monarchy.
• On 4th August 1789, Feudal System of taxes and obligations were abolished.
• Members of the clergy also had to give up their privileges.
• Lands owned by church were confiscated.
• In all of this action, the new government acquired assets worth two billion Livres.

France: A Constitutional Monarchy

• The First Constitution was Drafted in 1791.
• Powers divided between The Legislative, The Judiciary and The Executive
• National Assembly would decide on laws. 
• It was indirectly elected.
• Active Citizen – Men above 25 who paid tax equal to three days wage of a labourer. 
• Passive Citizen – Women, children and remaining men.
• The broken chain stands for becoming free.
• The Bundle of Sticks indicate that strength is in unity.
• The Eye within a Triangle stood for knowledge.
• The Sceptre was a symbol of Royal Power.
• The Snake Biting its own Tail indicates eternity.
• The Red Phrygian Cap was worn by a slave upon becoming free.
• Red, Blue, White were the national colours of France.
• The Winged Woman was the personification of law. 
• The Stone Tablet indicated that Law is same for all and all are equal before it. 

France Becomes A Republic

• The situation in France was a problem for the neighbouring countries.
• The National Assembly declared a war on Prussia and Austria in 1792. 
• Political Clubs were popular among the people who wanted to discuss government policies.
• The song Marseillaise, composed by Roget de L’Isle  became the National Anthem of France. 
• The most Successful of the political clubs was the Jacobin club. 
• In 1792, the Jacobins were successful in gaining the right to vote for men above 21 years of age.
• A new Assembly was Elected and it was named ‘The Convention’. It abolished monarchy and declared that France will be a republic. 

Who were Jacobin?

• Jacobins were from the rising section of the society, like small shopkeepers, artisans etc.
• They wore long striped trousers to distinguish themselves from Nobility. 
• Sans-Culottes : Jacobins wearing long stripped trousers. meaning those who do not wear knee braces.
• Sans-Culottes men wore red cap, which signified Liberty. Women were not allowed to do so. 

The Reign Terror

• The period of 1793 to 1794 : Reign of terror in France.
• Maximilien Robespierre : head of the government.
• It was a period of Totalitarianism.
• Speaking against the government was a crime.
• Guilty people were sent to guillotine.
• Guillotine : a device invented by Dr. Guillotine, used to behead people.
• Even the members of his own party were fed up of Robespierre’s policies, so he was arrested, tried and sent to guillotine in July 1794. 
• Lot of changes done in the French society to bring equality.
• people ate Pain D’Egalite  or equality bread made of whole wheat.
• Monsieur (sir) and Madame (madam) were banned, people addressed each other as Citoyenne (citizen). 
• Churches were shut down and being used as Barracks or Offices. 

A New Government

• Jacobin government fell, wealthier middle class people formed government. 
• a new constitution which denied the right to vote for the non-propertied sections of the society was made.
• The constitution gave way to two elected legislative councils. This then appointed the Directory.
• The Directory : executive that was made up of five members, to safeguard against the concentration of power in a one man executive.
• New government brought instability, which gave rise to the military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Women and the Revolution

• Women participated in revolutions which brought changes in France.
• They hoped that the government would take measures to improve their lives. 
• Women began forming political clubs and started newspapers as well.
• About 60 women’s club came up in different French cities. 
• Their main demand was that women enjoy same political rights as men. 
• They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office. 
• During the Reign of Terror, Women’s clubs were forcefully disbanded and a ban was enforced on women’s political activities. 
• Many prominent figures were arrested and a number of them were executed. Like Olympe De Gouges
• Movements for women’s right to vote and equal wages continued for the next two centuries and it was only in 1946, that women were given the right to vote in France. 

Putting an End to Slavery

• The Jacobin government abolished slavery in French colonies. 
• Caribbean-Martinique, Guadeloupe and San-Domingo supplied indigo, tobacco, sugar and coffee.
• The Europeans hesitated in travelling to foreign lands. 
• This created the shortage of that resulted in a triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa and  The Americas.
• It began in the 17th century. French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains.
• The slaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-month long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.
• The exploitation of slave labour made it possible in Europe to meet the demands of sugar, coffee and indigo.
• Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes were prospering because of the flourishing slave trade.
• No laws were passed regarding this until 1794. French government passed law that slavery will be abolished. French colonies were to free the slaves.
• Ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery. 
• It was finally in 1848, that France abolished slavery. 

Daily Life After the Revolution

• Revolutionary changes were introduced into the lives of people after 1789.
• Censorship was abolished. Right to freedom and speech became a natural right. 
• Freedom of press meant that opinions of the opposition can also be published
• Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large numbers of people. This was how they identified with ideas such as liberty or justice.

Napoleon Bonaparte

• In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte became the emperor of France. 
• He conquered neighbouring countries and made new kingdoms.
• He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of  weights and measures provided by the decimal system. 
• People saw him as a liberator who would bring freedom to them. But soon his armies were seen as invading forces everywhere.
• He was finally defeated in Waterloo in 1815. 

Conclusion

• The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution. 
• Colonized people used the idealism and after thoughts, debates and movements, they were able to create sovereign nation state. 
• Tipu Sultan and Rammohan Roy are two examples of Indian individuals who responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France.