Chapter Notes

The French Revolution

On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The king had ordered troops into the city, and rumours spread that he would soon order the army to fire on citizens. In response, about 7,000 people formed a "peoples' militia" and began searching for weapons.

Their search led them to the fortress-prison, the Bastille. They stormed it, hoping to find ammunition. In the fight that followed, the commander was killed and the prisoners were freed, though there were only seven. The Bastille was hated because it symbolized the king's absolute and despotic power. The fortress was demolished, and its stone fragments were sold as souvenirs. This event marked the beginning of a chain of events that would change France forever.

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family became the king of France at the age of 20. He married the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette. When he ascended the throne, he found an empty treasury.

Causes of the Empty Treasury:

• Long Years of War: France's financial resources had been drained by wars.
• Extravagant Court: Maintaining the immense palace and court at Versailles was extremely costly.
• American War of Independence: Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies gain independence from Britain. This added over a billion livres (the currency of France at the time) to a debt that was already more than 2 billion livres.
• High Interest on Loans: Lenders began charging 10 per cent interest on state loans, forcing the government to spend a large part of its budget on interest payments alone.

To meet its expenses, the state was forced to increase taxes. However, the tax system was deeply unfair. French society was divided into three estates, and only the members of the third estate paid taxes. This system was part of the Old Regime, the term used to describe French society and its institutions before 1789.

The Three Estates:

• First Estate (Clergy): This group consisted of people with special functions in the Church. They enjoyed privileges by birth, including exemption from paying taxes. The Church also collected its own tax, called tithes, from the peasants, which was one-tenth of the agricultural produce.
• Second Estate (Nobility): The nobility also enjoyed privileges by birth, most importantly, exemption from state taxes. They held feudal privileges, which allowed them to extract feudal dues from peasants and demand services like working in their homes and fields or serving in the army.
• Third Estate: This group comprised everyone else, making up about 90 per cent of the population. It included:
  • Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, and lawyers.
  • Peasants and artisans.
  • Small peasants, landless labourers, and servants.

The entire burden of taxes fell on the Third Estate. They paid a direct tax to the state called the taille, as well as numerous indirect taxes on everyday items like salt and tobacco.

The Struggle to Survive

From 1715 to 1789, the population of France grew from about 23 million to 28 million. This rapid growth led to a huge increase in the demand for foodgrains.

• Production could not keep up with demand, causing the price of bread—the staple food—to rise quickly.
• Most workers were labourers whose wages were fixed by workshop owners. Their wages did not rise as fast as prices.
• This widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
• Things became worse when drought or hail reduced the harvest.

This often led to a subsistence crisis, an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.

A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges

In the past, peasants and workers had revolted against high taxes and food scarcity, but they lacked the means to bring about large-scale change. This role was taken up by the growing middle class within the Third Estate.

The eighteenth century saw the emergence of this new social group, which earned its wealth through overseas trade and manufacturing goods like woollen and silk textiles. The middle class also included educated professionals like lawyers and administrative officials.

This group believed that no one should be privileged by birth. Instead, a person's social position should be based on merit. They were inspired by the ideas of philosophers who promoted a society based on freedom, equal laws, and opportunity for all.

Key Philosophers and Their Ideas:

• John Locke: In his Two Treatises of Government, he argued against the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
• Jean Jacques Rousseau: He proposed a government based on a social contract between the people and their representatives.
• Montesquieu: In The Spirit of the Laws, he proposed a division of power within government into the legislative, executive, and judiciary.

These ideas were discussed in salons and coffee-houses and spread through books and newspapers. They were often read aloud for those who couldn't read. When news spread that Louis XVI planned to impose more taxes, it generated widespread anger and protest against the system of privileges.

The Outbreak of the Revolution

Louis XVI could not impose new taxes on his own; he had to call a meeting of the Estates General, a political body where the three estates sent their representatives. The last time this body had met was in 1614.

On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI convened the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes.

• The First and Second Estates sent 300 representatives each.
• The Third Estate sent 600 representatives, who were its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans, and women were not allowed entry.

The voting system was based on the old principle: each estate had one vote. The Third Estate demanded a new system where each member would have one vote. This was a democratic principle inspired by philosophers like Rousseau. When the king rejected this proposal, the members of the Third Estate walked out in protest.

The Tennis Court Oath On 20 June 1789, the representatives of the Third Estate gathered in the hall of an indoor tennis court on the grounds of Versailles.

• They declared themselves a National Assembly.
• They swore an oath not to disperse until they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the monarch's powers.
• They were led by Mirabeau, a noble who believed in ending feudal privilege, and Abbé Sieyès, a priest who wrote an influential pamphlet called 'What is the Third Estate?'.

While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles, the rest of France was in turmoil. A bad harvest had caused bread prices to rise, and bakers often hoarded supplies. Angry crowds, especially women, stormed bakeries after spending hours in long queues. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.

In the countryside, a wave of panic known as the Great Fear spread. Rumours circulated that lords had hired bands of brigands to destroy ripe crops. In fear, peasants attacked chateaux (castles), looted grain, and burned documents recording manorial dues. Many nobles fled the country.

Faced with the power of his revolting subjects, Louis XVI finally recognized the National Assembly. On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system, obligations, and taxes.

• Members of the clergy were forced to give up their privileges.
• Tithes were abolished.
• Lands owned by the Church were confiscated. As a result, the government acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livres.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main goal was to limit the monarch's powers.

• Power was separated and assigned to the legislature, executive, and judiciary, making France a constitutional monarchy.
• The power to make laws was given to the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected.
• Citizens were divided into active citizens and passive citizens.
  • Active Citizens: Only men over 25 who paid taxes equal to at least three days of a labourer's wage were entitled to vote.
  • Passive Citizens: The remaining men and all women had no voting rights.

The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. It established rights like the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and equality before the law as "natural and inalienable" rights. It was the duty of the state to protect these rights for every citizen.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

Although Louis XVI had signed the constitution, he secretly negotiated with the King of Prussia. Rulers of other neighbouring countries were worried by the developments in France and planned to send troops to stop the revolution.

In April 1792, before they could act, the National Assembly declared war against Prussia and Austria. Thousands of volunteers joined the army, seeing it as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies. They sang patriotic songs like the Marseillaise, which is now the national anthem of France.

The war brought economic difficulties, and many people felt the revolution needed to go further because the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society. Political clubs became important gathering points. The most successful of these was the Jacobin club, led by Maximilian Robespierre.

Jacobin members were mainly from less prosperous sections of society, like shopkeepers, artisans, and daily-wage workers. They became known as the sans-culottes, meaning "those without knee breeches," as they wore long striped trousers to set themselves apart from the nobles who wore knee breeches.

On August 10, 1792, the Jacobins planned an insurrection. Angered by food shortages and high prices, they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king's guards, and held the king hostage.

• The Assembly voted to imprison the royal family.
• Elections were held, and for the first time, all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, were given the right to vote.

The newly elected assembly was called the Convention. On 21 September 1792, it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

Louis XVI was sentenced to death for treason. He was publicly executed on 21 January 1793. Queen Marie Antoinette met the same fate shortly after.

The Reign of Terror

The period from 1793 to 1794 is known as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.

• Anyone he saw as an "enemy" of the republic—ex-nobles, clergy, members of other political parties, and even members of his own party who disagreed with him—was arrested, tried by a revolutionary tribunal, and, if found guilty, executed by the guillotine.

Robespierre's Policies:

• Laws were issued placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices.
• Meat and bread were rationed.
• Peasants were forced to sell their grain in cities at fixed prices.
• All citizens had to eat the pain d'égalité (equality bread), a loaf made of wholewheat.
• Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam), all French men and women were to be addressed as Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen).
• Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.

Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation. He was finally convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested, and guillotined the next day.

A Directory Rules France

After the fall of the Jacobin government, the wealthier middle classes seized power. A new constitution was introduced that denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society.

• It provided for two elected legislative councils.
• These councils appointed a Directory, an executive made up of five members. This was intended to prevent the concentration of power in one person, as had happened under the Jacobins.

However, the Directors often clashed with the legislative councils, leading to political instability. This instability paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Did Women have a Revolution?

From the very beginning, women were active participants in the revolution. Most women of the Third Estate had to work for a living and also care for their families. Their wages were lower than men's, and they had no access to education or job training.

To voice their interests, women started their own political clubs and newspapers. The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was one of the most famous. Their main demand was to have the same political rights as men. They were disappointed when the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to passive citizens.

Reforms for Women:

• The revolutionary government did introduce some laws to improve women's lives.
• State schools were created, and schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
• Fathers could no longer force their daughters into marriage.
• Divorce was made legal and could be applied for by both men and women.

However, during the Reign of Terror, the government banned women's clubs and political activities. The fight for voting rights continued for centuries. It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.

One of the most important politically active women was Olympe de Gouges. She protested the Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen for excluding women. In 1791, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen. She was later tried for treason and executed.

The Abolition of Slavery

One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime was the abolition of slavery in French colonies. Colonies in the Caribbean, such as Martinique and Guadeloupe, were major suppliers of tobacco, indigo, sugar, and coffee.

The shortage of labour on plantations was met by a triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, which began in the seventeenth century.

1. French merchants sailed from ports like Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast.
2. There, they bought slaves from local chieftains.
3. The slaves were branded, shackled, and packed onto ships for a three-month voyage to the Caribbean, where they were sold to plantation owners.

The National Assembly debated whether the rights of man should extend to the colonies but passed no laws, fearing opposition from businessmen who profited from the slave trade.

• In 1794, the Convention legislated to free all slaves in French overseas possessions.
• However, ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.
• Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

The Revolution and Everyday Life

The years after 1789 saw many changes in the everyday lives of people in France. One of the most important laws was the abolition of censorship soon after the storming of the Bastille.

• In the Old Regime, all written material and cultural activities had to be approved by the king's censors.
• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression as a natural right.

As a result, newspapers, books, and printed pictures flooded France, discussing the events and changes taking place. Freedom of the press allowed opposing views to be expressed. Plays, songs, and festive processions became a way for people, including those who couldn't read, to grasp ideas like liberty and justice.

Conclusion

In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France. He set out to conquer neighbouring European countries, seeing himself as a moderniser of Europe.

• He introduced laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures based on the decimal system.
• Initially seen as a liberator, his armies soon came to be viewed as an invading force.
• He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.