French revolution

In eighteen century French people reveled against the autocrat ruler Louise that led to French revolution. The political upheaval due to autocracy of ruler raised the public sentiment. Democracy, suffrage, liberty and equality of common people prevailed and the chain of autocracy had broken. The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a pivotal period in world history, marking the transition from absolute monarchy to a republic grounded in principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Its profound impact reshaped not only France but also influenced political thought and systems globally.

Popularized by the French Revolution (1789), the notions of liberty, equality and fraternity in fact date back to the philosophers of the Enlightenment, who from the end of the 17th and throughout the 18th century, brought together and popularized the concepts of freedom and equality. The French Revolution added the notion of fraternity and the merging of the three notions as a triptych.

From 1793, Parisians painted on the front of their houses the inscription “Unity, indivisibility of the Republic: liberty, equality or death”. The final part of the motto, which was too closely associated with the Reign of Terror period, was not maintained.

Forgotten under the First Empire, the revolutionary motto reappeared during the 1848 Revolution which enshrined it in the constitution of the Second Republic.

The Republican motto was finally definitively adopted under the Third Republic and was inscribed on the pediment of public buildings as of 14 July 1880.

Since then, the Liberty-Equality-Fraternity triptych has been enshrined in the Constitution and is part of the national heritage of all French people.

Causes of the Revolution

Several interrelated factors set the stage for the revolution:

Social Inequality: French society was divided into three estates: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). The Third Estate, despite making up the majority of the population, bore the brunt of taxation and had minimal political power.

Economic Hardship: France faced a mounting financial crisis due to extravagant royal spending and costly involvement in foreign wars, notably the American Revolution. This led to increased taxation and widespread economic distress among the common populace.

Political Discontent: The absolute monarchy under King Louis XVI was seen as inefficient and detached from the common people's needs, fueling desires for political reform and representation.

Key Events of the Revolution

Convening of the Estates-General (May 1789): Facing financial turmoil, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General, a representative assembly that hadn't convened since 1614, to propose solutions. Disagreements arose over representation and voting procedures, particularly as the Third Estate sought more equitable influence.

Formation of the National Assembly (June 1789): Frustrated by the lack of progress and inequality in representation, members of the Third Estate broke away to form the National Assembly, aiming to draft a constitution for France.

Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789): Locked out of their meeting hall, National Assembly members convened on a tennis court, vowing not to disband until they had established a new constitution.

Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789): Parisians stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of royal tyranny, seeking arms and gunpowder. This event is celebrated annually as France's National Day.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 27, 1789): The National Assembly adopted this foundational document, proclaiming principles like freedom of speech, equality before the law, and the sovereignty of the people.

Women's March on Versailles (October 5–6, 1789): Thousands of women marched from Paris to the royal palace in Versailles, protesting bread shortages and demanding the king's relocation to Paris, bringing the monarchy closer to the populace.

Reign of Terror (September 1793 – July 1794): Amid internal and external threats, the revolutionary government, led by the Committee of Public Safety, initiated a period of political purges. Approximately 16,000 people were executed, including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.

Thermidorian Reaction (July 27, 1794): The fall of Maximilien Robespierre marked the end of the Reign of Terror, leading to a more conservative phase of the revolution.

Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte (1799): Political instability paved the way for Napoleon's coup d'état on November 9, 1799 (18 Brumaire), ending the revolution and ushering in the Consulate, with Napoleon as First Consul.

A report of the peasant outbreaks made a strong impression on the Assembly. Some liberal nobles in that body set the example of giving up their feudal rights. Amid the wildest enthusiasm, men weeping and embracing each other, one noble after another gave up some exclusive privilege. Finally a decree was passed that aimed at abolishing the entire feudal system. That wild night of August 4, 1789, marked the beginning of equality. Remnants of feudal dues, however, kept the peasants uneasy until 1793.

Meanwhile work continued on the constitution which the Assembly had promised to prepare for France. It was finally finished in 1791. Nobility was abolished. France was made a limited monarchy, with a one-house legislature. The immortal part of the document was the Declaration of the Rights of Man. It included the following points:

1. All men were born free with equal rights.

2. All citizens have the right to take part in electing representatives to make the laws.

3. Every person shall be free to speak, write, or print his opinions provided he does not abuse this privilege.

4. The amount of taxes which a person is called upon to pay shall be based on the amount of wealth that he possesses.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man came to be regarded as the charter of democracy. The equality of all men in the eyes of the law is its essence. Property was inviolable, for the chief supporters of the new order owned property or desired to own it.

THE KING WAVERS

Louis XVI was a weak and indecisive king. At first he did promise to obey the constitution, which had been instituted in 1791, though it placed a narrow limit on his power. Later, however, he listened to evil counselors and changed his mind.

Many nobles had fled before the Revolution broke. These émigrés, as they were called, later headed by the king’s own brothers, were in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. They were appealing to the princes of Europe to stop the Revolution in France and threatening a reign of bloodshed when they returned. The people of France mistrusted the king and still more mistrusted Marie-Antoinette, “the Austrian woman.” In October 1789 a mob had brought them—and the Assembly with them—from Versailles to Paris so that they might be more closely watched.

OVERTHROW OF THE MONARCHY

In June 1791 the suspicions against Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette became certainties for most of the people when the king and queen, with their children, tried to escape. They were captured at Varennes, on the edge of the Argonne, before they reached the French border. They were brought back to Paris. From that day the monarchy was doomed.

These events helped divide the revolutionists into two parties, the Constitutional Royalists and the Republicans. The new Legislative Assembly, which met as soon as the king had accepted the constitution (September 1791), still wanted to keep the monarchy. The Republican sentiment, however, increased rapidly as the king’s weakness became more apparent.

On August 10, 1792, a mob invaded the Tuileries and killed the guards. The royal family sought refuge in the hall of the Legislative Assembly. On September 21, 1792, a decree was passed that “royalty is abolished in France,” and a republic was proclaimed. Four months later Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine. This was a beheading machine named for the physician whose recommendation brought it into use.

THE CLERGY OPPOSE THE REVOLUTION

The overthrow of the monarchy was not entirely due to the weakness of the king. Affairs generally in France seemed to be going from bad to worse. The clergy and many devout Roman Catholics had withdrawn their support from the Revolution because of the laws against the church.

First of all, the church property had been taken by the state. This was a financial measure and generally approved. Then the “Civil Constitution of the Clergy” was drawn up, according to which all clergy from bishops to parish priests were to be elected and all were required to take an oath to support the government. The lower clergy drew back, and only four bishops took the oath. By a blunder the Assembly had divided the patriots, who had supported all changes up to this point.

Others, especially merchants and tradesmen, were irritated by the paper money (assignats) with which the country was flooded and which soon became worthless. Royalist uprisings were occurring in some provinces, as in the Vendée. At the same time that these dangers were threatening the Revolution within the country, Austria and Prussia, having finished the partition of Poland, were allied against the new order in France, which threatened the old order everywhere in Europe. England was drawn into the war when the French revolutionary armies occupied the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium).

To guide the Revolution through this crisis, a strong government was needed. For this the people sacrificed liberty. A convention was called to draw up a new constitution, and for three years (1792–95) a committee of this assembly, the Committee of Public Safety, ruled France while the constitution was set aside. The power of this committee did not come from the Convention, but from the radical Jacobin Club. Its members in the Convention were known as the Mountain, from the high seats they occupied in the Legislative Assembly hall.

The men in power were Georges Danton, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre until Marat was assassinated by Charlotte Corday. Through agents and spies and “deputies on mission” the Committee spread its net over the whole country. It maintained its position by terror. Hence the period is known as the Reign of Terror. Royalist uprisings were sternly put down, and thousands were sent to the guillotine. Marie-Antoinette, Madame Roland, aristocrats and tradesmen, atheists such as Jacques René Hébert, and even Danton (because he urged moderation) were executed, usually with a mock trial or none at all.

Old institutions were changed. The calendar was made over, 1792 becoming the Year I, the first year of the French Republic. Even the names of the months were changed.

The Terror accomplished what it set out to do. The Prussian-Austrian invaders had been turned back at Valmy on September 20, 1792. Then the French armies carried the war across the borders. “All governments are our enemies,” cried an orator of the Convention, “all peoples are our friends.” Belgium, Nice, and Savoy were added to France. Under Lazare Carnot, called the “organizer of victory,” 14 armies were put in the field. The cry went up for the natural frontiers of France; and the revolutionary regime was going back to the policies of Louis XIV.

Consequences and Legacy

The French Revolution dismantled the feudal system, abolished absolute monarchy, and established secular and democratic principles. It inspired subsequent revolutions and movements worldwide, promoting ideals of human rights and challenging oppressive regimes. However, the revolution also showcased the potential for revolutionary zeal to lead to violence and authoritarianism, serving as a cautionary tale about the complexities of radical societal transformation.

In contemporary times, France continues to grapple with the revolution's legacy. Recent exhibitions and cultural works have revisited this era, reflecting on its achievements and darker periods, such as the Reign of Terror. For instance, the Carnavalet History of Paris Museum held an exhibition exploring the utopian dreams and brutal realities of the revolution, aiming to address aspects that have been largely erased from public memory.

Additionally, the story of Olympe de Gouges, a feminist pioneer of the 1789 Revolution who was executed for opposing its violent turn, has been revisited in recent French cinema, highlighting her contributions to feminism and her opposition to slavery.

The French Revolution remains a complex and multifaceted event, symbolizing both the pursuit of noble ideals and the challenges inherent in profound societal change.

Finally the enemies of the Revolution at home and abroad seemed to be suppressed. Only Great Britain and Austria continued the war. The people were tired of the Terror.