French Revolution

One of the biggest turning points in European history

Background

Unlike the Russian Revolution or The Chinese revolution

France was the most advanced country of the age

24 million people

The Three Estates

1. Church 2. Nobility3. Third Estate

Church – 100 000 peopleDeeply involved in the prevailing social

system in FranceThey owned between 5 and 10 percent of the

landChurch was the greatest of all landownersChurch wealth concentrated in the hands of

few

Nobility – 400 000 They had enjoyed great resurgence since the

death of Louis XIVArmy, parlements, government offices all

monopolized by the nobilityHad blocked any plan at taxationMiddle class – bourgeoisie, not part of this

estate, didn’t enjoy the same privelidgeMC taxed

Third Estate – disgruntledIn the 40 years prior to the rev, prices rose

65%, whereas wages rose 22%4/5 of the populationNot like serfdom in Russia – they worked for

themselvesNoble still had rights – hunting, collected fees

for mills, bakeshop, wine press

Feudal Reaction

The manorial lord performed no economic function

He lived not by managing his land, but by collecting a series of dues

During the 18th century, lords were faced with rising living costs, and consequently, collected their dues more vigorously

They also revived the old ones that had previously been ignored

Leases and sharecropping also became less favorable to the peasants

Additionally, peasants began to resent the feudal dues because they saw themselves as the true owners of the land

Enlightenment Spirit

We remember the culture that promoted social and political criticism

People began to question the idea of ancient aristocratic priviledge

Underlying discontent: King trying to suppress the nobility unsuccessfully, Nobility trying to maintain its priviledge, peasants beginning to express discontent, and bourgeois class angry at social hierarchy

Financial Crisis

As we saw, France struggling with financial burden

Upkeep of army, and servicing debtRevenues falling short of expenditureNobility and church avoiding taxationLouis XVI, also had appointed Jacques

Necker, a Swiss Banker – also dismissed

His successor, Calonne, proposed a general tax to replaced the taille - a tax on all landowners

He wanted to pass it by an Assembly of Notables, Louis wouldn’t allow it

dismissed

He wanted to pass it in an Estates General, because he knew parlement wouldn’t accept it

Additionally, they tried to replace the parlements

Nobles angered – fillibusters – wouldn’t do anything, like a strike

Louis called the Estates General and various classes were called to elect representatives

“What is the Third Estate?”

Estates General hadn’t met since1614-1615It is an assembly of representatives elected

from the three estatesEach estate voted seperately on an issueThen the rep from estate would voteNobility and clergy – 2%

Rift between old and new nobility – reps for the EG had to be from long established noble lines

Angered new nobility , and pushed them toward 3rd estate

3rd estate thought the voting system was unfairLed by Abbe SieyesThey demanded that double the number of reps

be given to the third estateLouis gave the 3rd more reps, but it was still rep

by estate

Cahiers

Demands of the estatesFairer tax systemEnd to feudal dues

Estates General

Louis missed his chance to be a strong leader in the EG

Main issue was the 3rd refused to do anything until there was a unicameral legislature

Even disgruntled parish priests left the first estate and joined the third

June 1789 – Third Estate called itself the National Assembly – urged the other estates to join

Tennis Court Oath – on June 20th the kings officials locked the 3rd out of the hall

The 3rd thought the EG was being dissolved, and met at a Tennis court

They vowed to stay together even against the king’s will bc they were the nation, not the king

First assertion of power by the 3rdLouis calls for a constitution shortly afterLed to the revolutionary myth, united people

Louis eventually capitulates – June 27National Assembly formedWhy did Louis do it? He was scared

National Assembly

Unicameral body- set out to provide the monarchy with a constitution

NA faced a series of obstacles

Fall of the Bastille

July 14, 1789The dismissal of Necker, who was a reformer,

sparked outrage amongst the masses because he was seen as a reformer, and it was viewed as a conspiracy

In Paris, rioters stormed a prison – the high officials were lynched, and their heads paraded through the streets on a pike

Fall of the Bastille important because it was a symbol of tyranny

Its fall gave birth to a revolutionary myth of popular action against tyranny

A century later, the French republic made it a national holiday

Short term, it made Louis more receptive, but this angered the nobles

Back to the NA

Now it could turn France into a constitutional monarchy

1st issue – rural riotsThe NA swept away the remnants of

feudalismAugust 26, 1789 “Declaration of the Rights of

Man Highly influenced by Locke, would be the

basis for the preamble of the constitution

Paris then eruptedBread was scarceWomen marched into the streets of Paris,

others joined, and it was diverted onto a march on Versailles

King moved his family to the Tuileries palace in Paris

For the next two years there was no violence and the NA could work on reform

A new political system based on Montesquieu’s checks and balance

The constitution, brought in 1791, struck a balance between king and legislature

The Church

ControversialCivil Constitution of the ClergyStripped away it’s priveledge, made them

members of the stateChurch lands were sold to private buyersConsequence, put the pope against the

revolution

Back to Louis

His biggest mistake is he didn’t consolidate the new system

June 1791, he fled with his family to VarennesHe was forgiven, but he used his veto power

far too often to prevent changed as a Const. Monarch

Additionally, factions were starting in the NA, and if the King had been stronger, he could have prevented them from hindering the NA

War

War in 1792 against Austria and PrussiaIt was wanted by the NA now called the

Legislative AssemblyKing wanted it to crush the experimentOthers wanted it to show how important the

nobility are in the armyOthers wanted it because they thought they

could win

The army did disintegrate, and the king and officials bickered over responsibility – king dismissed them

August 16, 1792 – Second French RevolutionCrowd moved against royal palace, and took

it by stormAssembly, led by the Jacobins, scared of the

mob, voted for the removal of the King, and called a National Convention

Climax and Relapse

2 years between 1792 and 1794 saw the fall of Louis, the rise and fall of Robespierre, and war, both inside and outside of France

After Louis was suspended, there was another election – for a National Convention

Constitution making was suspendedConvention ruled absolutely, with no checks

and balances

The convention was a radical bodyNo more monarchists, all republicansTwo main groups – Brissotins and MountainAka Girondins and JacobinsLibertarian vs Egalitarian

Revolutionary War

The convention launched a war against most of Europe

Their motivation – the spread of freedom, and they annexed any land they took

Also, the convention moved to execute the king because of a cache of letters found

His execution would anger fellow monarchs, and ensure the wars would spread

The execution of the king, and the conscription of soldiers led to war within France

All this turmoil, compounded with the failure of the French army, led to the most radical members of the convention to gain power

Jacobins forced Girodins members out of office in June 1793

The double threat lead to authoritarian rule

The 12 man Committee of Public Safety became the governing authority

Maximillian Robespierre and his henchmen became the dominant faction

Influenced by Rousseau and egalitarian ideas

Robespierre

Policy of repressionMobilized nations manpower and resources

for warStrict economic controlsPurge machinery – executed criticsDantonists /Heberists – shaved by the

National RazorReign of Terror

With this behaviour, fear spread even amongst his followers (such as doubt)

In June, more courts set up, citizens lost fundamental legal freedoms

July 1794, called ThermidorThe fear led to the arrest of Robespierrest

leadersMost carted off to Guillotine

Consequence of Thermidor

Marked the climax of the TerrorMarked the end of the revolutionTwenty thousand sent to the guillotineLed to relaxation and moderation – purge

machinery relaxedThe pendulum began to swing back toward

the ‘right’

Royalists now had their turnIn October 1795, Royalists led a riot in the

streets, and the Convention called on the regular army to break the threat

A young general named Bonaparte recieved the assignment – scattered the crowd with a ‘whiff of grapeshot’

Led to the establishment of the Directory in 1795

The Directory

1795Would last four yearsConstitutional government

Five man board of directors in charge of the bicameral legislature

Failed – economic policy, always on verge of bankruptcy

Foreign policy – couldn’t win war in Europe but couldn’t get out if it either

Conflict between left and right- directory had to violate constitution

Eventually put power in teh hands of the military

With war, they coulnd’t face the factsFrance could have negotiated with Britain,

and be satisfied with it’s ‘natural frontiers’But generals, particularly Napoleon, urged it

onGreat victories in Italy, Abandons the army in Egypt

Abbe Sieyes, became one of the Directors in 1799

He wanted a government that would have a strong executive

New consitution neededHe got Bonaparte to help him

November 1799, coup d’etatMilitary dictatorship

Age of Napoleon

His critics call him a cynical, power hungry despot with a taste for brutality and tyranny

They see him as a counter revolutionary who crushed liberty

His admirers see him a a national hero, who preserved the essential achievements of the revolution, and brought their blessings to the rest of Europe

Born in Corsica, worked his way up through the military because of the revolution

His brilliant campaigns of 1796-97 allowed him to dictate peace to the Austrians and turned Northern Italy into Satellites

The Directory wanted him to invade England, but he convinced them not to, instead turning to Egypt

Egypt was abandoned in 1799, and he returned to France where he thought he was needed

The Consulate

Napoleon becomes first counsulImmediately sought peace with Austria and

BritainMarch 1802 signed a Treaty of Amiens with

BritainPeace all over Europe“Peace of Amiens  -  1802 pact by which the

British and French agreed not to fight. 1802 was the only year during all of the Napoleonic era when no European power was officially at war with another European power.”

So great was popular enthusiasm that Bonapartes proposed to lengthen his ten year term to twenty.

He jokingly said he would like to be consul for life, and the nation approved this by referendum

Napoleon moved rapidly to stabilize FranceHe put down rebellions in the French provinces. He created a secret policeHe centralized the government of the various

French departments under a system of prefects. To reduce the number of potential revolutionaries

floating around Europe, he issued a general amnesty, allowi ng various exiles, from aristocrats to Jacobins, to return home.

Napoleon ended the exclusion of the nobility from power that had been the trademark of earlier post- revolution regimes. He simply wanted the best men he could find

To reduce the number of potential revolutionaries floating around Europe, he issued a general amnesty, allowi ng various exiles, from aristocrats to Jacobins, to return home.

Napoleon ended the exclusion of the nobility from power that had been the trademark of earlier post- revolution regimes. He simply wanted the best men he could find

|Religion-Concordat

with the Catholic popeSmoothed the rift caused by the Civil

Constitution of the ClergyHe did not give the property back, but he did

make Catholicism the official religion of France

In exchange, the Vatican recognized the Consulate. Even under this new agreement with the Church, Napoleon upheld religious tolerance

Government

Napoleon also set about improving and modernizing French government

He wanted government power to apply to everyone equally,

legal class differences and hereditary government offices to be abolished

salaries to be given to his bureaucrats, who were to be selected based on talent, not birth

stabilized French currency by creating the Bank of France, and he simplified the tangle of French law by producing the Napoleonic Code.

Made a network of prefects – which carried decisions of Paris to every hamlet of France

Financial reform – revamped direct taxation, and enforced collection

Established the Bank of France and gave it control over the Nations credit system

The bank was controlled by the leading financiers

For the next century, the Franc became the most stable currency in world

Legal Changes

He codified gains of the revolutionMainly equality before the lawAlso, the Legion of Honour – recognized

talent in every sphereEducation encouraged because it would

create good subjects and trained officersStreamlined educationBut, he was concerned with training

leadership elite, not literacy

Napoleon and War

1803, back at war with EnglandBonaparte used this to consolidate power

even more, and turn the Consulate into an empire

He wanted to ensure stability by creating a dynasty

December 2, 1804, Napoleon crowns himself Emperor

Major Victories

December 2, 1805 – AusterlitzCrushed an Austro-Russian forceLate 1806, crushed the Prussians at Jena and

Auerstaedt – Marched to Berlin

Treaty of Tilsit – Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I signed a pact which divided most of Europe and Asia amongst them

This was all part of Napoleon’s Continental system, a plan to put a stranglehold on England

He hoped that by closing the continent to English goods, Eng. Shopkeepers would be forced to sue for peace

Ultimately, England found new markets, and there were leaks in the blockade

Napoleon makes a fatal mistake – PortugalHe crossed Spain to get to Portugal in 1807,

but some soldiers settled and refused to leaveBattles break out –England backs Spain

By 1810, Napoleon’s at his zenithHis domination of Europe was almost

completeMany satellite states, many of them ruled by

his brother’s and brother’s in lawMost of German states fused in the federation

of the Rhine, controlled by ParisOnly resistance was England, and the

Geurilla war in Spain

At home, things were ok – Napoleonic nobility created

But, liberty at home had disappearedNumber of political journals in Paris was

reduced from 73 to 4CensorshipMany of his key men were in fear

Rumblings all over Europe to take a stand against Napoleon

Signal came from Russia By 1810, the friendship was fading fast –

Russia pulled itself from the Continental system

By 1812, Napoleon moved his largest force every against Russia

As the Russians retreat, the scorched the earthForced Napoleon to rely on his own supply lineAs winter approached , he decided to continue

on to Moscow – found no one there and the city afire

October he retreats, but discipline and morale were low

Soldiers were looting or fighting over food and vodka

By December, 50 000 half frozen men remained of 500 000

Napoleon abandons his troops, and returns to paris to plot another attack on Russia

But the Coalition against him, which now outnumbers him, with dissent in France, leaves him little hope

The Coalition now consisted of Austria under Metternich, England, Russia, and Prussia

Napoleon abdicates to Elba

Legacy

Military Genius – Napoleon rarely beatenBest Example – AusterlitzBut- Critics say his opponents were rarely united,

and he had numerical superiorityGuilty of carelessness in his later years

Domestic Reform – he had long lasting reforms, such as the administrative structure and legal system that have survived to this day

Some say he preserved the revolution – notably social and civil equality

He prevented the restoration of the monarchy for fifteen years – which entrenched his changes

Foreign Policy

Controversial – some say he was never happy, and an aggressive expansionist who doomed Europe to war, he wanted to take over all of Europe

Others say he was a patriotic Frenchman, who was concerned with achieving national unity and France’s natural frontier

His war was a defensive struggle which attempted to preserve the revolution