The French Revolution
Louis XVI’s accession
In 1774, at the age of 20, Louis XVI of the Bourbon Dynasty ascended as the
king of France. After accession, he found an empty treasury. There were 2
main reasons for this.
Empty
Treasury
Long years
of war.
Maintenance
of the Palace
of Versailles
The 3rd estate made up 90% of
the population, being the only
estate that paid taxes. Besides,
60% of the land was owned by the
richer classes. The clergy and
nobles enjoyed certain feudal
privileges by birth, an important
one being exemption from paying
taxes.
France was in a 3 billion livres debt
with a whopping 10% interest. For
maintaining other expenses of the
state, Louis XVI was forced to
increase taxes. Yet this measure
didn’t suffice, because of the Old
Regime.
Old Regime/
Ancien Regime
Clergy
1st Estate
Commone
rs
3rd Estate
Nobles
2nd
Estate
The 3rd Estate
Here is the list of the overall taxes the commoners had to pay:-
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Taxes
Taille- Paid directly to
the state
Tithes- Paid to the
Church
Indirect Taxes levied
on regular items like
salt, tobacco, etc.
The subsistence crisis
The population of France rose from about 23 million to
28 million in 1789. Because of which:
● The wages of peasants could not keep pace with
the high prices of bread. This widened the gap
between the rich and the poor.
Demand of Food Grains
Production of Grains
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The Middle Class
Middle
Class
Merchants
Administr
Lawyers
● In the 18th century, there was an emergence of a new social group, called
as middle class.
Philosophers
● John Locke
● Jean Jacques Rousseau
● Montesquieu
They wrote books like the ‘Two Treatises of Government’(John Locke),
‘The Spirit of the Laws’(Montesquieu) and ‘The Social Contract’(Jean Jacques
Rousseau). In these, they criticised the monarchy and proposed the division of
power within the government- the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.
These books were first read by the middle class, then read-aloud in salons and
coffeehouses to those who couldn’t read and write. After going through these
books, the news of Louis XVI introducing new taxes generated anger and
protest among the 3rd estate.
Doubt
The law of censorship was abolished only after the establishment of the Constitutional monarchy,
before that how were the books of the philosophers and related stuff published because it angered the
commoners leading to protests?
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The Outbreak of Revolution
● For imposing new taxes, Louis XVI had to call the Estates-General
Assembly, where all the 3 estates sent their representatives. On 5 May
1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates-General to
pass proposals for new taxes. The 1st and 2nd estates sent 300
representatives and the 3rdestate sent 600 representatives with 40,000
letters filled with demands and requests.
● The Voting in Estates-General was conducted according to the principle
that each estate had 1 vote, but the members of the 3rd estate demanded
that voting should be according to the principle that each member had one
vote. When the king rejected their proposal, the 3rd estate walked out of
the assembly in protest.
● After the rejection, on 20 June they assembled on an indoor tennis
court. They declared themselves the National Assembly. They were led by
Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes.
● While the National Assembly was busy drafting the constitution, there was
a severe winter leading to a bad harvest. Because of this, the price of bread
increased. After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of
angry women stormed into the shops.
● At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July,
the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.
● In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that the lords of
the manor had hired bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy
the ripe crops. Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts
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seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux. They looted hoarded
grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. A
large number of nobles fled their homes, migrating to neighbouring
countries.
● After facing revolts, Louis XVI accepted the demands of the National
Assembly and the fact that his powers will now be checked by a
constitution.
● On 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing all of feudal
systems. Tithes were abolished and the church’s properties were
confiscated. Because of this, the government acquired assets worth 2billion livres.
France becomes a Constitutional Monarchy
France now had a Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. It limited the powers of
the monarch.
Voting Eligibility- Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes were given the
status of active citizens. All the others including labourers and women
remained passive citizens.
The Declaration of Rights of Men and Women
The constitution started with the Declaration of Men and Citizen. Rights such as
the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and equality before the
law, were established as natural rights.
Louis XVI’s downfall
● Although Louis XVI had signed the constitution, he entered into secret
negotiations with the King of Prussia. Louis XVI along with Prussia, Austria
and some other bordering countries were worried about the
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developments of France and planned to send troops to put down these
events.
Before this could happen, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to
declare war against Prussia and Austria. 1000s of volunteers joined the
army. Marseillaise, composed by the poet Roget de L’sle, was sung by the
volunteers of Marseilles first as they marched to Paris. It is now the
National Anthem of France.
This war brought economic problems to the people. Men were away
fighting, women were left to cope with the tasks of earning a living and
looking after their families.
People were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further
because the constitution just gave political rights to the richer sections of
the society. Political Clubs were formed. The most successful of these
were the Jacobins. Women too formed their clubs.
The Jacobins belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society.
Their leader was Maximillian Robespierre. In the summer of 1792, the
Jacobins planned an insurrection of Parisians who were angered by the
short supplies and high prices of food. On Aug 10, they stormed the Palace
of the Tuileries, massacred many and held the king hostage. Elections
were held to vote to imprison the royal family. From now on, all men 21
years and above, regardless of wealth, have 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 by a court on the charge of treason. He
was executed on 21 January 1793 at Place de la Concorde. Queen Marie
Antoinette met with the same fate shortly after.
Doubt
What is the difference between Democracy and Republic?
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The Reign of Terror
● The period from 1793-1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror.
Robespierre followed a policy of strict control and punishment.
● All those he saw as ‘enemies’ of the republic- ex-nobles and clergy, and
the people who opposed his Ideology.
● People who disagreed with his methods were arrested, imprisoned and
tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If they were found ‘guilty’ they were
guillotined.
● The guillotine is a device consisting of 2 poles and a blade with which a
person is beheaded. It was named after its inventor Dr Guillotin.
● Robespierre's government issued laws placing a max. Ceiling on wages and
prices :
● Meat and bread were rationed.
● Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities
and sell it at prices fixed by the government.
● The use of expensive white flour was banned and all the
citizens were required to eat the equality bread, made of
whole wheat.
● Instead of monsieur and madame, all french men and women were
addressed as citoyen and citoyenne respectively.
● Churches were shut down and their buildings were converted into offices.
● Robespierre pursued his policies so harshly that even his supporters began
to demand moderation. (protesting against his extreme behaviour)
● He was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and sent to the
guillotine(REFER TO POINT 4) the next day.
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Fall of the Jacobin Government
● The fall of the Jacobin Government allowed the wealthier middle classes
to seize powers. The constitution was rewritten which denied the vote to
the non-propertied sections of the society.
● It provided two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a
Directory, an executive of 5 members. This was meant to avoid the
concentration of power in a 1 man executive.
● The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a
military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte
Women’s part in the revolution
● Women were active participants in the struggle and revolution. They
hoped their involvement would pressurize the government to enforce
laws to improve their lives too.
● Most of the women in the 3rd estate had to work to earn a living. They
worked as seamstresses or laundresses, Sold flowers, fruits and
vegetables at the market or were hired as domestic servants. Most
women did not have access to education or job training.
● Only daughters of nobles or wealthier members of the 3rd estate could
study at a convent, after which their families would get them married.
● Working women had to also take care of their families, cook, fetch water,
queue up for bread and look after children. Their wages were lower
compared to men's.
● To voice their interests, women formed their political clubs. The Society
of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.
● Their main demands were to enjoy the same political rights as men.
Women were disappointed that the constitution of 1791 reduced them to
passive citizens.
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● In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that
helped improve the lives of women.
● Schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
● Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage
● Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and
registered under civil law.
● Divorce was made legal and could be applied for by both women and
men.
● But the fight for equal political rights continued. During the Reign of
Terror, the new government passed a law ordering the closure of
women’s political clubs. Many notable women were arrested and a
number of them were executed. In 1946, women in France got the right
to vote.
The Abolition of Slavery
● The most revolutionary social reform of the Jacobin regime was the
abolition of slavery in the
French colonies.
● But the shortage of
French
labour resulted in a
Colonies
triangular slave trade
between Europe, Africa and
America.
● The slave trade began in
Martiniq
the seventeenth century,
ue
French Merchants sailed
Guadelou
from the ports of Bordeaux
pe
or Nantes to the African
coast, where they bought
San
slaves from local chieftains.
Domingo
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● The slaves were tightly packed into ships for the 3-month long voyage
from the Atlantic to the Caribbean, where they were sold to plantation
owners and made to work.
● Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to
the flourishing slave trade.
● The National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man
should be extended to all French Subjects including the colonies. They did
not pass any law based on this, fearing opposition from slave traders.
● It was the Convention in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the colonies.
But, 10 years later, Napoleon reintroduced it.
● The plantation owners saw enslaving African Negroes as a right. Slavery
was finally abolished in the French Colonies in 1848.
The Revolution and Everyday Life
● A law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille was
the abolition of censorship.
● In the Old Regime, all means of mass media were checked by the censors
of the king before being published, performed or sung.
● But in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, freedom of
speech and expression was a natural right.
● So, all types of perspectives were being expressed through the form of
press and were discussed by many in the open.
Conclusion
● In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself the Emperor of France. He conquered
many European countries, dispossessing dynasties. He was also the
moderniser of Europe. He introduced laws such as the protection of
private property and a uniform system of weights and measures.
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● Many saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom to the people.
But soon his armies were seen as an invading force everywhere. He was
defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
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