Chapter 19
A Revolution in Politics:
The Era of the French
Revolution and Napoleon
The War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
Habsburg Emperor Charles VI unable to produce male heir
spent his reign negotiating the Pragmatic Sanction to ensure
European powers accepted Maria Theresa (daughter) as heir
Pragmatic Sanction only lasted as long as Charles VI did
– Frederick II invaded Austrian Silesia
– France joined Prussia for chance to war with Austria
– Maria Theresa made an alliance w/ Great Britain
(fearing French dominance in continental affairs)
War had become a world wide affair
– Europe: Prussia took Silesia and France occupied Austrian Netherlands
– Asia: France took Madras in India from British
– North America: Britain captured Louisbourg on the St. Lawrence R.
By 1748, all parties were exhausted & agreed to stop
– Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) promised to return all seized territories
but Silesia to their rightful owners
– Guaranteed another war between at least Prussia & Austria
The Seven Years’ War (1756-1763)
Maria Theresa refused to accept the loss of Silesia
– working diplomatically through her foreign minister to separate
Prussia from its ally, France
– Continued to build the military to prepare for war
Bourbon-Habsburg rivalry had been a fact of political life in Europe
since the 16th century
– New concerns and rivalries outweighed old ones
Colonial empires (Britain v. France), holdings in Europe
(Prussia v. Austria)
France allied with Austria
Russia joined the alliance because Prussia was a threat to
interests in Europe
Britain allied with Prussia against the others
Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 led to another worldwide war
– Once again had 3 major areas of conflict: Europe, India, & N. America
Battlefields of the Seven Years’ War
Conflict in Europe
clash of two major alliances
– France, Austria, & Russia
– Great Britain & Prussia
Frederick the Great was able to defeat the combined forces of his
enemies, but under attack from 3 directions gradually wore down
– saved from total defeat when the Tsarina Elizabeth died & her nephew
Peter III took control
– Peter withdrew Russia from the conflict & all Prussian lands
– turned a hopeless situation into a stalemate vs. France & Austria
– European conflict ended by Peace of Hubertsburg (1763)
all seized territories were returned & Austria recognized Prussian control
of Silesia
War in India
France returned Madras to Britain after the War of Succession
jockeying for power in Asia continued
Robert Clive led British forces to victory in India through
persistence
by the Treaty of Paris 1763, France withdrew & left India to British
The French and Indian War
greatest conflict of Seven Years’ War was in North America
points of contention
– Gulf of St. Lawrence
– unsettled Ohio River valley
French moved south along the Mississippi & established forts
from the Appalachians to the Mississippi River
– French movement threatened British expansion
– French found allies among the Native Americans
Indians saw French traders as less threatening than British settlers
– initial French success
– several British naval victories in 1759, gave Britain an advantage,
since France’s success depended on naval reinforcement
British victories followed, went on to seize Quebec, Montreal, the
Great Lakes region, & Ohio Valley
Settled by Treaty of Paris (1763)
– France lost Canada & all holdings east of Mississippi R.
– Spain ceded Florida to G.B., France gave Louis. Terr. to Spain
Beginning of the Revolutionary Era:
The American Revolution
After Seven Years’ War, British looked for ways to obtain new
revenues from 13 colonies to pay expenses for defending the
colonists (ex. Stamp Act 1765)
Basic Policy Problem:
– Britain envisioned single empire w/ Parliament as supreme authority
only Parliament could make policy for all people in empire
– Colonists had their own representative assemblies
believed king & Parliament had no right to interfere w/ internal affairs or
levy taxes w/o consent of the representative assembly
July 4, 1776 – Second Continental Congress approved Thomas
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence
– affirmed the Enlightenment ideas of natural rights of “life, liberty, & the
pursuit of happiness”
– declared the colonies to be “free and independent states absolved of
all allegiance to the British crown”
American War for Independence
2nd Cont. Congress authorized a Continental Army under George
Washington
Washington logical choice as commander in chief
– military experience in French & Indian War
– political experience in Virginia
– a southerner brought balance to effort that had been focused in New
England
War was not simple choice for colonists
– 15-30% of pop. Loyalists – questioned the rebellion
– 15-30% were Patriots – pushed rebellion
– most colonists were apathetic at beginning of the war
Foreign support from enemies of Britain important from the beginning
– France gave money & arms to rebels as revenge for previous British
defeats
Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown 1781
Treaty of Paris signed 1783
Americans now control the western territory to the Mississippi River
Forming a New Nation & Impact on Europe
fear of concentrated power and concern for individual interests caused
little enthusiasm for a united nation
1781 – Articles of Confederation ratified
1787 – delegates meet to revise A. of C., scrap it & devise new
constitution
1788 - United States Constitution approved
1789 – Congress proposed 12 amendments to Constitution
– will only be ratified if “certain liberties” can be guaranteed
– first 10 approved became Bill of Rights
– many of the rights were derived from the natural rights philosophies of the
Enlightenment
Europeans saw the A.R. as embodiment of the Enlightenment theories
– premise of the Enlightenment seemed confirmed
– a new age & better world could be achieved
– many Europeans received information about America from returning soldiers
In long run, A.R. much less important than the French Revolution
– F.R. more complex, more violent, & far more radical
– F.R. remains the political movement that inaugurated the modern political
world
Background to the French Revolution
Social Structure
First Estate - clergy
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130,000 people
owned 10% of land
exempt from taille
High clergy stemmed from aristocratic
families, priests came from lower families
Second Estate – aristocracy
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350,000 people
owned 25-35% of land
exempt from taille
still played a major in French politics
Third Estate – commoners
– 26.5 million people, owned 30-40% of land
– obligations to local landlords from feudal sys.
– 2.3 million bourgeoisie (middle class), 25%
land
– over the 18th century, 6,500 bourgeoisie
families became nobility, changing classes
– Commoners, burdened by taxes, came to
resent members of the 1st & 2nd Estates that
didn’t pay taxes
Problems Facing the Monarchy
Long range causes of revolution rooted in frustration at monarchy’s inability to
deal w/ new social realities & problems
Bad harvests in 1787 & 1788 and manufacturing depression led to rise in
food costs & unemployment
Ideas of Philosophes
increased criticism of privileges, social & political institutions
did not advocate revolution, but as Revolution began many quoted
Enlightenment writers like Rousseau
Failure to Make Reforms
Noble judges ran Parlementary courts, refusing to register royal edicts
“defended” liberty by blocking monarch’s power, but pushed their own
interests
Financial Crisis
immediate cause of F.R. was a near financial collapse
Govt. borrowed so much money, by 1788 – ½ govt. spending was to loan
interest
1789: needed to raise taxes, called Estates General (had not met since 1614)
crown essentially admitted that it needed permission of estates to raise taxes
The French Revolution
From Estates-General to National Assembly
opened on May 5, 1789, had not met since 1614
– 1614: each estate had 300 delegates & each estate had 1 vote
Split from beginning about how to vote (by estate or by individual)
– Louis XVI agreed to double # of 3rd Estate delegates, but didn’t say how
voting would take place
– 1st & 2nd Estates wanted to vote by Estate, 3rd wanted individual votes
Ceremonial annoyances begin to perturb 3rd Estate
– Can not sit in king’s presence
– Can not wear hat in king’s presence
– Only ½ of a set of French doors open for 3rd Estate delegates
Louis gave no indication to E.G. how to function or what to do
– 3rd Estate refuses to begin unless all delegates meet in 1 hall & vote by head
– Higher Estates blame “commoners” for “holding things up” (52 day stand-off)
June 17th, 1789 – 3rd Estate voted itself a National Assembly and draw up
a constitution
– On June 20, 3rd Estate arrives at meeting hall to find it locked, move down
street into nearby indoor tennis courts & vow to keep meeting until they finish
a constitution. (Tennis Court Oath)
The revolution essentially began w/ Tennis Court Oath
– mainly driven by 3rd Estate lawyers
– 3rd Estate had no authority to form National Assembly
– Louis prepared to use force to “end nonsense”
Revolts in urban & rural areas drew Louis XVI’s attention from the
3rd Estate during July and August
– Common people used the name of the 3rd Estate to wage war on the
rich
Paris: mob activity was so bad, the people of Paris the “Permanent
Committee” to keep order
– Needed weapons, so organized a popular force & took the royal
armory
– July 14th, attacked the Bastille (former state prison used as an armory)
only contained 7 prisoners when it was stormed
more symbolic than important, but saved the National Assembly
citizen’s militia became the National Guard, led by Marquis de
Lafayette
The Great Fear
late July – tight time for farmers, most out of food stores, not
ready to harvest new crop
– hail storm in July 1788 destroyed most of that year’s crop, famine
imminent
Peasants fear that nobles will resort to burning crops to end
revolution
– Great Fear: 7/19 - 8/3/1789 radical peasants begin burning leases,
forced lords to renounce dues & tithes and some resort to violence
Destruction of the Old Regime
3rd Estate realizes that they own land & fear peasants coming
after them
Aug. 4, 1789 – National Assembly renounces privileges (hunting
rights, etc.) titles & feudal dues
Aug 26 – adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen (p. 542)
– reflected ideas of the philosophes & owed much to the American
Declaration
Louis XVI remained inactive at Versailles
– He did refuse to support the abolition of feudal taxes & the declaration
of rights
Oct. 5, 1789 – mob of Parisian women (and the Nat’l Guard) march on
Versailles demanding bread & the king’s return to Paris
– Louis complies on Oct. 6, bringing flour from palace stores in good will
– He then accepted the N.A.’s decrees
– King essentially prisoner in Paris
1791 – Nat’l Assembly had new constitution, Legislative Assembly
(L.A.) & a limited monarchy
– 1789 – Nat’l Assembly abolished all local & provincial divisions &
divided France into 83 departments (roughly equal in size & pop.)
– each department divided into districts & communes and run by elected
officials (most offices went to bourgeoisie, not nobles)
Nat’l Assembly faced opposition from within (Jacobins p.544 & sec B 5)
Aug 1791 – Austria & Prussia invite European monarchs to take
action to put the king of France back on the throne
– European monarchs too suspicious of each other to act
– Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria (Aug. 1792) & fared poorly
– radicals in Paris attacked royal palace & L.A. call for a nat’l convention
Radical Revolution
San-culottes, led by George Danton, sought revenge on those who
had aided the king and resisted popular will (September Massacres)
– thousands of presumed traitors arrested & executed
ordinary tradesmen & artisans solved overcrowding in prisons
Nat’l Convention met in September 1792
– called to draft new constitution, also served as ruling body of France
– dominated by lawyers & professionals, also included artisans
– 2/3 of deputies under 45 yrs.
– most had political experience as result of F.R.
First step was to abolish monarchy & establish a republic (9/21/1792)
Factions formed over fate of king, both were from the Jacobins
– Girondists: mod. Republicans, wanted to keep king alive
– Mountain: rad. Republicans, wanted the king executed
The Mountain won out. Jan 21, 1793 – Louis XVI was beheaded
– Marie Antoinette followed, Louis XVII died in prison
– created new enemies at home & abroad while strengthening old enemies
A Nation in Arms
1793 – N.C. created the Committee of
Public Safety (dominated by Danton &
later by Maximilien Robespierre)
8/23/1793 – Committee of Public Safety
mobilized the entire country to meet
foreign crisis & save Republic from
foreign enemies
In less than a year, French army was
650,000 strong
– 9/1794: 1,169,000 soldiers
– The Republic’s army – “a nation in
arms”- was the largest ever seen in
European history
– Pushed the anti-French forces across
the Rhine & captured Aust. Netherlands
Domestic threats as well, Committee of
Public Safety had to institute the “Reign
of Terror”
Robespierre & the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror lasted from July 1793 – July 1794
– ~50,000 enemies of the revolution killed
– No social class distinction in the Terror
misconception that upper class was the focus
– Of killed - nobles 8%, middle class 25%, clergy 6%, peasants 60%
Robespierre’s desire was to build a “Republic of Virtue”
– when foreign & domestic threats ended, bloodshed would subside
– Robespierre – believer of Rousseau & his idea of “general will”
– believed France could only become a republic of virtue through terror
as more people died, his followers wondered if things were out of
hand
– not even Robespierre’s fellow leaders felt safe
Danton & other politicians were executed in early 1794 for trying to stop
Terror
– members of the NC arranged for Robespierre’s arrest on Jul 27, 1794
the next day he & his followers executed by guillotine
Declaration of the Rights of Man did not give women equal citizenship,
but they gained rights – divorce easier, could inherit prop.
Reaction and the Directory
so called “Thermidorian Reaction”
occurred
moved away from excess of NC
1795 - moderates drafted another
Constitution
– 3rd constitution since 1789
Constitution of 1795
– set up 5 man Directory & 2 house
legislature of elected officials
– Jacobin club closed
– freedom of worship reestablished
– laissez-faire economic policies
adopted
the Directory relied on military
support to maintain power
led to a coup d’etat allowing
general Napoleon Bonaparte to
seize power
The Age of Napoleon
Napoleon (1769-1821)
dominated French & European history from 1799-1815
called himself a “Son of the Revolution”
– the F.R. gave him the opportunity to rise through the military
ranks
– also said “I am the Revolution”, reminded the people that they
owed him for retaining everything beneficial from the F.R.
Oct. 1795 – saved the N.C. from a mob with “a whiff of smoke & a
hand-full of grapeshot”, promoted to major general.
led French victories in Italy 1797, lost to British & abandoned army
to return to France in 1799 (welcomed as a conquering hero)
took part in coup d’etat that led to his virtual dictatorship of France
With the coup of 1799, new Republic w/ new constituion
– Bicameral legislature w/ indirectly elected officials to reduce role
of elections
Executive power in hands of 3 consuls (real power belonged to 1 st
consul)
– Napoleon served as First Consulate until 1804
Napoleon controlled the executive branch, influenced the
legislative, controlled the army & conducted all foreign affairs
1802 – named “Consul for Life”…
– Who does it wound like he’s emulating?
returned France to monarchy in 1804, crowning himself Emperor
Napoleon I
brought stability & permanence to France not possible w/
consulate
revolution began to limit authority of the king, ended up with a far
more autocratic system, but the people did not object
at each step in his rise to power, he held a plebiscite (a yes or no
vote on an issue)
to understand why the people supported him, you have to
understand his policies
The Domestic Policies of Emperor Napoleon I
Concordat w/ the Church
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Napoleon made peace w/ Cath. Church in 1801
gave French gov’t authority to appoint French clergy & pay salaries
Church had right to confirm/refuse appointments, lost land from FR
Code Napoleon
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longest lasting of his policies, applied to all of France
equality of citizens (men), religious toleration, abolition of serfdom
applied the merit system (got jobs/promotions based on ability/service)
Women actually lost rights gained in revolution
Centralization of Administration
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taxation more systematic & efficient
no exemptions due to birth or social status
state censorship of newspapers & books
Other Reforms
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Offered emigres full pardons to return to France
founded system of public education, regulated economy to control
prices, encourage new industry & build roads and canals
Peasants allowed to keep land gained in FR
Napoleon’s Empire & Europe’s Responses
Empire had 3 parts: France, dependant states, Allied states
By 1807, defeated continental members of European coalition
– sold Louisiana Territory to the US in 1803 to finance his war efforts
– brought Code Napoleon to all conquered land, but territories had to provide
soldiers for his army, taxes to finance it, & raw materials
– opposition to Napoleonic rule smashed, those who first welcomed him as a
liberator grew to hate him
his Grand Empire failed due to GB and the survival of nationalism
– 1805 – French navy defeated by GB at Battle of Trafalgar (coast of Spain)
Napoleon started Continental System - blocked British goods from
entering French controlled territory to hurt economy
policy failed, Britain started own blockade & found new markets
– British blockades & attacks on American ships led to War of 1812
– Russia openly violated Napoleon’s Continental Sys.
June 1812 – Napoleon marched the Grand Army east (600,000 troops)
Reached Moscow in September, winter setting in
– Moscow was in ruin, burnt to ground; French tried to salvage any supplies
– October 1812 – began 1,000 mi. journey home; ambush, starvation & disease
caused 540,000 casualties
The End of Napoleon
Failure of Russian march, led to war of liberation throughout
Europe (1813-1814)
April 1814 – Allied forces capture Paris, Napoleon abdicates
& exiled to island of Elba (of coast west of Italy, south of
France)
Bourbon monarchy of Louis XVIII (Louis XVI brother)
restored
Napoleon escaped Elba in March 1815, returned to Paris as
a hero
– Began time known as The Hundred Days
Waterloo – Napoleon finally defeated in June 1815 by a
coalition force led by British Duke of Wellington & Prussian
general Gebhard von Blucher
Napoleon captured & exiled to St. Helena Island – 1000 mi.
of Atlantic coast of Africa
– lived out last 6 years of life, still rumored that he was poisoned