The French Revolution
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The French Revolution |
The French Revolution | History, Timeline, Causes, Class 9 Chapter
During the French Revolution, which took place in the country's past, the populace ousted the king and assumed power.
French revolution was started in 14 July 1789 and end in 1799 lasted for 10 years
Storming of Bastille was a begining of French revolution
The French estates
Prior to the French Revolution, France's populace was separated into social classes known as "Estates." The clergy (leaders of the churches) were considered to be the First Estate, followed by the nobility and the common people as the Second and Third Estates.
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- French society was split into three estates in the eighteenth century.
I. The first estate was made up of church clerics or priests.
II. Second estate comprised of nobility which includes high rank officials and feudal lords.
III. The remaining 90% of the French population, which consists of peasants, workers, craftsmen, lower-rank court officials, lawyers, landless labor, servants, etc., is referred to as the third estate.
- While the other two enjoyed different advantages and had full ability to impose taxes, only the third estate was required to pay all taxes.
France was the most populous country in Europe at the time, and it had been gaining riches and respect ever since King Louis XIV's reign. However, due to the nation's continued social and political sluggishness, this economic growth was not apparent.
- Louis XVI became king of France in 1774.
I. He is a member of the French royal BOURBON family.
II. Marie Antoinette of Austria was his wife.
III. His forebears' luxurious lifestyles, the empty treasury caused by ongoing war debt, and the expense of supporting the American Revolutionary War forced him to raise taxes to satisfy demand.
IV. During the previous government, frequent subsistence crises led to the general populace's unhappiness.
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- Lawyers, teachers, philosophers, and other members of the middle class were educated and began to challenge privilege at an early age.
I. They dreamt of a society based on equality and proposed their ideas through speeches, books, pamphlets and journals'.
II. In France of old regime king could impose new taxes only in a political body-Estates General where three estates send their representatives.
III. Voting was done on Estate wise, rather than individual members.
- On 5th May 1789 Louis XVI called together the meeting of Estates General to pass new taxes.
I. This time third estates members demanded person-wise voting in place of estate-wise voting.
II. King rejected this demand and third estate members walked out the assembly in protest.
III. On 20th June 1789 they gathered in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles.
IV. Bad harvest due to severe cold along with king's order of troops to move into Paris only fuelled the situation.
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- On 14th July 1789 the agitated crowd stormed the Fort of Bastille, a symbol of tyranny of old regime, and destroyed it.
I. This triggered the chain of revolt across the country.
II. Faced with power of revolting subjects, Louis XVI accorded recognition to the National assembly and agreed to give up his power.
III. On 4th August 1789 all the feudal system of obligation and taxes were abolished by a decree.
IV. Churches' properties were confiscated and clergy too had to give up all the privileges.
V. The National Assembly drafted the constitution in 1791 and distributed the power in- legislature, executive and judiciary along with one person one vote principle.
- However voting was restricted to ACTIVE CITIZEN only.
- Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a labourer's wage were given the status of active citizen.
- Remaining men and all women were cleaned as panive citizen who did not have any political right.
- On 10th August 1792 Jacobins planned an insurrection and imprisoned the royal family
- On 21 September 1792 it declared France a Republic.
The national assembly continued in Versailles as the nation was gripped in fear and uncertainty which led to the insurgency.
This resulted in the taking of Bastille fortress on July 14, 1789. This event marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
The peasants revolted, attacked the houses of nobles and tax collectors, and the upper class was forced to flee for their lives. This period is called the period of Great Fear.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man, 1789
The National Assembly adopted the Rights of Man and of the Citizen on August 4, 1789. The charter was based on democratic principles, drawing from philosophical as well as political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jena-Jacques Rosseau.
The French constitution was adopted on September 3, 1791. It was moderate in its stance by limiting the powers of the king, but it was not enough for the more radical members of the assembly.
The region of terror group of insurgents attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested Louis XVI on August 10, 1792. On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.
HISTORY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
- The political instability in France paved a way for the rise of military dictatorship under Napoleon Bonaparte.
- He along with his troops carried on the ideas of the French Revolution in Europe. He introduced laws such as the protection of private property and the uniform systems of weights and measurements.
- Many of his initiatives, which spread the revolutionary concepts of liberty and contemporary laws throughout Europe, had an effect on people long after Napoleon had left.
- However, he also placed his successors on the throne of the countries which he invaded. He thus came to be regarded as an invader.
Women's Participation in the Revolution
- Women were active participants in the French Revolution. Women in France were not empowered.
- Most of the women of the third estate had to work to earn their livelihood. In the homes of affluent families, they served as domestic maids, sold flowers and vegetables, or worked as seamstresses.
- Women started their own clubs in order to raise their own voices. . The Society of Revolutionary Republican Women was a well-known women's group. This club demanded that women be given the same political rights as men. Women till now had no right to vote.
- Many regulations were initially put into place to enhance the status of women in French society. Schooling was made compulsory for all girls. Fathers could no longer marry off their daughters without obtaining their consent. Divorce was made legal, and women began to be trained for various jobs.
- During the Reign of Terror, many laws were issued that ordered the closing of women's clubs. Many women were tried and quillatined.
The Revolt Breaks
- Wars had drained the French treasury. The state was under heavy debt and had to pay hefty interests to creditors. To improve the finances of the state, the king decided to increase the taxes levied on people.
- When the king called the meeting of an assembly of the Estates Generals to pass proposals of new taxes, the members of the third estate walked out from the meeting demanding that every person in the Assembly should have one vote contrary to the existing practice of one estate having one vote.
- On June 20, 1789, the third estate gathered on the indoor tennis court with the goal of creating a constitution that would restrict the king's authority.
- In France, bread costs increased during this period, and bakers started to stockpile supply. Women among those who were enraged by the lack of bread surged into stores. An angry mob broke into the Bastilles jail and freed its inmates as the monarch gave the order for his forces to enter Paris.
