French Revolution Reading Material Class IX Social Science
French
Revolution Reading Material
The Storming of Fortress-prison, the Bastille
·
French revolution started in 1789. The series of events
started by the middle class shaken the upper classes. The people revolted
against the cruel regime of monarchy. This revolution put forward the ideas of
liberty, fraternity, and equality.
·
The revolution began on 14th July, 1789 with the
storming of the fortress-prison, the Bastille.
·
The Bastille, the fortress prison was hated by all,
because it stood for the despotic power of the king.
·
The fortress was demolished.
Causes of the French Revolution:
Social Cause
French Society during the Late Eighteenth Century
The term ‘Old Regime’ is usually used to describe the society and
institutions of France before 1789.
The society was divided into three estates.
1. 1st Estate: Clergy (Group of persons involved in church matters)
2. 2nd Estate: Nobility (Persons who have high rank in state
administration)
3. 3rd Estate: (Comprises of Big businessmen, merchants, court
officials, lawyers, Peasants and artisans, landless labour, servants.
·
First two classes were exempted from paying taxes. They
enjoyed privileges by birth. Nobility classes also enjoyed feudal privileges.
·
Only the members
of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state.
·
Direct tax called taille and also a number of indirect
taxes which were charged on articles of everyday consumption like salt or
tobacco.
·
A tax called Tithe was also collected by the church
from the peasants.
·
Clergy and Nobility were 10% of the population but
possessed 60% of lands. Third Estate was
90% of the population but possessed 40% of the lands.
Economic Cause
Subsistence Crisis
• The population
of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789.
• This increased
the demand for the foodgrains. However, production could not keep pace with the
demand which ultimately increased the prices of the foodgrains.
• Most workers
work as labourers in the workshops and they didn’t see increase in their wages.
• Situation
became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest.
• This led to
the scarcity of foodgrains or Subsistence Crisis which started occurring
frequently old regime.
• Louis XVI came
into the power in 1774 and found empty treasury.
• Long years of
war had drained the financial resources of France.
• Under Louis
XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from
the common enemy, Britain which added more than a billion livres to a debt that
had already risen to more than 2 billion livres.
• An extravagant
court at the immense palace of Versailles also cost a lot.
• To meet its
regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an army, the court, running government
offices or universities, the state was forced to increase taxes.
Growing Middle Class
• The eighteenth
century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class, who earned
their wealth through overseas trade, from manufacturing of goods and professions.
• This class was
educated believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
• They were
inspired by the ideas put forward by the various philosophers and became a
matter of talk intensively for these classes in salons and coffee-houses and
spread among people through books and newspapers.
• The American
constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example
for political thinkers in France.
Philosophers and their contribution in revolution
• John Locke:
(written a book named ‘Two Treatises of Government’) in which he criticized the
doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
• Jean Jacques
Rousseau (written a book named ‘Social Contract’) in which he proposed a form of
government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
• Montesquieu
(written a book named ‘The Spirit of the Laws’) in which he proposed a division
of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the
judiciary.
The Outbreak of the Revolution
• Louis XVI
called an assembly of the Estates General to pass his proposals to increase
taxes on 5th May 1789.
• The first and
second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each
other on two sides, while the 600 members of the third estate had to stand at
the back.
• The third
estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated members only while peasants,
artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly.
• Voting in the
Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each
estate had one vote and same practice to be continued this time. But members of
the third estate demanded individual voting right, where each member would have
one vote.
• After
rejection of this proposal by the king, members of the third estate walked out
of the assembly in protest.
• On 20th June,
the representatives of the third estate assembled in the hall of an indoor
tennis court in the grounds of Versailles where they declared themselves a
National Assembly and vowed to draft a constitution for France that would limit
the powers of the monarch.
• Mirabeau, a
noble and Abbé Sieyès, a priest led the third estate.
• While the
National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of
France was in trouble.
• Severe winter
destroyed the food crops which resulted in increase in the prices. The bakers also
hoarded supplies of breads for making greater profit.
• 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
were on their way to destroy the ripe crops through their hired gangs.
• Due to fear,
peasants in several districts attacked the castle of nobles, looted hoarded
grain and Burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues.
• Large numbers
of noble fled from their homes and many migrated to neighbouring countries.
• Louis XVI
finally recognised the National Assembly and accepted the constitution.
• On 4th August,
1789, France passed the law for abolishing the feudal system of obligations and
taxes.
• The member of
clergy were also forced to give up their privileges.
• Tithes were
abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated.
France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy
• The National
Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791 which main object was to
limit the powers of the monarch.
• The powers
were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, executive
and judiciary which made France a constitutional monarchy.
• The
Constitution of 1791 gave the power of making laws in the hands of National
Assembly, which was indirectly elected.
• The National
Assembly was elected by a group of electors, which were chosen by active citizens.
• Active
Citizens comprises of only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at
least 3 days of a labourer’s wage.
• The remaining
men and all women were classed as passive citizens who had no voting rights. France
Constitution at that time
• The
Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
• Rights such as
the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law, were
given to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.
• It was the
duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.
France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic
• Louis XVI had
signed the Constitution, but he entered into secret negotiations with the King
of Prussia.
• Rulers of
other neighbouring countries too were worried by the developments in France and
made plans to send troops to stop the revolutionary events taking place.
• Before this
could happen, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia
and Austria.
• Thousands of
volunteers joined the army from the provinces to join the army.
• People saw
this war as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies all over
Europe.
• The patriotic
song Marseillaise, composed by the poet Roget de L’Isle was sung for the first time
by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris which is now the
national anthem of France.
• The
revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people.
• The
Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of
society.
• Political
clubs were established by the people who wished to discuss government policies
and plan their own forms of action.
• The most
successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins.
• The members of
the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society such
as small shopkeepers, artisans as well as servants and daily-wage workers.
Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.
• Jacobins start
wearing long striped trousers and came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally
meaning those without knee breeches.
• In the summer
of 1792 the Jacobins planned a revolt of a large number of the people of Paris who
were angered by the short supplies and high prices of food.
• On August 10,
they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s guards and held the
king himself as hostage for several hours.
• Later the
Assembly voted to imprison the royal family. Elections were held.
• From now on
all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
• The newly
elected assembly was called the Convention.
• On 21st
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.
• The queen
Marie Antoinette met with the same fate shortly after.
The Reign of Terror
• The period
from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror as Robespierre followed
a policy of severe control and punishment.
• All his
enemies, Ex-nobles, clergy, members of other political parties, even members of
his own party who did not agree with his methods were arrested, imprisoned and
guillotined.
• Robespierre’s
government issued laws placing a maximum 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
more expensive white flour was forbidden and all citizens were required to eat the
equality bread, a loaf made of whole wheat.
• Instead of the
traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and women were addressed
as Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen).
• Churches were
shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
• Robespierre
pursued his policies so harshly that even his supporters began to demand moderation.
• Finally, he
was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day sent to the
guillotine.
A Directory Rules France
• A new
constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of
society.
• It provided
for two elected legislative councils which then appointed a Directory, an
executive made up of five members.
• The Directors
often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them.
• The political
instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator,Napoleon
Bonaparte.
Women Revolution
• From the very
beginning women were active participants in revolution.
• They hoped
that their involvement would pressurise the revolutionary government to introduce
measures to improve their lives.
• Most women of
the third estate had to work for a living as laundresses, sellers, domestic servants
inthe houses of prosperous people.
• Most women did
not have access to education or job training.
• To discuss and
voice their interests women started their own political clubs and newspapers.
• The Society of
Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.
• Women were
disappointed that the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to passive citizens.
• They demanded
the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office.
• The
revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped improve the lives of
women.
• By creation of
state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
• Their fathers
could no longer force them into marriage against their will.
• 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.
• Women could
now train for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses.
• During the
Reign of Terror, the new government issued laws ordering closure of women’s
clubs and banning their political activities.
• Many prominent women were arrested and a
number of them executed.
• It was finally
in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.
The Abolition of Slavery
• The
unwillingness of Europeans to go and work in the colonies in the Caribbean
which were important suppliers of commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar
and coffee created a shortage of labour on the plantations. Thus, the slave
trade began in the seventeenth century.
• French
merchants sailed from their ports to the African coast, where they bought
slaves from local chieftains.
• Branded and
shackled, the slaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-month long voyage
across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.
• There they
were sold to plantation owners. The exploitation of slave labour made it
possible to meet the growing demand in European markets for sugar, coffee, and
indigo.
• Port cities
like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing
slave trade.
• The National
Assembly held long debates for about whether the rights of man should be extended
to all French subjects including those in the colonies.
• But it did not
pass any laws, fearing opposition from businessmen whose incomes depended on the
slave trade.
• Jacobin regime
in 1794, abolished slavery in the French colonies.
• However, ten
years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.
• Slavery was
finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.
The Revolution and Everyday Life
• After the
storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship.
• The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and
expression to be a natural right.
• Newspapers,
pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they
travelled rapidly into the countryside and described and discussed the events and
changes taking place in France.
• Plays, songs
and festive processions attracted large numbers of people which was one way they
could grasp and identify with ideas such as liberty or justice.
Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
• After the end
of reign of terror, directory created political instability.
• In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself
Emperor of France.
• He conquered
many neighbouring countries and placed members of his family on the crown
• Napoleon saw
his role as a moderniser of Europe.
• He introduced
many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights
and measures provided by the decimal system.
• Initially,
many welcomed Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the people. But
soonthe Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force.
• He was finally
defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
Legacy of the French Revolution
• The ideas of
liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.
• These spread
from France to the rest of Europe during the nineteenth century, where feudal systems
were abolished.
• Later, these
ideas were adopted by Indian revolutionary strugglers, Tipu Sultan and Rammohan
Roy
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