Reading Questions
1. What groups of people populated France before the revolution?
2. What crises provoked the revolution in France?
3. How did different groups of people in France understand Enlightenment ideas?
4. How was the French monarchy of 1814 different from the pre-revolutionary monarchy?
5. In what ways did the French revolution produce freedom? What were the limits of this freedom?
6. In what ways did the French revolution produce equality? What were the limits of this equality?
2. What crises provoked the revolution in France?
3. How did different groups of people in France understand Enlightenment ideas?
4. How was the French monarchy of 1814 different from the pre-revolutionary monarchy?
5. In what ways did the French revolution produce freedom? What were the limits of this freedom?
6. In what ways did the French revolution produce equality? What were the limits of this equality?
French Revolution
Like the ideas of the Enlightenment, news of the successful American Revolution against powerful British Empire spread around the world. So it’s no surprise that on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, France would be next in line to “revolutionize” their entire government and society. Given that some of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers were French, like Voltaire and Montesquieu, change and revolution seemed inevitable for France.
CLASS STRUGGLE
Unlike the racially diverse colonies in the Americas, France’s society was divided up into three separate classes or estates. The First Estate was the clergy, which referred to the priests, bishops, cardinals, and other religious figures in the Catholic Church. This estate was less than 1% of France’s population. The Second Estate was the aristocracy, or the wealthy, land-owning, elite families of France. These families were very close to the French King and the royal family and made up about 2% of the French population. The Third Estate include everyone who did not fit into the first two estates. This included the middle class, peasants, educated scholars, farmers, and city workers. This estate was the poorest of the three, despite representing 97% of the France. On top of all three estates is the nobility, or royal family, with King Louis XVI (pronounced Louie the sixteenth) at the very top. |
ECONOMIC CAUSES
France’s economic troubles began with the Seven Years War. The French lost, causing them to lose several colonies in North America to the British. In addition, the French owed money to several of their allies from the war. While attempting to pay back their debts, the French government decided to support the colonists in the American Revolution in order to seek revenge against their British rival. However, the American government never repaid France for all the supplies, weapons, ships, and soldiers the French military provided, making France’s financial hole even bigger. To payback their debts, the French government used taxes. But there’s a slight problem in how they collect taxes: the First and Second Estates never paid taxes while the Third Estate was taxed 50% of their income (meaning half of the money someone earned was taken by the government). Naturally, the Third Estate was not pleased with the fact that they were being treated as second-class citizens, despite being the overwhelming majority of France. To make matters worse, The Little Ice Age, a period of widespread cooling and an average drop in global temperatures from around 1300 to 1850, created conditions that were unfavorable to crop harvests. Many crops failed creating a food shortage. France was also experiencing a drought just before the revolution began, which caused food production to decrease. Farmers and food markets were forced to increase prices on bread and other food items, which meant many people could barely afford any food while half of their income is taxed away. It was not only hunger that inspired the ensuing bread riots. Beneath calls for bread lay an anti-capitalist cry for government regulation of the market to provide a measure of security, particularly to the poor. The call for a degree of economic equality resonated with the Third Estate’s own grievances.
POLITICAL INEFFICIENCY With the ideas of the Enlightenment being spread amongst the educated middle class of France, criticism about the French king drastically increased. King Louis XVI was seen as an ineffectual ruler compared to previous French kings. Louis XVI married the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette (pronounced An-twan-et). Completely dissatisfied with her marriage, Antoinette spent most of her days enjoying the luxurious lifestyle and throwing parties at the Palace of Versailles (pronounced ver-sigh), their enormous mansion complete with elaborate gardens, golden gates, and beautiful fountains. Keep in mind, this lifestyle was all being paid for by the taxes of the Third Estate. News of possible revolution worried King Louis, causing him to bring back the Estates General, a somewhat democratic government that had male representatives from the three estates. However, each estate only had one vote, causing the Third Estate to be defeated in every decision. Dissatisfied by the corrupt government, the Third Estate representatives met in the nearby tennis court to declare a new democracy and called it the National Assembly. This led to the writing of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, a new set of rights guaranteed to every French man, which included the right to “liberty, property, and security.” In 1789, a rumor spread that Marie Antoinette said that all starving people in France should “eat cake,” which was seen as an insult to the Third Estate. Using stolen weapons from the Bastille prison, a large group of mostly women marched 13 miles from Paris to the Palace of Versailles. After storming the palace, Louis, Antoinette, and their two children were taken from Versailles and imprisoned in Paris. The French Revolution began in 1789 and would last for a long and bloody ten years. |
A “Short Summary” of the French Revolution:
The French Revolution is one of the more complicated Atlantic Revolutions. After capturing the king and queen, the National Assembly tried to create a constitutional monarchy, a government that restricted the powers of the king but also allowed democratic changes. Louie agreed with these changes. Outside of France, Marie Antoinette’s brother, the king of Austria, began invading France in order to restore the king and queen’s power. After Louie’s failed attempted to escape France, the National Assembly sentenced the king to his death. This caused the revolution to turn radical as revolutionaries wanted greater change while the National Assembly wanted to preserve the royal throne. |
Revolutionaries, led by Maximillian Robespierre, brought down the National Assembly and actively sought to erase all traces of Divine Rule by attacking the First and Second Estates. Revolutionaries raided and captured several rich families as well as claimed the Catholic Church’s property for the people. Instead of focusing on Enlightenment ideas like equality and democracy, Robespierre began the Reign of Terror, a period of mass executions in order to find the “traitors” to the revolution. Anyone convicted as a “traitor” was shot or sentenced to a public execution by a guillotine (pronounced gee-ah-teen), a device used to behead its victims in a gruesome manner (left image). Both the king and queen were sentenced to the guillotine, which was seen by thousands of French people. Violence and chaos emerged as Robespierre tried to reorganize French society to where no traces of the royal crown, the aristocracy, or even the Catholic Church. Robespierre became corrupt with so much power that he was sentenced to the guillotine without a trial. Meanwhile, a young soldier named Napoleon Bonaparte lead successful campaigns against the invading Austrians, making him very popular in the military and eventually throughout France. In 1799, Napoleon and his army overthrew the government and named himself the new Emperor of France. He ended the revolution, created order in France through his military, and began to conquering Europe. He successfully conquered Spain and Italy but failed miserably in Russia, which ultimately led to Napoleon’s downfall and forced exile to a small island in 1815. The French finally set up a constitutional monarchy with Louis XVI’s brother, Louis XVIII, as the new king.
Successes of French Revolution:
The French Revolution did bring change to France despite the amount of violence and chaos that occurred in the ten year period. The creation of a constitutional monarchy prevented the rise of kings with absolute power by limiting their duties and influence. Napoleon’s legal advisers created the Napoleonic Code, France’s first set of laws that created greater equality in France. Instead of three estates, the code established political and social equality for all adult men. This created a merit-based society, where education, career, and income was based on talent and skill, not which family you’re born into. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen gave all men complete equality, which the American Revolution never achieved. And the spread of Enlightenment ideas to all classes would influence political discussions amongst all French citizens in political movements and revolutions in France.
The French Revolution did bring change to France despite the amount of violence and chaos that occurred in the ten year period. The creation of a constitutional monarchy prevented the rise of kings with absolute power by limiting their duties and influence. Napoleon’s legal advisers created the Napoleonic Code, France’s first set of laws that created greater equality in France. Instead of three estates, the code established political and social equality for all adult men. This created a merit-based society, where education, career, and income was based on talent and skill, not which family you’re born into. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen gave all men complete equality, which the American Revolution never achieved. And the spread of Enlightenment ideas to all classes would influence political discussions amongst all French citizens in political movements and revolutions in France.
Limitations of the French Revolution:
The French Revolution ultimately never established a democratic government. The removal of a king was not achieved, especially with the rise of Napoleon. He was more abusive in his control over France compared to Louis XVI and some historians label Napoleon as a dictator. Although he approved the Enlightenment idea of equality, Napoleon was no champion for freedom and democracy. He limited free speech and censored French newspapers. He established a secret police force to spy and imprison suspected political opponents. He ignored elected government officials and even crowned himself as emperor. Even when Napoleon was removed from power, his replacement was another king (Louis XVI’s brother, Louis XVIII). France would continue to be ruled by kings for the next 60 years. While women’s participation in the revolution was significant, their second-class status was legalized in the Napoleonic Code, placing them under the authority of their husband, father, or oldest male relative. Like in the American Revolution, the concept of gender equality was not well accepted by empowered and educated men.
The French Revolution ultimately never established a democratic government. The removal of a king was not achieved, especially with the rise of Napoleon. He was more abusive in his control over France compared to Louis XVI and some historians label Napoleon as a dictator. Although he approved the Enlightenment idea of equality, Napoleon was no champion for freedom and democracy. He limited free speech and censored French newspapers. He established a secret police force to spy and imprison suspected political opponents. He ignored elected government officials and even crowned himself as emperor. Even when Napoleon was removed from power, his replacement was another king (Louis XVI’s brother, Louis XVIII). France would continue to be ruled by kings for the next 60 years. While women’s participation in the revolution was significant, their second-class status was legalized in the Napoleonic Code, placing them under the authority of their husband, father, or oldest male relative. Like in the American Revolution, the concept of gender equality was not well accepted by empowered and educated men.