Introduction and Causes of French Revolution
Introduction
The French Revolution made France a trailblazer in the domain of political culture. It not only established new principles of politics and democracy which continued to influence the European mind subsequently, but also provided a new vocabulary of revolutionary action. The revolutionary doctrines of liberty, equality and fraternity continue to hold a special place even today in democratic societies the world over.
Causes of French Revolution
Social Causes
• In France the existing social system towards the end of the eighteenth century was called the Ancient Regime.
• The Ancient Regime was dominated by the aristocracy; its social and economic foundation was feudal, and autocracy was the general political principle.
• Within the Ancient Regime, the Clergy constituted the First Estate, the Aristocracy comprised the Second Estate, and the rest of the population formed the Third Estate.
• The clergy and the aristocracy constituted the privileged class of society.
The privileged clergy of the First Estate could maintain a separate identity, despite being part of the structures of the state. The law of the King was not applicable to them, and the king had no power to impose tax on them.
• A small group of clergy, holding just 1 percent of the land in the wealthiest tenth, collected tithes that funded their lavish lifestyles. At the same time, corruption was widespread in the Church
The aristocracy of France belonged to the Second Estate. Many owned huge tracts of land and, without paying any taxes, they lived at the expense of the peasants’ labour.
• All the people of France, except those belonging to the First and Second Estates, i.e., clergy and aristocracy, were part of the Third Estate: a total of 96 per cent of the French population.
• The Third Estate was made up of rich businessmen, industrialists, and intellectuals on the one hand, and the laboring men and peasants on the other. It was this section of the French population who bore the brunt of taxation.
• The people of the Third Estate were broadly divided into three groups—the bourgeoisie, the peasants, and the sans-culottes.
• The word bourgeoisie literally means the middle class and though they were a minority in the Third Estate. They wielded the greatest influence and considerable financial power. However, they did not all have the same economic or social status.
• The bourgeoisie included some of the most enlightened, and most intelligent members of French society, yet they were excluded from politics and administration by the privileged estates.
• It was this incongruence which fueled the bourgeois revolution.
Political Causes
• In eighteenth-century Europe, autocratic hereditary monarchies were in power, and France was no exception.
• Louis XIV, a French king of the Bourbon Dynasty, reinforced the autocratic monarchy by centralizing his power.
• Much like the British Parliament, the French Estates General assembled irregularly.
• During the reign of Louis XIV officials known as intendants ran the administration very efficiently but they became selfish and corrupt during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI.
• In France, the king held control over the judiciary, granting him the authority to impose punishments and imprison individuals without a trial.
• The Parliament, as the highest royal court, had significant influence, though the king couldn’t dismiss its magistrates or judges. However, delays in justice, a complicated legal process, and the high cost of legal proceedings contributed to a corrupt judicial system.
• Despite the monarchy’s inefficiency and decline, the attempt to centralize power ultimately failed, yet many French people remained attached to it, opposing its complete dissolution.
Economic Causes
• The structural and economic crisis of the Ancient Regime deepened with the coronation of Louis XVI in 1774.
• The decline in the French economy started in the first half of the eighteenth century.
• The economic crisis which came in the wake of wars undertaken by Louis XIV, further deepened following the extravagances of Louis XV.
• The main cause of the economic crisis in France was the disparity in taxation.
• The depression of 1778 and the failure of crops in 1787, on the eve of the French Revolution, was an utter disaster for the French economy.
The Role of The Philosophers
The growing resentment, discontent, widespread social and economic disparity, and mutual antagonism and enmity among different social classes created an ambience of social unrest and instability. Under extraordinary circumstances, this disquiet took the shape of a revolution infused with revolutionary spirit. The radical charges in the field of knowledge and political thought in eighteenth-century Europe is called the Enlightenment.
1. Montesquieu (1689-1755)
• Montesquieu was one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment and held a deep admiration for England’s political and social system.
• His most notable work, The Spirit of the Laws, outlined his famous theory of the “separation of powers.” He argued that the power of government should be divided among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches to prevent any one part from becoming too powerful and leading to despotism.
Though Montesquieu’s ideas had a revolutionary tone, he did not support republicanism or democracy. Instead, he viewed the constitutional monarchy of England as the ideal model. Despite his criticism of absolute power, he believed that a revolution was not the solution.
2. Voltaire (1694- 1778)
• In the eighteenth century, Voltaire was widely recognized for his brilliance in political thought. Like Montesquieu, he admired the English political system but focused his critiques on other areas. His main target was the Roman Catholic Church, which he associated with religious intolerance. Despite this, Voltaire was not an atheist—he believed in God but rejected organized religion. Politically, Voltaire was a liberal, yet, similar to Montesquieu, he saw the monarchy as a stable institution. He advocated for “enlightened despotism” as his ideal form of government, believing that a wise and just ruler would be the best solution. Voltaire did not support democracy or prioritize the interests of the general public.
3. Rousseau (1712- 78)
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau was undoubtedly the most influential French philosopher of his time, and his ideas were more radical and revolutionary than those of many of his contemporaries. He believed that humans were inherently good and happy in their natural state, but it was society that corrupted them, creating divisions and leading to inequality and unhappiness.
• Rousseau’s vision for an ideal political system was direct democracy, where the power truly resided with the people. He argued that to achieve both social equality and freedom, the people had to be in control of their own governance.
• His ideas had a profound impact on France, shaping much of the thinking that led to the French Revolution. Napoleon himself acknowledged that Rousseau’s influence was a key factor in sparking the revolution, perhaps more so than any other philosopher.
The Impact of the Glorious Revolution and the American War of Independence on the French Revolution
• The Glorious Revolution of 1688 which saw the assertion of people’s power by English Parliamentarians, acted as a great source of inspiration for the French.
• The most immediate inspiration however, came from the American War of Independence.
• The writings of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson added to the democratic aspirations of the French.
• The French felt emboldened by the success of the Americans in overthrowing British rule, added to which, the American War depleted French finances and virtually brought France to the brink of bankruptcy. This helped hasten the French Revolution.
The Outbreak of the Revolution
The Outbreak of the Revolution
The Summoning of the Estates General, 5 May 1789: The Beginning the Bourgeois Revolution On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes.
• Out of total, the 1214 elected representatives, the clergy, constituting the First Estate, accounted for 308, the aristocrats of the Second Estate numbered 285 and the Third Estate numbered 621.
• In the past, voting in the Estates General followed the principle of one vote per estate. Louis XVI intended to maintain this system. However, the members of the Third Estate demanded a new approach—voting by head,
where each individual member would have one vote. When the king rejected their proposal, the Third Estate members walked out of the assembly in protest.
• On June 20, the members of the Third Estate gathered in the hall of an indoor tennis court at the Palace of Versailles. They boldly declared themselves the National Assembly and took an oath not to disband until they had created a constitution for France that would limit the king’s power. This moment became known as the Tennis Court Oath, with key figures like Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes leading the charge.
• Faced with this defiance, King Louis XVI was forced to agree to the demand for the Estates to meet together, breaking the tradition of separate sessions. This concession marked a crucial turning point and signalled the beginning of the end for the Ancient Regime.
The Fall of the Bastille, 14 July 1789
• Paris, the nerve center of French politics and administration, erupted in celebration following the bourgeoisie’s triumph at Versailles. However, the joy was short-lived. On 12 July, King Louis XVI dismissed the popular finance minister Necker and ordered troops to surround Paris, triggering widespread unrest.
• Riots and looting quickly spread across France and reached alarming levels in Paris. On 14 July, thousands of revolutionary Parisians stormed the Bastille—a fortress prison that, although nearly empty, had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchy. Around 8,000 people broke into the fort, killed the guards, and seized the weapons stored inside.
• The fall of the Bastille had profound consequences. It marked the collapse of royal absolutism in France, led to the lifting of press censorship, and confirmed the power of armed revolt. Within three days, the king withdrew the army and reinstated Necker. The aristocratic plot had been crushed, at least temporarily.
• A permanent committee formed earlier in Paris to coordinate resistance evolved into the Paris Commune, with Jean Sylvain Bailly appointed as mayor. To maintain order and protect property, the National Guard was established.
In a symbolic gesture, King Louis XVI visited Paris and appointed Marquis de Lafayette as commander-in-chief of the National Guard. As a result, administrative control of Paris shifted to the bourgeoisie. Furthermore, the fall of the Bastille ignited a wave of peasant revolts across the French countryside, deepening the revolutionary momentum.
The Spread of Rural Unrest
• The peasant revolt erupted in the French provinces in the wake of the fall of the Bastille and the setting up of the Paris Commune.
• Trouble had already broken out in the rural areas as early as December 1788 as the rural masses were discontented by feudal oppression.
• There was also an economic crisis and so, under the circumstances, the peasants of all the provinces of France stopped paying tithe. They refused to pay dues to their feudal lords and carry out their feudal duties.
• The attack on property unleashed in the wake of this widespread peasant revolt taught the members of the National Assembly a vital lesson.
• It became evident that in order to ensure the safety of property, some swift concessions would have to be granted to farmers and the feudal burden had to be removed.
• In a decree on 4 August 1789 as the clergy and aristocracy surrendered their special privileges and feudalism collapsed: the Ancient Regime came to an end.
The Work of the French Constituent Assembly
• The pledge to frame a new constitution made with the Tennis Court Oath of June 1789 by the representatives of the Third Estate finally materialized on 30 September 1791.
• When the Estates General started working on a new constitution, it became a Constituent Assembly and was the new focus of the Revolution.
• The newly elected National Assembly, renamed National Convention, first met in a session on 22 September 1792.
• The new constitution created what came to be called a constitutional monarchy. The power of enacting legislation to curb royal authority became vested in the unicameral legislature.
• The king had no authority to dissolve the Assembly. The principle of national sovereignty became applicable in all spheres administration. The French administration was completely decentralized.
• The new judicial system introduced by the Constituent Assembly enabled people, irrespective of their social status, to seek justice.
• The king no longer wielded power over the judiciary and, following the separation of powers; the executive had no control over the judiciary.
• In 1789 the old tax system was virtually abolished. Steps were taken to improve the fiscal condition of the government, i.e., tax was imposed on every landowner and on industry and commerce.
• Religious reform laws were codified in France with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy on 12 July 1790. The Church of France was made subservient to the state under the new law and the clergy thereafter became government employees.
Emergence of Political clubs
• Political clubs quickly became key places for people to gather, discuss government policies, and plan their actions. Among these, the Jacobin Club emerged as the most influential. The club took its name from the former St. Jacob convent in Paris.
• The Jacobin Club mainly attracted members from the lower, less affluent classes of society. These included small shopkeepers, artisans like shoemakers, pastry chefs, watchmakers, printers, as well as servants and day labourers.
• At the helm of the club was Maximilien Robespierre, who became its most prominent leader.
National Convention (1792- 95)
• On the inaugural day, the members unanimously declared France to be a republic (1792), i.e., the First French Republic.
• The members, despite their unanimous declaration, were sharply divided in their opinions. The Girondist- Jacobin conflict basically centered around the leadership of the Convention.
• The Girondists, ideologically speaking, held that under the Republic it was necessary to consolidate the successes of the revolution. For the Jacobins, on the other hand, the fruits of the revolution could not reach the people with mere declaration of the Republic.
• This accounted for sharp differences between the Girondists and Jacobins over the future of the deposed King Louis XVI.
• Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason. On 21 January 1793 he was executed publicly.
The Reign of Terror
• The period from 1793 to 1794 is known as the Reign of Terror. During this time, Robespierre implemented strict policies of control and harsh punishment.
• Anyone he considered an ‘enemy’ of the republic such as former nobles, clergy, members of rival political groups, and even dissenting members of his own party—was arrested, imprisoned, and brought before a revolutionary tribunal. If found ‘guilty,’ they were executed by guillotine.
• Robespierre enforced his policies with such intensity that even his allies began calling for moderation. Eventually, in July 1794, he was tried and found guilty by a court. He was arrested and executed by guillotine the following day.
A Directory Rules France
• The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power.
• A new constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society.
• The system established two elected legislative councils, which were responsible for appointing a five-member executive body known as the Directory.
• This structure was intended to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a single leader, as had happened under the Jacobins.
• However, frequent conflicts arose between the Directors and the legislative councils, with the latter often attempting to remove members of the Directory.
• This ongoing political instability eventually created the conditions for the rise of a military dictator—Napoleon Bonaparte.
Rise of Napoleon to Power
• In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France.
• With ambition to expand his empire, he set his sights on neighboring European countries, dismantling old dynasties and establishing new kingdoms, often placing his own family members at the helm.
• Napoleon saw himself as a force for modernizing Europe. He implemented significant reforms, such as safeguarding private property and introducing a standardized system of weights and measures based on the decimal system.
• At first, many viewed Napoleon as a liberator, bringing freedom and progress to the people. However, over time, his armies began to be seen as an invading force, imposing foreign rule.
• Napoleon’s reign came to an end with his defeat at
•
Waterloo in 1815. Nevertheless, the revolutionary ideas he spread throughout Europe, particularly regarding liberty and modern laws, left a lasting legacy
Results of the French Revolution
Results of the French Revolution
Political Reforms: The prime concern of the French Revolution was to ensure merit based equal rights for all, doing away with hereditary privileges.
Secularization: The church, in a word, ceased to have an independent identity and the state now turned secular. No less affected were the aristocracy who also lost their hereditary privileges following the abolition of feudalism. The bourgeoisie— comprising of writers, intellectuals, journalists, professors, artists, etc.—gained social status.
Social Reforms: The fall of the Ancient Regime led to improvement in the condition of the peasants. For the first time, they became free from the burden of paying taxes to the Church and the agonizing oppression of feudalism.
End of the Absolute Monarchy: The French Revolution put an end to divine and autocratic monarchy in France and set up a constitutional one in 1791 based on the English model.
• The French Revolution for the first time made it clear that sovereign power rested not with the king or an individual but with the people.
• It recognized the people’s right to governance, though bourgeois supremacy curbed the right of the people who were not given the voting right.
Conclusion:
The French Revolution influenced not only France but also different countries in Europe as well. From the French Revolution, Europe learnt nationalism and democratic ideals, besides human rights and individualism