History
Chapter 9: French Revolution
French Society Before the Revolution
1774, King Louis XVI ascended the throne of France at the age of 20. He was
married to Marie Antoinette and led an extravagant life.
He decided to support the American War of Independence and hence increased
France’s debt to over 3 billion Livres.
The 18th century French society was divided into three estates. The first estate
consisted of the clergy.
The second estate comprised the nobility while the third estate, which formed
about 97% of the population, consisted of the merchants, officials, peasants,
artisans and servants.
The clergy and nobility did not have to pay any taxes. It was only the third estate
that paid taxes. A part of third class called the middle class was part of the third
estate. This group consisted of educated people such as teachers, lawyers, artisans
and merchants. They started to question the privileges being enjoyed by the
nobility.
In the midst these thoughts, the increase in the price of bread added to the
existing taxes, resulting in riots. King Louis decided to convene the Estates General
and put forth his proposal.
Outbreak of the Revolution
The financial condition in France was in a pitiable state. Louis had almost
bankrupted France with a 3 million livre debt. In order to increase the taxes to
offset this permission was needed from all three estates.
The Estates General was convened on 5th May 1789 at Versailles comprising
representatives from all three estates.
The members of the third estate gathered on 20th June, 1789 in Versailles and
declared themselves as the National Assembly and decided to draft a constitution
that would limit the powers of the King.
Their key leaders were Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes. On August 4th 1789 Louis
recognized the National Assembly and agreed to abide by their framework. The
National Assembly abolished the feudal system of taxes, tithes and the special
privileges enjoyed by the clergy and nobles by birth.
France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy
So the recognition of the National Assembly by King Louis and him agreeing to their
demands was a victory for the entire Third Estate.
In 1791, the National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution. As per the
new constitution, France became a constitutional monarchy with the King, or the
Executive, having to share power with the legislature and the Judiciary.
Only men who were older than 25 years and who paid taxes were allowed to vote.
The constitution commenced with the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
It stated that the right to life, to freedom of speech, to freedom of opinion and to
equality before the law was intrinsic to all human beings.
Visual symbols were used to share the message to the uneducated and illiterate people:
• The broken chains stood for freedom
• The blue white and red symbolized the national colours of France
• The Red Phrygian cap was a sign of freedom and was worn by slaves when they became
free
• The all seeing eye stood for knowledge
• The self devouring snake indicated eternity
• The bundle of rods of fasces indicated strength in unity
• The winged woman stood for the law
• The sceptre was a symbol of royal power
• The tablet also known as the law tablet signified equality
All women and children, and men who did not fall into the category of active
citizens, were termed passive citizens, and were denied the right to vote.
The preamble to the constitution of 1791 consisted of the Declaration of the Rights
of Man and Citizen. These rights included the rights to life, the freedom of speech,
the freedom of opinion and equality before the law.
France Becomes a Republic
The National Assembly succeeded in making France into a constitutional monarchy.
King Louis XVI deprived of all his powers conspired to dissolve the National
Assembly with the King of Prussia, Frederick William II.
The most successful political club was Jacobins, headed by Maximilian Robespierre.
Jacobins were also called sansculottes which meant ‘those without knee breeches’.
They wore long striped trousers similar to dock workers and wore a red Phrygian
cap that symbolized liberty.
On August 10, 1792 people stormed the palace of the Tuileries where King Louis
and his family were hostage. On September 21, 1792 a new assembly called the
Convention was formed and France was declared a Republic.
The national committee put King Louis on trial and found him guilty. On January
21, 1793, King Louis was beheaded while Queen Marie Antoinette was guillotined
on October 16th of the same year.
The Reign of Terror
King Louis was executed on 21st January 1793 at the Palace de la Concorde
followed by the execution of the queen. The year following the formation of the
French republic is referred to as the reign of terror.
Maximilian Robespierre suspended the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
Robespierre started executing people he suspected of counter-terrorist activities.
Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern Chemistry, famous for discovering Oxygen
and Hydrogen was executed.
Many rules were enforced on social and economic front. Camille Desmoulins, a
revolutionary journalist opposed the Reign of Terror but was eventually executed.
In July 1794, Robespierre was charged with treason and sentenced to death. With
the death of Robespierre ended the reign of terror.
Did Women have a Revolution?
Women came into the forefront on October 5, 1789, when they marched to
Versailles and brought King Louis the sixteenth back to Paris.
The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was formed in 1793 to voice
its opinion and grievances against the constitution of 1791 which denied them the
right to vote.
The eminent writer and political activist, Olympe de Gouges opposed the
constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen of 1791. She later
drafted the Declaration of Rights for Women and Citizen.
Olympe de Gouges was charged with treason and was guillotined on November 2,
1793.
The revolution carried out by the women of France triggered the international
suffrage movement, for the next two centuries. As a result of this movement, in
1946, the women of France won the right to exercise their franchise and equal
wages.
The Abolition of Slavery
Before the French Revolution in 1789, France had three colonies of the Caribbean -
Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo under its control. These places were
major suppliers of sugar, coffee, indigo and tobacco.
The triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa and America began in the 17th
century.
Merchants sailed from the French ports to the African coast where they bought
Negroes, who are natives of Africa, from the local chieftains.
Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes were flourishing economically because of the
slave trade.
The National Convention voted to abolish slavery in all the French colonies on
February 4, 1794.
Slavery was reintroduced in the French colonies by Napoleon Bonaparte. Slavery
was finally abolished in 1848 by the French Second Republic.
Revolution and Everyday Life
After 1789 there was a significant difference in the lives of the French people, in
the way they dressed, the language they spoke and the books they read.
After the storming of the Bastille in July 1789, censorship was abolished.
The government put into practice the ideologies of liberty, equality and fraternity.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen contained in the Preamble of the
Constitution of 1791 asserted that every citizen had the right to freedom of speech
and expression.
Written material such as newspapers, books, pamphlets and pictures were spread
throughout France.
Printed pictures and paintings were circulated, and pamphlets and books were
read aloud for the illiterate. Plays, songs and processions made it easy for the
common people to grasp the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and justice.
Freedom of the press in the Declaration of 1791 supported the right to oppose
views of events. This paved way for political clubs to convince the others of their
position through the medium of print.
