The French Revolution

lay

th On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of Warm. The king had
commanded troops to move into the city. Rumours pread that he would soon order the army to
open fire upon the citizens. Some 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and
decided to form a peoples' militia. They broke into a number of tovernment buildings in search of
arms.

ne

y,

Finally, a group of several hundred people marched towards the eastern part of the city and
stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille, where they hoped to find hoarded ammunition. In the
armed fight that followed, the commander of the Bastille was killed and the prisoners released -
though there were only seven of them. Yet the Bastille was hated by all, because it stood for the
despotic power of the king. The fortress was demolished and its stone fragments were sold in
the markets to all those who wished to keep a souvenir of its destruction.

The days that followed saw more rioting both in Paris and the countryside. Most people were
protesting against the high price of bread. Much later, when historians looked back upon this
time, they saw it as the beginning of a chain of events that ultimately led to the execution of the
king in France, though most people at the time did not anticipate this outcome. How and why did
this happen?

Fig. 1-Stom

Soon after the

artists made

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France. He was 20
years old and married to the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette. Upon his accession the new
king found an empty treasury. Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France.
Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of
Versailles. Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their
independence from the common enemy, Britain. The war added more than a billion livres to a
debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion dvs. Lenders who gave the state credit, now
began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans. So the French government was obliged to spend
an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone. 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. Yet even this measure would not have
sufficed. French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates, and only
members of the third estate paid taxes.

The society of estates was part of the feudal system that dated back to the middle ages. The
term Old Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789.

Fig 2 shows how the system of estates in French society was organised. Peasants made up
about 90 per cent of the population. However, only a small number of them owned the land they
cultivated. About 60 per cent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer
members of the third estate. The members of the first two estates, that is, the clergy and the
nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. The most important of these was exemption from
paying taxes to the state. The nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges. These included feudal
dues, which they extracted from the peasants. Peasants were obliged to render services to the
lord to work in his house and fields - to serve in the army or to participate in building roads.

The Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants, and finally, all
members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state. These included a direct tax, called
taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like
salt or tobacco. The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the
third estate alone.

falt estate

Clergy

2nd estate

Nobility

3rd ostato

Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers etc.

Peasants and artisans

Small peasants, landless labour, servants

Fig. 2 A Society of Estates. Note that within the Third Estate some we rich and others poor.

New words

Livre Unit of currency in Fr discontinued in 1794

Clergy Group of persons investe special functions in the church Tithe-A tax levied by the church,
com one-tenth of the agricultural produce Taille-Tax to be paid directly to the state

"This poor fellow brings everything. grain, fruits, money, salad. The fat lord sits there, ready to
accept it all. He does not even care to grace him with a look.

Activity

Explain why the artist has portrays nobleman as the spider and the as the fly.

Paisan. In mouche

The nobleman is the spider, the peasant the fly.

'The more the devil has, the more he wants.

Diab

Fig.3- The Spider and the Fly. An anonymous etching.

1.1 The Struggle to Survive

The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789. This led to a
rapid increase in the demand for foodgrains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the
demand. So the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority ose rapidly. Most
workers were employed as labourers in workshops hose owner fixed their wages. But wages did
not keep pace with he rise in prices. So the gap between the poor and the rich widened. Things
became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest. his led to a subsistence crisis,
something that occurred frequently France during the Old Regime.

New words

Subsistence crisis-An extreme the basic means of livelihood Anonymous - One whose unknown

1.3 A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges

In the past, peasants and workers had participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food
scarcity. But they lacked the means and programmes to carry out full-scale measures that would
bring about a change in the social and economic order. This was left to those groups within the
third estate who had become prosperous and had access to education and new ideas.

Food rlots, scarcity of grain, increase number of deaths, rising food prices weaker bodies.

The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class,
who earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of
goods such as woollen and silk textiles that were either exported or bought by the richer
members of society. In addition to merchants and manufacturers, the third estate included
professions such as lawyers or administrative officials. All of these were educated and believed
that no group in society should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person's social position must
depend on his merit. These ideas envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and
opportunities for all, were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques
Rousseau. In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine
and absolute right

the monarch. Rousseau carried the ides forward, proposing rm of government based on a social
contract berween people od their representatives. In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu
opened a division of power within the government between e legislative, the executive and the
judiciaty. This model of wernment was put into force in the USA, after the thirteen slonics
declared their independence from Britain. The American onstitution and its guarantee of
individual rights was an important xample for political thinkers in France.

The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons nd coffee-houses and
spread among people through books and newspapers. These were frequently read aloud in
groups for the benefit of those who could not read and write. The news that Louis XVI planned
to impose further taxes to be able to meet the expenses of the state generated anger and
protest against the system of privileges.

Source A

Accounts of lived experiences in the Old Regime

1. Georges Danton, who later became active in revolutionary politics, wrote to a friend in 1793,
looking back upon the time when he had just completed his studies:

'I was educated in the residential college of Plessis. There I was in the company of important
men... Once my studies ended, I was left with nothing. I started looking for a post. It was
impossible to find one at the law courts in Paris. The choice of a career in the army was not
open to me as I was not a noble by birth, nor did I have a patron. The church too could not offer
me a refuge. I could not buy an office as I did not possess a sou. My old friends turned their
backs to me... the system had provided us with an education without however offering a field
where our talents could be utilised.

2. An Englishman, Arthur Young, travelled through France during the years from 1787 to 1789
and wrote detailed descriptions of his journeys. He often commented on what he saw.

'He who decides to be served and waited upon by slaves, ill-treated slaves at that, must be fully
aware that by doing so he is placing his property and his life in a situation which is very different
from that he would be in, had he chosen the services of free and well- treated men. And he who
chooses to dine to the accompaniment of his victims' groans, should not complain if during a riot
his daughter gets kidnapped or his son's throat is slit.'

tivity

What message is Young trying to convey here? Whom does he mean when he spea

Who is he criticising? What dangers does he sense in the situation of 1787?

The Outbreak of the Revolution

LXVI had incretes for reasons you have learnt in the previous section. How do you think he
could have gone about doing the? In Praner of the Old Regine de monach did we have the
poreer so pone asesinakne Rather he had so call a meeting of the Extes Genend which would
then pass his pemposals for new trees. The Esas General sess a political body which the
thouve errares sent their representatives. Howere, the monarch Wiese nal desde hastala
morting of this body. The

it was done was in 1614

Os 5 Mar 1780, Louis XVI called together an sesembly of the Estates General to pass proposals
for new taxes. A resplendent hall in Versailles was prepared to host the delegates. The first and
second estees sent 300 rupeesentatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other on
two sides, while the 600 members of the third extate had to stand at the back. The third estate
was represented by its more pemperosun and educated members. Peasants, artisans and
women were denied entry to the assembly. However, their grievances, and demands were listed
in some 40,000 letters which the representatives had brought with them.

Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that
each estate had one vote. This time too Louis XVI was determined to continue the same
practice. But members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the
assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. This was one of the
democratic principles put forward by philosophers like Rousseau in his book The Social
Contract. When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the
assembly in protest.

The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French
nation. On 20 June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of
Versailles. They declared themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they
had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch. They were led
by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyes. Mirabeau was bom in a noble family but was convinced of the
need to do away with a society of feudal privilege. He brought out a journal and delivered
powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.

Activity

Some Important dates

1774 Loule XVI becomes king of France empty breasury and growing decor within society of the
Old Regine

1789 Convocation of Extates Ganerat, Thay Extane forms National Assembly, the Bastile is
stonned, peasant revolts toureyede

1791 A conetution is tramed to limit the pow of the king and to guarantee basic righis all fuman
beings

1783-43 France becomes a republic, the king la beneaded

Overthrow of the Jacobin reputilic, a Directory rules France

1804

Napoleon becomes emperor of France annexes large parts of Europe

1815

Napoleon defeated at Watarios

Representatives of the Third Estate ta cath raising their arms in the direction Bailly, the
President of the Assembly. standing on a table in the centre. Do think that during the actual
event Ball would have stood with his back to the assembled deputies? What could ha been
David's intention in placing Bai (Fig.5) the way he has done?

Fig.5- The Tennis Court Oath

Preparatory sketch for a large painting by Jacques-Louis David. The painting was intended to
be hung in the National Assembly

Abbé Sieyes, originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called What is the Third Estate?

While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France
seethed with turmoil. A severe winter had meant a bad harvest, the price of bread rose, often
bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. 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 had hired
bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops. Caught in a frenzy of fear,
peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux. They looted
hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. A large number
of nobles fled from their homes, many of them migrating to neighbouring countries.

Faced with the power of his revolting subjects, Louis XVI finally from one point to another.
accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would
from now on be checked by a onstitution. On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed
a ecree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes. Members the clergy too were
forced to give up their privileges. Tithes were bolished and lands owned by the Church were
confiscated. As a sult, the government acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livres,

NETHERLANDS

La Ma

SPAIN

Regions not affected by the Gims For Areas of agrariansarly 1719

Epicemres of the Great Fra

Fig.6 The spread of the Great Fear.

The map shows how bands of peasants s

New words

Chateau (pl. chateaux) Castle or residence belonging to a king or a no Manor An estate

consisting of the lands and his mansion
2.1 France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to
limit the powers of the monarch. These powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of
one person, were now separated and assigned to different institutions - the legislature,
executive and judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy. Fig. 7 explains how the
new political system worked.

Judiciary

Judge

VOTE

Executive

King

Ministers

CONTROL

VETO

CONTROL

Legislature

National Assembly (745 members)

VOTE

Electors (50,000 men)

VOTE

Active citizens: entitled to vote. About 4 milion of a population of 28 million

Passive citizens: no voting rights. About 3 million men

Women, children and youth below 25.

Fig. 7- The Political sytstem under the Constitution of 1791.

The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was
indirectly elected. That is, citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly.
Not all citizens, however, had the right to vote. 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 citizens, that is, they
were entitled to vote. The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens. To
qualify as an elector and then as a member of the Assembly, a man had to belong to the highest
bracket of taxpayers.

10

1790 The furtheFace

Source C

The Declaration of Rights of an and Citizen

1. Men are born remain free and equal in rights

2. The aim of every political association is reservation of the the preservation of the natural
natural and hallenable rights of man these are liberty, property, security and resistance to
oppension

3. The source of all sovereignty resides the nation, no group or individual may exercise authority
that does not come from the people

Liberty consists of whatever is not not i the power Injurious to others.

5. The law has the right to forted only actions that Injurious to society

6. Law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to participate in its
formation, personally or through ther representatives all citizens. before it ‫م‬qual

7. No man may be accused, arrested or detained, except in cases determined t the law.

11. Every citizen may speak, write and print freely; he must take responsibility for the abuse of
such liberty in cases determined by the law.

12. For the maintenance of the public force and for the expenses of administration a common
tax is indispensable, it must be assessed equally on all citizens in proportion to their means.
17. Since property is a sacred and inviolable right, no one may be deprived of it, unless a legally
established public necessity requires it. In that case a just compensation must be given in
advance.

Comatmunion began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights such as the
right to life, freedom of speech, Freedom of pinion, equality before law, were established as
natutal and inalienable nights, that is, they belonged to each human being w birth and could not
be taken away. It was the duty of the state to motect each enzen's natural rights

Source B

The revolutionary journalist Jean-Paul Marat commented in his newspaper L'Ami du peuple
(The friend of the people) on the Constitution drafted by the National Assembly:

The task of representing the people has been given to the rich the lot of the poor and oppressed
will never be improved by peaceful means alone. Here we have absolute proof of how wealth
influences t the law. Yet laws will last only as long as the people agree to obey them. And when
they have managed to cast off the yoke of the aristocrats, they will do the same to the other
owners of wealth

Source: An extract from the newspaper L'Ami du peuple

Box 1

Reading political symbols The majority of men and women in the eighteenth century could not
read or write, Spaimages and s

were frequently used instead of printed words to communicate important ideas. The painting by

frequently such symbols to convey the content of the Declaration of Rights. Let us try to read

these symbols.

The broken chain: Chains were used to fetter slaves. A broken chain stands for the act of
becoming free.

The bundle of rods or fasces: One rod can be easily broken, but not an entire bundle. Strength
lies in unity.

The eye within a triangle radiating light: The all- seeing eye stands for knowledge. The rays of
the sun will drive away the clouds of ignorance.

Sceptre: Symbol of royal power.

yon

Snake biting its tail to form a ring: Symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither beginning nor end.

ed Phrygian cap: Cap worn by a slave on becoming free.

Blue-white-red: The national colours of France.

winged woman: onification of the law.

Law Tablet: The law is the same for all, II are equal before it.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

The situation in France continued to be tense during the following years. Although Louis XVI
had signed the Constitution, 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 put down the events that had been taking place there since the summer
of 1789. Before this could happen, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war
against Prussia and Austria. Thousands of volunteers thronged from the provinces to join the
army. They saw this as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies all over Europe.
Among the patriotic songs they sang was the Marseillaise, composed by the poet Roger de
L'Isle. It was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and
so got its name. The Marseillaise is now the national anthem of France.

The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people. While the men
were away fighting at the front, women were left to cope with the tasks of earning a living and
looking after their families. Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution
had to be carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer
sections of society. Political clubs became an important rallying point for 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, which got its name from the former convent of St Jacob in Paris.
Women too, who had been active throughout this period, formed their own clubs. Section 4 of
this chapter will tell you more about their activities and demands.

The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society.
They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers,
printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers. Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.
A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those
worn by dock workers. This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of
society, especially nobles, who wore knee breeches. It
mporary World

New words

Convent - Building belonging to a community devoted to a religious life

14

Fig.9-A

sans-culottes couple.

Fig. 10-Nanine Vallain. Liberty.

This is one of the rare paintings by a wor

The revolutionary events made it po

women to train with established paint

exhibit their works in the Salon, whic

exhibition held every two years.

The painting is a female allegory of libe

is, the female form symbolises the idea

Activity

Look carefully at the painting and

objects which are political symbo

Box 1 (broken chain, red cap, fa

of the Declaration of Rights). The

stands for equality, often represe

triangle. Use the symbols to inte

painting. Describe your impress

female figure of liberty.

s a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by the earers of knee breeches. These
Jacobins came to be known as the s-culottes, literally meaning 'those without knee breeches'.
Sans- lottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolised liberty. omen however were not
allowed to do so.

the summer of 1792 the Jacobins planned an insurrection of a arge number of Parisians who
were angered by the short supplies nd high prices of food. On the morning of August 10 they
stormed he Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king's guards and held the king himself as
hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly oted 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 21 September 1792 it abolished the
monarchy and declared France republic. As you know, a republic is a form of government where
the people elect the government including the head of the

government. There is no hereditary monarchy. You can try and find out about some other
countries that are republics and investigate when and how they became so.

Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason. On 21 January 1793 he
was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde. The queen Marie Antoinette met with the
same fate shortly after.

3.1 The Reign of Terror

The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a policy
of severe control and punishment. All those whom he saw as being 'enemies' of the republic
ex-nobles and clergy, members of other political parties, even members of his own party who
did not agree with his methods were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary
tribunal. If the court found them 'guilty' they were guillotined. The guillotine is a device consisting
of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named after Dr Guillotin who
invented it.

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; all
citizens were required to eat the pain d'égalité (equality bread), a loaf made of wholewheat.
Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address. Instead of the
traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and women were henceforth
Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen). Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into
barracks or offices.
Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly 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.

Activity

Compare the views of Desmoulins and Robespierre. How does each one understand the use of
state force? What does Robespierre mean by 'the war of liberty against tyranny'? How does
Desmoulins perceive liberty? Refer once more to Source C. What did the constitutional laws on
the rights of individuals lay down? Discuss your views on the subject in class.

16

New words

Treason Betrayal of one's cotin government

Source D.

What is liberty? Two conflicting w The revolutionary Journalist Desmoulins wrote the following in
17 was executed shortly after, during the of Terror.

'Some people believe that Liberty is child, which needs to go through a p being disciplined
before it attains m Quite the opposite. Liberty is Hap Reason, Equality, Justice, it is the Dea of
Rights... You would like to finis your enemies by guillotining the anyone heard of something
more sem Would it be possible to bring a single to the scaffold without making te enemies
among his relations and frie

On 7 Februar

Robespierre

speech at

Convention, w

then carried newspaper Le Universel. He extract from "To establish and consolidate deme
achieve the peaceful rule of cons laws, we must first finish the war against tyranny.... We must
anni enemies of the republic at home an or else we shall perish. In time of a democratic
government may rely Terror is nothing but justice, sw and inflexible; ... and is used tom most
urgent needs of the fatherlan the enemies of Liberty through te right of the founder of the Repu
11-The revolutionary government sought to mobilise the loyalty of its subjects through various
means - one of was the staging of festivals like this one. Symbols from civilisations of ancient
Greece and Rome were used to convey aura of a hallowed history. The pavilion on the raised
platform in the middle carried by classical columns was made of shable material that could be
dismantled. Describe the groups of people, their clothes, their roles and actions. What -ession of
a revolutionary festival does this image convey?

Directory Rules France

fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle s to seize power. A new constitution
was introduced which d the vote to non-propertied sections of society. It provided o elected
legislative councils. These then appointed a Directory, cutive made up of five members. This
was meant as a safeguard st the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under
cobins. However, the Directors often clashed with the legislative ils, who then sought to dismiss
them. The political instability Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Leon
Bonaparte.

gh all these changes in the form of government, the ideals of m, of equality before the law and
of fraternity remained inspiring That motivated political movements in France and the rest of
Europe the following century.

4 Did Women have a Revolution?

Fig. 12-Parisian women on their way to Versailles. This print is one of the many pictorial
representations of the events of 5 October 1789, when women marched to Ve

and brought the king back with them to Paris.

From the very beginning women were active participants in the events which brought about so
many important changes in French society. 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. They worked as seamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers,
fruits and vegetables at the market, or were employed as domestic servants in the houses of
prosperous people. Most women did not have access to education or job training. Only
daughters of nobles or wealthier members of the third estate could study at a convent, after
which their families arranged a marriage for them. Working women had also to care for their
families, that is, cook, fetch water, queue up for bread and look after the children. Their wages
were lower than those of men.

In order to discuss and voice their interests women started their own molitical clubs and
newspapers. About sixty women's clubs came up different French cities. The Society of
Revolutionary and publican Women was the most famous of them. One of their

Activity
Describe the persons represented in

Fig. 12-their actions, their postures

objects they are carrying. Look care

see whether all of them come from

same social group. What symbols b

artist included in the image? What d

stand for? Do the actions of the wor

reflect traditional ideas of how wome

were expected to behave in public?"

do you think: does the artist sympa

with the women's activities or is he

of them? Discuss your views in the

on demands was that women enjoy the same political rights as Women were disappointed that
the Constitution of 1791 reduced em to passive citizens. They demanded the right to vote, to be
ted to the Assembly and to hold political office. Only then, they would their interests be
represented in the new government.

the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws helped improve the lives of
women. Together with the creation tate schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
Their hers could no longer force them into marriage against their will. rriage was made into a
contract entered into freely and registered Her civil law. Divorce was made legal, and could be
applied for by th women and men. Women could now train for jobs, could come artists or run
small businesses.

men's struggle for equal political rights, however, continued. ring the Reign of Terror, the new
government issued laws ordering sure of women's clubs and banning their political activities.
Many minent women were arrested and a number of them executed.
men's movements for voting rights and equal wages continued wugh the next two hundred
years in many countries of the world. fight for the vote was carried out through an international
rage movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth uries. The example of the political
activities of French women ng the revolutionary years was kept alive as an inspiring memory.
ms finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.

ce E.

me life of a revolutionary woman - Olympe de Gouges 748-1793)

mpe de Gouges was one of the most important of the politically ive women in revolutionary
France. She protested against the Institution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
as y excluded women from basic rights that each human being was tled to. So, in 1791, she
wrote a Declaration of the Rights of man and Citizen, which she addressed to the Queen and to
the mbers of the National Assembly, demanding that they act upon 1793, Olympe de Gouges
criticised the Jacobin government orcibly closing down women's clubs. She was tried by the
onal Convention, which charged her with treason. Soon after she was executed.

19

Source F

Some of the basic rights set forth in Olympe de Gouges' Declaration.

1. Woman is bom free and remains equal to man in rights.

2. The goal of all political associations is the preservation of the natural rights of woman and
man: These rights are liberty, property, security, and above all resistance to oppression.

3. The source of all sovereignty resides in the nation, which is nothing but the union of woman
and man.

4. The law should be the expression of the general will; all female and male citizens should
have a say either personally or by their representatives in its formulation; it should be the same
for all. All female and male citizens are equally entitled to all honours and public employment
according to their abilities and without any other distinction than that of their talents.

5. No woman is an exception; she is accused, arrested, and detained in cases determined by

law. Women, like men, obey this rigorous law.

Th

e of
the

Cam

port

co

India and the Contemporary World

20

Fig. 13- Women queuing up at a bakery.

Activity

Imagine yourself to be one of the women in Fig. 13. Formulate a response to the arguments put
forward by Chaumette (Source G).

Activity

th

Compare the manifesto drafted by Olyne

Gouges (Source F) with the Declaration

Rights of Man and Citizen (Source C)

Source G

In 1793, the Jacobin politician Chaur

sought to justify the closure of wor

clubs on the following grounds:

'Has Nature entrusted domestic duti

men? Has she given us breasts to ne

babies?

No.
She said to Man:

Be a man. Hunting, agriculture, politicall ... that is your kingdom.

She said to Woman:

Be a woman.... the things of the hou the sweet duties of motherhood

are your tasks.

Shameless are those women, who

become men. Have not duties bes

distributed?”

The Abolition of Slavery

me of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime the abolition of slavery in the
French colonies. The colonies in Caribbean-Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo - were
portant suppliers of commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar coffee. But the reluctance of
Europeans to go and work in distant unfamiliar lands meant a shortage of labour on the
plantations. this was met by a triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa the Americas. The
slave trade began in the seventeenth century ench merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux
or Nantes to African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains. anded and shackled,
the slaves were packed tightly into ships for three-month long voyage across the Atlantic to the
Caribbean. ere they were sold to plantation owners. The exploitation of slave our made it
possible to meet the growing demand in European ckets for sugar, coffee, and indigo. Port cities
like Bordeaux and antes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing slave trade.

roughout the eighteenth century there was little criticism of slavery France. The National
Assembly held long debates about whether rights of man should be extended to all French
subjects including ose in the colonies. But it did not pass any laws, fearing opposition m
businessmen whose incomes depended on the slave trade. It finally the Convention which in
1794 legislated to free all slaves the French overseas possessions. This, however, turned out to
be hort-term measure: ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery. antation owners
understood their freedom as including the right enslave African Negroes in pursuit of their
economic interests. very was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

New words

Negroes A term used for the indigenous people of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a derogatory
term not in common use any longer
Emancipation The act of freeing

Fig. 14- The emancipation of slaves, This print of 1794 describes the emancipation of slaves.
The tricolour banner on top carries the slogan: "The rights of man'. The inscription below reads:
The freedom of the unfree". A French woman prepares to civillise the African and American
Indian slaves by giving them European clothes to wear

Activity

Record your impressions of this print (Fig. 14). Describe the objects lying on the ground. What
do they symbolise? What attitude does the picture express towards non-European slaves?

The French Resolation

21

The Revolution and Everyday Life

Can politics change the clothes people wear, the language they speak or the books they read?
The years following 1789 in France saw many such changes in the lives of men, women and
children. The revolutionary governments took it upon themselves to pass laws that would
translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.

One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of
1789 was the abolition of censorship. In the Old Regime all written material and cultural
activities - books, newspapers, plays - could be published or performed only after they had been
approved by the censors of the king. Now 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. They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in
France. Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.
Each side sought to convince the others of its position through the medium of print. Plays,
songs and festive processions attracted large numbers of people. This was one way they could
grasp and identify with ideas such as liberty or justice that political philosophers wrote about at
length in texts which only a handful of educated people could read.

Activity

Describe the picture in your own w

are the images that the artist has

communicate the following ideas

equality, justice, takeover by the st

assets of the church?

15-The patriotic fat-reducing press.

anonymous print of 1790 seeks to make the idea of justice tangible.

Fig. 16-Marat addressing the people. This is a painting by Louis-Leopold Boilly.

Recall what you have learnt about Marat in this chapter. Describe the scene around him.
Account for P

What kinds of reactions would a painting like this produce among viewers in the Salon?

Conclusion

In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France. He set out to conquer
neighbouring European countries, dispossessing Hynasties and creating kingdoms where he
placed members of his family. Napóleon 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 saw Napoleon as a liberator who
would bring freedom for the people. But soon the Napoleonic armies came to be viewed
everywhere as an invading force. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815. Many of his
measures that carried the revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern laws to other parts of
Europe had an impact on people long after-Napoleon had left.

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

Fig. 17 Napoleon cro

by David.

were abolished. Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their
movements to create a sovereign nation state. Tipu Sultan and Rammohan Roy are two
examples of individuals who responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France.

Activities

Box 2
Raja Rammohan Roy was one of tho was inspired by new ideas that were o through Europe at
that time. The Revolution and later, the July Revolution his imagination.

'He