CHAPTER- 1 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
NOTES
1. In the year 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon dynasty ascended the throne of France.
- He was married to Marie Antoinette, the princess of Austria.
- Due to prolonged wars, France’s financial resources had been depleted.
- During the reign of Louis XVI, France assisted the 13 American colonies in gaining independence from their common enemy, Britain.
- As a result of this war, France accumulated a debt of more than ten billion livres, in addition to the existing burden of two billion livres.
2. During the 18th century, French society was divided into three estates:
- First Estate: It included the clergy of the Church.
- Second Estate: It consisted of the nobility of French society.
- Third Estate: It comprised large merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, and underground workers.
3. The first two estates, the nobility and the clergy, were granted certain privileges by birth. For example, they were exempt from paying taxes to the state.
4. The Third Estate had no special privileges and was the only group required to pay all the taxes to the state.
5. Tithe– A portion of taxes collected by the Church from the peasants; a type of religious tax.
Taille– A direct tax imposed by the government on the Third Estate, paid directly to the state.
6. Livelihood crisis- A critical situation when even the minimum means of survival start to be in jeopardy.
7. Middle class- In the 18th century, a new social group emerged known as the middle class, which had acquired wealth through expanding overseas trade and the production of woolen and silk goods.
8. John Locke, in his book Two Treatises of Government, refuted the doctrine of the divine right of kings and absolute authority.
- Montesquieu, in his work The Spirit of the Laws, advocated for the separation of powers between the legislature, executive, and judiciary within a government.
9. The Beginning of the Revolution-
- Estates-General (Representative Assembly)- It was a political institution in which representatives from all three estates would send their delegates. Its last meeting was convened in 1614. French Emperor Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates-General on May 5, 1789, to approve the proposal for new taxes.
- Voting was a democratic principle that was presented as an ideal by Rousseau in his book The Social Contract.
- On the night of August 4, 1789, the Assembly passed a decree to abolish the feudal system, including taxes, duties, and obligations.
France became a constitutional monarchy– the National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main objective was to limit the powers of the king.
- Instead of being centralized in the hands of one person, these powers were now divided and transferred to various institutions – the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
10. Abolition of the monarchy and establishment of the republic in France-
- People gathered in political clubs to debate government policies and their own plans of action. Among them, the Jacobin Club was the most successful, named after the former Convent of Saint-Jacques in Paris.
- On 21st September 1792, the monarchy was abolished, and France was declared a republic.
- Louis XVI was sentenced to death by the court on charges of treason. On 21st January 1793, he was publicly executed by guillotine at Place de la Concorde.
Reign of Terror-
- The period from 1793 to 1794 is known as the Reign of Terror.
- The government of Robespierre enacted laws to fix the maximum limits on wages and prices.
- Farmers were compelled to sell grain at prices determined by the government.
- Churches were shut down, and their buildings were converted into barracks or offices.
Directory-ruled France-
- Under the new constitution, the property-less classes were deprived of voting rights. This constitution provided for two elected legislative councils.
- These councils appointed an executive body of five members, known as the Directory.
- The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of the military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.
11. Revolution for Women-
- Most women of the Third Estate worked to earn a livelihood.
- Only the daughters of wealthy Third Estate families could study in convents, after which they were married off.
- Women started their own political clubs and newspapers to advocate for their interests and discuss issues. The most famous club was The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women.
- In the early years, the revolutionary government implemented some laws to improve women's lives.
- School education was made compulsory for all girls.
- Fathers could not force them into marriage against their will.
- Divorce was legalized.
- In 1946, women in France gained the right to vote.
12. Abolition of Slavery-
- The Europeans’ reluctance to travel to distant and unfamiliar lands for work led to a labor shortage on plantations. This shortage was filled through the triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa, and America.
- Ports like Bordeaux and Nantes prospered and became wealthy cities due to the thriving slave trade.
- In 1794, the Convention passed a law granting freedom to all slaves in the French colonies. However, ten years later, Napoleon reinstated slavery.
- Slavery was finally abolished in the French colonies in 1848.
13. Revolution and Everyday Life-
- Revolutionary governments attempted to bring the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday life through laws.
- One of the most significant laws introduced in the summer of 1789, after the fall of the Bastille, was the abolition of censorship.
- This became a popular way for people to understand and engage with the scholarly writings of politicians and philosophers on liberty and justice, as reading books was only possible for a small, educated minority.
