04 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
DIFFICULT TIMES FOR THE MONARCHY
In the last third of the 18th century
reign of Louis XVI
France
model of absolute monarchy
ruled under the principles of enlightened despotism
In 1789
the combination of a series of factors
triggered the revolution.
FACTORS THAT TRIGGERED THE REVOLUTION
The liberal ideas of the Enlightenment
The example of the United States
Inequality before the law
Economic crisis
Political unrest
Social inequalities
They had become popular amongst large segments of the population
amongst the nobility and clergy
Criticism of absolutism and the division of society
into estates of the realm became widespread
called for the separation of powers and equality
French people
as the marquess of Lafayette
had fought on the side of the colonists
the American War of Independence
Some of the delegates
signed the Declaration of Independence
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
feudal societies from the Old Regime
noblemen
clerics
estate privileges
not pay direct taxes
even though they were the richest estates
bourgeoisie and the peasantry
agreed that neither the nobility or the clergy
provided any economic benefit to society as a whole.
After the Seven Years’ Wa
France lost
Canada and possessions of India and Africa against Great Britain
affected the Royal Treasury
forced to pay the huge debts it had taken on to finance the war
court at Versailles did not reduce its spending on luxuries.
an atmosphere of great political unrest in France
Many propaganda pamphlets criticising the Old Regime
The king and queen were openly criticised and discredited
more than 25,000 books of grievances
were compiled in France’s towns and cities
Citizens and peasants described their complaints and demands in these books.
The population had grown a lot throughout the 18th century
farming production
could no longer meet the demand for food during poor harvests
Under these conditions
in which existing social inequalities became more evident
Parisians went hungry and had no resources
PHASES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
THE ESTATES-GENERAL (1789)
NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY (1789–1791)
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (1791–1792)
NATIONAL CONVENTION (1792–1795)
THE DIRECTORY (1795–1799)
THE CONSULATE (1799–1804)
The French Revolution was a long revolutionary process
that began in 1789
finished in 1804
Its first phase began when King Louis XVI
assembled a consultative Parliament, the Estates-General
when the Napoleonic Empire was founded
was typical of the Old Regime
representation was based on class or estates-General
the clergy
commoners
the nobility
The Estates-General
was assembled because the Royal Treasury
had problems paying its expenses
It proposed that the rich pay taxes
As it was an estate assembly
the voting system was one vote per estate
third estate wanted it to be individual
one vote per attendee
this would win the majority vote
the nobility and clergy rejected this so the Estates-General were dissolved.
The third estate delegate
formed the National Assembly
declared themselves the only representatives of the French people
National Assembly was doing its work
the social situation got worse
In the countryside
nobles’ homes were raided
Parisians rose up and attacked the Bastille prison
held political prisoners of the absolute monarchy
soldiers defending
opened the doors so they could escape
The king could not dissolve the Assembly
which introduced reforms such as
the establishment of censitary suffrage
the creation of a single direct and universal tax
the abolition of feudal privileges
He also drew up the Constitution of 1791
which established the division of powers
with the king holding the executive power
incorporated the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Although Louis XVI seemed to accept the situation
he contacted other absolute monarchies
to conspire against the new regime
He wanted to take advantage
the alarm in European courts about what was happening in France
But he was discovered and detained in the Tuileries Palace
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
Once the Constitution was approved
the Constituent Assembly was dissolved
elections were held following censitary suffrage
The results determined the formation of the Legislative Assembly
According to the new constitutional order
it was in charge of preparing the laws
In addition, three new political tendencies appeared
The Girondins
The Jacobins
The Plain
They were deputies
who were in the majority
and did not belong to any party.
With the second highest number of representatives
they were moderates
federalists
supporters of the parliamentary monarchy.
They were radical liberals
centralists
supporters of the Republic
who were in the minority.
Meanwhile, the absolutist powers of Austria and Prussia
attacked France and threatened Paris in 1792
The sans-culottes rose up
as they were suspicious of the loyalty of a king
who had conspired with the invaders
The Legislative Assembly suspended
he executive power of the king
and called elections by universal manhood suffrage
After the elections
he Assembly assumed legislative and executive powers
becoming a National Convention
new Constitution was to be created
but because of the war
the priority was fighting the invaders
who were defeated at the decisive Battle of Valmy
Although the Jacobins obtained more representatives than the Girondins
in the elections, they did not win a majority
However
the Convention removed and imprisoned Louis XVI
the Republic was proclaimed in September 1792.
the following months the Jacobins took control of the Convention
which voted for more radical measures as the war abroad escalated
The Convention drew up a Constitution that was never approved
Inspired by the Jacobins, it envisaged greater political democratisation
by establishing universal manhood suffrage and distributing wealth
giving people the right to food, education and work.
The new Constitution was approved in 1795
It was less open in rights
and freedoms than the one from 1791
The new legal text established an executive power called the ‘Directory’
The new government faced the constant threat of foreign warfare
France was still the target of international counter-revolutionary coalitions
It also faced internal conspiracies and rebellions led by monarchists and revolutionaries
Internal instability and the lack of a definitive victory abroad led to a new coup d’état.
The most prestigious French general, Napoleon Bonaparte,
led a coup d’état in 1799
seized power and drew up another constitution that same year
new constitutional text established a Congress and a Senate with very few powers
whereas the Consulate, which was the government, had executive and legislative powers
Napoleon could therefore rule in an authoritarian way as the first consul of the Republic
This declaration was set by France’s National Constituent Assembly
It served as the basis for abolishing the Old Regime in France
also inspired today’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These were some of the most notable articles:
Article 1
Article 3
Article 11
Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.
The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation.
The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man.
This motto eventually represented the French Revolution
later the French Republic itself
It was originally one of many slogans created during the revolutionary period
that the French people experienced starting in 1789
Its simplicity and the force of its ideas made it popula
The Convention eventually adopted it as a motto on documents and monuments