The French Revolution

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

1789-1815

INDEX The Old Regime The 3 Estate 1st Estate 2nd Estate 3rd Estate Louis XVI Marie Antoinette The Palace of Versailles Privileges given to 1st and

2nd Estate Problems of 3rd Estate Growing of Middle class

an End to the privileges

The Outbreak of Revolution

Estates General Tennis Court Oath After Tennis Court Oath Political System In 1791 Important Political

Symbols Rise Of Jacobin Club End of Louis XVI The Reign of Terror A Directory Rules France

Did Women have a Revolution?

The Abolition of Slavery Conclusion Acknowledgement Bibliography

The Old Regime• THE CARTOON ON YOUR LEFT DEPICTS

THE THREE ESTATES OF FRENCH SOCIETY . • THE TERM OLD REGIME IS USUALLY

USED TO DESCRIBE THE SOCIETY AND INSTITUTION OF FRANCE BEFORE 1789• AS YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST TWO

ESTATES ARE ENJOYING THEIR LIBERTY AND AT THE SAME TIME THE 3rd ESTATE PEOPLE ARE WORKING HARD FOR A LIVING

3 Estates

THE 3 ESTATES OF THE FRENCH SOCIETY

CLERGY

NOBILITY 2nd ESTATE

BIG BUSINESSMAN, MERCHANTS, ETC

PEASANTS AND ARTISANS

SMALL PEASANTS , LANDLESS LABOUR

3rd ESTATE

1st ESTATE

1st ESTATE OF THE FRENCH SOCIETY • The First Estate was one of France’s three social orders.

It contained all persons ordained in a Catholic religious order, from cardinals and archbishops down to priests, monks and nuns.• The First Estate wielded considerable ideological power

and political influence in France, due to the strong religious beliefs of people• The church was incredibly wealthy. It was a significant

owner of land, collected rents and tithes , also avoided paying any significant amount of tax to the state.• These criticisms could be found within the ranks of the

church itself, with many members of the lower clergy demanding a greater say and more accountability CLERGY

2nd ESTATE OF THE FRENCH SOCIETY • The Second Estate was one of France’s three social orders.

It contained all French citizens who possessed a noble title, either through birth, royal gift or venal purchase.• There were two types of nobility: ‘nobles of the sword’,

who earned their titles for military service, and ‘nobles of the robe’, who obtained their titles venally or for public service.• The French nobility were often stereotyped as lazy,

decadent and leisure loving – however many actively worked to consolidate and expand their fortunes and status in society.• There was considerable economic diversity within the

Second Estate. While some nobles were very rich and powerful, others like the hobereaux lived modestly and only exerted power at a local level.

NOBILITY

3RD ESTATE OF THE FRENCH SOCIETY • The Third Estate contained around 27 million people or 98 per

cent of the nation. This number included every French person who did not have noble title or was not ordained in the church.• The rural peasantry made up the largest portion of the Third

Estate. Most peasants worked the land as feudal tenants or sharecroppers and were required to pay a range of taxes, tithes and feudal dues.• A smaller section of Third Estate were skilled and unskilled urban

workers,lived in Paris. They were poorly paid, lived in difficult conditions and were pressured by rising food prices.• At the pinnacle of the Third Estate were the big businessman who

ranged from the comfortable middle class to extremely wealthy merchants and landowners.• Regardless of their property and wealth, members of the Third

Estate were subject to inequitable taxation and were politically disregarded by the Ancien Regime.

THE THIRD ESTATE

LOUIS XVI• Louis XVI was the king of France from May 1774 until his

execution in January 1793. The French Revolution unfolded under his rule and eventually toppled him from power . In 1770 he married the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette. • The Dauphin became King Louis XVI in 1774, aged 19. Though

intelligent and prepared to accept advice , showing little interest in policy or statesmanship• The inability of Louis and his ministers to push through fiscal

reforms in 1788 led to the king agreeing to convoke the Estates General, which in turn precipitated a challenge to his absolute political power.• From 1789 the king’s fate was determined by the events of the

revolution. He ended up a virtual prisoner in Paris, and IN June 1791 spelled the end of constitutional monarchy. The king was removed from power in August 1792

LOUIS XVI

Marie Antoinette• Marie Antoinette was an Austrian princess who married the

Louis, Dauphin of France, in 1770 and became Queen of France four years later.• Louis and Antoinette were unable to consummate their

marriage or conceive a child, while Antoinette found it difficult to adjust to life in the royal court.• Antoinette became publicly disliked for her extravagant

spending, which included clothing and fashion, wigs, parties, gambling, gifts to favourites and an entire mock peasant village at Versailles.• By the 1790s Marie Antoinette was perhaps the most

despised of all Ancien Regime figures. After being toppled from the throne in August 1792 she spent 14 months in prison before being given a show trial and sent for guillotining.

Marie Antoinette

The Palace of Versailles

• The King and Queen of France lived in luxury and splendour at the magnificent Palace of Versailles outside the Paris• The Palace of Versailles is noted worldwide

for its luxurious furnishings, intricate gardens, and overall extravagance. • However, it was actually established in 1624

as a relatively humble hunting lodge for King Louis XIII. After various remodelling's, expansions, and facelifts, it eventually became the royal residence from 1682 until 1789.

Palace of Versailles

Privileges given to 1st and 2nd Estate ( Clergy and Nobility) • IN FRANCE ABOUT 60% OF THE LAND WAS OWNED BY TH 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 PREVILEGES BY BIRTH . THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE WAS THE EXEMPTION OF PAYING TAXES TO THE STATE• THE NOBLES FURTHER ENJOYED FEUDAL PRIVLEGES . THESE INCLUDED FEUDAL

DUES , WHICH THEY EXTRACTED FROM THE PEASANTS . PEASANTS WERE OBLIGID TO RENDER SERVICES TO THE LORD – TO WORK IN HOUSES 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 WHICH INCLUDED A DIRECT TAX , CALLED TAILLE

Problems of 3rd Estate • THE POPULATION OF THE FRANCE ROSE FROM 23 MILLION IN 1715 TO28

MILLION IN 1789 . THIS LED TO RAPID INCREASE IN THE DEMAND FOR THE FOODGRAINS . PRODUCTION OF GRAINS COULD NOT KEEP PACE WITH TH DEMAND. SO THE PRICE OF BREAD , WHICH THE STAPLE DIET OF PEOPLE , ROSE .• MOST WORKERS WERE EMPLOYED AS LABOURES IN WORKSHOPS WHOSE

OWNER FIXED THEIR WAGES . BUT THE WAGES DID NOT KEEP PACE WITH RISE IN PRICES . SO THE GAP BETWEEN THE POOR AND THE RICH WIDENDED• THINGS BECOME WORSE WHENEVER DROUGHT OR HAIL REDUCED THE

HARVEST .THIS LED TO A SUBSISTENCE CRISIS ( SITUATION WHERE BASIC MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD ARE ENDANGERED )

Growing of Middle class an End to the Privileges

• THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY WITNESSED TO EMERGE OF SOCIAL GROUPS , TERMED A SMIDDLE CLASS , WHO EARNED WEALTH THROUGH AN EXPANDING OVERSEAS TRADE AND FROM THE MANUFRACTUREOF GOODS THAT WER EITHER EXPORTED OR BOUGHT BY THE RICHER MEMBERS OF SOCIETY . • THE MERCHNATS NA DMANUFRACTURESOF 3RD ESTATE INCLUDED

PROFESSION SUCH AS LAWYERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICALS . ALL OF THESE WERE EDUCATED AND BELIEVED THAT NO GROUO 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 OPPURTUNITIES FOR ALL , WERE PUT FORWARD BY PHILOSOPHERS SUCH AS JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU

The Outbreak of Revolution

• LOUIS XVI DID NOT HAVE THE POWER TO IMPOSE TAXES ACCORDING TO HIS OWN WILL . RATHER HE HAD TO CALL A MEETING OF ESTATE GENERAL WHICH WOULD THE PASS HIS PROPOSAL FOR NEW TAXES • ON MAY 5 1789 , LOUIS XVI CALLED TOGETHER AN ASSEMBLY OF ESTATES

GENERAL TO PASS PROPOSAL FOR NEW TAXES . THE FIRST AND SECOND ESTATE SENT 300 REPRESNTATIVES EACH AND THE THIRD ESTATE SENT 600 EDUCATED MEMBERS• 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. WHEN THE KING REJECTED THIS PROPOSAL, MEMBERS OF THE THIRD ESTATE WALKED OUT OF THE ASSEMBLY IN PROTEST.

ESTATES GENERAL• THE ESTATES GENERAL WAS A POLITICAL

BODY TO WHICH THE THREE ESTATES SENT THEIR REPRESENTATIVES. HOWEVER, THE MONARCH ALONE COULD DECIDE WHEN TO CALL A MEETING OF THIS BODY. THE LAST TIME IT WAS DONE WAS IN 1614.• WHEN THE ESTATES GENERAL MET, EACH

ESTATE SOLEMNLY MARCHED INTO THE HALL AT VERSAILLES. • THE THIRD ESTATE DRESSED ALL IN

BLACK, THE NOBILITY DRESSED IN ALL THEIR FINERY, AND THE CLERGY DRESSED IN FULL REGALIA.

THE MEETING OF THE ESTATES GENERAL MAY 5, 1789

The Tennis Court Oath

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 SIEYÈS. MIRABEAU WAS BORN 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.

The Tennis Court Oath

After Tennis Court Oath

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 . At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille .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 accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by a constitution. On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes. Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges. Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated. As a result, the government acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livres

STORMING THE BASTILLE

POLITICAL SYSTEM IN 1791The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch. These powers were now separated and assigned to different institutions . The legislature, executive and judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy. In the Constitution of 1791 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 labourers 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

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

• The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech , freedom of opinion, equality before law, were established as natural and inalienable. rights, that is, they belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away. It was the duty of the state to protect each citizens natural rights

Important Political 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 RODCAN BE EASILY BROKEN, BUT NOT AN ENTIREBUNDLE. 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.

SNAKE BITING ITS TAIL TO FORM A RING: SYMBOL OFETERNITY. A RING HAS NEITHER BEGINNING NOR END.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic• THE DRAFT OF THE CONSTITUTION WAS COMPLETED IN 1791. POWERS WERE SPREAD

AMONG LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIARY INSTEAD OF KING. THIS MADE FRANCE A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY.• THERE WERE TWO TYPES OF CITIZENS ACCORDING TO CONSTITUTION :– ACTIVE CITIZEN

AND PASSIVE CITIZEN.• PERSONS WHO PAID THE TAX AT LEAST EQUAL TO WAGES OF 3 DAYS OF A LABOUR WERE

CATEGORIZED AS ACTIVE CITIZENS AND WHO DID NOT, WERE CATEGORIZED AS PASSIVE CITIZENS. ONLY ACTIVE CITIZENS ABOVE THE AGE OF 25 HAD RIGHT TO VOTE. WOMEN WERE NOT GIVEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE.• ACTIVE CITIZENS HAD TO ELECT ELECTORS. ELECTORS HAD TO ELECT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

AND JUDICIARY FROM AMONG THEM. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HAD CONTROL OVER KING AND GROUP OF MINISTERS. BUT KING STILL HAD THE POWER OF ROYAL VETO AND THE ABILITY TO SELECT MINISTERS.• QUALIFICATION FOR MEMBER OF ELECTOR AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY : – A PERSON WHO

BELONGED TO BRACKET OF HIGHEST TAXPAYERS AND ABOVE THE AGE OF 25 COULD BE CHOSEN AS ELECTOR AND MEMBER OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

Rise Of Jacobin Club • 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 ETC. 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, WHO WORE KNEE BREECHES• THESE JACOBINS CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE SANS-CULOTTES, LITERALLY

MEANING THOSE WITHOUT KNEE BREECHES . SANS-CULOTTES MEN WORE IN ADDITION THE RED CAP THAT SYMBOLISED LIBERTY . WOMEN HOWEVER WERE NOT ALLOWED TO DO SO. IN THE SUMMER OF 1792 THE JACOBINS PLANNED AN INSURRECTION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF PARISIANS WHO WERE ANGERED BY THE SHORT SUPPLIES AND HIGH PRICES OF FOOD. ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 10 THEY STORMED THE PALACE OF THE TUILERIES, MASSACRED THE KINGS GUARDS AND HELD THE KING HIMSELF AS HOSTAGE FOR SEVERAL HOURS. LATER THE ASSEMBLY VOTED TO IMPRISON THE ROYAL FAMILY. ELECTIONS WERE HELD. FROM NOW ON ALL MEN OF 21 YEARS AND ABOVE

A SANS-CULOTTES COUPLE

End of Louis XVI

• THE NEWLY ELECTED ASSEMBLY WAS CALLED THE CONVENTION. ON 21 SEPTEMBER 1792 IT ABOLISHED THE MONARCHY AND DECLARED FRANCE A 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.

Louis XVI sentenced Treason

The Reign of TerrorTHE 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 THE REPUBLIC . EX-NOBLES AND CLERGY, MEMBERS OF OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES 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 .ROBESPIERRE'S GOVERNMENT ISSUED LAWS PLACING A MAXIMUM CEILING ON WAGES AND PRICES. PEASANTS WERE FORCED TO TRANSPORT THEIR GRAIN TO THE CITIES AND SELL IT AT PRICES FIXED BY THE GOVERNMENT. THE USE OF EXPENSIVE WHITE FLOUR WAS FORBIDDEN . 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 . ROBESPIERRE PURSUED HIS POLICIES 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

Treason

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. IT PROVIDED FOR TWO ELECTED LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS. THESE THEN APPOINTED A DIRECTORY, AN EXECUTIVE MADE UP OF FIVE MEMBERS. THIS WAS MEANT AS A SAFEGUARD AGAINST THE CONCENTRATION OF POWER IN A ONE-MAN EXECUTIVE AS UNDER THE JACOBINS. HOWEVER, THE DIRECTORS OFTEN CLASHED WITH THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS,. THE POLITICAL INSTABILITY OF THE DIRECTORY PAVED THE WAY FOR THE RISE OF A MILITARY DICTATOR, NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. THROUGH ALL THESE CHANGES IN THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT, THE IDEALS OF FREEDOM, OF EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW AND OF FRATERNITY REMAINED INSPIRING IDEALS THAT MOTIVATED POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN FRANCE AND THE REST OF EUROPE DURING THE FOLLOWING CENTURY.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Did Women have a Revolution?

From the beginning women were active participants in the events which. Most brought many important changes in French society .They worked as laundresses, sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market, or were employed as domestic servants in the house. 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 . 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.The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them. One of their main demands was that women enjoy the same political rights as men. Women were disappointed that the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to passive citizens. They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office. Only then, they felt, would their interests be represented in the new government.

Parisian women on their way to Versailles

The Abolition of Slavery

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

The emancipation of slaves

Conclusion• In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of

France. He set out to conquer neighbouring European countries, creating kingdoms where he placed members of his family. Napoleon saw his role as a moderniser of Europe. He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property. 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 , where feudal systems were abolished. Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation state.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE CROSSING THE ALPS

Bibliography Online • AlphaHistory.com•Wikipedia.com• GoogleImages.com

Books • India and The Contemporary World – Class 9th

• India and The Contemporary World – Class 10th

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