french revolution

ncert

when was the city of paris in a state of alarm and what happened?

14 july 1789.

the king had commanded troops to move into the city. rumours spread that the king would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens.

some 7k men and women gathered to the front of the town hall and decided to form a PEOPLES’ MILITIA. they broke into a number of govt buildings in search for arms.

Storming of bastille

grp 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.

im the armed fight that followed, the commander of the bastille was kiled and the prisoners released-though there were only 7 of them.

yet, the bastille was hated by all, because it stood
for the despotic power of the king. the fortress was hence demolished and it's stone fragments were sold in the markets to those who wanted to keep a souvenir of its destruction.

what were most people protesting for after the storming of bastille

high price of bread—staple diet of the majority

In ____, ______ of the ______ family of kings ascended the throne of France. who did he marry when he was ___ years old.

1774; Louis XVI; Bourbon

married austrian princess Marie Antoinette when he was 20 yo

financial problems faced by louis XVI and what solution they found

upon his accession, the new king found an empty treasury

1. long years of war had drained the financial resources of france

2. cost of maintaining the extravagant court at immense palace of versailles

3. under louis xvi, france helped the 13 american colonies to gain their independence from the common enemy, britain. this war added more than a billion livres in debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres.

4. lenders who gave the state credit, now began to charge a 10% interest on loans. so the gvt was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of their budgets on interest payments alone.

5. to meet regular expenses such as—cost of maintaining the extravagant court, an army, running gov offices and universities

SOLUTION→ Increase taxes

describe the old regime

Old regime→society and institutions of france before 1789

3 estates— 1=clergy, 2=nobility, 3=rich and poor

Peasants were 90% population, only small no. of them owned the land they cultivated. 60% land owned by nobles, the Church and richer members of 3rd estate.

Only the members of the 3rd estate paid taxes

Members of 1&2 estate enjoyed certain privileges by birth→ exemption from paying taxes to the state.

Nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges→including feudal dues which they extracted from peasants.

peasants were obliged to rendere services to the lord—to work in his house and fields, to serve in the army, or to participate in building roads.

Church too extracted its share of taxes—tithes from the peasants.

Taxes

Church—>tithes—a tax levied by the Church, comprising 1/10th of agricultural produce

All members of 3rd estate had to pay taxes to the state—>direct tax called taille—tax to be paid directly to the state and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday use such as salt or tobacco.

Subsistence crisis

An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.

The population of about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789.

this led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains. production of grains could not keep pace with the demand. so the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority roast rapidly

Most workers were employed as labourers in workshop whose owner fix their wages but wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices. so the gap between the poor and the rich widened.

Things became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest.

This like to a subsistence crisis, something that occurred frequently in France during the old regime.

Define clergy

Group of persons invested in special functions in the church

How did middle class earn?

The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups termed the middle class, who earned their wealth through expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods such as woolen and silk textiles that were either exported or bought by the rich members of society

Envisaging an end to privileges

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 but philosophers such as John locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

John locke

In his “two treatises of government” locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.

Rousseau

Carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract bw the people and their representatives

Montesquieu

In “the spirit of the laws”, montesquieu proposed a division of power within the gov bw the legislative, executive and the judiciary.

Assembly of Estate General

In France of the Old Regime, the monarch did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will alone. rather he had to call a meeting of the estates general which would then pass his proposal for new taxes. The estates general was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives. however the monarch alone could decide went to call a meeting of this body. the last time it was done was in 1614.

On 5 may 1789, Louis 16 called together assembly 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 estates sent 300 representative each, who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides, while the 600 numbers of the third estate had to stand at the back. the third estate was representated by its more prosperous and educated members. presents, artisans and women were denied entry to the Assembly. however, their grievances and demands were listed in some 40k letters which the representatives had brought with them.

Each estate had one vote (according to principles from the past). but members of the 3rd estate demanded voting be conducted by the assembly as a whole, each person having one vote. (Also put forward by philosophers like Rousseau in his book “social contract”)

When the king rejected their proposal, members of the 3rd estate walked out of the assembly in protest

Making of national assembly and the tennis court oath

Representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesperson for the whole French Nation.

on 20 June 1789, they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the ground 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. this was famously known as the Tennis Court oath.

They were led by Abbé sieyès (og a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called “what is the third estate”) and mirabeau (born in nobles fam but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privilege.

1774

louis XVI becomes king of France, faces empty treasury and growing discontent within society of the old regime

1789

convocation of estates general, third estate forms national assembly, the Bastille is stormed, peasant revolts in the countryside

1791

constitution is framed to limit the powers of the king and to guarantee basic rights to all human beings

1792-93

france becomes republic, king is beheaded.

***overthrow of the jacobin republic, a directory rules france

1804

napolean becoems emperor of france, annexes large parts of europe

1815

napolean defeated at waterloo

“while the national assembly was busy at versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of france seethed with turmoil.” explain.

severe winter meant bad harvest; price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. after spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry wimen stormed into the shops.

at the same time, the king ordered troops to move into paris. on 14 july 1789, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the bastille.

In the countryside, rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had had hired brigands who were on their way to destroy the bright crops. caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux (castle or stately residence belonging to a king or nobleman). they looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. a large number of nobles fled to their homes, many of them migrating to neighbouring countries.

outcome of peasant revolts and storming of bastille in 1789?

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 on their privileges.

tithes were abolished and lands owned by the church were confiscated.

as a result, the gov acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livres.

livres

unit of currency of france, discontinued in 1794

what exactly happened in 1791

the national assembly completed the draft of the constitution. 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 sepaeated and assigned to different institutions—legislature, executive & judiciary.

THIS MADE FRANCE A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY.

features of constitution of 1791

it bested the power to make laws in the national assembly, which was indirectly elected.

it begins 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 eavh citizen's right.

how is national assembly elected

indirectly.

citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the assembly.

to qualify as an elector and then as a member of the assembly, a man had to belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers

what type of citizen could vote? whats the other type?

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.

decl of rights of man and citizens

read pg 11 (right side

political symbols

broken chain, bundle of rods or fasces, the eye within a triangle radiating light, sceptre, snake biting its tail to form a ring, red phrygian cap, blue-white-red, the winged woman, the law tablet

the broken chain

chains were used to fetter slaves. a broken chain stands for the act of becoming free

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

snake biting its tail to form a ring

symbol of eternity. a ring has neither beginning nor end.

red phrygian cap

cap worn by slave upon beoming free

blue-white-red

national colours of France

the winged woman

personification of the law

law tablet

the law is the same for all, and all are equal before it.

why was the situation in france tense despite the kings signing the constitution? what did the national assembly do?

he entered into secret negotiations with the king of Prussia. rulers of other neighbouring counters toonqere worried by the developments im france and made plans to send troops to put down the events that had been taking place there since summer of 1789.

before this could happen, the national assembly boted april 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria. Thousands of voluneteers thronged from the provinces to join the army. They saw this as a war of the people against kings and aristrocacies all over europe.

what song did the people sing in the war against prussia and autria

among the patriotic songs they sang was the MARSEILLAISE composed by poet Roget de L'Isle. it was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and so got it's name.

The Marseillaise is now the national anthem of france

What did the revolutionary wars bring

Brought losses and economic difficulties to the people. While the men were away fighting at the front, the women were left to cope with the tasks of earninga 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 imp rallying point for people who wished to discuss gov policies and plan their own forma of action. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins, which got it's name from the former convent of St. Jacob in Paris.

Describe the Jacobins

Members belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society. they included small shopkeepers, artisans such a shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers.

their leader was MAXIMILIAN ROBESPIERRE.

A large grp among the jacobins decoded to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers. This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of comity especially nobles, who wore knee breeches. It was a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by the wearers of knee breachers. These jabobins came to be kbown 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.

What hpnd in the summer of 1792

The jabobins planned an insurrection of a large number of parisians who were angered by the short supplies and high prices of food.

What happened on august 10

In the morning, the jaobins stormed the Palace of Tuileries, massacred the king cards 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, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.

the newly elected assembly was called the Convention.

what happened in septetmber 1792? (mention date)

on 21 sep 1792, the convention abolished the monarchy and declared france a republic.

what is a republic (gov)

a form of gov where the people elect the gov including the head of gov. there is bo hereditary monarchy.

what hpnd to louis XVI and his queen?

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

reign of terror

pd from 1793-94.

robespierre followed a policy of several 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.

What's a guillotine

a device consisting of 2 poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded.

it was named after dr. Guillotin who invented it.

robespierre's policies

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'égalite” (equality bread) a loaf made of wholewheat.

equality was also sought to be practiced through forms of speech and address. instead of the traditional monsieur (sir) and 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.

what hpnd to robespierre at the end

Robespierre pursued his policy 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

define treason

betrayal of one's country or gov

what hpnd after the fall of jacobin gov?

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, who then sought to dismiss them.

the political instability of the directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator Napoleon Bonaparte

what hpnd 5 october 1789

women marched to Versailles and brought the king back with them to paris.

state of women before any reforms

From the very beginning, women were active participants in the events which brought about so many important changes in French society.

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.

their wages were lower than those of men

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 are also to care for their families that is cook, fetch water, queue up for bread and look after the children.

how did women voice their interests?

In order to discuss and voice their interests, women started their own political clubs and newspapers.

About 60 women's clubs came up in different French cities.

“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 interest be represented in the new government.

which laws were introduced by the Revolutionary gov to improve the lives of women?

Together the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls

Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will. Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and registered under civil law. Divorce was made legal and could be applied for, by both women and men

Women could not train for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses

future of women's struggle for equal political rights

during the reign of terror, the new government issued laws ordering closure of womens’ clubs and banning their political activities

many prominent women were arrested and a number of them executed

women's movements for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next 200 years in many countries of the world.

the fight for the vote was carried out through an international suffrage movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

it was finally in 1946 that women in france won the right to vote.

Olympe de Gouges

[1748-1793]

One of the most important of the politically active women in revolutionary France.

Protested against the constitution and the declaration of rights of man and citizen as they excluded women from basic rights that each human being was entitled to.

so in 1791 she wrote a declaration of the rights of women and citizen, which she addressed to the queen and to the members of the National assembly, demanding that they act upon it.

In 1793, she criticized the Jacobin government for forcibly closing down women's clubs. she was tried by the national convention, which charged her with treason. soon after this she was executed.