VCE REVOLUTIONS

American War of Independence

1775-1783

- TURGOT - finance minister: 'The first shot will drive the State to bankruptcy' - about war.

Cost the country 4,000,000 livres and large death toll. Gained nothing for France.

- "cost France one billion French Pounds...spending 37.5% of its revenue just repaying interest on the debt." - Judy Anderson

- Schama - believes the revolution was caused solely because of the American War

Enlightenment

1740's

A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions.

Albert Soboul on The Enlightenment

"The Enlightenment undermined the ideological foundations of the established order"

Friction between monarchy and Parlements

- 'It is legal because I will it' - Louis XVI.

- The Parlements considered that the King was dictating to them, and refused to obey the King.

- 1st phase of revolution according to George Lefebvre (aristocratic revolution)

Noble Privileges

- 'Nobility was a club which every wealthy man felt entitled, indeed obliged, to join. Not all nobles were rich, but sooner to later, all rich ended up noble.' - William Doyle

Peasant Grievances

-Feudal dues, harsh taxes, noble privileges.

- Historian Peter Mcphee estimates that peasants paid on average a total of 25-33% of their wealth to the monarchy, church and their feudal lord.

Cahiers de Doleances

March - April 1789

- statements of local grievances drafted throughout France during the elections to the Estates-General, generally advocating a regular constitutional government abolishing fiscal privileges of the church and nobility.

- "many members of the nobility and clergy also supported radical ideas - such as admitting fiscal privilege is wrong and that appointment by merit rather than birth was fair." - George Taylor

Louis XVI

- Christopher Hibbert - 'The new King, Louis XVI, was 19 years old. Although kind and generous by nature, his manner was usually brusque, cold and formal, marked by fits of ill humour and sharp retorts..'

Political Pamphlets

The pamphlets released in October 1788 to July 1789

When censorship was relaxed (1788) the market was flooded with thousands of political pamphlets, the most influential being Abbé Sieyes' "What is the Third Estate?" (January 1789)

William Doyle on What is the Third Estate

Abbe Sieyes pamphlet made the Third Estate 'more radical'

The harvest crisis

1788-1789

"Hunger, hope and fear were the main ingredients of the rural crisis of 1789"- William doyle

"The [national] deficit would not have caused the Revolution [without] the price of bread." - Arthur Young

February 1781

Compte rendu au roi

Necker False account

- stating France had 10 Billion livres over expenditure.

Dismissal of Necker

11 July 1789

' Louis' exasperation with Necker's self-righteousness had grown into something close to detestation when he had been upstaged by the Minister on June 23 [Seance Royal]' - Schama

Attack on 'ministerial despotism'

- The defiance of the Notables signified the beginning of the Aristocratic Revolt.

- FIRST WAVE OF THE REVOLUTION - MARXIST HISTORIAN - GEORGES LEFEVRE.

Critique of privilege

'Where the richest class is the least taxed; where privilege prevents all stability; where neither a constant rule nor a common will is possible, [since] such state is inevitably a very imperfect kingdom, full of corrupt practices and impossible to govern well.' - Calonne

4 August 1789

Night of Patriotic Delirium

5-11 August 1789

August Decrees

26 August 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Simon Schama on the Night of Patriotic Delirium

'stripped themselves down to the happy nakedness of citizenship.'

Claims To Popular Sovereignty and Equality

20 June 1789

Tennis Court Oath - 'a solemn oath not to separate' 'until the constitution of the Kingdom is established'

- "...having won its victory over "privilege" and "despotism", the Bourgeois now wanted peace and quiet in order to proceed with its task of giving France a constitution." - George Rudé

5-6 October 1789

October Days, the women of the Paris fish markets marched to Versailles with the aim of killing Marie-Antoinette. Brought the Royal Family back to the Tuileries in Paris

- "The Revolution of the Bourgeois deputies had only been secured by the active intervention of the people of Paris."- Peter Mcphee

27 April 1789

Reveillon Riots

- 25 people killed.

- 'From the first year it was apparent that violence was to just an unfortunate side effect from which enlightened Patriots could selectively avert their eyes; it was the Revolution's source of collective energy. It was what made the Revolution revolutionary.' - Schama.

July 14 1789

Storming of the Bastille

- "[the storming of the bastille] was the climax of the popular movement."- Schama

- "[The Parisians] would see themselves as the guardians of the liberty won that day." - William Doyle

Gwynne Lewis on the Bastille

"The Parisian crowd...reminding deputies...the bullet is as important as the ballot."

20 July - 6 August 1789

The Great Fear: the panic and insecurity that struck French peasants after the fall of Bastille and led to their widespread destruction of manor houses and archives.

- "'[The Great Fear was] 'a belief that the nobility were plotting to destroy the Revolution" - Georges Lefebvre

- "[the Great Fear] allowed the peasants to realise their strength." - Henri Lefebvre

Abbe Sieyes

Wrote an essay called "What is the 3rd estate" Argued that lower classes were more important than the nobles and the government should be responsible to the people. Member of the first Estates-General.

Duc d'Orleans

Louis XVI's cousin; celebrated for his support of enlightened ideas.

Mirabeau

leader of the early stages of the French Revolution. A noble, he was involved in numerous scandals before the start of the Revolution in 1789 that had left his reputation in ruins

Desmoulins

Addressed the crowds on the 11th July, contributing to the hysteria. Cofounded the Cordeliers with Danton.

Lafayette

Joined the NA, named the leader of the National Guard on the 15th July 1789

- Major influence in writing DORMAC

Reforms to the Church

27 November 1789 (nationalisation of church property)

12 July 1790 (Civil Constitution of the clergy is decreed)

Oath of Allegiance (27 November 1790)

Effect - Catalyst for counter-revolution

o Flight to Varennes

o Caused division in society

o Civil war

William Doyle on CCC

"Those opposed to the new church policy were forced to declare themselves against the whole revolution"

20 June 1791

Flight to Varennes

Albert Soboul on The Flight to Varennes

"The Flight to Varennes had finally torn off the mask and revealed him in his true colours."

17 July 1791

Champ de Mars Massacre

- 50 Dead

- ruined Lafayette and Bailly

August 1791

Austria and Prussia issue the Declaration of Pillnitz.

14 September 1791

1791 Constitution

- Built on ideas from DORMAC and Enlightenment

Eg. Freedom of speech/press, freedom of worship

"'The essence of the constitution was to keep the executive weak... despotism must have no opportunity ever to revive in France.' - William Doyle"

20 April 1792

Declaration of War on Austria

20 June 1792

Artisans and poor sections storm the Tuileries (NOT The Storming of the Tuileries)

25 July 1792

Brunswick Manifesto

Duke of Brunswick threatened to put city of Paris to military punishment and total destruction if harm shall come to the royal family

Crystallised alarm and fear amongst Parisians, directing more ill-feeling towards the royal family as they questioned Louis' loyalties

Power of Nobility

Conservative nobles wished to cling to the existing social hierarchy

150000 nobles fled France

Effect - 1. Gave Jacobin government reason for the defensive

measures of the Terror

2. Credible threat of noble comeback served to win over those who were uncertain of the revolution and inspire them to defend the new order.

William Doyle on Nobility

'It was resistance that made the revolution become violent.'

Insurrection of 10 August 1792

Storming of the Tuileries Palace

- The people of Paris laid siege to another royalist symbol

- 7000 people

- overthrew the monarchy

2-5 September 1792

September Massacres

between 1,100 and 1,400 counter revolutionaries such as royalist soldiers, members of Swiss Guard, clergymen, and nobles were murdered

Peter McPhee on September 1792

"[September Massacres'] was the final proof for non-jurying clergy that the Revolution had become godless and anarchic."

20 September 1792

- French victory at Valmy, outmanoeuvred Brunswick's force, saving the revolution

- Legislative Assembly replaced by National Constituent Assembly

Committee of General Security

October 1792

- Created during the Terror as a kind of supreme political police to protect the Revolutionary Republic from its internal enemies.Victims ranged from Marie Antoinette to many Girondins.

21 January 1973

Execution of Louis XVI

February 1793

France declares war on Britain, Holland, and Spain; revolts take place in some provinces

Committee of Public Safety

April 1793: External enemies

Established and led by Robespierre, fixed bread prices and nationalized some businesses. Basically secret police and also controlled the war effort. Instigated the Reign of Terror.

March - December 1793

Vendée Rebellion

13 July 1793

Marat is assassinated by Charlotte Corday

August 1793

levee en masse (conscription)

- A national Draft was issued calling for all able bodied men to enlist in the army

17 September 1793

Law of Suspects, people could be arrested simply for being suspected of committing a crime.

4 December 1793

Law of Frimaire (Constitution of Terror)

All power to CPS, made France a dictatorship

1793-1794

Reign of Terror

- 30,00 dead

Schama on Terror

"Bloodshed was not the unfortunate by-product of the revolution, it was the source of its energy."

June 1794

- Law of 22 Prairial

- Festival of the supreme being

27-28 July 1794

Robespierre and his followers are accused as being tyrants during the convention meeting, they are arrested immediately and executed the next day

- Sparked the Themidor Rebellion

Themidorian Reaction

- Removal of Robespierre released a wave of responses against the Terror and the radical revolution. - guillotine (only 40 in Paris over rest of the year)

12 November 1794

Jacobin Club closed and symbols of Radicalism were destroyed

Abolition of Slavery 1794

To defend the French colonies, slaves were armed and emancipated.

22 August 1795

Constitution of 1795

Peter McPhee 1795

"The constitution (of 1795) marks the end of the Revolution."

Georges Danton

Founded the Cordeliers, Minister of War, played a role in the September Massacres, guillotined with Desmoulins

Marat

Doctor turned Journalist and editor of L'ami du people (The Friend of the People) Believed in popular violence (September Massacres), executions and having a dictatorship.

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Robespierre

'The Incorruptible'

- Founding member of Jacobins

- elected on Convention 1792 and Committee of Public Safety during the Terror

- Maximum policies and death penalty

Thomas Carlyle on Robespierre

"The sea-green incorruptible"

Cordeliers Club

Far left, wanted to abolish religion and believed that France should be a direct democracy

Jacobins

The most radical political faction of the French Revolution who ruled France during the Reign of Terror. They were led by Maximilien Robespierre from 1791 to 1794.

Lafayette

Partially responsible for the Champ de Mars massacre, fled to Austria.

Tensions in Tsarist Russia

Autocracy, no representation. Inequality, famine, poor working conditions.

2 socio-economic groups, the rich and the poor.

The Formation of the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks

Russian Social Democrat Labour Party, a Marxist Party, formed in 1898. Split in 1903 into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks over disagreements over personality differences, party membership and the path for the revolution to take

Revolutionary Populism

Narodniks- based on peasants, produced splinter group People's Will that killed Alexander II in 1881 Socialist Revolutionaries- populist group based on peasants getting land (key leaders Kerensky and Chernov)

Liberal Reformism

Demanded representation and equality. Operated through the Zemstva, which were loyal to the Tsar but controlled by liberal nobles who wanted political and social reform.

Marxism

A system of economic and political thought developed by Karl Marx in the 19th century. Saw all of history and politics as a class struggle and envisioned the collapse of capitalism and the development of a classless society based on the trading of goods. Believed in the proletariat vs the bourgeoisie.

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

War between Russia and Japan; Japan wins and takes parts of Manchuria under its control. Russia is embarrassed and the Tsar loses popularity.

Nicholas II 'The Japanese are infidels. The might of Holy Russia will crush them.'

Sheila Fitzpatrick on Russo-Japanese War

"a series of disasters."

9 January 1905

Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday, peaceful protest to Tsar Nicholas II's Winter Palace, led by Father Georgi Gapon, fired on by palace guards, approx 500 died. Seriously damaged Tsar's popularity. Increased strike action across the country.

March-April 1905

Strikes spread to Siberia and peasants are involved in land seizures of noble lands.

October 1905; Rail and telegraph workers joined in the strikes, virtually paralysing Russia. First General Strike in history, with 64% of all workers striking.

30 October 1905

The October Manifesto, issued by Nicholas II (written by Sergei Witte), concessions in response to strikes and local revolts, promised freedom of speech and assembly, called the Duma (parliament) into session. Took Russia from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy (in theory).

Nationalism

Strikes spread to areas with strong nationalist movements, including Finland, Georgia, the Ukraine and Poland. This triggered renewed calls for independence.Provided another source of instability to weaken the regime.

Count Sergei Witte

Russian Finance minister who oversaw Russia experience tremendous industrial growth(Great Spurt 1890s); reformed commercial law, protected infant industries, Russia grew enormous coal and iron industries. Negotiated the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending Russo-Japanese War. Pet project was the Trans-Siberian Railway. Ended redemption payments for peasants. Prepared October Manifesto (1905).

Challenges by the Socialist Revolutionaries

SR's heightened tension by assassinating Grand Duke Sergei, Nicholas' uncle, Governor of Moscow. They supported the strikes, radicalised the peasants and supported the Soviets. However they were unprepared and disorganised and failed to take full advantage of the revolutionary mood.

The Role of the Dumas

The Dumas were purely symbolic, any power they would have had was revoked in the Fundamental Laws (April 23 1906). They were too radical for the Tsar and the first two were dissolved very quickly. The elections for the Third were rigged to make it more conservative and it served its full term.

World War I

(1914 - 1918); Russia saw a nationalistic fervour at the beginning, which died off as Russia began losing many battles. Russia was underprepared and undersupplied, despite having a huge army Only 8.8% mobilised compared to 20.5% of Germany. Put pressure on the transport systems and food supplies.

Losses - Battle of Tannenberg

- Battle of Masurian Lakes

April-July 1906

First Duma

"became a rhetorical battering ram against the fortress of autocracy" - Figes

February-June 1907

Second Duma

November 1907-June 1912

Third Duma

Pyotr Stolypin (1862-1911)

Prime Minister of Russia 1906-1911. Undertook some rural reform, began a policy of "Wager on the Strong" (1907) to create a class of wealthy peasants. Rigged the elections for the third Duma to make it more conservative. Instated a system of martial courts to try revolutionaries that executed so many that the hangman's noose became known as "Stolypin's Necktie.

August 1915

Tsar takes control of the army

The Russian army "did not have adequate forces" - Pipes

22 February 1917

Strikes at the Putilov factory culminates in a lockout

23 February 1917

International Women's Day March

27 February 1917

Petrograd Garrison mutiny

Crankshaw on February Revolution

"Imperial Russia simply rotted from the centre outward until its shell fell in."

Octobrists

Dominated the 1907 (third) Duma. Believed that the tsar's promises in his manifesto of October 1905 represented sufficient reform and wanted to stop at that. Key leader Mikhail Rodzianko.

Kadets

Advocates of a Russian constitutional democracy. This was attained in 1905. They made up most of the first Duma but were eventually declared illegal when the Bolsheviks took power. Looked to the British as a model. Key leaders Prince Lvov and Paul Miliukov.

February Revolution 1917

Revolution against the Tsarist government, sparked by discontent over food shortages and strikes at the Putilov Steel Works, which led to the abdication of Nicholas II and the creation of a provisional government in March 1917.

Smith on February Revolution

"it was not the result of military defeat, but as a result of the collapse of public support in the government."

Tsar Nicholas II

Last Tsar of Russia and then end of the Romanov line. Was executed along with the rest of his family under the order of Lenin. Strong believer in autocracy, but weak leader.