American and French Revolutions: Causes and Consequences
American Independence
In the 17th century, English settlers established colonies along the eastern coast of what is now the United States. These settlements grew into 13 colonies under British rule.
In the 18th century, tensions between the colonies and Britain worsened due to measures such as:
The Royal Proclamation of 1763, which limited westward expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
Increased taxes without colonial representation in the British Parliament, leading to widespread frustration.
The War of Independence:
After the Seven Years’ War, King George III increased taxes on the colonies to pay off Britain’s debt, triggering protests such as the Boston Tea Party (1773).
In 1775, war broke out between the colonies and Britain (France and Spain supported the colonies).
In 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence, creating the United States of America as a republic.
The war ended in 1783 with the Treaty of Versailles, where Britain officially recognized U.S. independence.
- In 1787, a federal government was established under a new constitution, with George Washington becoming the first president.
Consequences:
- Independence allowed for U.S. westward expansion through colonization and land acquisitions.
It inspired Spanish colonies in Latin America to work for their independence.
In Europe, it influenced Enlightenment and liberal ideals, contributing to the French Revolution.
The French Revolution
Causes
The influence of the Enlightenment and the achievement of Independence by the American Colonies that was seen as an example to follow.
Little Ice Age in winter 1788: very low yield, rise of the bread price, shortage, hunger and true disconnected.
Economic crises:
Court’s excessive spending in parties, palaces and other luxuries.
Seven Years’ War and the maintenance of military.
Great expense helping the American colonists to fight Great Britain.
Terrible winter in 1788 that ruined all the crops and lead to hunger.
The political crisis: Louis XVI: An incapable king with an enormous debt problem.
Summon of the Estate General: Of medieval origin. It was an assembly of representatives of the various different French estates, or social groups.
Representatives of the First Estate and the Second Estate attended with the intention of protecting their privileges.
Representatives of the Third Estate, came with the Cahiers de doléances (notebooks of complaints), demanded tax equality and political reforms. This led to a rupture with the traditional system.
National Assembly.
News Spread:
Paris: the Storming of the Bastille (4th July 1789).
In the countryside: Rebellions → The Great Fear.
Measures of National Assembly: they met in the tennis courts, where they formed the National Assembly. The representatives promised to remain united until they had created the constitution.
Introduced reforms to France → Constitutional Monarchy.
Enacted laws to abolish the feudal system and privileges of the Estates.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen → Olympe de Gouges (Declaration of the Rights of Women and Women Citizen).
Confiscation of church properties.
French Motto: liberty, equality, fraternity.
Constitution of 1791: Constitutional Monarchy.
Limited suffrage.
Separation of powers.
Legislative assembly:
Elections for government composed by:
Monarchist.
Republicans:
Girondins: Moderates. Members of high bourgeoisie.
Jacobins: Radicals. Members of middle and petite bourgeoisie and urban revolutionaries.
Action-Reaction.
Flight of Varennes (king’s on the run).
→ The First French Republic:
After the monarchy’s betrayal, support for the idea of a republic grew. In 1792, the National Convention was established, elected through universal male suffrage. The Jacobins obtained 35% of the votes compared to the Girondins’ 18%.
In 1793, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed, causing shockwaves across Europe. This led to a coalition of foreign powers against France and internal conflict between the Jacobins and Girondins. The Jacobins, led by Robespierre and supported by the sans-culottes, implemented the Reign of Terror, arresting and executing thousands of opponents (between 300,000 and 500,000 detained, and around 50,000 executed).
The Jacobin government mobilized a million soldiers to defend France, promoting social reforms to benefit the entire population. The 1793 Constitution established universal male suffrage, wage and price controls, and free, compulsory education for children aged 6 to 8.
→ From Directory to Consulate
1794 → Moderates carried out a coup d’etat which removed Robespierre and radicals from power.
1795 → A new constitution was drafted, limited suffrage was reintroduced.
Directory: New political system; a committee of five held the executive power. Legislative by two chambers.
Jacobin policies were reversed and radicals were persecuted.
1796 → they were arrested and executed.
1799 → Coup d’etat by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon introduced a new system of government: The Consulate, which marked the end of the French Revolution.
The Napoleonic Empire
→ Domestic policy
Napoleon consolidated power, was proclaimed First Consul for life and imposed a dictatorship. In 1804 he declared himself Emperor of France.
Napoleon put an end to the institutions of the Ancien Regime with the approval of the French Civil Code that abolished the feudal system and the privileges of the estates, made all men equal before the law, allowed civil marriage and defended secular education among others (Napoleonic code). He established the separation of church and state. In 1801 he accepted the Catholic Church.
→ Foreign policy
Napoleon’s conquests created an empire that made him the master of most of Europe by 1810. He annexed Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, part of Italy, and a strip of present-day Germany. He also established satellite states, such as Spain, the Duchy of Warsaw, and the Confederation of the Rhine, which were under heavy political and military control.
Despite his successes, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Russia remained outside his control. Napoleon enforced a Continental Blockade against the United Kingdom, but it was largely ineffective. His attempts to invade Russia also failed.
In the conquered territories, constitutions were signed, and the Napoleonic Code was implemented. However, in 1813, he was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig by a European coalition and exiled to the island of Elba in 1814. He briefly returned to power during the period known as the Hundred Days but was ultimately defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, leading to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France.
Consequences of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire
The period between the French Revolution and the end of the Napoleonic Empire brought profound changes to France and Europe:
The French Revolution abolished the feudal system and the privileges of the estates, promoting greater equality and inalienable rights.
The Napoleonic Empire approved constitutions that recognized popular sovereignty and the separation of powers.
It generated democratic ideas such as freedom of the press, popular participation, and equality.
It sparked feelings of nationalism in France and the countries conquered by Napoleon, inspiring resistance movements.
The principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity encouraged the fight against social injustice.
Agrarian reforms improved the situation of peasants, laying the groundwork for industrialization in France.
However, there were limitations and negative aspects:
Although universal male suffrage was introduced, it was not fully implemented, as Napoleon consolidated his dictatorship after a coup.
The principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity were not respected during the Reign of Terror or under Napoleon’s regime.
Women and slaves’ rights were not recognized.
The Napoleonic Wars resulted in a significant human and economic cost for France and Europe.
Bourgeois Revolutions: took place in the late 18th and 19th century and enable the bourgeoisie to gain political power and social status which had only been able to the nobility in the Ancien Regimen. The most importants are the American Revolution and the French Revolution.
The American Revolution: Also called the American War of Independence—was the insurrection by the 13 colonies located on the Atlantic coast of North America to gain independence from Great Britain (1775-1783).
Tennis Court Oath: Oath carried out by the Third State representatives in the Estates General at the beginning of the French Revolution. They declared themselves the National Assembly and promised to never leave the meeting until France had a Constitution.
Constituent Assembly: State of the French Revolution which started when the King Louis XVI accepted that the National Assembly would write a Constitution (1791). It meant the end of absolute monarchy in France. The spread of popular revolt forced the Assebly to pass over legal reforms (equality befores taxes…).
Sans-Culottes: They were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th-century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the Ancien Régime. They often involved in popular protest and riots. To identify themselves, they didn ́t wear culottes, a typical clothing of privileged sans-culottes, without culottes).
Flight to Varennes: Attempt carried out by Louis XVI in June 1791 in order to run away from France and find support in Austria to fight against the French Revolution. After that, French people lost their confidence in their king as they felt betrayed.
The Consulate: Stage of the French Revolution from Napoleón ́s military coup in 1799 until the start of the Empire in 1804. A new form of government was made up: The Consulate with 3 consuls. They introduced reforms to end France ́s political and economic instability. Bonaparte was gainig power declaring First Consul ̧First Consul for Life, gathering all the powers. Sieyès, Napoleon and Ducos.
Civil Code or Napoleonic Code: Set of laws that applied equally to citizens. It introduced new concepts such as civil marriage, divorce, adoption, state- education and protection of the private property. Nevertheless, the Code denied women all civil and political rights, being dependent of men.
George Washington: He was Commander-in-chief of the colonial military forces during the American revolution. He became the first President of United States in 1789.
The Estates General: It was a general meeting represented the three estates of the realm: nobility, clergy and third state. It summoned by Louis XVI in 1789 to asked for financial help to deal with the country bankrupt.
Robespierre: Leader of the jacobins politic called “the Incorruptible” due to his austerity and firms convictions. He stablished the Terror as a member of the Commitee of Public Safety, guillotined thousands of citizens suspected of being counterrevolutionaries.
The Directory: Stage of the French Revolution (1795-99) in which limited male sufragge was re-established and new more conservative form of government: The Directory(with 5 members). The army increased its power in this stage and Napoleon ́s military coup put it to an end.
Ancien Régime: a period of time that covers the 17th and 18th centuries. During this time, European monarchs became more powerful; a more open economy was created; humanism developed advances in science and philosophy were widespread and new artistic styles emerged.
Enlightenment: an important intellectual movement and a new way for thinking that emerged in France during the 18th centur. They critised the political and social structures of Ancien Régimen. They trusted in reason as the only source of knowledge. Voltaire(supported the parliamentary system as a way to limit the absolute monarchs, very important:freedom, he pushed for an equal taax system), Montesquieu(division of powers: legislative for paliament, executive for monarch and judicial for judges), Rosseau(importance of the popular sovereignty and the idea of social contract, importance of educate), Diderot and D’Alembert(create thhe encyclopedia: that is an extensive collection of writigs coordinated which summarised knowledge from many areas in alphabetical orden.), Kant:(he encourage to learn and be curious and he says: SAPERE AUDE=DARE TO KNOW).
Family Compacts (Pactos de Familia): alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain against Great Britain.Spain and France made a series of agreements that did not unite the two thrones, but did lead to cooperation on certain purposes after the War of Succession.
The Nueva Planta Decrees: was a decree promulgated by Felipe V after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, by which the new institutions and laws of Castilla imposed in Aragón as punishment for not supporting him in the war. It meant the lost of fueros and Cortes in this territory an the introduction of new taxes.
Economic Liberalism: a new economic doctrine whose basic principle is that the state should not intervine in economy but allow business owners to create wealth.
Physiocracy: an economic theory which believes that the wealth of a nation derives from the natural resources because they provide products needed for food and the raw materials for craftmanship-.
Popular Sovereignty: a political theory intruduced by ROSSEAU which states that power resides in the will of the people and that this power is expressed through the right to vote.
Mercantilism: economic theory based on the idea that a country’s wealth depended on how much gold and silver it possesed.
Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt: peace treaties of the Spanish War of Succession.As a result, Austria and Great Britain gained lands from Spain and Philip V was accepted as King of Spain.This was the start of the Bourbon dinasty in Spain.