French Revolution: Causes, Events, and Legacy
The Beginning of the Revolution
The States General met in May 1789, chaired by King Louis XVI. It included members of the nobility, clergy, and a third estate. The third estate created the National Assembly and undertook to draw up a constitution, as the other estates opposed voting by person.
The End of the Old Regime
The people of Paris supported the Third Estate. The beginning of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. This revolt brought about many noble residences. The National Assembly decreed the abolition of feudal privileges and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
The Phases of the Revolt
- Constitutional Monarchy (1789-1792): Supported by the conservative bourgeoisie.
- Democratic Republic (1792-1794): Promoted by the radical bourgeoisie.
- Bourgeois Republic (1794-1799): A return to power of the bourgeoisie.
Early Politics
In 1791, the monarch’s veto rights and indirect censitary suffrage were established. The Legislative Assembly drafted new laws (prohibiting torture), forced the nobility to pay taxes, and created the National Guard to defend the revolution. Desamortitzacio (expropriation of church assets) occurred. The royal family attempted to flee Paris in the Flight to Varennes in 1791 but were imprisoned in September 1792.
Liberalism
Liberalism is a political system that bases society on the individual. The individual is a free citizen with sovereignty. Decisions emanate from an assembly (parliament) that drafts laws. A constitution defends the division of powers so that no absolute power exists. Property rights are fundamental freedoms, and the economy is based on the market.
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that maintains the right of peoples to decide for themselves and defend their sovereignty. It can be defined as a group of individuals born into a nation. Nationalism expanded throughout 19th-century Europe in defense of free nations. It also led to the regrouping of members of a national community within borders, giving rise to independence movements in the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary.
Failure of the Monarchy
Following their flight from Paris to join the Austrian army, which planned to invade France and reestablish absolutism (Flight to Varennes, June 1791), on August 10, 1792, the royal palace was stormed. The king and his family were imprisoned, and the Republic was proclaimed in September 1792.
The Girondin Convention
Elections were called for universal male suffrage for a National Convention. A trial of Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, was conducted. They were accused of treason. A coalition formed against revolutionary France. The republic was in danger, and the allied armies invaded France.
The Jacobin Convention
The Jacobins seized power, and the main Girondin political leaders were arrested. Executive power remained in the hands of a Committee of Public Safety, concentrating all power in Robespierre. He decreed the levée en masse (mass conscription). The committee suspended freedoms, and revolutionary courts punished with death or imprisonment (Law of Suspects). A series of social laws were published, including controlling prices and wages (Law of the Maximum) and distributing property among the poor.
Napoleon
Napoleon implemented centralized administrative reform, creating prefects responsible for enforcing orders in the provinces. The Civil Code was enacted, along with financial reform and educational reform.
Napoleonic Conquests
Napoleon conquered German territories and Spain. He placed generals and family members on the thrones of these countries. He imposed the abolition of seigneurial rights, the tithe, noble privileges, economic freedom, property rights, and religious freedom.
Fall of Napoleon
The Spanish uprising against the French in 1808 (War of Independence) marked the decline of the Napoleonic Empire. Napoleon was finally defeated by the army at Waterloo (Belgium) and was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.