French Revolution: Causes, Rights, and Napoleon’s Rise
Causes of the Estates-General and Human Rights
In dire need of funds, the king requested that the nobles and clergy pay taxes. They refused and demanded the convocation of the Estates-General, a representative assembly that hadn’t met in two centuries.
In 1789, the Estates-General convened, with each estate (nobility, clergy, and the Third Estate) receiving one vote. The nobility and clergy sought to maintain the Third Estate’s tax burden. However, representatives of the Third Estate, joined by some nobles and clergy, formed a National Assembly.
Initially hesitant, the king ordered the army to surround Paris. On July 14, 1789, the people stormed the Bastille, a royal prison, freed the prisoners, and confronted the army, marking the start of the French Revolution.
News of the Bastille’s fall sparked peasant uprisings across France. Peasants burned castles and documents that enforced feudal obligations.
Supported by the people of Paris and the peasantry, the National Assembly decreed that taxes would be paid only to the state, ending the Church and nobility’s right to collect taxes or make laws. All citizens were now subject to the same laws and tax obligations.
The assembly then approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, based on these principles:
- Sovereignty resides in the nation, meaning power comes from the people within its territory.
- Citizens are free, and their rights are limited only by the rights of others.
- All citizens are equal before the law.
- Property rights are protected, limited only by public necessity.
The assembly then drafted a constitution, the supreme law of the land.
The Constitution of 1791
The Constitution of 1791 established a separation of powers and incorporated the Declaration of the Rights of Man. It recognized France as a constitutional monarchy but, in contradiction with the declaration, established census suffrage, meaning only property owners could vote.
The Death of the King
The king secretly conspired with foreign monarchs to raise an army and regain absolute power. When he attempted to flee in disguise, he was recognized, accused of treason, and executed, leading to the proclamation of the Republic.
The Jacobins and the Reign of Terror
The Jacobins, of bourgeois origin, gained a majority in the elections. While initially supporting equality before the law, the situation radicalized when foreign kingdoms declared war on France. Power shifted to the Jacobins.
The Jacobins created a large army based on merit and implemented the Reign of Terror. Judges and soldiers were sent to the provinces to execute perceived enemies of the revolution. Simultaneously, they established price controls, full employment, and nationalized key workshops, gaining popular support.
The new army defeated foreign states, but the bourgeoisie, unwilling to share power, ended the Jacobins’ reforms and seized control of the government.
Napoleon’s Victory
The situation remained unstable. The wealthy elite needed the support of a citizen army to defend against foreign powers seeking to restore the nobility. Therefore, the bourgeoisie enlisted Napoleon Bonaparte, a successful army general who had defeated the Austrians.
Napoleon staged a coup, seizing power while protecting the legal and financial interests of the bourgeoisie against the people.