THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

LOUIS XVI’s GOVERNMENT

Louis XVI of Bourbon dynasty became the king of France in 1774. Marie Antoinette was his
wife. The government was facing financial crisis due to the following reasons:

(i) France wasted a lot of money to fight long wars with Britain and the other
neighbouring countries.

(ii) The government spend a lot of money to maintain the King’s court at Versailles.

(iii) Louis XVI helped American colonies in their struggle for freedom from Britain, because
Britain was a traditional enemy of France.

(iv) The government borrowed a lot of money to meet its expences. Huge amount had to
be paid as interest.

FRENCH SOCIETY DURING THE OLD REGIME

The society and institutions of France before 1789 is called Old Regime. The French society
was divided in to three social classes or three estates.

(i) First Estate(Clergy): It consisted of Priests or Officials of the Roman Catholic Church.
The clergy enjoyed many privileges. They were exempted from taxation. The church
collected a tax called tithe. The church owned large areas of land.

(ii) Second Estate ( Nobles): The Nobles also enjoyed many privileges. They were
exempted from taxation. They could collect fudel dues from the peasants. They could make
the peasants to work for them without any wages.They owned large areas of land.

(iii) Third Estate: Third estate consisted of three groups:

a. Big business men, merchants, lawyers and court officials. They were rich and
educated.

b. Peasants and artisans.

c. Small peasants, landless labourers and servants.

The third estate had to pay a direct tax called taille and many indirect taxes. Peasants
constituted 90% of the population. But, most of them had small pieces of land.

SUBSISTENCE CRISIS : Subsistence crisis is a situation in which the people face shortage of
food and the other basic necessities of life. Increase in population resulted in an increase in
the demand for food grains in France. Production of food grains did not increase much. So,
bread price increased. Most of the people were workers who earned low wages. Their life
became miserable. Crop failure resulted in large scale starvation and deaths.
MIDDLE CLASS: A new social group called Middle class emerged in France during the 18th
century. This group consisted of merchants, industrialists, lawyers and government officials.
They were rich and educated. They demanded an end to privileges based on birth. They
wanted freedom and equal opportunities for all.

FRENCH PHILOSOPHERS

(i) John Locke : He wrote the book, ‘The Two Treatises of Government’. He opposed the
divine and absolute rights of the monarch.

(ii) Jean Jacques Rousseau: He wrote the book, ‘The Social Contract’. According to him
the government should be based on a contract between people and their representatives.

(iii) Montesque: He wrote the book, ‘ The Spirit of the Laws. According to him, the power
of the government should be divided between three organs- Legislature, Executive and
Judiciary.

The philosophers supported Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Their ideas were discussed in
Coffee Shops, Saloons and the other public places. Books and News papers also carried
these ideas to the people.

OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION

Louis XVI decided to increase the taxes inorder to overcome financial crisis. The king
had to get the permission of an assembly called the Estates General to increase the taxes.
So, he called the meeting of the Estates General on 5 May 1789. The First and Second Estates
send 300 representatives each. There were 600 representatives from the Third Estate.

As per tradition, the voting had to be done on the basis of the principle, ‘one Estate
one Vote’. This time the leaders of the third estate demanded that the voting should be
done on the basis of the principle, ‘one Member one Vote’. The king did not agree with that.
The members of the third estate walked out of the assembly. They assembled in an indoor
tennis court on 20 june 1789. They declared themselves as the National Assembly of France.
They decided to draft a new constitution which would limit the powers of the king.

Mirabeau: He was a leader of the Third Estate. He was born in a noble family but decided to
work for the betterment of ordinary people. He published a journal and gave powerful
speaches.

Abbe Sieyes: He was a leader of the Third Estate. He was a priest but decided to work for the
betterment of ordinary people. He wrote a pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’
 Crop failed due to severe winter. Bread became scarce and its price increased. The
bakers hoarded bread. The people became angry and attacked the shops.

On 14 july 1789, the king orderd the troops to enter in to the city of Paris. A rumour
spread that the king would soon order the troops to fire at the people. Thousands of men
and women assembled in front of the town hall and formed a people’s army. The attacked
government offices and collected weapons. Some of them marched towards the eastern
part of the city and attacked the Bastille prison. The commander of the prison was killed. The
prisoners were released. The fortress prison was destroyed. Its stone pieces were sold in the
markets. Bastille was a symbol of the French autocracy. So, the day in which it was destroyed
is celebrated as National Day in France.

In villages, a rumour spread that the landloards have asked some armed men to destroy
the crops of peasants. The angry peasants attacked the Chateaux and looted hoarded
grain. They also destroyed the records of feudal dues.The landloards had to run away.

Louis XVI recognised the National Assembly and agreed that his powers can be reduced
by a new constitution.

On 4 August 1789, the National Assembly passed a decree. It abolished the feudal
system. Privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the nobility were withdrawn. Tithe was
abolished. Church lands were taken over by the government.

THE CONTITUTION OF 1791

The National assemby passed the new constitution in 1791.

(i) It limited the powers of the king and established a constitutional monarchy in France.

(ii) It divided the citizens in to two groups – Active citizens and Passive citizens. Men
above 21 years of age who paid a tax equal to 3 days wages of a worker were called
Active citizens. The other men and women were called Passive citizens. Only active citizens
had the right to vote.

(iii) The active citizens would elect a group of 50000 electors. They, inturn, would elect the
National Assemby.

(iv) The National Assembly became the Parliament of France. It appointed a group of
ministers who along with the king formed the Executive. The King was under the control of
the National Assembly.

(v) The Active citizens also elected a group of judges who constituted the Judiciary.

(vi) The Constitution started with a ‘Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen’, which
guaranteed basic rights to the citizens.

THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF MAN AND CITIZEN

The French Constitution of 1791 started with a Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen.

(i) It declared that all men are born free and equal in rights.

(ii) It guaranteed basic human rights such as, the right to life, freedom of speech,
freedom of opinion and equality before law to all the citizens.

(iii) It became the duty of the government to protect the rights of citizens.

FRANCE BECOMES A REPUBLIC

Louis XVI wanted to restablish absolute monarchy. So, he entered in to secret discussions
with the king of Prussia. The neighbouring countries of France were against the Revolution.
They planned to attack France. In April 1792, the National Assembly declared war on Prussia
and Austria. Thousands of people joined the French army. They wanted to fight against kings
and aristocracies all over Europe.

Many people in France were unhappy with the 1791 constitution because, it gave
political rights only to the rich people. The wanted further changes. They formed political
clubs to discuss public issues and to plan political struggles. The most important among them
was the Jacobins club. Its members were poor people like artisans, servants and daily wage
workers. They started wearing long stripped trousers. So, they were called Sans – culottes (
those without knee breeches). Men wore red caps which symbolised liberty. The leader of
the Jacobins was Maximilian Robespierre.

The Jacobins planned a rebellion in 1792. They attacked the Kings palace and held the
king hostage. The National Assemble ordered the imprisonment of the Royal family.

Elections were held. All men above 21 years got the right to vote. The Jacobins got
majority in the new assembly, which was called the Convention. On 21 September 1792,
monarchy was abolished and France became a Republic. Louis XVI was executed on 21
january 1793.

THE RULE OF THE JACOBINS ( REIGN OF TERROR)

Maximilian Robespiere ruled france from 1793 to 1794. This period is called the Reign of
Terror.

(i) Robespere became a dictator. Those who opposed his policies were called the
enemies of the revolution. They were arrested and punished. A device called Guillotine was
used to kill them.

(ii) The government fixed maximum ceiling on wages and prices. Farmers had to transport
their products to the cities and sell at the price fixed by the government.

(iii) Expensive white flour was banned. All had to eat the Equality Bread( made of whole
wheat).
(iv) The words Monsieur and Madame were replaced by Citoyen( citizen) and Citoyenne (
citizen).

(v) Churches were closed down. Church buildings were converted in to military barracks
and government offices.

Strict and cruel steps taken by Robespiere were disliked by many people. He was tried by a
tribunal and sentenced to death in July 1794.

Guillotine : It is a device consisting of two poles and a blade. It was invented by Dr.
Guillotine. It was used for killing people.

RULE OF THE DIRECTORY

The rich middle class got power back. A new constitution which gave right to vote only to
men with property was introduced. It established two legislative councils. The councils
appointed a Directory of five men who formed the Executive. There were conflicts between
the Directory and the Councils. Napoleon Bonaparte, a military officer made use of this
troubled situation to capture power. In 1804, Nepoleon Bonaparte became The Emperor of
France. He conquered neighbouring countries and made his relatives the rulers of
conquered lands.

He passed laws to protect private property. He introduced a uniform system of weights and
measures based on decimal system. People of other European countries first considered him
a liberator. Later, they understood that his aim was to conquer their lands. So, they
considered him an invader.

WOMEN’S ROLE IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Women played an active role in the Revolution. They thought that the revolutionary
government would take steps to improve their condition.

Women’s condition was miserable during the Old Regime. Most of them were workers.
Women were paid very low wages. They did not get education or job training. Only the
daughters of Nobles and rich people could study in a convent. Women had to do domestic
work also. They had to collect water, queue up for bread and take care of the children.

Women were unhappy with the 1791 constitution, because it treated them as passive
citizens and denied them political rights. They formed political clubs. The Society of
Revolutionary and Republican women was the most important political club. Revolutionary
government took the following steps to improve women’s condition.

(i) Government schools were opened and schooling was made compulsory for girls.

(ii) Parents were instructed not to force their daughters to marry against their will.

(iii) Marriage was made a legal contract.

(iv) Divorce was made legal and both husband and wife got the right to apply for
divorce.

(v) Women were given job training and they could become artists or run business.

Women continued the struggle for political rights. Women’s clubs were closed during
the ‘Reign of Terror’. Many leaders were arrested and killed. Later, the French women joined
the International Suffrage Movement. In 1946, they got the right to vote.

SLAVERY IN FRENCH COLONIES: Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo were the
French colonies in Caribbean. The French started plantations in colonies. The Europeans
were not willing to go there to work. The plantations faced shortage of labour. So, a
triangular slave trade started between Europe, Africa and the Americas. French merchants
went to Africa, bought slaves from African chiefs and took them to Americas. They were
sold to plantation owners. Slaves life was miserable.

The National Assembly did not abolish slavery because they were afraid of the opposition
from slave traders. In 1794, the Convention abolished slavery. It was reintroduced when
Nepoleon captured power. It was finally abolished in 1848.

THE REVOLUTION AND EVERYDAY LIFE

The French Revolution brought about changes in the everyday life of the people.

(i) Many people stopped wearing knee breeches. They started to wear long stripped
trousers.

(ii) Monsieur and Madame were replaced by Citoyen and Citoyenne respectively.

(iii) Censorship was abolished. People enjoyed freedom of speech and expression.
Newspapers, Pamphlets and Printed Pictures circulated in cities and villages.