FRENCH REVOLUTION

RECAP:
*1614 : First meeting held for hike in taxes (Old regime)

*1774 : Louis XVI came to throne.

*5th May 1789: Louis XVI called a meeting of all 3 Estates.

*20th June : National Assembly was formed at Tennis Court (Versailles)

*14th July 1789: Storming of Bastille

*1789: Abolition of censorship.

*1789 : Louis XVI had secret negotiation with Prussia & Austria.
*4 August 1789: National Assembly passed a decree abolishing the
feudal system of obligations & taxes.

*1791: National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution

(CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY)

*1792 : National Assembly voted to declare a war against

Prussia & Austria.

*10th August 1792: Jacobins attacked palace of Tuileries.

*21st September 1792: Abolished monarchy & declared

France a REPUBLIC.
*1793 to 1794 : Reign of Terror

*21st January 1793 : Louis XVI was sentenced to

death(Guillotine)

*1793 : Olympe de Gouges was executed( Guillotine)

*1794 : Directory Ruled France….later got dismissed and

Napoleon took over.

*1804 : Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of

France.
 Women in France & their struggle for revolution:
PROBLEMS
• Most women did not have access to
education or job training.
• Only daughters of nobles or wealthier
members of the 3rd estate could study at
convent.
• Daughters were forced early into
marriage
• Low wages
• Women were first suppose to focus on
managing the family. Taking up job was
secondary.
CHANGE/SOLUTION/
REVOLUTION
• Schooling was made compulsory for all
girls.
• Their fathers could no longer force
them into marriage against their will.
• Marriage was registered under civil law
& divorce was made legal and could be
applied by both men & women .
• Women could now train for jobs and
run small businesses.
Olympe de Gouges’ struggle for women in France:
*one of the most important of the politically active women in revolutionary
France.

*She protested against ‘Declaration of Rights of Man & Citizen’ as it excluded

women.

*She wrote a ‘Declaration of Rights of Woman & Citizen’…and appealed the

Queen & National Assembly to act upon it.

*Olympe de Gouges was criticized by the Jacobin govt. for forcibly closing down
the women’s clubs.

*She was tried by the National Convention…which charged her with TREASON.

*She was executed finally.

Abolition of Slavery:
*Some colonies were important suppliers of commodities such as
TOBACCO , INDIGO , SUGAR & COFFEE.

*But the Europeans were reluctant to go to far distant and unfamiliar lands.

*Resulted in shortage of labour on the plantations…..and this gave rise to

slave trade(TRIANGULAR SLAVE TRADE).

*Merchants from France went to Africa----bought the people(slaves) from

the chieftains---Took them(Branded & shackled) to Caribbean Island
plantations.

*This is how the requirement of labours was met…to good trade benefit.
Port cities like: BORDAUX & NANTES owed
their economic prosperity to the flourishing slave
trade.
HISTORY OF SLAVERY:
*18th century saw very little criticism of slavery in France.

*Many debates were experienced….when the National Assembly was

formed.

*But no change was observed…as the economy of France was majorly

depending on slave trade.

*Finally the Convention of 1794 ordered to free the slaves.

*This was short-lived ……because Nepoleon reintroduced slavery…and

enslaved the Negroes until 1848…when slavery was completely
abolished.
THE REVOLUTION & EVERYDAY LIFE
*Abolition of censorship soon after the storming of
Bastille.
{Before that….every written material could only be published after
an approval from the king}

*Now the ‘Declaration of Man &Citizen’ proclaimed

freedom of speech & expression as a natural right.

*Newspapers, magazines, pamphlets etc…now

flooded to the countryside too.
*Freedom of press was offered : which meant…
that opposing views of events could be expressed.

*Plays , songs & festive processions attracted

people in large numbers….this conveyed one
thing…that is : Educated & even uneducated
people could now grasp the ideas of
liberty/justice/fraternity/equality…that political
philosophers wrote about in their books.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
* In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of
France.

*He Saw himself as the modernizer of Europe.

*He introduced many laws for:

1.PRIVATEPROPERTY,
2.UNIFORM SYSTEM OF WEIGHTS &
MEASURES PROVIDED BY THE DECIMAL
SYSTEM.
*Initially many saw him as a liberator…who would bring
freedom to people….but soon Napoleonic armies was viewed as
invading force.

*He lost his hold in Europe in 1815…when he was finally

defeated.

*Ideas of liberty, equality,freedom…spread worldwide around

19th century….Which people used to make their country
Sovereign.

*Tipu Sultan & Rammohan Roy welcomed the revolutionary

ideas.