French Revolution
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| + | [[Image:The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David (1793).jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[The Death of Marat]]'' (1793) by Jacques-Louis David]] | ||
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| + | "[[Let them eat cake]]"--misattributed to Marie Antoinette | ||
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| + | "May the last [[king]] be [[Strangling|strangle]]d in the [[bowels]] of the last [[priest]]" --Denis Diderot [[may the last king be strangled in the bowels of the last priest|[...]]] | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | "Edmund Burke's "[[Letter to a Member of the National Assembly]]", published in February 1791, was a diatribe against [[Rousseau]], whom he considered the paramount influence on French Revolution."--Sholem Stein | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | "Notable excesses of the [[French Revolution]] include the [[September Massacres]], the [[Use of the Guillotine in Paris|guillotine executions]], the [[Reign of Terror]], the [[Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution|dechristianization]], the [[drownings at Nantes]] and [[Republican marriage]]s, [[The Death of Marat]], the [[War in the Vendée]], the [[death of Princess of Lamballe]] and of course the [[beheading of Louis XVI]]."--Sholem Stein | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | "To the [[French Revolution|revolutionaries]], the [[execution of Louis XVI]] was a [[regicide]], to royalists, it was [[deicide]]."--Sholem Stein | ||
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| + | “The year [[1789]] is hereby [[erased from history]]” --Joseph Goebbels as newly appointed Nazi Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, radio broadcast of April 1, 1933 | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | "If the [[Bastille]] was almost empty on July 14, 1789, it was full of meaning for the men who made it into the central symbol of radical propaganda before the [[French Revolution]]." --''[[The Great Cat Massacre]]'' (1984) by Robert Darnton | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | "When the [[French Revolution]] overthrew civil and religious laws together, the human mind lost its balance. Men knew not where to stop or what measure to observe. There arose a new order of revolutionists, whose boldness was madness, who shrank from no novelty, knew no scruples, listened to no argument or objection." --''[[The Old Regime and the Revolution]]'' (1856) by Alexis de Tocqueville | ||
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| + | [[Image:Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple.jpg|thumb|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[politics]] series.<br><small>Illustration:''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'' (1831, detail) by Eugène Delacroix.</small>]] | ||
| + | [[Image:Napoléon Bonaparte abdicated in Fontainebleau.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Napoléon Bonaparte abdicated in Fontainebleau]]'' (1845) by Paul Delaroche]] | ||
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| - | : The French Revolution is a major turning point in continental European history, from the age of monarchies to that of the [[bourgeoisie]], and even of the [[Mass society|mass]]es, as the dominant political force. [[Richard Davenport-Hines ]] has called ''[[Frankenstein]]'' gothic literature's most enduring parable of French [[revolutionary]] [[excess]]. | + | The '''French Revolution''' (Révolution française; 1789–1799), was a period of [[Radicalism (historical) |radical]] social and political upheaval in [[France]] that had a lasting impact on [[History of France|French history]] and more broadly throughout [[History of Europe#Political revolution|Europe]]. The [[absolute monarchy]] that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years. French society underwent an epic transformation, as [[feudalism|feudal]], aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical [[left-wing#History of the term|left-wing]] political groups, [[Sans-culottes|masses on the streets]], and peasants in the countryside. Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy regarding monarchs, aristocrats, and the Catholic Church were abruptly overthrown by new principles of [[Liberté, égalité, fraternité]] (liberty, equality and fraternity). The royal houses across Europe were horrified and led a countercrusade that by 1814 had restored the old monarchy, but many major reforms became permanent. So too did antagonisms between the supporters and enemies of the Revolution, who fought it out politically over the next two centuries. |
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| + | Amidst a fiscal crisis, the common people of France were increasingly angered by the incompetency of [[King Louis XVI]] and the continued indifference and decadence of the aristocracy. This resentment, coupled with burgeoning [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideals, fueled radical sentiments, and the French Revolution began in 1789 with the convocation of the [[Estates-General of 1789|Estates-General]] in May. The first year of the Revolution saw members of the Third Estate proclaiming the [[Tennis Court Oath]] in June, the [[Storming of the Bastille|assault on the Bastille]] in July, the passage of the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] in August, and an [[The Women's March on Versailles|epic march on Versailles]] that forced the royal court back to Paris in October. The next few years were dominated by struggles between various [[The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy|liberal assemblies]] and a [[right wing]] of supporters of the monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[First French Republic|A republic]] was proclaimed in September 1792 and King Louis XVI was executed the next year. External threats shaped the course of the Revolution. The [[French Revolutionary Wars]] began in 1792 and ultimately featured [[Military history of France|spectacular French victories]] that facilitated the conquest of the [[Italian Peninsula]], the [[Low Countries]] and most territories west of the [[Rhine]] – achievements that had eluded previous French governments for centuries. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Internally, popular sentiments radicalized the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of [[Maximilien Robespierre]] and the [[Jacobin Club|Jacobins]] and virtual dictatorship by the [[Committee of Public Safety]] during the [[Reign of Terror]] from 1793 until 1794 during which between 16,000 and 40,000 people were killed. After the fall of the Jacobins and the execution of Robespierre, the [[French Directory|Directory]] assumed control of the French state in 1795 and held power until 1799, when it was replaced by the Consulate under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in 1799. His dictatorship demonstrated undisputed military genius that took France through a series of wars. He was finally defeated in 1815 by a coalition of almost all of Europe, but not before spreading French revolutionary ideals across much of the continent. Historians debate whether Napoleon was the highest achievement of the Revolution or an entirely different direction. | ||
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| + | The [[Modern history|modern era]] has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. The growth of republics and [[liberal democracy|liberal democracies]], the spread of [[secularism]], the development of modern [[ideology|ideologies]], and the invention of [[total war]] all mark their birth during the Revolution. Subsequent events that can be traced to the Revolution include the [[Napoleonic Wars]], two separate restorations of monarchy ([[Bourbon Restoration]] and [[July Monarchy]]), and two additional revolutions ([[July Revolution|1830]] and [[French Revolution of 1848|1848]]) as [[modern France]] took shape. | ||
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| + | ==Causes== | ||
| + | :''[[Causes of the French Revolution]], [[The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France]]'' | ||
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| + | The '''Causes of the French Revolution''' are very significant [[historical factor]]s lending to the instigation of the French Revolution. [[France]] in 1789, although facing some [[Economy|economic]] (especially taxation) difficulties and simplicities, was [[one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe]]; Additionally, the masses of most other European powers had less [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] and a higher chance of arbitrary punishment. However, at the time Louis XVI called the [[Estates-General of 1789]], his government as well as the nobility had become clearly unpopular. | ||
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| + | The ''[[Ancien Régime in France]]'' was brought down partly by its own rigidity in the face of a changing world and partly by the ambitions of a rising [[bourgeoisie]], allied with aggrieved [[peasant]]s, [[wage-earner]]s and various individuals of all classes influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. As the revolution proceeded and power devolved from the monarchy to legislative bodies, the conflicting interests of these initially allied groups would become the source of conflict and bloodshed. | ||
| + | ==Excesses== | ||
| - | The '''French Revolution''' (1789–1799) was a period of [[Radicalism|radical]] [[political revolution|political]] and [[social revolution]] in [[History of France|French]] and [[History of Europe|European]] history. The [[absolute monarchy]] that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French [[society]] underwent an epic transformation as [[feudalism|feudal]], [[aristocracy|aristocratic]], and [[Roman Catholic Church|religious]] privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from [[liberalism|liberal]] political groups and the masses on the streets. Old ideas about hierarchy and tradition succumbed to new [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] principles of [[citizenship]] and [[inalienable rights]]. | + | The [[excess]]es of the French Revolution are so numerous and so noteworthy that the phrase "excesses of the French Revolution" brings up 232,000 hits[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22excesses+of+the+French+Revolution%22&oq=%22excesses+of+the+French+Revolution%22&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1038j0j4&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=%22excesses+of+the+French+Revolution%22&tbm=bks] on Google Books as of early 2014. Some speak of a [[genocide]]. |
| - | The French Revolution began in 1789 with the convocation of the [[Estates-General of 1789|Estates-General]] in May. The first year of the Revolution witnessed members of the [[Third Estate]] proclaiming the [[Tennis Court Oath]] in June, the [[Storming of the Bastille|assault on the Bastille]] in July, the passage of the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] in August, and an [[The Women's March on Versailles|epic march]] on [[Versailles]] that forced the royal court back to [[Paris]] in October. The next few years were dominated by tensions between a liberal legislature and a [[conservatism|conservative]] monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms. A [[First French Republic|republic]] was eventually proclaimed on September 22, 1792. External threats also played a dominant role in the development of the Revolution. The [[French Revolutionary Wars]] started in 1792 and ultimately featured spectacular French victories that facilitated the conquest of the [[Italian peninsula]], the [[Low Countries]], and most territories west of the [[Rhine]]—achievements that had defied previous French governments for centuries. Internally, popular sentiments radicalized the Revolution significantly, culminating in the brutal [[Reign of Terror]] from 1793 until 1794. After the fall of [[Maximilien Robespierre|Robespierre]] and the [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobins]], the [[French Directory|Directory]] assumed control of the French state in 1795 and held power until 1799, when it was replaced by the [[French Consulate|Consulate]] under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. | + | Notable episodes in the history of these excesses are the [[September Massacres]], the [[Use of the Guillotine in Paris|guillotine executions]], the [[Reign of Terror]], the [[Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution|dechristianization]], the [[drownings at Nantes]] and [[Republican marriage]]s, [[The Death of Marat]], the [[beheading of Louis XVI]], the [[War in the Vendée]] and the [[death of Princess of Lamballe]]. |
| - | The [[Modern history|modern era]] has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. The growth of republics and [[liberal democracy|liberal democracies]], the spread of [[secularism]], the development of modern [[ideology|ideologies]], and the invention of [[total war]] all mark their birth during the Revolution. Subsequent events that can be traced to the Revolution include the [[Napoleonic Wars]], two separate [[Bourbon Restoration|restorations of the monarchy]], and two additional revolutions as [[modern era|modern]] France took shape. In the following century, France would be governed at one point or another as a [[republic]], [[constitutional monarchy]], and two different [[French Empire|empires]]. | + | [[Denis Diderot]] is infamous for suggesting "[[may the last king be strangled in the bowels of the last priest]]." |
| - | == Causes of the French Revolution == | + | |
| - | :''[[Causes of the French Revolution]]'' | + | In the arts, an exemplary illustration is ''[[Petit Souper a la Parisienne]]'' (1792) by [[James Gillray]] and the ''[[Desastres]]'' by Goya. |
| - | Adherents of most historical models identify many of the same features of the ''[[Ancien Régime]]'' as being among the causes of the Revolution. Economic factors included widespread [[famine]] and [[malnutrition]], due to rising bread prices (from a normal 8 [[Solidus (coin)|sous]] for a 4-pound loaf to 12 sous by the end of 1789), which increased the likelihood of [[disease]] and death, and intentional [[starvation]] in the most destitute segments of the population in the months immediately before the Revolution. The famine extended even to other parts of [[Europe]], and was not helped by a poor transportation infrastructure for bulk foods. (Recent research has also attributed the widespread famine to an [[El Niño]] effect following the [[Laki#1783 eruption|1783 Laki eruption]] in [[Iceland]], or colder climate of the [[Little Ice Age]] combined with France's failure to adopt the [[potato]] as a [[staple crop]].) | + | |
| - | Another cause was the fact that [[Louis XV]] fought many wars, bringing France to the verge of bankruptcy, and [[Louis XVI]] supported the colonists during the [[American Revolution]], exacerbating the precarious financial condition of the government. The national debt amounted to almost two billion [[livre tournois|livres]]. The social burdens caused by war included the huge war debt, made worse by the monarchy's military failures and ineptitude, and the lack of social services for war veterans. The inefficient and antiquated financial system was unable to manage the [[government debt|national debt]], something which was both caused and exacerbated by the burden of a grossly inequitable system of taxation. Another cause was the continued [[conspicuous consumption]] of the noble class, especially the court of [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and [[Marie-Antoinette of France|Marie-Antoinette]] at [[Versailles]], despite the financial burden on the populace. High [[unemployment]] and high bread prices caused more money to be spent on food and less in other areas of the economy. The [[Roman Catholic Church]], the largest landowner in the country, levied a tax on crops known as the ''dîme'' or [[tithe]]. While the ''dîme'' lessened the severity of the monarchy's tax increases, it worsened the plight of the poorest who faced a daily struggle with malnutrition. There was too little internal trade and too many customs barriers. | + | [[Richard Davenport Hines]] has called ''[[Frankenstein]]'' the most enduring parable of French revolutionary excess. |
| - | There were also social and political factors, many of which involved resentments and aspirations given focus by the rise of [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideals. These included resentment of royal [[political absolutism|absolutism]]; resentment by the ambitious professional and mercantile classes towards noble privileges and dominance in public life, as many of these classes were familiar with the lives of their peers in commercial cities in the [[Netherlands]] and [[Great Britain]]; resentment by peasants, wage-earners, and the [[bourgeoisie]] toward the traditional [[manorialism|seigneurial]] privileges possessed by nobles; resentment of clerical advantage ([[anti-clericalism]]) and aspirations for [[freedom of religion]], resentment of aristocratic bishops by the poorer rural clergy, continued hatred for Catholic control, and influence on institutions of all kinds by the large [[Protestantism|Protestant]] minorities; aspirations for liberty and (especially as the Revolution progressed) [[republicanism]]; and anger toward the King for firing [[Jacques Necker]] and [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune|A.R.J. Turgot]] (among other financial advisors), who were popularly seen as representatives of the people. | + | The cause of the revolutionary excess was sought in the cult that grew up around [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] after his death, and particularly the radicalized versions of Rousseau's ideas that were adopted by [[Maximilien Robespierre|Robespierre]] and [[Louis Antoine de Saint-Just|Saint-Just]] during the [[Reign of Terror]]. It caused him to become identified with the most extreme aspects of the French Revolution. Burke's "[[Letter to a Member of the National Assembly]]", published in February 1791, was a diatribe against Rousseau, whom he considered the paramount influence on French Revolution. |
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | ===Related pages=== | + | *''[[Interpreting the French Revolution]]'' (1978) by Furet |
| - | *[[Historiography and the French Revolution]] | + | *[[Beheading of Louis XVI]] |
| + | *[[Communism in France]] | ||
| + | *[[Historiography of the French Revolution]] | ||
| + | *[[Biens nationaux]] | ||
| + | *[[General will]] | ||
| *[[History of democracy]] | *[[History of democracy]] | ||
| - | *[[Jean-Nicolas Pache]] - [[Liberté, égalité, fraternité|Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité]] | + | *[[Liberté, égalité, fraternité|Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité]] |
| - | *[[List of revolutions and rebellions]] | + | *[[Art and the French Revolution]] |
| - | *[[Rise of nationalism in Europe]] | + | *[[Influence of the French Revolution]] |
| - | ===Other revolutions or rebellions in French history=== | ||
| - | *[[Camisard]] Rebellion, French [[Huguenots]] (1710–1715) | ||
| - | *[[Haitian Revolution]], Haiti colony (1791–1804) | ||
| - | *[[July Revolution]] (1830) | ||
| - | *[[Canut revolts]] of the [[July Monarchy]] | ||
| - | *[[French Revolution of 1848]] | ||
| - | *Resistance to the [[French coup of 1851|coup of 1851]] | ||
| - | *[[Paris Commune]] of 1871 | ||
| - | *[[French Army Mutinies (1917)]] | ||
| - | *[[French Resistance]] during [[World War II]] | ||
| - | *[[May 1968 in France]], a noteworthy rebellion, though not quite a revolution | ||
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Current revision
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"Let them eat cake"--misattributed to Marie Antoinette "May the last king be strangled in the bowels of the last priest" --Denis Diderot [...] "Edmund Burke's "Letter to a Member of the National Assembly", published in February 1791, was a diatribe against Rousseau, whom he considered the paramount influence on French Revolution."--Sholem Stein "Notable excesses of the French Revolution include the September Massacres, the guillotine executions, the Reign of Terror, the dechristianization, the drownings at Nantes and Republican marriages, The Death of Marat, the War in the Vendée, the death of Princess of Lamballe and of course the beheading of Louis XVI."--Sholem Stein "To the revolutionaries, the execution of Louis XVI was a regicide, to royalists, it was deicide."--Sholem Stein “The year 1789 is hereby erased from history” --Joseph Goebbels as newly appointed Nazi Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, radio broadcast of April 1, 1933 "If the Bastille was almost empty on July 14, 1789, it was full of meaning for the men who made it into the central symbol of radical propaganda before the French Revolution." --The Great Cat Massacre (1984) by Robert Darnton "When the French Revolution overthrew civil and religious laws together, the human mind lost its balance. Men knew not where to stop or what measure to observe. There arose a new order of revolutionists, whose boldness was madness, who shrank from no novelty, knew no scruples, listened to no argument or objection." --The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856) by Alexis de Tocqueville |
Illustration:Liberty Leading the People (1831, detail) by Eugène Delacroix.
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Featured: |
The French Revolution (Révolution française; 1789–1799), was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France that had a lasting impact on French history and more broadly throughout Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years. French society underwent an epic transformation, as feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical left-wing political groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside. Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy regarding monarchs, aristocrats, and the Catholic Church were abruptly overthrown by new principles of Liberté, égalité, fraternité (liberty, equality and fraternity). The royal houses across Europe were horrified and led a countercrusade that by 1814 had restored the old monarchy, but many major reforms became permanent. So too did antagonisms between the supporters and enemies of the Revolution, who fought it out politically over the next two centuries.
Amidst a fiscal crisis, the common people of France were increasingly angered by the incompetency of King Louis XVI and the continued indifference and decadence of the aristocracy. This resentment, coupled with burgeoning Enlightenment ideals, fueled radical sentiments, and the French Revolution began in 1789 with the convocation of the Estates-General in May. The first year of the Revolution saw members of the Third Estate proclaiming the Tennis Court Oath in June, the assault on the Bastille in July, the passage of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August, and an epic march on Versailles that forced the royal court back to Paris in October. The next few years were dominated by struggles between various liberal assemblies and a right wing of supporters of the monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms.
A republic was proclaimed in September 1792 and King Louis XVI was executed the next year. External threats shaped the course of the Revolution. The French Revolutionary Wars began in 1792 and ultimately featured spectacular French victories that facilitated the conquest of the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and most territories west of the Rhine – achievements that had eluded previous French governments for centuries.
Internally, popular sentiments radicalized the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins and virtual dictatorship by the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror from 1793 until 1794 during which between 16,000 and 40,000 people were killed. After the fall of the Jacobins and the execution of Robespierre, the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795 and held power until 1799, when it was replaced by the Consulate under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. His dictatorship demonstrated undisputed military genius that took France through a series of wars. He was finally defeated in 1815 by a coalition of almost all of Europe, but not before spreading French revolutionary ideals across much of the continent. Historians debate whether Napoleon was the highest achievement of the Revolution or an entirely different direction.
The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. The growth of republics and liberal democracies, the spread of secularism, the development of modern ideologies, and the invention of total war all mark their birth during the Revolution. Subsequent events that can be traced to the Revolution include the Napoleonic Wars, two separate restorations of monarchy (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy), and two additional revolutions (1830 and 1848) as modern France took shape.
Causes
The Causes of the French Revolution are very significant historical factors lending to the instigation of the French Revolution. France in 1789, although facing some economic (especially taxation) difficulties and simplicities, was one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe; Additionally, the masses of most other European powers had less freedom and a higher chance of arbitrary punishment. However, at the time Louis XVI called the Estates-General of 1789, his government as well as the nobility had become clearly unpopular.
The Ancien Régime in France was brought down partly by its own rigidity in the face of a changing world and partly by the ambitions of a rising bourgeoisie, allied with aggrieved peasants, wage-earners and various individuals of all classes influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. As the revolution proceeded and power devolved from the monarchy to legislative bodies, the conflicting interests of these initially allied groups would become the source of conflict and bloodshed.
Excesses
The excesses of the French Revolution are so numerous and so noteworthy that the phrase "excesses of the French Revolution" brings up 232,000 hits[1] on Google Books as of early 2014. Some speak of a genocide.
Notable episodes in the history of these excesses are the September Massacres, the guillotine executions, the Reign of Terror, the dechristianization, the drownings at Nantes and Republican marriages, The Death of Marat, the beheading of Louis XVI, the War in the Vendée and the death of Princess of Lamballe.
Denis Diderot is infamous for suggesting "may the last king be strangled in the bowels of the last priest."
In the arts, an exemplary illustration is Petit Souper a la Parisienne (1792) by James Gillray and the Desastres by Goya.
Richard Davenport Hines has called Frankenstein the most enduring parable of French revolutionary excess.
The cause of the revolutionary excess was sought in the cult that grew up around Jean-Jacques Rousseau after his death, and particularly the radicalized versions of Rousseau's ideas that were adopted by Robespierre and Saint-Just during the Reign of Terror. It caused him to become identified with the most extreme aspects of the French Revolution. Burke's "Letter to a Member of the National Assembly", published in February 1791, was a diatribe against Rousseau, whom he considered the paramount influence on French Revolution.
See also
- Interpreting the French Revolution (1978) by Furet
- Beheading of Louis XVI
- Communism in France
- Historiography of the French Revolution
- Biens nationaux
- General will
- History of democracy
- Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité
- Art and the French Revolution
- Influence of the French Revolution
