French Revolution
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| :''[[Reign of Terror]], [[Causes of the French Revolution]], [[The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France]], [[art and the French Revolution]]'' | :''[[Reign of Terror]], [[Causes of the French Revolution]], [[The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France]], [[art and the French Revolution]]'' | ||
| - | 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 '''French Revolution''' ({{lang-fr|Révolution française}}; 1789–1799), was a period of [[Political radicalism|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. |
| - | 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]]. | + | 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. |
| - | The [[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]]. | + | [[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. |
| - | == Causes of the French Revolution == | + | |
| - | :''[[Causes of the French Revolution]]'' | + | 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.<ref>Donald Greer, ''The Incidence of the Terror during the French Revolution: A Statistical Interpretation'' (1935).</ref> 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. |
| - | 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. | + | |
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| - | 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. | + | |
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| - | 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 [[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]]<ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the birth of warfare as we know it |last=Bell|first=David Avrom |year=2007 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=New York |isbn=0-618-34965-0 |page=51 |url= |quote=The French Revolution, which began in 1789 and led to the total war of 1792–1815.... }}</ref> 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. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| *[[Historiography and the French Revolution]] | *[[Historiography and the French Revolution]] | ||
Revision as of 20:28, 25 April 2013
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- Reign of Terror, Causes of the French Revolution, The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France, art and the French Revolution
The French Revolution (Template:Lang-fr; 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.<ref>Donald Greer, The Incidence of the Terror during the French Revolution: A Statistical Interpretation (1935).</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.
See also
- Historiography and the French Revolution
- History of democracy
- Jean-Nicolas Pache - Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité
- List of revolutions and rebellions
- List of revolutions and rebellions in French history
- Timeline of the French Revolution
- La Révolution française (film)
- Biens nationaux
- Dual revolution
- History of democracy
- Jean-Nicolas Pache - Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité
- List of people granted honorary French citizenship during the French Revolution
- Military career of Napoleon Bonaparte
- Napoleonic code
- Rise of nationalism in Europe
- Art and the French Revolution
Cultural depictions
The French Revolution is the subject of an opera, Le bleu-blanc-rouge et le noir by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero, written in 1989 for the bicentenary of the French Revolution.
