France: A Very Different Kind of Revolution
A Unit 3 Reading
What was France Like Under Absolute Monarchy?
From 1600 to 1900, France was the most populous and
powerful nation in Europe. For half of that time, it had a
tradition of absolute monarchy – kings with total power over
the French government and society. Louis XIV (14) was the
ultimate example of these absolute monarchs.
The nobles and people of France referred to Louis as
the "Sun King" because he dazzled all in Europe and was the
center of his government (and because Louis wanted to be
known in this way…and Louis always got what he wanted).
What Was the Palace of Versailles?
Louis XIV of France
As a symbol of his power, Louis XIV built Versailles, the
most incredible royal residence in Europe. The king very rarely left this palace even to
go into Paris which was about 15 miles away. He spent much of his life making the
buildings, the gardens and the fountains more fantastic than anything else in all of the
known world in the 1600’s. Versailles represented the magnificence of the Sun
King…and of France.
Louis forced the nobles of France to move to his palace for long periods of time
so he could keep an eye on them. A rebellion by the nobles when Louis was just a boy
had taught him the lesson of controlling his powerful rivals. At Versailles, these nobles
were surrounded by art which featured images of Louis and building projects that he
alone designed. They were constantly reminded of who was in charge. The beautiful
palace became a type of royal prison for them.
What Did French Society Look Like During Louis XIV’s Time?
At the time of Louis XIV's rule in the late 1600’s, French society was divided into
three classes called "estates." It had been this way for centuries. In fact, this system
was called "L' Regime Ancien" (the Old Regime…the old way
of doing things).
The First Estate was made up of the leaders of the
Catholic Church in France (the clergy). The church owned
large areas of land. Though the clergy were taxed by the king,
the amount the First Estate had to pay was quite small.
The Second Estate was made up of the nobles who
had inherited their wealth. One privilege of being a noble was
that they did not have to pay any tax. However, nobles had
less freedom than the clergy. If they wanted to keep their
lands, they had to agree to live at Versailles for as long as
King Louis wanted them there. This group, like the clergy,
controlled quite a bit of the land and money even though it
A political cartoon showing the
only a small percentage of France’s population.
three estates.
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Who Made Up the Third Estate?
The largest of the three estates was the Third
Estate, made up of middle class city dwellers (the
bourgeoisie), urban workers and the urban poor (“urban” is
a word that means “city”), and peasant farmers. The
bourgeoisie were well-educated lawyers, doctors,
manufacturers, bankers, merchants and shop keepers.
Some were as rich as the nobles, but the law under the Old
Regime treated them like peasants.
Butchers, bakers, tanners, weavers and other skilled
tradesmen made up the working poor. These people came
to be known as the “sans-culottes” because they wore
work pants, not the knee-length culottes of the nobility.
(“Sans” in French means “without,” so “sans-culottes”
A painting of a “sans-culotte”
means “without fancy pants.”) These people depended
carrying an early version of the
French national flag, the “Tricolour.”
heavily on the supply of bread, and when harvests were
bad and the price of bread rose, so did the anger of the sans-culottes.
Peasant farmers made up the largest portion of the Third Estate. They paid taxes
to the nobles and the king and even more taxes to the church. They also had to give up
a certain number of days to repair government roads.
All three parts of the third estate had reasons for hating the Old Regime. The
sans-culotte got angry about bread prices. The bourgeoisie felt disrespected by the
members of the first and second estates. The peasant farmers paid more in taxes than
anyone else.
What Problems Faced France in the late 1780’s?
Louis XIV's great-great-great grandson, Louis XVI (16),
wasn't the same commanding, visionary leader that Louis XIV
had been a hundred years before. Though Louis XVI was
smart, he was also indecisive. Indecisiveness is a weakness
in the world of politics. However, Louis’ leadership style was
not his only problem.
France in the 1700s was deeply in debt, partly because
previous kings (including Louis XIV) had waged war both in
Europe and in the New World. Waging war is very costly.
Most recently, Louis XVI had agreed to help America in its
fight for independence from France's old enemy, the British.
In order to help the United States, France drained its own
treasury to dangerously low levels. And because the U.S.
Louis XVI of France
government had no way to collect taxes to repay loans,
France could not expect to get its money back any time soon.
Another problem for Louis XVI was his wife. He had married a young Austrian
princess named Marie Antoinette. Austria had been bitter enemies of France for many
years. The royal families of Austria and France arranged the marriage between Louis
and Marie Antoinette as a way of building strong, peaceful ties between the two
countries. However, the queen’s Austrian background and her habit of spending money
on all sorts of luxuries made her very unpopular with ordinary French people. She
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seemed more interested in parties, fancy clothes, and card games than the country's
financial problems or the poor people starving in the streets of Paris.
Nature did not cooperate either. In the late 1780’s France experienced a series of
heavy late summer storms followed by very harsh winters. This led to
record low wheat harvests. Less wheat meant increases in the price of
bread, the single most important part of the French diet. The average
French adult ate two to three pounds of bread per day. Shortages of
bread eventually led rioting.
Not only that, but the bourgeoisie were a
source of concern. This well educated part of
the Third Estate was reading some very
dangerous books written by philosophers like
Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Locke.
The bourgeoisie had been filling their heads with new ideas about natural rights,
equality, freedoms of speech and religion... Enlightenment ideas. These Enlightenment
ideas were not popular with members of the other two estates or the king, but the
middle class loved them. In fact, the bourgeoisie had noticed the success of the
American Revolution, a victory made possible by their own king. French middle class
people began to think, “If the Americans could get greater respect and more freedoms
from their king, perhaps the people of France could too.”
What Was the Estates General?
Louis XVI hid away at Versailles avoiding his country’s problems until they
couldn’t be avoided any longer. By the spring of 1789, France was almost bankrupt.
Louis tried to tax the nobles. The nobles rejected the idea unless the king called a
meeting of the three estates (an "Estates General"). This rarely used tradition was
reserved for very important decisions. The king called the Estates General to resolve
the debt issue, and representatives of the three estates came to Versailles in May,
1789.
When making decisions during an Estates General, the tradition was to give each
estate one vote. So, the first two estates could always out-vote the Third Estate. Third
Estate representatives (all of whom are members of the bourgeoisie) pushed for one
vote per representative, a fairer and more enlightened way of decision-making. The
King rejected the idea and insisted that the tradition of one vote per estate be used.
In frustration, the Third Estate decided to declare itself the "National Assembly"
with the power to make laws for all of the people. It invited the other estates to join the
new National Assembly as equals. The representatives proposed to make a constitution
(or plan for government) with or without the other estates. This decision is the first act of
rebellion and the first step toward tearing down the Old Regime.
In response to the Third Estate’s boldness, the king
locked them out of their meeting room. The Third Estate
representatives met in an enclosed tennis court instead.
There they swore that they would keep meeting until they
had created a new constitution for France. This promise has
come to be known as the "Tennis Court Oath."
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What Was the Bastille and Why did French Citizens Attack It?
King Louis was alarmed by the boldness of the Third Estate. He wanted to keep
order and remind the Third Estate who was in charge. He called for his mercenaries, the
Swiss army, to move into Paris to regain control of the streets and to guard the palace
at Versailles. The citizens of Paris noticed the movement of troops and feared that the
new National Assembly was about to be disbanded or imprisoned. They rallied to form a
citizen militia (citizen army) to protect the National Assembly and gathered as many
weapons as possible.
However, the citizens did not have gun powder. They knew that the king stored a
large supply of it in a prison in central Paris call the Bastille. For hundreds of years this
prison had been the place where the kings of France had locked away their enemies.
Wanting gun powder and wanting to smash this symbol of the king’s tyranny, the citizen
militia attacked and broke into the Bastille on July 14, 1789. By the end of the day, the
Bastille guards were dead and the lifeless body of the prison warden was dragged
through the streets of Paris.
In time, the violent overthrow of the Bastille came to represent the successful
challenge to the king and overturning of the Old Regime. To this date, France marks
July 14 (called “Bastille Day”) as its national day of independence. Shortly after the
Bastille was stormed, the National Assembly adopted a new three color flag for the
nation (the same one used by France today). Citizens of Paris spent the next few
months tearing down the Bastille by hand.
What Was the Great Fear?
In the weeks after the storming of the Bastille, fear and rumor
spread through the countryside of France. Peasants began to believe
that the nobles who taxed them were hiring foreign troops to attack
them. These peasant farmers were tired of the oppression by the
nobles. They became oppressors themselves and attacked the nobles
and their property. They destroyed the legal papers which bound them
to the nobles. They hoped to end the tradition of paying feudal dues to
the nobles. Large numbers of these nobles began fleeing to other
countries. It was war between the classes. A Great Fear gripped all of France.
What Was the Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen?
Back at Versailles, the National Assembly continued working toward the promise
of a new constitution. In August it approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen. This document was shaped by Enlightenment ideas and the American
Declaration of Independence. It declared that all French citizens would be free to speak
as they wish, to worship freely and to read and write whatever they liked. It stated that
all citizens were born with natural rights: they were free and equal and had the right to
own property and to protect themselves. They also had the right to fight against
government tyranny. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity would be the promises of the
Revolution.
Though the document never once mentioned the king, the government it helped
to create was a constitutional monarchy which shared power between the king and a
group of law makers. Over the next few years, the lawmakers met and steadily chipped
away at the power of Louis XVI.
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What Was the Women’s March?
In October of 1789, a rumor spread through Paris about a party thrown at
Versailles. According to the story, guests at the party were encouraged to trample on
the France’s new national flag. Angered by this story and by shortages of bread, a
crowd of about 7,000 working women from Paris marched 15 miles to Versailles. Why,
these women argued, should the king and queen live in such luxury at Versailles while
their citizens suffer such hardships? At first the women demanded to meet with the king,
but eventually they demanded that the king and queen move to Paris to be closer to the
problems of their people. The women broke into the palace, killing several guards and
raiding the king's supply of grain. In the end, they forced the king and his family to move
to Paris. It was the last time that a king of France ever lived at Versailles.
Why and How Did the Revolution Split?
One decision made by the National Assembly was to take control of the Catholic
Church. Members of the Assembly felt Church leaders were guilty of participating in the
corruption of Old Regime. Under the new rules, church officials would be chosen by
local election (not chosen by the Pope in
Rome). Some church lands would be sold to
raise money to pay off debts. Peasant
farmers in the countryside became very
upset by these changes. They tended to be
the most religious members of French
society and thought it was wrong to treat the
Catholic Church in this way. As a result, the
Revolution never again had the wide
support of French peasant farmers.
Tensions between Catholic peasants and the Revolutionary government would result in
several years of religious persecution and thousands of deaths.
Some members of the National Assembly agreed with the peasants. They were
concerned about the Revolution going too far too quickly. They were eager to return
France to a time when the king again had more power. These lawmakers were called
“Conservatives” and usually sat together on the right of the assembly room. Other
members of the Legislative Assembly believed that the Revolution was not moving fast
enough. These leaders, called “Radicals,” wanted to completely abolish the monarchy
and erase all evidence of the Old Regime. They usually sat together on the left side of
the assembly room. In the middle sat the “Moderates” who believed that some sort of
constitutional monarchy was best. To this day in politics, people use these “left, right,
and center” references to describe what political leaders believe about how best to
govern any country.
Why Did the King Attempt to Escape?
Concerned for his family’s safety and determined to regain control of France with
the help of foreign troops, the King and his family tried to sneak out of France disguised
as servants in June of 1791. They nearly made it to Austria where the queen’s family
lived, but Louis was recognized by someone who had seen his portrait on French
money. The king and his family are publically returned to Paris and the king’s reputation
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was forever damaged. Louis, who had sworn to support the Revolution, was instead
trying abandon or (even worse) overthrow it.
Why Did France Go to War With Austria?
The royal families of Austria and other European monarchies expressed their
concern for the safety of Louis XVI and his family. These monarchs were related to
Louis and Marie Antoinette. They were also worried about revolutionary ideas spreading
to their own populations. They warned Revolutionary leaders in France not to harm the
royal family, but instead to return them to power. If Revolutionary leaders refused,
France would be invaded.
Leaders in National Assembly feared that Austria and other European powers
would attack France and restore Louis as the absolute monarch. They also hoped to
spread the Liberty, Equality and Fraternity of Revolution throughout Europe. As a result,
the National Assembly declared war on Austria in April of 1792. The early battles did not
go well for France because it was disorganized and because Prussia, a large German
kingdom, joined the conflict on the side of Austria. Austrians armies invaded France and
came very close to Paris.
What were the September Massacres?
While the war went poorly, rumors spread
throughout Paris that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
were somehow spying for the Austrians. A mob
provoked by a radical political club called the
Jacobins attacked the royal palace in Paris and
imprisoned the royal family. Members of this radical
group of Jacobins took over the National Assembly
and voted to abolish the monarchy and create the
Republic of France.
The same mobs that attacked the royal palace
were whipped up by new rumors. As Austrian forces neared the city, many people in
Paris worried that these armies would take over Paris and free imprisoned nobles and
clergy members, reestablishing the Old Regime. Another rumor spread that there were
not enough French soldiers left in the city to control the prisons. Finally, in September of
1792, the fear of what could happen became too great and mobs attacked the prisons.
Priests, nobles, and other enemies of the Revolution were massacred in their cells. In
one night of bloodshed, 1400 prisoners were slaughtered.
Who Was Maximilian Robespierre?
Once the radical Jacobin members of the National
Assembly had taken control of the government of France, their first
decisive act was to put King Louis on trial for treason. Maximilian
Robespierre and other leaders of the radicals did not want to take
any chance that King Louis could be rescued and returned to the
throne. The trial was conducted publically with the members of the
National Assembly (now called the Legislative Assembly) serving
as the judges and jury. Numerous charges were brought against
“Citizen Louis Capet” (as the king was now called) who defended himself forcefully
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against each. When the vote to convict was
taken, a narrow margin voted to convict Louis
and execute him using a new device called “the
guillotine.”
Designed by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Gullotine,
the device was intended to give the condemned
a quick, merciful death. Instead, the guillotine
became a symbol of terror, an engine of death
that would be used in as many as 40,000
executions. One of its early victims was Louis
XVI, former absolute monarch of France, who
was executed on January 21st, 1793. Leaders of
other European monarchies were horrified at the
news and joined in the war against France.
Why Was France So Successful in Its Wars Against the Rest of Europe?
Even though France had many problems and was going through a revolution, it
was still a wealthy country with one of the largest populations in Europe. Faced with the
challenge of a coalition of nations, France's new Republican government raised armies
of volunteers and conscripts (soldiers who were drafted). The French forces swelled to
over 800,000 men. The French army scored victory after victory over their mercenary
opponents because so many of French soldiers were more devoted to the
Revolutionary cause. Some of the French army’s most striking victories were directed
by a new general named Napoleon Bonaparte.
What was the Reign of Terror?
Back in France Robespierre and the radicals set out to build a "Republic of
Virtue" by wiping out all traces of the monarchy and nobility. Even the calendar was
changed to erase any connection to the Old Regime. As Robespierre explained it,
France would be purified through terror. All enemies of the Revolution would eventually
be wiped out. During this “Reign of Terror” anyone could come under suspicion for even
the slightest act. A kind word about the dead king, a disagreement with a neighbor,
looking or acting like a noble… all of these could result in an accusation, arrest and
conviction. Robespierre and the
radicals were committed to swift
justice. Victims of the Terror
were often tried in the morning
and executed that same
afternoon.
Many of the victims of the
guillotine during the Reign of
Terror were not nobles or
enemies of the Revolution. Most
were peasants… people that the
Revolution initially set out to
help. Robespierre used the Terror to eliminate anyone who challenged his power,
having them tried and convicted as enemies of the Revolution. He ruled over France as
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a dictator from 1793 to 1794. In the end, the Revolution devoured its most radical
leaders as one after another were accused and executed as enemies of the Revolution.
Fearing that it was only a matter of time before Robespierre turned on them, moderate
members of the Legislative Assembly turned on Robespierre, trying and convicted him.
The Reign of Terror ended with Robespierre being guillotined on July 28th, 1794.
How did the Revolution End?
Sick of the Terror and seeking stability, leaders of the Third Estate turned their
backs on the radicals. Moderates took charge of a new government and found a
"supremely talented" young general to lead their war against Austria: Napoleon
Bonaparte. In time, Napoleon would lead the country, too…first as an appointed
director, and eventually as a self-crowned emperor.
A lack of leadership, debt, food shortages, and series of other problems led
citizens to challenge an unfair social structure. Centuries of anger boiled over into an
open conflict between the
three social classes.
Sweeping reforms gave way
to despotism (tyranny) of
mob rule and then to the
despotism of Robespierre.
The dream of a free, equal
brotherhood died in the
Terror. In the end, French
citizens were willing to give
up some of their new-found
freedoms in exchange for
peace and security.
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