Shaping Nationalism
The French Revolution
• The French Revolution marked a turning
point for European Nationalism
• Marked the transition from Absolute
Monarch to Republic
The History Behind It
• The revolution had been growing for some
time, but the catalyst was the storming of
the Bastille on July 14, 1789
• It was a prison and its capture by the mob
was symbolic of the overtaking of tyranny
• The news of the Bastilles capture spread
across France and inspired people to take
up arms against the king and aristocracy
• It inspired the feeling that they were a
nation and could govern themselves.
• The idea of being the French Nation had
entered the peoples’ collective
consciousness
• In pre-revolutionary France, society was
divided into strict social order.
• The Monarch, aristocracy and high-ranking
clergy held most power
Estates-General
• The Estates General was an elected body
of three groups
1. First Estate- clergy
2. Second Estate- aristocrats
3. Third Estate- common people
• First and Second Estates tended to side
together and outvote the Third.
• June 1789, the Third Estate declared
themselves the National Assembly and
swore the Tennis Court Oath
• France was influenced by the Renaissance
ideas
• Paris became the cultural capital of Europe
• People were exposed to new ideas that
questioned the nobility
• Prior to the revolution, there was a
growing middle class called the
bourgeoisie. They were prosperous
professionals and began to demand more
say in decision making.
Financial Factors
• France had been at war and was basically
broke
• King called the Estates-General in order to
raise taxes
• The Third Estate opposed this because
they carried the tax burden
Geographic Factors
• Winter of 1788-89 was cold and people
were suffering
• Flooding was followed by a drought
• This led to food shortages and hunger
• The women of Paris marched to Versailles
to demand that the bread shortages be
addressed
• There was a rumor that Marie Antoinette
exclaimed “Let Them Eat Cake” in
response to the shortage
Declaration of the Rights of Man
• Summer 1789 the National Assembly
created the Declaration of the Rights of
Man.
• This document abolished the traditional
privileges of the upper class and sparked a
bloody struggle that radically changed
France.
• France became a secular-non religious
republic
• Liberty
• Egalitarianism
• Fraternity
• Widespread violence and bloodshed
ensued
• The nobility and those who supported the
king were targeted
• Many fled France
• Both the King and Marie Antoinette were
executed by guillotine…by 1793, the Reign
of Terror had begun
Foreign Reaction
• Obviously the other Monarchy’s of Europe
were shocked by what was occurring in
France.
• They were fearful of the ideas of
revolution spreading
• Other countries sent invasion forces into
France in an attempt to restore the
monarchy.
• How might this have affected French
Nationalism?