The French Revolution Until the beginning of the Revolution in 1789, France had been an absolute monarchy: the power of the king was not limited by any kind of body such as a parliament. French society was divided into three large groups, known as the estates the clergy (that is, the officials of the Roman Catholic Church); the aristocrats, who had always been rich because of their land and property; the bourgeoisie, a class considered lower than the aristocrats, who were becoming rich because of business. The clergy and the aristocrats did not pay taxes. France had terrible financial problems in the 18th century, and the unequal taxation system was hated by the bourgeoisie and peasantry, the poor people who worked on the land. A contemporary illustration of the three estates. Left to right: the clergy, the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie. 64
La Prise de la Bastille ( The Taking of the Bastille ), a painting by Jean-Pierre Houël done just after the event. In the centre, the Governor of the Bastille is being arrested: he was later killed by the crowd. Unfair taxation was one cause of the Revolution. Another was the revolutionary ideas brought back to France by French soldiers who had fought for America in the American Revolution (1776-83). In addition, there was a serious shortage 1 of food in the 1780s. In the years 1787-89 the situation became critical. The bourgeoisie still wanted a greater role in the economic and political life of the country, while the aristocrats and clergy were afraid that a new system of taxation was about to be introduced. The king, Louis XVI, reacted to the crisis by calling a meeting of the Estates-General, which included representatives from all three social groups. But on 17 June 1789, the Third Estate formed a body on its own, which they 1. shortage : when there is a shortage of something, there is not enough of it. 65
called the National Assembly; this was an assembly not of the three Estates, they said, but of the People. They prepared a new constitution, and Louis XVI was forced to recognise the National Assembly. Soon after this, the ordinary people of Paris started to become aggressive, partly because the king had called more soldiers to Paris. On 14 July 1789, a crowd of Parisians attacked the Bastille prison in Paris. They wanted the weapons that were inside, but the Bastille was also seen as a symbol of the rule of the monarchy. They found only seven prisoners when they got inside. However, they freed them, and this act had great symbolic importance. The Revolution quickly spread throughout the country. There were attacks on property and many aristocrats and government officials were executed. Aristocrats began to leave the country. The National Assembly tried to reduce the violence: it abolished the unequal taxation system and on 26 August 1789 it issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Like the Declaration of Independence of the revolutionaries in America, it declared general principles rather than laws but it had enormous symbolic importance. The king tried to escape from Paris, but was caught and sent back, and he and his family were kept prisoners. Other European monarchies in Austria and Prussia (modern north-east Germany) demanded that the old system of absolute monarchy should be restored. The revolutionaries in France reacted in April 1792 by declaring war on Austria. A new government, the National Convention, was established and the Austrians were defeated in September. The Republic was declared on 21 September and Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793. 66
King Louis XVI about to be executed on the guillotine in front of a cheering crowd. The Republican government had taken away his titles and he was executed as Citizen Louis Capet (Capet was the name of the ancient founder of the royal dynasty). 67
There followed a period of great violence, particularly in Paris, from September 1793 until July 1794. This was the Reign of Terror, when between 18,000 and 40,000 aristocrats and other people accused of counter-revolutionary activities were executed. The Revolution never succeeded in creating a permanent republican government, however, and the last revolutionary form of government, the Directory, was replaced by the rule of Napoléon in 1799. 1 Comprehension check Answer the following questions. 1 What were the causes of the French Revolution? 2 14 July is still a national celebration in modern France. What does it celebrate? 3 How did the Revolution develop after 14 July 1789? 2 Discussion On 10 October 1792 the terms Monsieur and Madame were banned by the National Convention. People had to use citoyen and citoyenne instead. Monsieur and Madame are French words used when you speak to someone; English equivalents are Sir and Madam. Citoyen and citoyenne are French words meaning citizen ; the first is for males, the second for females. Do you think the revolutionaries had a good idea when they ordered this change? Why, or why not? 3 Research Use reference books or the Internet to find out about the rule of Napoléon. Which of the innovations of the Revolution were kept, and which were abandoned? 68
A C T I V I T I E S The French Revolution INTERNET PROJECT Go to the Internet and go to www.blackcat-cideb.com or www.cideb.it. Insert the title or part of the title of the book into our search engine. Open the page to A Tale of Two Cities. Click on the Internet project link. Scroll down the page until you find the title of this book and click on the relevant link for this project. Once you arrive at this site, click on Browse to see the various sections. Find some interesting facts about the following the social causes of the Revolution songs and the Revolution the origin of the Marseillaise human rights and the philosophic movement known as the Enlightenment Then download some interesting pictures. Present these facts and explain the pictures to the class. 134