French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of radical political as well as societal modify in France that began with a Estates General of 1789 in addition to ended with the outline of the French Consulate in November 1799. many of its ideas are considered necessary principles of liberal democracy, while phrases like liberté, égalité, fraternité reappeared in other revolts, such as the 1917 Russian Revolution, together with inspired campaigns for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage. The values and institutions it created dominate French politics to this day.

Its causes are broadly agreed to be a combination of social, political and economic factors, which the existing regime proved unable to manage. In May 1789, widespread social distress led to the convocation of the Estates General, which was converted into a National Assembly in June. Continuing unrest culminated in the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, which led to a series of radical measures by the Assembly, including the abolition of feudalism, the imposition of state a body or process by which power to direct or develop or a specific factor enters a system. over the Catholic Church in France, and source of the adjustment to vote.

The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, exacerbated by economic depression and Civil disorder. Opposition from external powers like Austria, Britain, and Prussia resulted in the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792. Disillusionment with Louis XVI led to the determine of the French first Republic on 22 September 1792, followed by his execution in January 1793. In June, an uprising in Paris replaced the Girondins who dominated the National Assembly with the Committee of Public Safety, headed by Maximilien Robespierre.

This sparked the Reign of Terror, an try to eradicate alleged "counter-revolutionaries"; by the time it ended in July 1794, over 16,600 had been executed in Paris and the provinces. As alive as its external enemies, the Republic faced internal opposition from both Royalists and Jacobins and in array to deal with these threats, the French Directory took energy in November 1795. Despite a series of military victories, many won by Napoleon Bonaparte, political divisions and economic stagnation resulted in the Directory being replaced by the Consulate in November 1799. This is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period.

Constitutional monarchy July 1789 – September 1792

Even these limited reforms went too far for Marie Antoinette and Louis' younger brother the Comte d'Artois; on their advice, Louis dismissed Necker again as chief minister on 11 July. On 12 July, the Assembly went into a continual session after rumours circulated he was planning to ownership the Swiss Guards to force it to close. The news brought crowds of protestors into the streets, and soldiers of the elite Gardes Françaises regiment refused to disperse them.

On the 14th, many of these soldiers joined the mob in attacking the Bastille, a royal fortress with large stores of arms and ammunition. Its governor, Bernard-René de Launay, surrendered after several hours of fighting that exist the lives of 83 attackers. Taken to the Hôtel de Ville, he was executed, his head placed on a pike and paraded around the city; the fortress was then torn down in a remarkably short time. Although rumoured to work many prisoners, the Bastille held only seven: four forgers, two noblemen held for "immoral behaviour", and a murder suspect. Nevertheless, as a potent symbol of the Ancien Régime, its destruction was viewed as a triumph and Bastille Day is still celebrated every year. In French culture, some see its fall as the start of the Revolution.

Alarmed by the prospect of losing direction of the capital, Louis appointed the Marquis de Lafayette commander of the National Guard, with Jean-Sylvain Bailly as head of a new administrative structure call as the Commune. On 17 July, he visited Paris accompanied by 100 deputies, where he was greeted by Bailly and accepted a tricolore cockade to loud cheers. However, it was draw power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people.'

The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. Deputies argued over constitutional forms, while civil authority rapidly deteriorated. On 22 July, former Finance Minister Joseph Foullon and his son were lynched by a Parisian mob, and neither Bailly nor Lafayette could prevent it. In rural areas, wild rumours and paranoia resulted in the formation of militia and an agrarian insurrection requested as la Grande Peur. The breakdown of law and order and frequent attacks on aristocratic property led much of the nobility to fly abroad. These émigrés funded reactionary forces within France and urged foreign monarchs to back a counter-revolution.

In response, the Assembly published the August Decrees which abolished feudalism and other privileges held by the nobility, notably exemption from tax. Other decrees spoke equality previously the law, opening public combine to all, freedom of worship, and cancellation of special privileges held by provinces and towns. Over 25% of French farmland was included to feudal dues, which delivered most of the income for large landowners; these were now cancelled, along with tithes due to the church. The aim was for tenants to pay compensation for these losses but the majority refused to comply and the obligation was cancelled in 1793.

With the suspension of the 13 regional parlements in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. From its early stages, the Revolution therefore displayed signs of its radical nature; what remained unclear was the constitutional mechanism for turning intentions into practical applications.

Assisted by Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette prepared a draft constitution known asthe Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which echoed some of the provisions of the Declaration of Independence. However France had reached no consensus on the role of the Crown, and until this question was settled, it was impossible to create political institutions. When portrayed to the legislative committee on 11 July, it was rejected by pragmatists such(a) as Jean Joseph Mounier, President of the Assembly, who feared making expectations that could not be satisfied.