• The Storming of the Bastille took place in Paris, France on July 14, 1789. This violent attack on the government by the people of France signaled the start of the French Revolution.
• The Bastille was a fortress built in the late 1300s to protect Paris during the Hundred Years War. At the time of the revolution, Bastille was mostly used as a state prison by King Louis XVI.
• There was a rumour that the Bastille was full of political prisoners. Commoner saw Bastille as a symbol of many of the oppression of the king. Revolutionary also thought that Bastille had stores of gunpowder that the revolutionaries needed for their weapons.
• On the morning of July 14, 1789, the revolutionaries approached the Bastille. About 1000 members of a French social class called the Third Estate mostly craftsmen and store owners who lived in Paris stormed Bastille.  They asked Governor de Launay (the military leader of the Bastille), surrender the prison and hand over the gunpowder. He refused hence the crowd became agitated. Some of the soldiers in the Bastille fired into the crowd, while some of the soldiers joined the side of the crowd. Ultimately de Launay surrendered the fort. After surrendering, Governor de Launay and three of his officers were killed by the crowd.
• The success of the revolutionaries gave commoners the courage to rise up and fight against the nobles who had ruled them for so long.

Notes:

• The date of the Storming of the Bastille, July 14, is celebrated today as the French National Day.
• The men who took part in the storming were considered heroes during the revolution and took the title “Vainqueurs de la Bastille”, meaning “Winners of the Bastille.”
• There were only seven prisoners (four of them were convicted forgers) in the Bastille at the time of storming of Bastille. They were set free after the attack. Hence the word rumour is used in the above explanation.

The Women’s March on Versailles:

• Although the march is often referred to as the “Women’s” March on Versailles, there were men included in the crowd as well.
• The main food of the commoners was bread. A poor French economy had led to a scarcity of bread and high prices. The people were hungry.
• On the morning of October 5, 1789, a large group of women in a Paris marketplace began to revolt. They began to march through Paris demanding bread at a fair price. As they marched, more people joined the group and soon there were thousands of marchers.
• A small group of women met with the king. He agreed to provide them with food from the king’s stores and promised more in the future. While some of the group left after the agreement, many people stayed and continued to protest. The revolutionaries demanded that the king should return to Paris with them. He agreed. The king and queen then traveled back to Paris with the crowd.

Reign of Terror:

• The Reign of Terror was a dark and violent period of the French Revolution. Radicals took control of the revolutionary government. They arrested and executed anyone who they suspected might not be loyal to the revolution.
• By 1793, the revolutionary government was in crisis. Radicals led by Maximilien Robespierre took over the government and started the Reign of Terror. During the Reign of Terror, France was ruled by a group of men called the Committee of Public Safety. The Reign of Terror began on September 5, 1793, and ended on July 27, 1794, when Robespierre was removed from power and executed.
• The group of revolutionaries called Jacobins lead by Robespierre felt that it was their duty to preserve the revolution, even if it meant violence and terror. New laws were introduced during this period. One of these laws was called the “Law of Suspects.” It powered the government to arrest anyone who was even suspected as an enemy of the revolution. They created a court called the Revolutionary Tribunal for the trial of their political enemies. There were only two verdicts for the accused either innocent or was put to death under the guillotine. Queen Marie Antoinette was one of the first people executed during the Terror.
• In some cases, revolutionaries accused people they didn’t like or wanted to get rid of without any evidence. Around 17,000 people were officially executed in France, including 2,639 in Paris. Many more died in prison or were beaten to death in the streets. Over 200,000 people were arrested.
• On July 27, 1794, Robespierre has removed from power and the Reign of Terror was over. He was executed the next day.

Directory:

• The government that ruled France during the final stage of the French Revolution is called the “Directory”. The government was based on the new constitution called the “Constitution of Year III.”  The Directory ruled France for four years from November 2, 1795, to November 10, 1799. It came into power after the “Reign of Terror” when the country was ruled by the Committee of Public Safety.
• The Directory had two wings. Namely, an executive branch called the “Five Directors” and a legislative branch called the “Corps Legislatif.” The Corps Legislatif was divided into two houses: the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Ancients.
• The Five Directors were five men who were selected by the Council of Ancients. They acted as the executive branch and were responsible for the day-to-day running of the country. They had no say in the laws or the taxes.
• The duty of the Council of Five Hundred to propose new laws. The Council of Ancients had to vote on the laws proposed by the Five Hundred.

Failure of Directory:

• When the Directory came into power, it was faced with many problems including widespread famine, civil war, internal corruption, war with neighboring countries and internal rivalries.
• There was also a struggle for power within the directory between royalists (pro-king) and radical (die hard) revolutionaries.
• The people were unhappy with the new government. The Directory used military force to put down uprisings. They also cancelled elections when they didn’t like the results.
• Despite these struggles, the Directory helped France to recover somewhat from the Terror and set the stage for future governments.

End of French Revolution:

• As the Directory became more and more corrupt, the military leaders of France grew in power.
• One general Napoleon Bonaparte who allied himself with the Jacobins during the French Revolution became a national hero when he defeated the Austrians in Italy. In 1799, Napoleon put an end to the French Revolution when he overthrew the Directory and established the French Consulate. He would eventually crowned himself Emperor of France.

The Outcome of the French Revolution:

• The French Revolution completely changed the social and political structure of France. It put an end to the French monarchy, feudalism. It took political power from the Catholic church.
• It brought new ideas to Europe like liberty and freedom for the commoner, It also established the abolishment of slavery and the rights of women. These new ideas continued to influence many nations and helped to shape their modern-day governments.
• India is the largest democracy. India’s democratic nature has roots in the French revolution.

The post The French Revolution appeared first on The Fact Factor.

• The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789. The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
• The revolution proclaimed that it was the people who would henceforth constitute the nation and shape its destiny.

France Before the Revolution:

• Before the revolution, France was a monarchy ruled by the king. The political system of France before the French Revolution was called the “Ancien Regime.” The king had total power over the government and the people. The people of France were divided into three social classes called “Estates.”
• First Estate: The First Estate was made up of the clergy. These Estate included priests, monks, bishops, and nuns. This was the smallest estate in terms of population.
• Second Estate: The Second Estate was the French nobility. These people held most of the high offices in the land, got special privileges, and didn’t have to pay most of the taxes.
• Third Estate: This estate constituted most of the population of (about 98%).  They included the peasants, craftsmen, and labourers. They paid taxes including the gabelle (a tax on salt). Each year peasants had to work a few days for their local landlord for free. This labor tax was called the “corvee.” They used to  work on improving roads or building bridges.

Major Causes of the French Revolution:

Inequality among Classes:

• The First Estate was the clergy, the Second Estate was the nobles, and the Third Estate was the commoners. Most of France belonged to the Third Estate. There was little chance for people to move from one estate to another.
• The nobles held all the powerful positions in the government and the church. The first two estates were exempted from almost from all of the taxes and enjoyed many privileges by birth but on the other hand, commoners lived a very hard life. They have to pay for all the types of taxes including the salt tax. Thus there was inequality among the classes (Estates).

Debt and Taxes: 

• In 1789, the French government was in a major financial crisis. To maintain a lavish lifestyle the king had borrowed heavily. The government had also borrowed to fight Great Britain in the Seven Years’ War and to help the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Thus there was a huge debt.
• The king had no other choice than to try and raise taxes. The first two estates were exempted from almost from all of the taxes. The commoners of France (the Third Estate) had to pay the majority of the taxes.

Famine and Bread Prices: 

• France was experiencing famine at the time. Due to a bad harvest, the prices of grains rose high and many people were not able to afford it and this led to a crisis of subsistence.
• The main food of the commoners was bread. A poor French economy had led to a scarcity of bread and high prices. The people were hungry.
• The commoners had to pay a tax on salt called the “gabelle.” They needed salt to flavor and preserve their food.

Changes in Culture:

• For hundreds of years, the people of France had blindly followed the king and accepted their place in life. In the 1700s, the culture began to change. The “Era of Enlightenment” presented new ideas such as “liberty” and “equality.”
• The American Revolution represented a new type of government where the people ruled rather than a king.

Politics:

• King Louis XVI and queen Marie Antoinette led a luxurious life. The whole administration of the king was corrupt and people were tired of such a rotten system and wanted a change.  The King Louis XVI was weak and had been losing power within the French government.
• The members of the Third Estate formed the National Assembly to force the king to make reforms. The king and nobles refused to reform.

Role of philosophers:

• The philosophers like john locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu played important role in the French revolution .
• These people had given ideas for the betterment of the society. There ideas got popularised among the masses . As the result, the middle class emerged in France and started seeking their rights.

The Estates General of 1789: 

• In May of 1789, the King Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General. It was the first meeting of the Estates General called since 1614. The representatives of each estate at the Estates General assembly were elected by the people from their estate.
• The meeting was called to discuss the financial problems faced by the French government. On the issue of voting the king said that each estate would vote as a body i.e. each estate would get 1 vote. The members of the Third Estate knew that they could always be outvoted by the much smaller First and Second Estates and hence  insisted that the vote to be based on the number of members.

National Assembly:

• There were arguments over the manner of voting. When the king refused to give them more power, the Third Estate created its own group. This group began to meet on a regular basis and run the country without the help of the king.
• Ultimately the Third Estate began to take matters into their own hands. On June 13, 1789, the Third Estate declared itself the “National Assembly” And decided to make their own laws and running the country. Some members of the First Estate (the clergy) were commoners before they became clergy sided with the issues and concerns of the Third Estate.
• The National Assembly demanded that the king make economic reforms to insure that the people had food to eat. It took over control of the government and ruled France for around 10 years.
• The members of the assembly were called deputies. They didn’t really represent all the people. They were generally wealthy commoners elected by other wealthy commoners.

Tennis Court Oath:

• King Louis XVI did not condone the formation or the actions of the National Assembly. He ordered the building where the National Assembly was meeting (the Salle des Etats) closed.
• The members of the National Assembly met on a local tennis court (called the Jeu de Paume). While at the tennis court the members took an oath to keep meeting until the king recognized them as a legitimate government body. This incident is known as the Tennis Court Oath.

Politics in Different Groups in National Assembly:

• There were many different factions within the National Assembly that were constantly fighting for power. Some of these groups formed Clubs.
• There was a fighting within the Clubs. When the Mountain group gained control during the Reign of Terror, they had many of the Girondins (other members of the Club) executed.
• The terms “left-wing” and “right-wing” politics originated with the National Assembly at the start of the French Revolution. When the assembly met, the supporters of the king sat to the president’s right, while the more radical revolutionaries sat on the left.

The post France Before The Revolution appeared first on The Fact Factor.