THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

French Society During the Late 18th 

1. Louis XVI & Financial Crisis

• 1774: Louis XVI (Bourbon) becomes king at 20.
• Married to Marie Antoinette (Austria).
• Empty treasury due to wars + palace expenses.
• Helped American colonies vs Britain → more debt.
• Debt: Over 2 billion livres, interest 10%.
• Budget mostly spent on interest.
• Taxes increased, still insufficient

2. Social Structure: Three Estates

• Old Regime = French society before 1789.

First Estate: Clergy

• No taxes, collected tithes from peasants.

Second Estate: Nobility

• No taxes, enjoyed feudal privileges, collected dues, free labor from peasants.

Third Estate: Commoners

• Paid all taxes
• Taille (direct tax),
• Indirect taxes (salt, tobacco, etc.).
• Made up 90% population (mostly peasants).
• 60% land owned by nobles, Church, rich third estate.
• Few peasants owned land.

The Struggle to Survive:

• The Struggle to Survive (Old Regime)
• 1715–1789: Population grew 23M → 28M.
• Food demand ↑, grain supply ↓ → Bread prices ↑.
• Wages fixed, did not match price rise.
• Rich–poor gap widened.
• Drought/hail = bad harvests → Subsistence crisis.
• Crisis was frequent under Old Regime

A Growing Middle Class

• Past revolts: By peasants/workers, but lacked plans & power.
• Middle class (3rd estate) grew via trade & industry.
• Included: Merchants, manufacturers, lawyers, officials.
• Educated, wanted equality, merit-based society.

Key Philosophers & Ideas

• John Locke: Against divine right of kings.
• Rousseau: Social contract between people & gov.
• Montesquieu: 3-part govt – Legislature, Executive, Judiciary.

Impact

• Inspired by USA Constitution (freedom, rights).
• Ideas spread via books, newspapers, salons, coffeehouses.
• Tax plans by Louis XVI sparked anger & protests.

The Outbreak of the Revolution 

1. Estates General Called (5 May 1789)

• Reason: Tax approval
• Last meeting: 1614

Structure:

• 1st Estate (Clergy): 300 reps
• 2nd Estate (Nobility): 300 reps
• 3rd Estate (Commoners): 600 reps (stood at back)
• Peasants, artisans, women excluded
• 40,000 letters of grievances

2. Voting Dispute

• Old system: 1 vote per estate
• 3rd Estate demanded: 1 vote per member (inspired by Rousseau)
• King rejected → 3rd Estate walked out

3. Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789)

• Formed National Assembly
• Goal: Draft constitution

Leaders:

• Mirabeau – Noble, supported reforms
• Abbé Sieyès – Wrote What is the Third Estate?

4. Revolt Spreads

Causes:

• Bad harvest, bread prices rise
• Troops in Paris
• 14 July 1789 – People storm Bastille
• Peasant Revolt:
• Fear of brigands
• Attacked chateaux, burnt manorial dues

5. Outcomes

• King recognized National Assembly
• Feudal system abolished (4 Aug 1789)
• Clergy lost privileges
• Tithes ended
• Church lands seized (worth 2 billion livres)

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

1. 1791 Constitution:

• Limited king’s power.
• Power split into Legislature, Executive, Judiciary.

2. National Assembly:

• Made laws.
• Indirectly elected by citizens.

3. Voting Rights:

• Only men 25+ who paid tax = 3 days' wage = Active Citizens (could vote).
• Others = Passive Citizens (no vote).
• Electors & Assembly members = top taxpayers.

4. Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen:

• Rights: Life, Speech, Opinion, Equality.
• Called Natural & Inalienable (can’t be taken).
• State must protect these.

Jean-Paul Marat’s View (L’Ami du peuple):

• Power given to the rich, not the poor.
• Peaceful change won't help the oppressed.
• Wealth controls law.
• Laws work only till people obey.
• People will rise against wealthy like they did against aristocrats.

Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen 

1. All men free & equal by birth.

2. Rights: Liberty, Property, Security, Resist oppression.

3. Power from people, not individuals/groups.

4. Liberty = Do anything not harming others.

5. Law bans only harmful acts.

6. Law = General will; all can help make it; all are equal under law.

7. Arrest/detention only as per law.

8. Free speech, writing, press (with responsibility).

9. Equal taxes based on income.

10. Property is sacred; can be taken only for public need with fair payment.

Political Symbols 

1. Snake in ring – Eternity (no start or end).

2. Sceptre – Royal power.

3. Eye in triangle with light – Knowledge removes ignorance.

4. Bundle of rods (fasces) – Unity is strength.

5. Broken chain – Freedom from slavery.

6. Red Phrygian cap – Symbol of freed slave.

7. Blue-White-Red – France’s national colours.

8. Winged woman – Law (personified).

9. Law tablet – Same law for all, equality.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

1. Louis XVI signed Constitution but secretly negotiated with Prussia.

2. France declared war on Prussia & Austria – April 1792.

3. Marseillaise: Patriotic song, now France’s national anthem.

4. War caused economic hardship; women managed homes, work.

5. 1791 Constitution gave rights only to rich – people wanted more change.

6. Political clubs grew – most popular: Jacobins (led by Robespierre).

7. Jacobins = shopkeepers, artisans, workers.

8. Sans-culottes: Jacobins wore long trousers, red liberty cap (not knee breeches).

9. Aug 10, 1792: Jacobins stormed Tuileries Palace, took king hostage.

10. All men (21+) got right to vote – wealth not needed.

11. New Assembly = Convention.

12. Sept 21, 1792: Monarchy ended, France became Republic.

13. Jan 21, 1793: Louis XVI executed (treason).

14. Marie Antoinette executed soon after.

The Reign of Terror (1793–1794)

• Leader: Robespierre (Jacobins)
• Enemies of Republic: Arrested, tried, guillotined
• Guillotine: Beheading device (by Dr Guillotin)

Controls imposed:

• Max. limit on wages & prices
• Meat, bread rationed
• Grain brought to cities at fixed prices
• White flour banned; wholewheat bread (pain d’égalité) used
• People called Citoyen/Citoyenne (Citizen)
• Churches closed
• End: Robespierre arrested, guillotined in July 1794

Directory Rules France

After Jacobins' fall: Rich middle class took power

New Constitution:

• Voting only for property owners
• 2 elected councils + 5-member executive (Directory)
• Problems:
• Conflict between Directory & councils
• Political instability
• Result: Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Legacy: Liberty, equality, fraternity inspired future movements

Did Women Have a Revolution?

• Active from start: Demanded better rights, lives
• Work: Seamstresses, laundresses, vendors, servants
• No education/job training for most
• Girls from rich families: Convent + arranged marriage
• Low wages, family duties too (cook, water, bread, kids)
• Political Participation
• Formed 60+ women’s clubs, newspapers
• Famous: Society of Revolutionary & Republican Women
• Demanded political rights: Vote, hold office, be elected
• 1791 Constitution: Women = passive citizens (no vote)

Some Gains

• Compulsory schooling for girls
• Marriage = contract, no force
• Divorce legal (both genders)
• Women could train, work, run businesses

Repression

• Reign of Terror: Women’s clubs banned
• Women arrested, some executed
• Long-Term Struggle
• Fight for vote, equality continued globally
• Inspiration: French revolutionary women
• French women got vote in 1946

Olympe de Gouges (1748–1793)

• Wrote Declaration of Rights of Woman (1791)
• Demanded equal rights
• Criticized Jacobin govt
• Executed for treason in 1793

The Abolition of Slavery

Slavery in French Colonies

• Caribbean colonies: Martinique, Guadeloupe, San Domingo
• Supplied: tobacco, sugar, coffee, indigo
• Labour shortage → Triangular slave trade (Europe–Africa–Americas)
• French ports: Bordeaux, Nantes = rich from slave trade

Slave Trade Process

• Slaves bought in Africa, branded, shackled
• Shipped to Caribbean, sold to plantation owners
• Profits fuelled European markets and port cities

Debate & Delay

• 18th century France: little criticism
• National Assembly debated slave rights
• No law passed – businessmen opposed

Abolition

• 1794 (Convention): Slavery abolished
• Napoleon (1804): Reintroduced slavery
• Final abolition: 1848

The Revolution and Everyday Life

• Politics changed: Clothes, language, books
• Post-1789: Laws promoted liberty & equality
• Censorship abolished (1789)
• Old Regime: King's censors controlled content
• New laws: Freedom of speech & expression
• Print boom: Newspapers, pamphlets, books, pictures
• Spread to towns & villages
• Opposing views published freely
• Songs, plays, processions spread revolutionary ideas to common people

Conclusion

• 1804: Napoleon became Emperor
• Conquered Europe, made family kings

Introduced:

• Private property laws
• Decimal system (uniform weights/measures)
• First seen as liberator, later as invader
• Defeated at Waterloo (1815)
• His reforms spread liberty & modern laws

Legacy of Revolution

• Liberty & rights = key legacy
• Spread across Europe → End of feudalism
• Inspired colonial freedom movements
• Examples: Tipu Sultan, Raja Rammohan Roy

                NCERT SOLUTION

Q. Describe the circumstances leading to the outbreak of the French Revolution.

1. Louis XVI needed money – called a meeting of the Estates General in 1789 to approve new taxes.

2. Each estate met separately, causing anger among the Third Estate.

3. On 14 July 1789, Paris was tense – King moved troops into the city.

4. Rumours spread – King might fire on people.

5. 7,000 people gathered, formed a militia, and searched for arms.

6. Crowd stormed the Bastille (a prison), killed the commander, and freed prisoners.

7. Fall of Bastille = symbol of victory over king’s tyranny.

 Q. Which groups benefited from the French Revolution? Who lost power? Who were disappointed?

1. Benefited Groups:

Third Estate (common people) – 95% of the population.

Peasants – Feudal system ended; no more feudal dues.

Middle class – Writers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants gained status.

Workers and artisans – Got equal political rights in 1792.

Capitalists – Became powerful under the new economic system.

2. Groups that Lost Power:

Nobles – Lost land, wealth, and privileges.

Clergy (Church officials) – Lost their special powers and wealth.

3. Disappointed Groups:

Poor and common people – Though they got voting rights, real problems remained (like poverty).

 

3. Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

• Legacy of the French Revolution
• Liberty & democratic rights = key legacy
• Spread to Europe in 19th century
• Led to end of feudalism
• Inspired freedom movements in colonies
• Colonised people used these ideas to fight for nation-states
• Examples: Tipu Sultan, Raja Rammohan Roy

4. Draw up a list of democratic rights we enjoy today whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution.

Answer:

• The list of democratic rights are
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of press
• Abolition of censorship
• Right to vote
• Abolition of slavery
• Right to liberty
• Right to property
• Right to security
• Right to education
• Divorce laws

5. Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset with contradictions? Explain.?

• Yes, women were excluded
• No equal rights like men
• No right to liberty, property, security
• No role in law-making
• Denied public jobs and honors

6. How would you explain the rise of Napoleon?

• Crowned himself Emperor
• Conquered neighbouring countries
• Called himself moderniser of Europe
• Introduced laws:
• Private property protection
• Decimal system for weights/measures
• Spread ideas of liberty & modern laws
• Defeated at Battle of Waterloo (1815)
• His reforms influenced Europe even after defeat