Feudalism
and Unfair Taxation
No one factor was directly responsible for the French
Revolution. Years of feudal oppression and fiscal mismanagement
contributed to a French society that was ripe for revolt. Noting
a downward economic spiral in the late 1700s,
King Louis XVI brought in a number of financial advisors
to review the weakened French treasury. Each advisor reached the
same conclusion—that France needed a radical change in the way it
taxed the public—and each advisor was, in turn, kicked out.
Finally, the king realized that this taxation problem
really did need to be addressed, so he appointed a new controller
general of finance, Charles de Calonne, in 1783. Calonne
suggested that, among other things, France begin taxing the previously
exempt nobility. The nobility refused, even after Calonne
pleaded with them during the Assembly of Notables in 1787.
Financial ruin thus seemed imminent.
The Estates-General
In a final act of desperation, Louis XVI decided in 1789 to
convene the Estates-General, an ancient assembly consisting
of three different estates that each represented a
portion of the French population. If the Estates-General could agree
on a tax solution, it would be implemented. However, since two of
the three estates—the clergy and the nobility—were
tax-exempt, the attainment of any such solution was unlikely.
Moreover, the outdated rules of order for the Estates-General gave
each estate a single vote, despite the fact that the Third
Estate—consisting of the general French public—was many times
larger than either of the first two. Feuds quickly broke out over
this disparity and would prove to be irreconcilable. Realizing that
its numbers gave it an automatic advantage, the Third Estate declared
itself the sovereign National Assembly. Within days
of the announcement, many members of the other two estates had switched
allegiances over to this revolutionary new assembly.
The Bastille
and the Great Fear
Shortly after the National Assembly formed, its members
took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing that they would
not relent in their efforts until a new constitution had been agreed
upon. The National Assembly’s revolutionary spirit galvanized France,
manifesting in a number of different ways. In Paris, citizens stormed
the city’s largest prison, the Bastille, in pursuit
of arms. In the countryside, peasants and farmers revolted against
their feudal contracts by attacking the manors and estates of their
landlords. Dubbed the “Great Fear,” these
rural attacks continued until the early August issuing of the August
Decrees, which freed those peasants from their oppressive contracts.
Shortly thereafter, the assembly released the Declaration of
the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which established a
proper judicial code and the autonomy of the French people.
Rifts in the Assembly
Though the National Assembly did succeed in drafting
a constitution, the relative peace of the
moment was short-lived. A rift slowly grew between the radical and
moderate assembly members, while the common laborers and workers
began to feel overlooked. When Louis XVI was caught in a foiled
escape plot, the assembly became especially divided. The moderate Girondins took
a stance in favor of retaining the constitutional monarchy, while
the radical Jacobins wanted the king completely out
of the picture.
Outside of France, some neighboring countries feared that France’s
revolutionary spirit would spread beyond French land. In response,
they issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, which insisted
that the French return Louis XVI to the throne. French leaders interpreted
the declaration as hostile, so the Girondin-led assembly declared
war on Austria and Prussia.
The Reign of Terror
The first acts of the newly named National
Convention were the abolition of the monarchy and the declaration
of France as a republic. In January 1793,
the convention tried and executed Louis XVI on the
grounds of treason. Despite the creation of the Committee
of Public Safety, the war with Austria and Prussia went poorly
for France, and foreign forces pressed on into French territory.
Enraged citizens overthrew the Girondin-led National Convention,
and the Jacobins, led by Maximilien Robespierre, took
control.
Backed by the newly approved Constitution of 1793,
Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety began conscripting
French soldiers and implementing laws to stabilize the economy.
For a time, it seemed that France’s fortunes might be changing.
But Robespierre, growing increasingly paranoid about counterrevolutionary
influences, embarked upon a Reign of Terror in late 1793–1794,
during which he had more than 15,000 people
executed at the guillotine. When the French army successfully removed
foreign invaders and the economy finally stabilized, however, Robespierre
no longer had any justification for his extreme actions, and he
himself was arrested in July 1794 and
executed.
The
Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory
The era following the ousting of Robespierre was known
as the Thermidorian Reaction, and a period of governmental
restructuring began, leading to the new Constitution of 1795 and
a significantly more conservative National Convention. To control
executive responsibilities and appointments, a group known as the Directory was
formed. Though it had no legislative abilities, the Directory’s abuse
of power soon came to rival that of any of the tyrannous revolutionaries
France had faced.
Napoleon
Meanwhile, the Committee of Public Safety’s war effort
was realizing unimaginable success. French armies, especially those
led by young general Napoleon Bonaparte, were making
progress in nearly every direction. Napoleon’s forces drove through
Italy and reached as far as Egypt before facing a deflating defeat.
In the face of this rout, and having received word of political
upheavals in France, Napoleon returned to Paris. He arrived in time
to lead a coup against the Directory in 1799,
eventually stepping up and naming himself “first consul”—effectively,
the leader of France. With Napoleon at the helm, the Revolution
ended, and France entered a fifteen-year period of military rule.
