A Dramatic Change in Political Power in France - Case Study Example

Political Power in France 1780-1815 Introduction The period 1780-1815 was marked by various happenings in France. In the years before the French Revolution, France was experiencing difficult times. The cost of necessities had gone up tremendously. Bread, which was the staple food of the French, had its cost sky rocketing. The reason behind the price of bread going up was that a severe drought and extreme winter hit France. These conditions affected wheat yield which consequently affected bread production. Due to the law supply of bread and the high demand for the same from people, the prices went high. The poor Frenchmen could not afford bread. During the same period, King Louis XVI was in reign. He was weak and could not make decisions in time. He married Marie Antoinette with whom they lived lavishly at the expense of their countrymen. France was in huge debts following the policies of rulers before Louis XVI. Louis XIV and XV had used foreign policies that led France to costly wars. France was driven into deeper debts with the royal family and the nobility living lavishly. A taxation system that exempted the Nobility and Clergy was put in place. This was unfair since these were the well off people in society yet they were not to pay these taxes. All these and more factors that will be discussed in the paper will explain the unfolding that took place in France during the period 1780 to 1815. This paper will look into the events of that time and how they led to a dramatic change in political power in France. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 had a great impact in the shift of power from one individual to another. This Revolution experienced the overthrowing of the monarchy. As mentioned earlier, the wars that were initiated by Louis XVI had put France in serious debts. Food scarcity was also becoming a very big problem. Economic problems were on the rise during this period. Suggestions by some ministers to tax the nobility were met with contempt. The problem of the serious debts was not going to be sorted if the nobility and the clergy continued to be exempted. By 1788, the attempts to salvage France from these debts were registered a failure. A meeting of the Estates-General was called by the King. The First Estate was made up of church members or the clergy. The second Estate constituted of the nobility, then the third Estate constituted of the remaining Frenchmen. The issue of classism was not uncommon during meetings. The third Estate, which constituted mostly of the Bourgeoisies, had the majority of members. The last meeting of the Estates-General had been held in 1614. Being the majority, the third Estate demanded greater representation in the house. Their demands were not met which led to their breaking away and forming the National Assembly. This group was the voice of the whole nation thereby challenging the King and the two orders. Liberalism that was fueled by the spirit of Enlightenment led to liberal-minded members of the clergy and nobility joining the National Assembly. The members of the National Assembly accentuated the need for the parliament in France being similar to that in Britain. These people swore to see to it that a constitution was written and sanctioned. The Tennis Court Oath as it came to be known was the movement by the National Assembly in their bid to get a new constitution for France. King Louis XVI, rallied up his troops against the supporters of the National Assembly, as well as, on the National Assembly members. Paris and Versailles were besieged by the King’s defense force. However, the king vacillated bringing the first act of the movement come to a stand. For the first time in the history of the French monarchy, Louis capitulated some of the power that was held absolute. This power had been considered absolute for over two centuries and many say that Louis XVI surrender jeopardized his authority over France. When France’s finance minister, Jacques Necker was dismissed, many were displeased. During the severe climatic conditions, food production went down. Necker had developed some of the best policies to salvage the food shortage in France. He, for instance, stressed the need to stop exporting food. The King had been advised to let off Necker thereby replacing him with a mogul, Breteuli. Frenchmen marched in protest on hearing this news. When the cavalry tried to dismiss these demonstrators, the demonstrators threw stones and rubbish at them. July 14th 1789 experienced one of the dramatic events of the French Revolution-the storming of Bastille. About 80,000 people stormed the Bastille demanding the relinquishing of the fortress. Around 30 of the garrison warders were killed. 98 of the attackers were killed while 78 were wounded. Storming of Bastille was considered a sign of authority since the common people were in a position of being in charge of the city. The poor countrymen worked hard yet paid most of the earnings were fed up with the mediocre lives. The increase in population had led to the rent bent hiked making life even more unbearable. Peasants planned not to pay any more taxes to the nobility. As a result, these peasants attacked the nobles and demanded the taxes they had paid to them. They were interested in the grains that the nobles had in plenty. If the nobles were not able to give them the grains they demanded, these peasants had decided to burn down the nobles’ home. The National Assembly put it upon themselves to take over the leadership of France since they considered King Louis a failure. Other municipalities were under the leadership of revolutionary committees which shared their powers with the town councils. A wide spread practice of hanging those who attacked the nobles became the counterattack by nobility sympathizers. July 4th witnessed to abolition of the privileges to the feudal. This was made official thereby lifting the yoke of maltreatment that the peasants had been burdened with for long. Nobles were no longer with the privilege of making people on roads. They were also not to have exclusive rights over hunting sites. Most importantly, these nobles were to start paying taxes just like other Frenchmen. With the National Assembly being in power, Nobles were cut off from their positions as law makers. These nobilities were had taken this position as law makers for a long period. Tithes that were being paid to the church were no longer being paid. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was issued on the 27th of August. This declaration emphasized the need for treating all men equally. It also highlighted that people were to remain innocent until proven otherwise. This was completely different from what the reign of the old order presented. Another milestone in the period between 1780 and 1850 was that of the constitution being drawn. The key issue was on the division of power. There was a need to divide the power between the king and representatives that will be elected. The issue of the king having veto powers was also discussed. With the King seen as an enlightened monarch, the National Assembly sought his cooperation. This was despite the fact that the National Assembly had declared itself sovereign. The respond received from the King was met with rumors that he was against cooperating with the National Assembly. Marie- Antoinette escaped following insults she got from people. Revolutionists were angered as they saw the banquet as a mockery of the revolution. A mob marched to Versailles invading the National Assembly demanding for bread. June 1791 saw the King leave Paris with his family after denouncing the revolution. He was found in the border of Austria and Netherlands and was returned to his Tuileries palace. The National Assembly deputies demanded for a constitutional monarchy after this incident. September the 13 met the acceptance of the constitution. Maximilien Robespierre, a member of the National Conventional, was elected president of the convention. After so many controversies on the need to cleanse the nation of people who did not believe in a supreme being, Robespierre and other members of the convention were guillotined. In October 26th 1795, the National Convention was dissolved. A new Republican government took over. Given that King Louis XVI did not show full support to the course of the revolution, he faced trial on December 11. The king and his wife, Marie-Antoinette, were guillotined. Napoleon Bonaparte was then given the position of the commander-in-chief of all armed forces within France. After Bonaparte took office in December, 25, there were so many imbalances that were to be experienced. He conquered so many states from Europe, to Egypt and America. The many conquests by Napoleon commonly known as the Napoleonic Wars lasted from the 1802-1815. Seizing the opportunity presented by the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to the top. He came up with the Napoleonic Code which he believed would lead to the reformation of France. These codes introduced important aspects like higher education, banking, tax, and sewer systems. He announced that he was the first consul of France. In 1804, Napoleon named himself the Emperor of France after an attempt to assassinate him failed. The invasion of Russia by Napoleon’s army was a complete failure. This was in 1812. France was humiliated considering the many conquests before. The Battle of Waterloo marked the final downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte. He later died while in exile. Conclusion The French Revolution was an avenue for many changes socially, economically and politically. After the death of Napoleon, the monarchial system was restored. A way was paved for nationalism following the revolution. The monarchial order was probed. By 1814, there were attempts to overthrow monarchies all over the world. There was a need to foster the spirit of nationalism following the liberty, equality, and brotherhood slogan. The Vienna Congress of 1814-1815, many issues from the revolution were looked into. The restoration of the traditional order did not last for long. References Desan, S. (2006). The Role of Women in the Riots during the French Revolution. Eighteenth Century Studies 22(3) , 451-468. Frey, L. (2005). The French Revolution. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. Furet, F. (2005). Revolutionary France 1770-1880. New York: Blackwell Publishing. Hibbert, C. (2008). The Days of the French Revolution. New York: Quill, William Morrow. Lefebvre, G. (2007). France, A History. From its origin to 1793 10(2), 98-103. Read More