The French Revolution - Essay Example

The French Revolution Name Institution Introduction The French revolution is also referred to as the revolution of 1789. It is one of the revolutionary movements which shook France between 1787 and 1799. Its major climax was felt in 1789. This gave it the conventional name “Revolution of 1789” which actually represented the culmination of the past regime in the entire nation of France. Moreover, this critical period helped to serve and distinguish the event from the later revolutionary events as that of 1830 and 1848. According to historians, there are various reasons which have been given as regards to the causes of the French Revolution. Some of the causes have been outlined by historians. They include the following. The first was due to an increasing number of the elite and prosperous people as the manufacturers, commoners, and professionals who are often referred to as the bourgeoisie. This group of people was established by the 18th century growth of economy, presentation of power and honor within the political power of the nation. The second cause is that the less sounding individuals as the peasants were not feeling and ready to be in support of the anachronistic feudal system of governance which appeared unpleasant to their lives. Third, French revolution occurred due to spread of philosophies which advocated for the reformation of the political and social spheres of life in France. Four, there was a state of economic bankruptcy after the nation participated in the revolution in America. Fifth, there was the occurrence of failure in crop harvests in 1788 which resulted in hard living among the restless citizens of the nation. All these reasons summed up to propel the occurrence of Revolution which shook the entire nation within its duration (Furet and Ozouf 1989, p. 123-150). The Revolution took several stages as discussed below: The Aristocratic Revolt of 1787 to 1789 The French Revolution first took shape when the general controller of the French Finance Manager, Charles Alexander, arranged and summoned the Assembly of Notables in 1787 to come up with reforms to be designed and used in eliminating the deficit which had occurred in the budget. This proposal was to see taxes increased among the Privileged Classes. This went contrary to the controller’s intentions since the assembly was not ready to do so. In fact, the assembly wanted the calling of the Estates-General that comprised of the Nobility, Clergy, and members of the Third Estate, which had not come together for a long time as dated to 1614. Alexander used his assistant to try and enforce the fiscal reforms which had been refused by the members of the Privileged Classes. In retaliation by this group of people, there erupted a revolt of the “Aristocratic Bodies” as that of the parliament which had most of its powers abridged by the may 1788 edict. During this period, there occurred cases of unrests as reported in Dijon, Paris, Grenoble, Rennes, and Pau, among other places as Toulouse. Most people from different classes and especially from the Privileged societies felt that this consent had been reached and signed without their inclusive agreement. Focusing on the present state of unrests in the nation, the king, Louis XVI had to take stun action. He reappointed one of the reform-driven individuals in Jacques Necker, as the minister of finance. Furthermore, the king had to convene the general of estates as happened in May 1789. To appear more practical in his promises, the king granted freedom to the press societies. As a result of this, there were intense prints as pamphlets which reiterated the efforts being taken by the king in his bid to reconstruct the state. There were elections to the Estates-General which were held between January and April in the year 1789. However, this election went together with disturbance due to the previous one of 1788. During this election, there were null inclusions from voting as the electors withdrew their “cahiers de doleances” ascribing their hopes and objections. After the end of the elections, six hundred deputies were elected for the Third Estate, three hundred for the Nobility, and three hundred in the field of Clergy men. The events of 1789 The greatest of the happenings during this period was an outbreak of a “Conspiracy” by the Privileged and the king to overthrow the Third Estate. Many people succumbed to fear as reported in July 1789. The news of this conspiracy happened when there was much grieves due to low performance by the government in maintaining sustainable food suppliers. There were hungry gatherings of peasants as reported in Paris. In July 14, 1789, the troops of hungry peasants attacked the Bastile which was a symbol of tyranny of the royal. The king took action by visiting this site while wearing the tricolor cockade. Within the National Provinces, peasants began widespread attacks on their lords due to the great fear of July. The bourgeois and the nobles had to take fright. As an attempt to relax the peasants, the National Constituent Assembly had to decree the elimination of the feudal regime together with the tithe. Moreover, the assembly introduced the declaration of individual rights ascribed to man and every citizen in the nation. This announcement proclaimed equality, liberty, inviolability of other people’s property, and permission to fight oppression in the nation. However, the king was not ready to sanction these decrees. This led to further rumples in the region. For instance on October 5, 1789, the Parisians marched all the way to Versailles. In the meant time, the Constituent Assembly was busy working on the constitution. The entire French population actively participated in this revolution as news papers briefed citizens on what was taking place in every corner of the country. Moreover, the information and communication freedom enabled them to voice their concerns. They engage in public ceremonies as “planting of trees for liberty” and Festivals of Federation as held in Paris in 1790. Emergence of the new regime The National Constituent Assembly worked hard to complete the abolition of feudalism, elimination of the outdated “orders,” and established a civil community with equality and legibility to vote. Although a small group of minority made to the point of voting, much was done to give every individual the right and legibility to participate in the voting process. There was a widespread redistribution of property as the assembly took to settle the public debt after nationalizing the lands of the Roman Catholic Church. Most peasants and bourgeoisie benefited from this. The Civil Constitution to cater for the clergy made sure that the church was reorganized again. Upon negotiating with the church clergy, the National Constituent Assembly was able to do away with the old regime. It substituted the old regime with a rational system of governance where France was to be divided into districts, departments, communities ruled by the elected assemblies, and cantons. Structures which outlined administrative justice were all altered with the adoption of the new divisions of administration. Moreover, new judges were elected into office. Besides this, the National Constituent Assembly tried to establish a system where the executive and judiciary powers were equally shared by the assembly and the king. However, the ruling king was not active enough to make this happen. Due to this, he tried to escape the nation in June 1791 but was arrested and brought back to Paris. The counterrevolution, reigning of terror, and regicide The new mode of regime gave a lot of hopes to the revolutionaries abroad as those from Australia, Italy, and German states. A group of counterrevolutionaries abandoned their nation and flee to the northern part of the nation where they formed armed groups as they sought aid from the rulers of Europe. Though these rulers were initially indifferent to the revolution, the action by the National Constituent Assembly to assert the principle of internal law was a big blow to them. This new law gave people the right to self-determination. This law brought further reunion of the nation with the territory of Avignon. With much eager to spread the principles of revolution, France declared war with Australia in April 20, 1792. Initially, France lost the war as other nations and territories as Prussia joined the war (Webster 2003, p. 56-120). Towards the later phases of war as the fourth phase, several victories were proclaimed by the nation’s army. As at spring of 1794, France reported a brilliant victory against the Australians which allowed them to reoccupy parts of Belgium. This victory brought about much terror and restrictions in the society. With the withdrawal of the legendary of the restrictions from the National Convention Assembly on 9th July, 1794, there was much unease as the initial national facets were abandoned like the struggle towards economic equality. There was a reported “white terror” as the royals tried to take up power in Paris thought they were defeated by the young and energetic Napoleon Bonaparte. Within a short time, the National Convention detached. The expansion of the revolution and directory Courtesy of the Constitution of the third year, there were more placements of the executive power on the shoulders of the Directory members and Legislative Power in the chambers of Council of Ancients and the Council of the five Hundred. Bonaparte, in the VIII year abolished the Directory as he became the head of France by the virtue of “first consult.” In the entire Europe continent, the expanse of Revolution continued as the French troops invaded Switzerland and Naples while setting up the Roman, Helvetic, and the Parthenopean republics. The Directory occupied Egypt in its bid to threaten the British in India. At the battle of the Nile in august 1798, several French troops were destroyed, which encouraged the formation of the Second Coalition of powers as the revolution progress took more steps ahead. This coalition involving Russia, Australia, The Great Britain, and Turkey defeated and send away the French armies towards the frontiers. Bonaparte went back to his native nation in order to enjoy what his armies had done abroad. His coup comprising of eighteen Brumaire overcame the directory and reshuffled the consulate. Bonaparte then proclaimed the end of the Revolution as he took to spread it in his own different ways. Conclusion The French revolution is one of the most famous and fierce battles that have been exemplified in the world. Considering the period in which the war took place, and the number of constitutional reforms abandoned while others being formulated and enacted, this Revolution spread across the entire world and became a famous one (McPhee 2001,p. 45-52). The end of the revolution marked a significant victory in France and the conquered nations as the leaders of these nations were able to formulate ways in which they could better serve and prosper their individual citizens. References Furet, F and Ozouf, M 1989, A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution, Havard, Harvard University Press. McPhee, P 2001, The French Revolution, 1789-1799, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Webster, N 2003, French Revolution: A Study in Democracy, New York, Kessinger Publishing. Read More