learning objectives after completing this module learners will be able to understand and describe the 18th century french society understand and elaborate on the discontent in the 18th century french society understand and describe the causes of the outbreak of the revolution understand and describe how french abolished monarchy to become a republic understand and describe in detail the beginning and end of the reign of terror understand and explain the impact of revolution on women understand and describe the events that led to abolition of slavery in france understand and explain the rise and fall of napoleon bonaparte the french society in the late 18th century in 1774 the 20 years old louis 16 of the bourbon family of kings married to austrian princess marie antoinette ascended the throne of france he was greeted by an empty treasury long years of war had mounted the deaths to more than two billion liveries currency of france which was discontinued in 1794. to meet the regular expenses of maintaining the army the court the government offices and universities king louis xvi was compelled to increase the taxes the 18th century french society was divided into three estates the first estate comprised of clergy who undertook special services in the church the second estate comprised of the nobility nobility was inherited by birth the third estate was further divided into three categories the first category of big businessmen merchants court officials etc was relatively affluent the second category of peasants and artisans had little money the third category of landless peasants labourers and servants was the poorest of all the first and second estate enjoyed many privileges including exemption from taxes only the third estate paid taxes the church collected taxes called the tithe from the peasants daily a kind of direct tax and a number of other indirect taxes were paid by all members of the third estate the society of estates evolved under the feudal system that prevailed in the middle ages causes of discontent in the 18th century french society struggled to survive the growing population of france led to food scarcity as the production of food grains was much below its demand the price of bread the staple food of the majority rose steeply workers earning poor wages in workshops never had enough to keep pace with the rising prices the gap between the rich and the poor increased this condition was worsened by severe drought or hail which reduced the harvest it led to substance crisis it is an extreme situation when even the basic means of livelihood are endangered a growing middle class envisaged an end to privileges peasants and artisans they occasionally revolted against the food scarcity and heavy taxes but they did not have sufficient means to bring about a radical change in the society at this time a wealthy social group termed the middle class was emerging in the french society the lawyers and administrators in this category were educated people who did not believe in any privileges by birth philosophers like lorc and russo envisioned a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all philosopher montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative the executive and the judiciary the american constitution and its guarantee of individual rights set an ideal example for french political thinkers these ideas spread fast and gain support from the french mosses outbreak of the revolution on 5th may 1789 louis xvi called a meeting of the estate general to propose an increase in the taxes the estates general was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives in the past each estate could cost one vote this time the third estate demanded that voting be conducted by the assembly as a whole where each member would have one vote king louis vi rejected the idea and the third estate walked out in protest on 20th june they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of versailles and declared themselves a national assembly they drafted a constitution for france on the night of 4th august 1789 the assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes france became a constitutional monarchy the draft of the constitution was completed in 1791 it curtailed the powers of the monarch and assigned it to three institutions the legislature the executive and the judiciary this made france a constitutional monarchy the power to make laws now vested with the national assembly which was indirectly elected the citizens voted for electors who chose the assembly a declaration of the rights of man and citizen in the constitution emphasized on the right to life freedom of speech freedom of opinion and equality before law france abolishes monarchy and becomes a republic post-revolution the situation in france remained tense for a long time louis xvi sought help from the neighboring states to stop the revolutionary events taking place in france since 1789. before they could take action the national assembly voted to declare a war against prussia and austria in 1792 it was a war against kings and aristocracies all over europe the revolutionary wars caused huge losses and economic difficulties yet a large section of people wished to carry the war further as the 1791 constitution gave political rights only to the richer section soon political clubs were formed to discuss government policies and their own plans of action jacobins the most successful club was led by maximilian robespierre members of this club belonged to the less prosperous sections of the society in the summer of 1792 the jacobins stormed the palace of the tilleries and held the king hostage for several hours the royal family was imprisoned elections held soon after gave voting rights to all individuals above the age of 21 regardless of wealth the newly elected assembly was called the convention on 21 september 1792 it abolished monarchy and declared france a republic louis xvi was sentenced to death by a court and executed publicly at the place de la concorde on 21 january 1793 the queen mary antoinette 2 was executed shortly after the reign of terror the period from 1793 to 1794 is called the reign of terror robespierre followed a policy of strict control and harsh punishments everyone whom he considered his enemy was arrested and executed it included clergymen ex-nobles members of other political parties and also members of his own party who disagreed with him robespierre's government placed a maximum ceiling on wages and prices meat and bread were rationed peasants were forced to sell their grains in cities at prices fixed by the government citizens were forced to eat equality bread made of whole wheat flour the costlier white flour bread was forbidden the traditional address of monsieur for men and madame for women was replaced by citoyen and citoyene meaning citizen the buildings of churches were converted into barracks or offices robespierre followed his policies so ruthlessly that even his own supporters went against him and demanded moderation in july 1794 he was convicted arrested and sent to guillotine a directory rules france after the fall of the jacobin government the power was seized by the wealthier middle class it introduced a new constitution which denied voting rights to the non-property persons it provided for two legislative councils which appointed an executive committee of five members called the directory this arrangement attempted to prevent concentration of power in one man the directory often clashed with the councils it led to political stability which eventually gave way to military dictator napoleon bonaparte did women have a revolution women had participated actively in the revolutionary events of france yet no measures were taken to improve their lord the third estate women had to work hard as laundresses fruits vegetables and flower cellars or work as domestic servant they were deprived of education only daughters of the prosperous members of the third estate could study at convents after which they were married off against their will women were paid wages lower than men to get their due position in the society women started their own clubs the most famous of them was the society of revolutionary and republican women they were disappointed that the 1791 revolution relegated them to the status of passive citizens they demanded the right to vote to be elected to the assembly and to hold political office in the initial years the revolutionary government did open schools for women and made schooling compulsory girls could not be married off without their consent marriage was made a contract which could be entered into and registered under the civil law women too could apply for divorce women could get training for jobs work as artists or run a business important women activists were arrested and a number of them executed after a long struggle of 200 years french women were finally granted the right to vote in 1946 abolition of slavery martinique guadeloupe and san domingo the three colonies in the caribbean had huge plantations of tobacco coffee indigo and sugar but the europeans were not willing to work in distant and unfamiliar lands it created a shortage of labor on the plantations this shortage was met by a triangular slave trade between europe africa and the americas the slave trade had its origins in the 17th century the french merchants bought slaves from african chieftains packed them tightly into ships to sail across the atlantic to reach the caribbean it was a three-month long voyage there they were sold to plantation owners to fill in the shortage of labor port cities like bordeaux and nantes prospered due to the exploitive slave trade there was almost no criticism of slave trade in the 18th century france the national assembly did discuss the idea of extending the rights of man to all french subjects including those in the colonies but it feared opposition from businessmen who depended heavily on slave trade for their incomes in 1794 the convention then under the control of jacobin abolished slavery unfortunately ten years later napoleon bonaparte reintroduced it slavery was finally abolished in all french colonies in 1848 the revolution and everyday life the years following 1789 saw many changes in the lives of men women and children in france the revolutionary government passed many laws to bring the ideals of liberty and equality into practice one of the most important of these laws was abolition of censorship it came into effect immediately after the storming of the bastille in 1789 prior to this all literature and cultural activities required the approval of the king the declaration of the rights of man and citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right soon literature in the form of newspapers pamphlets books and printed pictures spread country-wide cultural activities like plays songs etc caught attention of the masses it helped them identify with the ideas of liberty and justice abolition of slavery in 1804 napoleon bonaparte crowned himself emperor of france napoleon saw himself as the modernizer of europe he conquered neighboring countries disposed dynasties and created kingdoms to place members of his family though seen as a liberator initially the opinion soon changed and he was viewed as an invading force yet some of his reforms had a lasting impact on europe he was defeated at waterloo in 1815. the ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important contribution of the french revolution under its influence feudal system came to an end in many parts of europe colonized people worked towards formation of sovereign nation states summary let us summarize what we have learned the 18th century french society was divided into three estates the third estate comprised of rich businessmen merchants professionals poor peasants artisans etc the 18th century france faced subsistence crisis it is an extreme situation when even the basic means of livelihood are endangered the draft of the constitution curtailed the powers of the monarch and assigned it to three institutions the legislature the executive and the judiciary this made france a constitutional monarchy on 21 september 1792 france abolished monarchy and declared france a republic king louis xvi and queen marie antoinette were executed publicly in short succession the period from 1793 to 1794 is called the reign of terror after a long struggle of 200 years french women were finally granted the vote to write in 1946 in 1794 the convention then under the control of jacobin abolished slavery ten years later napoleon bonaparte reintroduced it but slavery was finally abolished in all french colonies in 1848 the