Crash Course European History: The French Revolution (1789-1795)

Context Leading to the Revolution (1789)

• Europe and France

  • Ongoing wars, territory changes, high death tolls.
  • Agricultural struggles: bad crop yields, uncooperative weather.
  • France: emerged as a hero in overseas revolutions (supported the 13 American colonies).
  • Domestic crisis: Absolute monarchy, bankruptcy due to extensive warfare, widespread poverty amidst aristocratic wealth.
  • Taxation woes: Poor and middle-class bore tax burdens.

• Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

  • Louis XVI: More interested in hunting and mechanical tinkering.
  • Marie Antoinette: Extravagant spender, detached from the hardships of the poor.
  • Notoriously attributed quote: “Let them eat cake” (misinterpreted from "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche").

The Estates-General and Rising Discontent

• Financial Crisis

  • Aristocracy and clergy resisted tax reforms.
  • Collapse of royal finances as lenders refused further loans.

• Estates-General Meeting (May 5, 1789)

  • Three estates: Clergy, Aristocracy, Common People.
  • Third Estate protests unequal representation and power.
  • Tennis Court Oath: Declaration of the National Assembly aiming to form a nation of citizens.

Revolutionary Developments

• Key Events

  • July 14, 1789: Storming of the Bastille by Parisians.
  • August 4, 1789: Aristocrats renounce feudal privileges.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen: Emphasized liberty, property, equal rights, and freedom of religion.

• Constitutional Changes and Reforms

  • Monarchy becomes constitutional.
  • Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790): Seized church property, introduced church elections.

Political Shifts and Conflicts

• War with Austria and Prussia

  • Royal escape attempt fails.
  • Political factions emerge: Left (Republicans) vs. Right (Monarchists).

• Women in the Revolution

  • Olympe de Gouges: Declaration of the Rights of Woman.
  • Political club participation, advocacy for equal inheritance and army rights.

The Reign of Terror (1793-1794)

• Radicalization and Jacobin Leadership

  • Execution of Louis XVI.
  • Robespierre leads Committee of Public Safety, endorses "Reign of Virtue."
  • Cultural shifts: Rational calendar, patriotic festivals, secularization of churches.

• The Terror

  • Mass executions (40,000+) using the guillotine.
  • Women targeted as potential counter-revolutionaries.

Reaction and the Rise of the Directory

• Decline of Jacobin Power

  • Counterrevolutionary movements and moderate opposition.
  • Overthrow and execution of Robespierre.

• Establishment of the Directory (1795)

  • Conservative government, revolutionary expansion in Europe begins.
  • Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Broader Impacts

• Spread of Revolutionary Ideals

  • Enlightenment ideas influence revolutions in Haiti, Spanish colonies.
  • Poland’s attempted reforms suppressed by continental powers.

• Legacy

  • Shift from monarchy to citizen-centered nation-states.
  • Development of individual rights and political ideologies (liberalism, conservatism).
  • Influential figures like Mary Wollstonecraft advocate for women's rights and education.