[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] chapter 1 the French Revolution on the morning of 14th July 1789 the city of Paris was in a state of alarm the king had commanded troops to move into the city rumors spread that he would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens some 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a people's militia they broke into a number of government buildings in search of arms finally a group of several hundred people marched towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress prison the best aisle where they hoped to find hoarded ammunition in the armed fight that followed the commander of the Bastille was killed and the prisoners released though there were only seven of them yet the Bastille was hated by all because it stood for the despotic power of the king the fortress was demolished and it's stone fragments were sold in the markets to all those who wished to keep a souvenir of its destruction [Music] the days that followed saw more rioting both in Paris and the countryside most people were protesting against the high price of bread much later when historians looked back upon this time they saw it as the beginning of a chain of events that ultimately led to the execution of the king in France though most people at the time did not anticipate this outcome how and why did this happen French society during the late 18th century in 1774 louis xvi of the Bourbon family of Kings ascended the throne of France he was 20 years old and married to the Austrian princes marry antonette upon his accession the new king found an empty Treasury long years of war had drained the financial resources of France added to this was a cost of maintaining an extravagant code at the immense Palace of Versailles under louis xvi france helped the 13 American colonies to gain their independence from the common enemy Britain the war ended more than a billion lyvers to a debt that had already risen to more than two billion livers lenders who gave the state credit now began to charge 10% interest on loans so the French government was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone to meet its regular expenses such as the cost of maintaining an army the court running government offices or universities the state was forced to increase taxes yet even this measure would not have suffice French society in the 18th century was divided into three estates and only members of the Third Estate paid taxes the Society of estates was part of the feudal system that dated back to the Middle Ages the term old regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789 figure 2 shows how the system of estates in French society was organized presents made up about 90% of the population however only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated about 60% of the land was owned by nobles the church and other richer members of the Third Estate the members of the first two states that is the clergy and the nobility enjoyed certain privileges by birth the most important of these was exemption from paying taxes to the state the nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges these included feudal dues which they extracted from the peasants peasants were obliged to render services to the Lord to work in his house and fields to serve in the army or to participate in building roads the church - extracted its share of taxes called tights from the peasants and finally all members of the Third Estate had to pay taxes to the state these included a direct tax called tele and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco the burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the Third Estate alone the struggle to survive the population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789 this led to a rapid increase in the demand for the food grains production of grains could not keep pace with the demand so the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly most workers were employed as labourers in workshops whose owner fixed their wages but wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices so the gap between the poor and the rich widened things became worse whenever draught or hail reduced the harvest this led to a subsistence crisis something that occurred frequently in France during the old regime a growing middle class and we sages an end to privileges in the past peasants and workers had participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity but they lacked the means and programs to carry out full-scale measures that would bring about a change in the social and economic order this was left to those groups within the Third Estate who had become prosperous and had access to education and new ideas the 18th century witnessed the emergence of social groups termed the middle class who earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods such as woolen and silk textiles and were either that were either exported or bought by the richer members of society in addition to merchants and manufacturers the Third Estate included professions such as lawyers or administrative officials all of these were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth rather a person's social position must depend on his merit these ideas and his aging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke a and Jean J'Accuse ratio in his to suit Isis of garment loci sought to refuse the doctrine of the divine an absolute right of the menage rossi who carried the idea forward proposing a form of garment based on a social contract between people and their representatives in the spirit of the laws Montesquieu proposed a division of par within the garment between the legislative the executive and the judiciary this model of garment was put into force in the USA after the 13 colonies declared their independence from retain the American Constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example for political thinkers in France the ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in saloons and coffee houses and spread among people through books and newspapers these were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who could not read and write the news that louis xvi planned to impose further taxes to be able to meet the expenses of the state generated anger and protest against the system of a villages the outbreak of the revolution louis xvi had to increase taxes for reasons you have learned in the previous section how do you think he could have gone without doing this in France of the old design the Manoj did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will alone rather he had to call a meeting of the Estates General which would then pass his proposals for new taxes the estates-general was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives however the Manoj alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body the last time it was done was in 1614 on 5th May 1789 louis xvi called together an assembly of the estates-general to pass proposals for new taxes a resplendent hall inversely x' was prepared to host the delegates the first and second stage sent three hundred representatives each who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides while the six hundred members of the Third Estate had to stand at the back the Third Estate was represented by its small prosperous and educated members peasants artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly however their devices and demands were listed in some 40,000 letters which the representatives had brought with them voting in the estates-general in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote this time - louis xvi was determined to continue the same practice but members of the Third Estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole where each member would have one vote this was one of the democratic principles put forward by philosophers like Rocio in his book the social contract when the king rejected this proposal members of the Third Estate walked out of the Assembly in protest the representatives of the Third Estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation on 20th June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of worse alleys they declared themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch they were led by me review and eBay site sighs merav you was born in a noble family but was convinced by the need to do away with a society of feudal privilege he brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at verse Lee's ABCs originally a priest wrote an influential pamphlet called what is the Third Estate while the National Assembly was busy at verse Lee's drafting a constitution the rest of France seated with turmoil a severe winter had meant a bad harvest the price of bread rose often Baker's exploited the situation and holded supplies after spending hours in long queues at the bakery crowds of angry women stormed into the shops at the same time the king ordered troops to move into Paris on 14th July the agitated crowds tom and destroy the best aisle in the countryside jumera spread from village to village that the Lords of the men are had hired bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy the right crops caught in a frenzy of fear peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked Chateau be looted hooded grain and burnt round documents containing records of manorial views a large number of Nobles fled from their homes many of them migrating to neighboring countries faced with the power of his revolting subjects louis xvi finally accorded recognition to the national assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by a constitution on the night of 4th August 1789 the Assembly passed a decree polishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges tithes were abolished and lands owned by the church were confiscated as a result the government acquired assets worth at least two billion livers France becomes a constitutional monarchy the National Assembly completed the draft of the Constitution in 1791 its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch these powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person were now separated and assigned to different institutions the legislature executive and judiciary this made France a constitutional monarchy figure seven explains how the new political system worked the constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly which was indirectly elected that is citizens voted for a group of electors who in turn chose the assembly not all citizens however had the right to vote only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least three days of a laborers wage were given the status of active citizens that is they were entitled to vote the remaining men all women were classed as passive citizens to qualify as an elector and then as a member of the assembly a man had to belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers the Constitution began with a declaration of the rights of man and citizen rights such as the right to life freedom of speech freedom of opinion equality before law were established as natural and in Allina bolides that is they belong to each human being by birth and could not be taken away it was a duty of the state to protect each citizens natural rights [Music] France abolish --is monarchy and becomes a republic the situation in France continued to be tense during the following years although louis xvi had signed the Constitution he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia rulers of other neighboring countries - who were worried by the developments in France and made plans to send troops to put down the events that had been taking place there since the summer of 1789 before this could happen the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria thousands of volunteers charmed from the province provinces to join the army they saw this as a war of the people against Kings and aristocracies all over Europe among the patriotic songs they sang was the marshalese composed by the poet Roget hail Italy it was sung for the first time by volunteers from marshalese as they marched into Paris and so got its name the Marceline's is now the national anthem of France the Revolutionary Wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people while the men were away fighting at the front women were left to cope up with the tasks of earning a living and looking after their families large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further as the constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wish to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action the most successful of these clubs was that of Jacobins which got its name from the former convent of Saint Jacob in Paris women - who had been active throughout this period formed the own clubs section 4 of this chapter will tell you more about their activities and demands the members of the jacobean club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of the society they included small shopkeepers artisans such as shoemakers pastry cooks watchmakers printers as well as servants and daily wage workers the leader was maximal on ropes / a large group among the jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers this was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society especially Nobles who wore knee breeches it was a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by the viewers of the knee breeches these Jacobins came to be known as sans culotte EES literally meaning those without knee breeches sans colleges men wore in addition the red cap that symbolized liberty women however were not allowed to do so in the summer of 1792 the jacobins planned an insurrection of a large number of Parisians who were angered by the short supplies and high prices of food on the morning of August 10 they stormed the palace of the Tuileries massacred the Kings guards and held the king himself as hostage for several hours later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family elections were held from now on all men of 21 years and above regardless of wealth got the right to vote the newly elected assembly was called the convention on 21st September 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic as you know a republic is a form of government where the people elected the government including the head of the government there is no hereditary monarchy you can try and find out about some other countries that are the pub republics and investigate when and how they became so louis xvi was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason on 21st January 1793 he was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde the Queen Mary internet met with the same fate shortly after the reign of terror the period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as a reign of terror rope speery followed a policy of severe control and punishment all those whom he saw as being enemies of the Republic ex nobles and clergy members of other political parties even members of his own party who did not agree with his methods were arrested imprisoned and then tried by a Revolutionary Tribunal if the court found them guilty they were Gilliland the guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded it was named after dr. guillotine who invented it rose Perry's garment issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices meat and bread were rationed peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed by the government the use of more expensive white floor was forbidden all citizens were required to eat the plain Diggle ate the quality bread a loaf made of whole wheat equality was also sought to be practiced through forms of speech and a dress instead of the traditional Monsur sir and madam all French men and women were henceforth citoyen and Satou any citizen churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices Rose Perry pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation finally he was convicted by a court in July 1794 arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine a directory rules France the fall of the Jacobin garment allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power a new constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non propertied sections of society it provided for two elected legislative councils these then appointed a directory an executive made up of five members this was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins however the directors often clashed with the legislative councils who then sought to dismiss them the political instability of the directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator Napoleon Bonaparte through all these changes in the form of government the ideas of freedom of equality before the law and the fraternity remained inspiring ideals that motivated political movements in France and the rest of Europe during the following century did women have a revolution from the very beginning women were active participants in the events which brought about so many important changes in French society they hoped that their involvement would pressurize the revolutionary garment to introduce measures to improve their lives most women of the Third Estate had to work for a living we worked as seamstresses or laundresses sold flowers fruits and vegetables at the market all were employed as domestic servants in the houses of prosperous people most women did not have access to education or job training only daughters of nobles or wealthier members of the Third Estate could study at a convent after which their families arranged a marriage for them working women had also to care for their families that is cook fetch water queue up for bread and look after the children their wages were lower than those of men in order to discuss and voice their interests women started their own political clubs and newspapers about 60 women's club came up in different French cities the Society of revolutionary and Republican Women was a most famous of them one of their main demands was that women enjoy the same political rights as men women were disappointed that the constitution of 1791 reduced them to passive citizens they demanded the right to vote to be elected to the assembly and to hold political office only then they felt would their interests be represented in the new government in the early years the revolutionary garment did introduce laws that helped improve the lives of women together with the creation of state schools schooling was made compulsory for all girls their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and registered under civil law divorce was made legal and could be applied for by both women and men women could now train for jobs could become artists or run small businesses women struggle for equal political rights however continued during the reign of terror the new garment issued laws ordering closure of women's club and banning their political activities many prominent women were arrested and a number of them executed women's movements for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next 200 years in many countries of the world the fight for the vote was carried out through an international suffrage movements during the late 19th and early 20th centuries the example of the political activities of French women during the Revolutionary years was kept alive as an inspiring memory it was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote [Music] the abolition of slavery one of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin design was the abolition of slavery in the French colonies the colonies in the Caribbean Martinique you got elope and San Domingo were important suppliers of commodities such as tobacco indigo sugar and coffee but the reluctance of Europeans to go and work in distant and unfair lands meant a shortage of labour on the plantations so this was met by a triangular saved slave trade between Europe Africa and Americas the slave trade began in the 17th century French merchants sailed from the ports of Botox or Nantes to the African coast where they bought slaves from local chieftains branded and shackled the leaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-month long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean there they were sold to plantation owners the exploitation of slave labor made it possible to meet the growing demand in European markets for sugar coffee and indigo port cities like Botox and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing slave trade throughout the 18th century there was little criticism of slavery in France the National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be extended to all French subjects including those in the colonies but it did not pass any laws fearing opposition from businessmen whose incomes depended on the slave trade it was finally the convention which in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas positions this however turned out to be a short-term measure ten years later Napoleon reintroduced slavery plantation owners understood their freedom as including the right to enslave African Negroes in pursuit of their economic interests slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848 the Revolution and everyday life can politics change the clothes people wear the language they speak or the books they read the years following 1789 in France saw many such changes in the lives of men women and children the revolutionary garments took it upon themselves to pass laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice one important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship in the old regime all written material and cultural activities books newspapers plays could be published or performed only after they had been approved by the censors of the King now the Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right newspapers pamphlets books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they traveled rapidly into the countryside they all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events to be expressed each side sought to convince the others of its position through the medium of print plays songs and festive processions attracted large number of people this was one way they could grasp the and identify with ideas such as liberty or justice that political philosophers wrote about at length in texts which only a handful of educated people could read conclusion in 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France he set out to conquer neighboring European countries dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed members of his family napoleon saw his role as a modernised moderniser of europe he introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of ways and measures provided by the decimal system initially many saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the people but soon the Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force he was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815 many of his measures that carried the revolutionary ideas of Liberty and modern laws to other parts of Europe had an impact on people long after Napoleon had left the ideas of Liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution these spread from France to the rest of Europe during the 19th century where feudal systems were abolished colonized peoples rework the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation-state Tipu Sultan and Rama Mohan Roy are two examples of individuals who responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France [Music] [Applause] [Music]