how long did the french revolution last how long did the french revolution last

[30] Although they contained ideas that would have seemed radical only months before, most supported the monarchy, and assumed the Estates-General would agree to financial reforms, rather than fundamental constitutional change. [4][5], Between 1700 and 1789, the French population grew from 18million to 26million, while Paris alone had over 600,000 inhabitants, of whom roughly one third had no regular work. "What's after Political Culture? Both failed to attract international support. [90] Louis and his family took refuge with the Assembly and shortly after 11:00 am, the deputies present voted to 'temporarily relieve the king', effectively suspending the monarchy. At one end of the political spectrum, reactionaries like Cazals and Maury denounced the Revolution in all its forms, with extremists like Maximilien Robespierre at the other. [204] This sparked a counter-revolutionary movement led by women; while supporting other political and social changes, they opposed the dissolution of the Catholic Church and revolutionary cults like the Cult of the Supreme Being. [85] As expected and indeed intended by their authors, both were vetoed by Louis who was now portrayed as opposed to reform in general. The short answer is three, but the long answer is three proper revolutions and a number of near-revolutions. [181] By 1793 the radicals were most active but initially the royalists flooded the country with their publication the "L'Ami du Roi[fr]" (Friends of the King) until they were suppressed. Completed in only eight days, it was ratified by the convention on 24 June, and contained radical reforms, including universal male suffrage and abolition of slavery in French colonies. Led by the revolutionary Franois-Nol Babeuf, their demands included the implementation of the 1793 Constitution and a more equitable distribution of wealth. Robert Tombs, "Inventing politics: from Bourbon Restoration to republican monarchy," in Martin S. Alexander, ed., Marc H. Lerner, "The Helvetic Republic: An Ambivalent Reception of French Revolutionary Liberty,", Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Militant feminism in the French Revolution, Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, List of people associated with the French Revolution, List of political groups in the French Revolution, List of films set during the French Revolution and French Revolutionary Wars, "Illustrations from Rvolutions de Paris", "Marche des Marseillois, satirical etching", "The Consequences of Radical Reform: The French Revolution", "Law and social capital: Evidence from the Code Napoleon in Germany", "16881789. The first writings on the French revolution were near contemporaneous with events and mainly divided along ideological lines. As long as the generals and their armies stayed away from Paris, they were happy to allow them to continue fighting, a key factor behind sanctioning Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt. "[112] [b], At the height of the Terror, the slightest hint of counter-revolutionary thought could place one under suspicion, and even its supporters were not immune. Slaves initiated the rebellion in 1791 and by 1803 they had succeeded in ending not just slavery but French control over the colony. It contains 232,935 words in 357 pages and was last updated . June 7: Day of the Tiles in Grenoble, first revolt against the king. Revolution became a tradition, and republicanism an enduring option. [88], Bernave's inability to build a consensus in the Assembly resulted in the appointment of a new government, chiefly composed of Brissotins. [200], Madame Roland (also known as Manon or Marie Roland) was another important female activist. [12] Attempts to make the system more transparent were blocked by the regional Parlements which controlled financial policy. [64] On 13 February 1790, religious orders and monasteries were dissolved, while monks and nuns were encouraged to return to private life. It was not until February 1794 that they passed a decree to put an end to it. [214] Some modern historians argue the concept of the nation state was a direct consequence of the revolution. By then, slavery had already been abolished in the most important of the colonies, Saint-Domingue, following the great slave revolt that began in August 1791.[149]. To win their support for fiscal reforms, the Minister of Finance, Brienne, sets May 5, 1789, for a meeting of . During the Revolutionary Wars, the French invaded and occupied the region between 1794 and 1814, a time known as the French period. Without a majority in the legislature, the Directors relied on the army to enforcing decrees and extract revenue from conquered territories. As she was led to the scaffold, Madame Roland shouted "O liberty! Colonial products accounted for about a third of France's exports. [236], According to Daron Acemoglu, Davide Cantoni, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson the French Revolution had long-term effects in Europe. A chronology of key events in modern French history: 1789 - French Revolution ends rule of monarchy going back to 9th Century; followed by establishment of the First Republic. There is no evidence of a negative effect of French invasion. Although the coup failed, on 2 June the convention was surrounded by a crowd of up to 80,000, demanding cheap bread, unemployment pay and political reforms, including restriction of the vote to the sans-culottes, and the right to remove deputies at will. [216][278] The historiography of the revolution has become more diversified, exploring areas such as cultural histories, regional histories, visual representations, transnational interpretations, and decolonisation. [21], By 1788, total state debt had increased to an unprecedented 4.5 billion livres. [63], The August decrees abolished tithes, and on 2 November the Assembly confiscated all church property, the value of which was used to back a new paper currency known as assignats. After the collapse of the First French Empire in 1815, the French public lost many of the rights and privileges earned since the revolution, but remembered the participatory politics that characterised the period. In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen she insisted that women deserved rights, especially in areas concerning them directly, such as divorce and recognition of illegitimate children. The revolution swayed the socio-economic and political life of France and affected the rest of the world. Between 1789 and 1793, the annual deficit increased from 10% to 64% of gross national product, while annual inflation reached 3,500% after a poor harvest in 1794 and the removal of price controls. By the time peace finally came in 1815, the conflict had involved every major European power as well as the United States, redrawn the map of Europe and expanded into the Americas, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. [82] After Louis officially accepted the new Constitution, one response was recorded as being "Vive le roi, s'il est de bon foi! Meanwhile, the men who controlled the Jacobins rejected the Revolutionary Republican Women as dangerous rabble-rousers. [231] Others argue the redistribution of land had an immediate positive impact on agricultural productivity, before the scale of these gains gradually declined over the course of the 19th century. Those arrested in the provinces were now sent to Paris for judgement; from March to July, executions in Paris increased from five to twenty-six a day. [35] After an extended stalemate, on 10 June the Third Estate proceeded to verify its own deputies, a process completed on 17 June; two days later, they were joined by over 100 members of the First Estate, and declared themselves the National Assembly. "[120], After the Convention authorised his arrest, he and his supporters took refuge in the Hotel de Ville, which was defended by elements of the National Guard. [192] However, in October 1793, the Assembly banned all women's clubs and the movement was crushed; this was driven by the emphasis on masculinity in a wartime situation, antagonism towards feminine "interference" in state affairs due to Marie Antoinette, and traditional male supremacy. Deprived of political rights under the Ancien Rgime, the 1791 Constitution classed them as "passive" citizens, leading to demands for social and political equality for women and an end to male domination. The song is the first example of the "European march" anthemic style, while the evocative melody and lyrics led to its widespread use as a song of revolution and incorporation into many pieces of classical and popular music. [82] The remaining 345 belonged to La Plaine, a central faction who switched votes depending on the issue; many of whom shared Brissotins suspicions as to Louis' commitment to the Revolution. Harvest taxes were ended, such as the tithe and seigneurial dues, much to the relief of the peasants. [48] After editing by Mirabeau, it was published on 26 August as a statement of principle. These factors resulted in the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792, abolition of the French monarchy and proclamation of the French First Republic in September 1792, followed by the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793. Second, armies were primarily loyal to their generals, for whom the wealth achieved by victory and the status it conferred became objectives in themselves. Relaxation of price controls and rampant inflation caused increasing unrest among the sans-culottes, but the improved military situation reduced fears the Republic was in danger. The current King. An effort was made to replace the Catholic Church altogether with the Cult of Reason, and with civic festivals replacing religious ones, leading to attacks by locals on state officials. This was less obvious in Paris, since the formation of the National Guard made it the best policed city in Europe, but growing disorder in the provinces inevitably affected members of the Assembly. Many feared their own survival depended on Robespierre's removal; during a meeting on 29 June, three members of the Committee of Public Safety called him a dictator in his face. The revolutionaries had, at first, tolerated languages and dialects other than French. What crimes are committed in thy name! [86], Accompanying this was a campaign for war against Austria and Prussia, also led by Brissot, whose aims have been interpreted as a mixture of cynical calculation and revolutionary idealism. This resulted in aggressive and opportunistic policies, leading to the War of the Second Coalition in November 1798. Prelude to Revolt By the late 1780s, the French monarchy was on the brink of collapse. However without consensus on the role of the Crown, it was impossible to create political institutions. They ransacked the palace, killing several guards. "The World Revolution of the West: 17631801,", McPhee, Peter. There were about 700,000 slaves in the colonies, of which about 500,000 were in Saint-Domingue. Growing disorder meant many professional officers either left or became migrs, further destabilising the institution. Edmund Burke responded in November 1790 with his own pamphlet, Reflections on the Revolution in France, attacking the French Revolution as a threat to the aristocracy of all countries. Although only 20% were committed Royalists, many centrists supported the restoration of the exiled Louis XVIII of France in the belief this would end the War of the First Coalition with Britain and Austria. In October, thirty bishops wrote a declaration denouncing the law, further fuelling opposition. However, normal legal processes were suspended following the assassination of Marat on 13 July by the Girondist Charlotte Corday, which the Committee of Public Safety used as an excuse to take control. [199], Olympe de Gouges wrote a number of plays, short stories, and novels. Over 72,00 slaves were still in revolt, mostly in the north. The Kingdom of France was an empire, and the existence of this empire was never questioned by the revolutionaries, who even maintained slavery for a long time. His fall in first 1814 and then 1815 saw the return of the French monarchy, clearly a national return to pre-revolutionary times, even if France could not return to that era. Led by Bertrand Barre, Pierre Joseph Cambon and Lazare Carnot, as before this central faction acted as a swing vote. Having started in Versailles in May 1789, the French Revolution saw its first concrete act here in October of the same year with the departure of the king. [107], The Reign of Terror began as a way to harness revolutionary fervour, but quickly degenerated into the settlement of personal grievances. Vendors sold programmes listing the names of those scheduled to die. [176] Black armies drove the Spanish out of Saint-Domingue in 1795, and the last of the British withdrew in 1798. [193] A decade later the Napoleonic Code confirmed and perpetuated women's second-class status. [188], Its operation became a popular entertainment that attracted great crowds of spectators. It acquired its nickname after being sung in Paris by volunteers from Marseille marching on the capital. The new government enforced new reforms, incorporating the region into France itself. Its governor, Bernard-Ren de Launay, surrendered after several hours of fighting that cost the lives of 83 attackers. Other units loyal to the Convention stormed the building that evening and detained Robespierre, who severely injured himself attempting suicide. [33], The Estates-General convened in the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi on 5 May 1789, near the Palace of Versailles rather than in Paris; the choice of location was interpreted as an attempt to control their debates. Among the most significant were Marat's L'Ami du peuple and Elyse Loustallot's Revolutions de Paris[fr]. Led by Lafayette, the National Guard was ordered to "preserve public order" and responded to a barrage of stones by firing into the crowd, killing between 13 and 50 people. [111] Between November 1793 to February 1794, over 4,000 were drowned in the Loire at Nantes under the supervision of Jean-Baptiste Carrier. [94] A response to the capture of Longwy and Verdun by Prussia, the perpetrators were largely National Guard members and fdrs on their way to the front. Messages of support poured in from Paris and other cities; by 27 June, they had been joined by the majority of the First Estate, plus forty-seven members of the Second, and Louis backed down. When the Gallic War ended (between 58 BCE and 51 BCE), territories located south of the Rhine became Roman provinces. [206], Economically, many peasant women refused to sell their goods for assignats because this form of currency was unstable and was backed by the sale of confiscated Church property. [125] Despite his links to Augustin Robespierre, military success in Italy meant Napoleon Bonaparte escaped censure. [173], In June, the commissioners in Saint-Domingue freed 10,000 slaves fighting for the republic. The attempted escape had a profound impact on public opinion; since it was clear Louis had been seeking refuge in Austria, the Assembly now demanded oaths of loyalty to the regime, and began preparing for war, while fear of 'spies and traitors' became pervasive. Reform was gradual and the regime itself carried out agrarian reforms that had the effect of weakening absolutism by creating a class of independent peasant freeholders. [129], However, the Republic still faced a crisis at home. [261], Dupuy identifies three main strands in nineteenth century historiography of the revolution. One suggestion is the resulting fragmentation of agricultural holdings had a significant negative impact in the early years of 19th century, then became positive in the second half of the century because it facilitated the rise in human capital investments. The state sold the lands but typically local authorities did not replace the funding and so most of the nation's charitable and school systems were massively disrupted[210], Between 1790 and 1796, industrial and agricultural output dropped, foreign trade plunged, and prices soared, forcing the government to finance expenditure by issuing ever increasing quantities assignats. With the press reliant on reprinting articles from British newspapers, local opinion followed them in being generally positive on the aims and objectives of the revolutionaries. [22] In a last attempt to resolve the crisis, Necker returned as Finance Minister in August 1788 but was unable to reach an agreement on how to increase revenue. [24] Each sat separately, enabling the First and Second Estates to outvote the Third, despite representing less than 5% of the population, while both were largely exempt from tax. At this point the Jacobins controlled the government; they dissolved the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, and decreed that all women's clubs and associations were illegal. [277], From the 1990s, Western scholars largely abandoned Marxist interpretations of the revolution in terms of bourgeoisie-proletarian class struggle as anachronistic. [246], German reaction to the Revolution swung from favourable to antagonistic. The extent of the brutal repression that followed has been debated by French historians since the mid-19th century. In 1788, the ratio of debt to gross national income in France was 55.6%, compared to 181.8% in Britain, and although French borrowing costs were higher, the percentage of revenue devoted to interest payments was roughly the same in both countries. They were followed by 15,000 members of the National Guard under Lafayette, who tried to dissuade them, but took command when it became clear they would desert if he did not grant their request. On 18th, Dumouriez was defeated at Neerwinden and defected to the Austrians. [72], The traditional force for preserving law and order was the army, which was increasingly divided between officers, who largely came from the nobility, and ordinary soldiers. 1792-1795 National Convention 1795-1799 Directory (Directors) 1795-1799 Paul Franois Jean Nicolas de Barras 1795-1799 Jean-Franois Reubell Its cultural influence was also under attack, with efforts made to strip civil life of religious elements such as Sundays, holy days, saints, prayers, rituals and ceremonies. [52] These protests quickly turned political, and after seizing weapons stored at the Htel de Ville, some 7,000 marched on Versailles, where they entered the Assembly to present their demands. [164], In 1789, the most populous French colonies were Saint-Domingue (today Haiti), Martinique, Guadeloupe, the le Bourbon (Runion) and the lede la France. [258] The influx of religious migrants also reinvigorated the local Catholic Church, with exiled priests establishing a number of parishes throughout the Canadas.[258]. Fist fights broke out in the streets between the two factions of women. [116] To retain the loyalty of the remaining Hbertists, Danton was arrested and executed on 5 April with Camille Desmoulins, after a show trial that arguably did more damage to Robespierre than any other act in this period. In 1781, Louis allegedly refused to appoint him Archbishop of Paris on the grounds 'an Archbishop should at least believe in God'. After the abdication of Napoleon III in 1871, the monarchists probably had a voting majority, but they were so factionalised they could not agree on who should be king, and instead the French Third Republic was launched with a deep commitment to upholding the ideals of the Revolution. A major slave revolt followed in August. Colonial landowners also gained control of the Colonial Committee of the Assembly from where they exerted a powerful influence against abolition. On 20 April 1792 the French Revolutionary Wars began when French armies attacked Austrian and Prussian forces along their borders, before suffering a series of disastrous defeats. [195], On 20 June 1792 a number of armed women took part in a procession that "passed through the halls of the Legislative Assembly, into the Tuileries Garden, and then through the King's residence. Resistance was strong in every sector, as Belgian nationalism emerged to oppose French rule. The French Revolution ( French: Rvolution franaise [evlysj fsz]) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. New rulers were sent in by Paris. The remaining 600 Conventionnels kept their seats, a move intended to ensure stability. One of the first of these "pamphlets" into print was A Vindication of the Rights of Men by Mary Wollstonecraft (better known for her later treatise, sometimes described as the first feminist text, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman); Wollstonecraft's title was echoed by Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, published a few months later. Although Robespierre himself was one of those excluded, his support in the clubs gave him a political power base not available to Lafayette and Bailly, who resigned respectively as head of the National Guard and the Paris Commune. [38] On 12 July, the Assembly went into a non-stop session after rumours circulated he was planning to use the Swiss Guards to force it to close. [124], The bloodshed did not end with the death of Robespierre; Southern France saw a wave of revenge killings, directed against alleged Jacobins, Republican officials and Protestants. After the Convention passed the law in September 1793, the Revolutionary Republican Women demanded vigorous enforcement, but were countered by market women, former servants, and religious women who adamantly opposed price controls (which would drive them out of business) and resented attacks on the aristocracy and on religion. [225], The Concordat of 1801 established the rules for a relationship between the Catholic Church and French State that lasted until it was abrogated by the French Third Republic on 11 December 1905. Responsibility is disputed, but even moderates expressed sympathy for the action, which soon spread to the provinces; the killings reflected widespread concern over social disorder [95], On 20 September, the French army won a stunning victory over the Prussians at Valmy. [165], In February 1788, the Socit des Amis des Noirs (Society of the Friends of Blacks) was formed in France with the aim of abolishing slavery in the empire. [139], Removal of price controls and a collapse in the value of the assignat led to inflation and soaring food prices. [175] An army of 1,000 sans-culottes led by Victor Hugues was sent to Guadeloupe to expel the British and enforce the decree. Unlike Britain, where Parliament determined both expenditures and taxes, in France the Crown controlled spending, but not revenue. This created a large rentier class who lived on the interest, primarily members of the French nobility or commercial classes. [119], Robespierre responded by not attending sessions, allowing his opponents to build a coalition against him. [218], The central elements of 1789 were the slogan "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" and "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen", which Lefebvre called, "the incarnation of the Revolution as a whole."[219]. "[137], Retention of the Conventionnels ensured the Thermidorians held a majority in the legislature and three of the five Directors, but they faced an increasing challenge from the right. Like the clergy, this was not a uniform body, and was divided into the noblesse d'pe, or traditional aristocracy, and the noblesse de robe. [53], When the National Guard arrived later that evening, Lafayette persuaded Louis that the safety of his family required their relocation to Paris. It reflects Roman republicanism and liberty, alluding to the Roman ritual of manumission, in which a freed slave receives the bonnet as a symbol of his newfound liberty. Led by de Brienne, a former archbishop of Toulouse,[a] the council also refused to approve new taxes, arguing this could only be done by the Estates. Andress, David. [49], Mounier, supported by conservatives like Grard de Lally-Tollendal, wanted a bicameral system, with an upper house appointed by the king, who would have the right of veto. By 1799, much of its property and institutions had been confiscated and its senior leaders dead or in exile. Initially the debt was financed by sales of confiscated property, but this was hugely inefficient; since few would buy assets that might be repossessed, fiscal stability could only be achieved by continuing the war until French counter-revolutionaries had been defeated. He was married to Marie Antoinette and was executed. In the trial of the Girondins, one of the main charges against them was their supposed federalism, considered by the Jacobins as a crime. [182], To illustrate the differences between the new Republic and the old regime, the leaders needed to implement a new set of symbols to be celebrated instead of the old religious and monarchical symbols. On 29 November, the Assembly passed a decree giving refractory clergy eight days to comply, or face charges of 'conspiracy against the nation', which even Robespierre viewed as too far, too soon. [92] The former Brissotins now split into moderate Girondins led by Brissot, and radical Montagnards, headed by Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Danton and Jean-Paul Marat. Fraternit!' that led to the removal of the French upper classes. Already unsettled by changes imposed on the church, in March the traditionally conservative and royalist Vende rose in revolt. One suggestion is that after a century of persecution, some French Protestants actively supported an anti-Catholic regime, a resentment fuelled by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire. So, how many revolutions have the French had? [146] The architect of its end was Sieys, who when asked what he had done during the Terror allegedly answered "I survived". Although those numbers have been challenged, Franois Furet concluded it "not only revealed massacre and destruction on an unprecedented scale, but a zeal so violent that it has bestowed as its legacy much of the region's identity. 1799 - Napoleon . They wrote, "While restoration returned most of their power to the absolute monarchs who had been deposed by Napoleon, only the most recalcitrant ones, such as Ferdinand VII of Spain, went to the trouble of completely reversing the legal innovations brought on by the French. [208] Under the Ancien Rgime, medical assistance for the rural poor was often provided by nuns, acting as nurses but also physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries; the Revolution abolished most of these orders without replacing organised nursing support. The French Revolution As French soldiers returned home from the Seven Years' War, they came home to a nearly bankrupt monarchical regime. [263], Dupuy sees Hippolyte Taine's Origins of Contemporary France (1875-94) as modern in its use of departmental archives, but places him in the reactionary strand of interpretations of the revolution due to his contempt for the revolutionary crowd and the values of the revolution. Melzer, Sara E., and Leslie W. Rabine, eds. [14] As a result, the court became the target of popular anger, particularly Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was viewed as a spendthrift Austrian spy, and blamed for the dismissal of 'progressive' ministers like Jacques Necker. They sternly reminded women to stay home and tend to their families by leaving public affairs to the men. According to Paul Hanson, "Thousands of men and even many women gained firsthand experience in the political arena: they talked, read, and listened in new ways; they voted; they joined new organisations; and they marched for their political goals. ", or "Long live the king if he keeps his word". [212][2] The revolution represented the most significant challenge to political absolutism up to that point in history and spread democratic ideals throughout Europe and ultimately the world. How long did the French Revolution last? [66] The result was state-led persecution of "Refractory clergy", many of whom were forced into exile, deported, or executed. [19] Continued French intervention in America and the associated 1778 to 1783 Anglo-French War could only be funded by issuing substantial quantities of new state debt. In response to protests by the Commune, the Commission warned "if by your incessant rebellions something befalls the representatives of the nation,Paris will be obliterated". [65], The Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 12 July 1790 made them employees of the state, as well as establishing rates of pay and a system for electing priests and bishops. [258] Most emigres settled in Montreal or Quebec City, although French nobleman Joseph-Genevive de Puisaye and a small group of Royalists settled lands north of York, modern day Toronto. The upshot was a revolt in 1798, led by Wolfe Tone, that was crushed by Britain. Abolition was also proclaimed on Guyane. The army recruited former slaves and eventually numbered 11,000, capturing Guadeloupe and other smaller islands. [c] Robespierre saw their dispute as de-stabilising the regime, and, as a deist, objected to the anti-religious policies advocated by the atheist Hbert, who was arrested and executed on 24 March with 19 of his colleagues, including Carrier. [118] Many Jacobins ridiculed the festival of the Cult of the Supreme Being on 8 June, a lavish and expensive ceremony led by Robespierre, who was also accused of circulating claims he was a second Messiah. The first concerned migrs; between October and November, the Assembly approved measures confiscating their property and threatening them with the death penalty. The French Revolution was a watershed event in world history that began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte.