The Paris Revolution of 1789. The Great French Revolution - History, Causes, Events and More
The French Revolution is known as the greatest transformation of the political and social systems countries with the complete elimination of absolute monarchy. According to historians, it lasted more than ten years (from 1789 to 1799).
Causes
France of the eighteenth century is also a complete disorder in the socio-economic sphere. Power in his reign was based on the army and bureaucratic centralization. Due to numerous civil and peasant wars in the last century, the rulers had to make unfavorable compromises (with peasants, bourgeois, privileged classes). But even despite the concessions made, the masses were increasingly dissatisfied.
The first wave of dissent rose under Louis XV, and reached its peak during the reign of Louis XVI. Philosophical and political works of the enlighteners added fuel to the fire (for example, Montesquieu criticized the authorities, calling the king a usurper, and Rousseau stood up for the rights of the people). Thus, discontent matured not only among the lower strata of the population, but also among educated society.
So the main reasons french revolution:
- decline and stagnation of market relations;
- disorder in the control system;
- corruption and the sale of public positions;
- incomprehensible system of taxation;
- poorly worded legislation;
- an archaic system of privileges for different classes;
- lack of trust in government;
- the need for reforms in the economic and political spheres.
Events
The above causes of the French Revolution reflect countries only. But the first impetus for the coup came from the American Revolutionary War, when the English colonies revolted. This served as a signal for all classes to support the ideas of human rights, freedom and equality.
The war demanded huge expenses, the funds of the treasury were exhausted, there was a deficit. It was decided to convene in order to carry out financial reform. But what was planned by the king and his advisers did not happen. During the meeting at Versailles, the third estate stood up in opposition and declared itself the National Assembly, demanding to adopt
From the point of view of historians, the French Revolution itself (its stages will be briefly described) began with - the symbol of the monarchy - July 14, 1789.
All events of the ten-year period can be conditionally divided into parts:
- Constitutional monarchy (until 1792).
- Girondin period (until May 1793).
- Jacobin period (until 1794).
- Thermidorian period (until 1795).
- Period of the Directory (until 1799).
- Brumer coup (the end of the revolution, in November 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power).
The causes of the French Revolution during this decade were never resolved, but the people had hope for a better future, and Bonaparte became their "savior" and ideal ruler.
Monarchy
The king was deposed on September 21, 1792, after about twenty thousand rebels surrounded his palace.
Together with his family, he was closed in the Temple. The monarch was accused of betraying the nation and state. Louis refused all lawyers, at the trial, relying on the Constitution, he defended himself. By decision of twenty-four deputies, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. On January 21, 1793, the verdict was put into effect. On October 16, 1793, his wife Marie Antoinette was executed.
After some countries and the French monarchists recognized his young son Louis-Charles as the next king. However, he was not destined to ascend the throne. At the age of ten, the boy died in the Temple, the place of his imprisonment. The official cause of death was tuberculosis.
Thus, of all the children, only Maria Theresa survived, who was released from prison in 1793 in exchange for French prisoners of war. She went abroad. She managed to return to her homeland only in 1814.
Results
The results of the French Revolution are such that the old order collapsed. The country has entered a new era with a democratic and progressive future.
However, many historians argue that the causes of the French Revolution did not involve such a long and bloody transformation. According to Alexis Tocqueville, what the coup led to would have happened by itself over time and would not have entailed so many victims.
Another part of historians highly appreciates the significance of the French Revolution, noting that, based on its example, Latin America freed from colonization.
The Great French Revolution is the general name for the processes that swept France in the late 1780s - the first half of the 1790s. Revolutionary changes were radical, they caused:
- breaking the old system
- liquidation of the monarchy
- gradual transition to democracy.
In general, the revolution was bourgeois, directed against the monarchy and feudal remnants.
Chronologically, the revolution covers the period from 1789 to 1794, although some historians believe that it ended in 1799, when Napoleon Bonaparte came to power.
Members
The Great French Revolution was based on the opposition of the privileged nobility, which was the backbone of the monarchical system, and the "third estate". The latter was represented by such groups as:
- Peasants;
- Bourgeoisie;
- Manufactory workers;
- Urban poor or plebs.
The uprising was led by representatives of the bourgeoisie, who did not always take into account the needs of other groups of the population.
Background and main causes of the revolution
At the end of the 1780s. in France, a protracted political, economic and social crisis erupted. Changes were demanded by the plebs, the peasants, the bourgeoisie and the workers, who did not want to put up with this state of affairs.
One of the most difficult questions was agrarian, which was constantly becoming more complicated due to the deep crisis of the feudal system. Its remnants hindered the development of market relations, the penetration of capitalist principles into Agriculture and industry, the emergence of new professions and production areas.
Among the main causes of the French Revolution, it is worth noting such as:
- Commercial and industrial crisis that began in 1787;
- The bankruptcy of the king and the country's budget deficit;
- Several lean years that led to the peasant uprisings of 1788-1789. In a number of cities - Grenoble, Besançon, Rennes and the suburbs of Paris - there was a series of speeches by the plebs;
- Crisis of the monarchical regime. At the royal court, attempts were made to solve the problems that had arisen, but the methods of overcoming the systemic crisis, which officials resorted to, were hopelessly outdated and did not work. Therefore, King Louis XVI decided to make certain concessions. In particular, notables and the States General were convened, which, in last time assembled in 1614. Representatives of the third estate were also present at the meeting of the Estates General. The latter created the National Assembly, which soon became Constituent.
The nobility and the privileged strata of French society, including the clergy, spoke out against such equality, and began to prepare to disperse the assembly. In addition, they did not accept the king's proposal to tax them. The peasants, the bourgeoisie, the workers and the plebs began to prepare for a popular uprising. On July 13 and 14, 1789, an attempt to disperse it brought many representatives of the third estate to the streets of Paris. Thus began the French Revolution, which changed France forever.
Stages of the revolution
Subsequent events are usually divided into several periods:
- From July 14, 1789 - to August 10, 1792;
- From August 10, 1792 - to June 3, 1793;
- June 3, 1793 - July 28, 1794;
- July 28, 1794 - November 9, 1799
The first stage began with the capture of the most famous French prison - the Bastille fortress. The following events also belong to this period:
- Replacing old authorities with new ones;
- Creation of the National Guard, subordinate to the bourgeoisie;
- The adoption in the fall of 1789 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen;
- The adoption of a number of decrees concerning the rights of the bourgeoisie and the plebs. In particular, class division was abolished, church property was confiscated, the clergy came under the control of secular authorities, the old administrative division of the country was abolished and workshops were abolished. The most intense was the abolition of feudal duties, but in the end the rebels managed to achieve this as well;
- The emergence of the so-called Varna crisis in the first half of the summer of 1791. The crisis was connected with the king's attempt to escape abroad. This event is associated with: the execution of a demonstration on the Champ de Mars; the beginning of the confrontation between the poorest segments of the population and the bourgeoisie, who went over to the side of the nobility; as well as the separation from the revolutionary Jacobin club of the moderate political party of the Feuillants;
- Constant contradictions between the main political forces - the Girondins, Feuillants and Jacobins, which made it easier for other European states to penetrate French territory. During 1792-1792. The following declared war on the state torn apart by the revolution: Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain, Austria, the Kingdom of Naples, Spain, the Netherlands and some German principalities. The French army was not ready for such a turn of events, especially since most of the generals fled the country. Because of the threat of an attack on the capital, detachments of volunteers began to appear in Paris;
- Activation of the anti-monarchist movement. On August 10, 1792, the final overthrow of the monarchy and the creation of the Paris Commune took place.
The main feature of the second stage of the revolution was the confrontation between the Girondins and the Jacobins. The leaders of the first were Zh.P. Brissot, J.M. Roland and P.V. Vergniaud, who were on the side of the commercial, industrial and agricultural bourgeoisie. This party wanted a speedy end to the revolution and the establishment of political stability. The Jacobins were led by M. Robespierre, J.P. Marat and J.J. Danton, who were representatives of the middle class and the poor bourgeois. They defended the interests of workers and peasants, and also advocated for further development revolution because their demands went unheeded.
The main events of the second period of the French Revolution were:
- Struggle between the Jacobin-controlled Paris Commune and the Girondin Legislative Assembly. The result of the confrontation was the creation of the Convention, whose representatives were elected from the entire male population of France over 21 years old on the basis of universal suffrage;
- France declared a republic on September 21, 1792;
- execution last king the Bourbon dynasty on January 21, 1793;
- Continuation of peasant uprisings caused by poverty, landlessness and hunger. The poor seized the estates of their masters and divided the communal land. The townspeople also rioted, demanding fixed food prices;
- The expulsion of the Girondins from the Convention in late May - early June 1793. This ended the second period of the uprising.
Getting rid of opponents allowed the Jacobins to concentrate all power in their own hands. The third period of the Great French Revolution is known as the Jacobin dictatorship and, first of all, is associated with the name of the head of the Jacobins - Maximilian Robespierre. It was a rather difficult period for the young republic - while internal contradictions were tearing the country apart, the troops of neighboring powers were advancing to the borders of the state. France was involved in the Vendean Wars, which engulfed the southern and northwestern provinces.
The Jacobins, first of all, took up the solution of the agrarian question. All communal lands and lands of the fleeing nobles were transferred to the peasants. Then feudal rights and privileges were abolished, which contributed to the formation of a new class of society - free owners.
The next step was the adoption of a new Constitution, which was distinguished by its democratic character. It was supposed to introduce constitutional government, but a complex socio-political and economic crisis forced the Jacobins to establish a regime of revolutionary democratic dictatorship.
At the end of August 1793, a decree was adopted on the mobilization of the French in the fight against foreign invaders. In response, the opponents of the Jacobins who were inside the country began to massively carry out terrorist acts in all cities of France. As a result of one of these actions, Marat was also killed.
At the end of July 1796, the republican troops defeated the interventionist troops near Fleurus. The last decisions of the Jacobins were the adoption of the Vantoise decrees, which were not destined to come true. Dictatorship, repression and the policy of requisition (expropriation) turned the peasants against the Jacobin regime. As a result, a conspiracy arose to overthrow the government of Robespierre. The so-called Thermidorian coup ended Jacobin rule and brought moderate republicans and the bourgeoisie to power. They created a new governing body - the Directory. The new government carried out a number of transformations in the country:
- Adopted a new Constitution;
- Replaced universal suffrage with census (admission to elections was received only by those citizens who possessed property for a certain amount);
- Established the principle of equality;
- Gave the right to elect and be elected only to those citizens of the republic who are 25 years old;
- She created the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of the Elders, who monitored the political situation in France;
- Waging wars against Prussia and Spain, culminating in the signing peace treaties. Continued hostilities against England and Austria.
The Board of the Directory ended on November 9, 1799, when another coup took place in the republic. It was led by General of the Army Napoleon Bonaparte, who was very popular among the soldiers. Relying on the military, he managed to seize power in Paris, which was the beginning of a new era in the life of the country.
Outcomes and results of the revolution
- The elimination of the remnants of the feudal system, which contributed to rapid development capitalist relations;
- Establishment of a republican system based on democratic principles;
- The final consolidation of the French nation;
- Formation of authorities formed on the basis of suffrage;
- The adoption of the first constitutions, the provisions of which guaranteed citizens equality before the law and the opportunity to enjoy national wealth;
- Solving the agrarian question;
- Liquidation of the monarchy;
- Adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
However, positive transformations also contained a number of negative features:
- Introduction of property qualification;
- Ignoring the opinion of the majority of citizens, which led to new unrest;
- Establishing a complex administrative division which hindered the formation of an effective management system.
The 18th century is considered to be the century of the French Revolution. The overthrow of the monarchy revolutionary movement and vivid examples of terror eclipsed in their cruelty even bloody events October revolution 1917. The French prefer to bashfully remain silent and romanticize this period in their own history in every possible way. The French Revolution is hard to overestimate. A striking example how the most bloodthirsty and terrible beast, dressed in the robes of Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood, is ready to sink its fangs into anyone, and its name is Revolution.
Prerequisites for the beginning of the revolution: socio-economic and political crisis
Assuming the throne in 1774, he appoints Robert Turgot as comptroller general of finances, but a wide range of reforms proposed by this politician were rejected. The aristocracy strenuously clung to its privileges, and all requisitions with duties fell heavily on the shoulders of the third estate, whose representatives in France were 90%.
In 1778 Turgot succeeded Necker. He abolishes serfdom in royal domains, torture during interrogations, limits the court's expenses, but these measures were only a drop in the ocean. Absolutism prevented the development of capitalist relations that were maturing in society. Therefore, the change of economic formations was only a matter of time. There was a deepening economic crisis, expressed in rising prices in the absence of production growth. Inflation, which hurt the poorest sections of the population, was one of the catalysts that spurred the growth of revolutionary sentiment in society.
The US War of Independence, which inspired hope in the revolutionary-minded French, also showed an excellent example. If we talk briefly about the Great French Revolution (and about the prerequisites that are ripe), then we should also note the political crisis in France. The aristocracy considered itself located between the rock and the anvil - the king and the people. Therefore, she fiercely blocked all innovations, which, in her opinion, threatened liberties and preferences. The king understood that at least something had to be done: France could no longer live in the old way.
Convocation of the Estates General May 5, 1789
All three estates pursued their goals and objectives. The king hoped to avoid the collapse of the economy by reforming the tax system. The aristocracy - to maintain its position, it clearly did not need reforms. The common people, or the third estate, hoped that they would become the platform where their demands would finally be heard. Swan, crayfish and pike...
Fierce disputes and discussions, thanks to the huge support of the people, were successfully resolved in favor of the third estate. Of the 1,200 deputy seats, 610, or the majority, went to representatives of the broad masses of the people. And soon they had the opportunity to show their political power. On June 17, in the arena for playing ball, the representatives of the people, taking advantage of the confusion and vacillation among the clergy and aristocracy, announced the creation of the National Assembly, vowing not to disperse until the Constitution was drafted. The clergy and part of the nobles supported them. The Third Estate has shown that it must be reckoned with.
Storming of the Bastille
The beginning of the French Revolution was marked by a landmark event - the storming of the Bastille. The French celebrate this day as a national holiday. As for historians, their opinions are divided: there are skeptics who believe that there was no capture: the garrison surrendered voluntarily, and everything happened because of the frivolity of the crowd. We need to clarify some points right away. There was a capture, and there were victims. Several people tried to lower the bridge, and he crushed these unfortunates. The garrison could resist, they had guns and experience. There were not enough provisions, but history knows examples of heroic defenses of fortresses.
Based on the documents, we have the following: from the Minister of Finance Necker to the deputy commandant of the fortress Pujo, everyone spoke out about the abolition of the Bastille, while expressing the general opinion. The fate of the famous fortress-prison was a foregone conclusion - it would have been demolished anyway. But history does not know the subjunctive mood: on July 14, 1789, the Bastille was taken, and this marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
A constitutional monarchy
The determination of the people of France forced the government to make concessions. The municipalities of the cities were transformed into a commune - an independent revolutionary government. A new state flag was adopted - the famous French tricolor. The National Guard was led by de Lafayette, who became famous in the US War of Independence. The National Assembly began the formation of a new government and the drafting of the Constitution. On August 26, 1789, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" was adopted - the most important document in the history of the French Revolution. It declared fundamental rights and freedoms new France. Now everyone had the right to freedom of conscience and resistance to oppression. He could openly express his opinion and be protected from attacks on private property. Now everyone was equal before the law and had an equal obligation to taxation. French Revolution was expressed in every line of this progressive document. While most European countries continued to suffer from social inequality generated by the remnants of the Middle Ages.
And although the reforms of 1789-1791. much has changed dramatically, the adoption of a law on the suppression of any uprising was directed against the poor. It was also forbidden to unite in unions and hold strikes. The workers have been deceived again.
On September 3, 1891, a new constitution was adopted. She gave the right to vote limited number representatives of the middle classes. A new Legislative Assembly was convened, whose members could not be re-elected. All this contributed to the radicalization of the population and the possibility of terror and despotism.
The threat of external invasion and the fall of the monarchy
England was afraid that with the adoption of advanced economic reforms, the influence of France would increase, so all forces were thrown to prepare for the invasion of Austria and Prussia. The patriotic French supported the call to defend the Motherland. National Guard France advocated the removal of the king's power, the creation of a republic and the choice of a new national convention. The Duke of Brunswick issued a manifesto outlining his intentions: to invade France and destroy the revolution. After they learned about him in Paris, the events of the French Revolution began to develop rapidly. On August 10, the rebels went to the Tuileries and, having defeated the Swiss guards, arrested the king's family. The illustrious persons were placed in the Temple fortress.
War and its impact on the revolution
If we briefly characterize the Great French Revolution, it should be noted that the mood in French society was an explosive mixture of suspicion, fear, distrust and bitterness. Lafayette fled, the border fortress of Longwy surrendered without a fight. Purges, arrests and mass executions began at the initiative of the Jacobins. The majority in the Convention were the Girondins - it was they who organized the defense and even won victories at first. Their plans were extensive: from the liquidation of the Paris Commune to the capture of Holland. By that time, France was at war with almost all of Europe.
Personal disputes and squabbles, a drop in living standards and an economic blockade - under the influence of these factors, the influence of the Girondins began to fade, which the Jacobins took advantage of. The betrayal of General Dumouriez served as an excellent occasion to accuse the government of complicity with the enemies and remove him from power. Danton headed the Committee of Public Safety - the executive power was concentrated in the hands of the Jacobins. The significance of the Great French Revolution and the ideals it stood for lost all meaning. Terror and violence swept France.
Apogee of terror
France was going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. Her army retreated, the southwest, under the influence of the Girondins, revolted. In addition, supporters of the monarchy became more active. The death of Marat shocked Robespierre so much that he craved only blood.
The functions of the government were transferred to the Committee of Public Safety - a wave of terror swept over France. After the adoption of the decree of June 10, 1794, the accused were deprived of the right to defense. The results of the Great French Revolution during the dictatorship of the Jacobins - about 35 thousand dead and over 120 thousand who fled into exile.
The policy of terror so absorbed its creators that the republic, having become hated, perished.
Napoleon Bonaparte
France was bled civil war, and the revolution loosened its thrust and grip. Everything has changed: now the Jacobins themselves were persecuted and persecuted. Their club was closed, and the Committee of Public Safety gradually lost power. The Convention, defending the interests of those who enriched themselves during the years of the revolution, on the contrary, strengthened its position, but its position remained precarious. Taking advantage of this, the Jacobins staged a rebellion in May 1795, which, although it was brutally suppressed, accelerated the dissolution of the Convention.
Moderate republicans and Girondins created the Directory. France is mired in corruption, debauchery and a complete decline in morals. One of the most prominent figures in the Directory was Count Barras. He noticed Napoleon Bonaparte and promoted him through the ranks, sending him on military campaigns.
The people finally lost faith in the Directory and its political leaders, which Napoleon took advantage of. On November 9, 1799, the consular regime was proclaimed. All executive power was concentrated in the hands of the first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. The functions of the other two consuls were only advisory. The revolution is over.
The fruits of the revolution
The results of the Great French Revolution were expressed in a change in economic formations and a change in socio-economic relations. The church and the aristocracy finally lost their former power and influence. France embarked on the economic rails of capitalism and progress. Her people, hardened in battles and hardships, possessed the most powerful combat-ready army of that time. The significance of the French Revolution is great: the ideals of equality and dreams of freedom were formed in the minds of many European peoples. But at the same time there was also a fear of new revolutionary upheavals.
It was the result of a long crisis of the feudal system, which led to a conflict between the third estate and the privileged upper class. Despite the difference in class interests of the bourgeoisie, peasantry and urban plebeians (manufactory workers, urban poor), which were part of the third estate, they were united by an interest in the destruction of the feudal-absolutist system. The leader in this struggle was the bourgeoisie.
The main contradictions that predetermined the inevitability of the revolution were exacerbated by state bankruptcy, which began in the year with a commercial and industrial crisis, and lean years that led to famine. In - years, a revolutionary situation developed in the country. Peasant uprisings that engulfed a number of French provinces were intertwined with plebeian uprisings in the cities (in Rennes, Grenoble, Besançon, in the Saint-Antoine Faubourg of Paris, etc.). The monarchy, unable to hold its positions by the old methods, was forced to make concessions: notables were convened in the year, and then the Estates General, which had not met since the year.
The sharp deterioration in the economic and especially food situation as a result of the war contributed to the aggravation of the class struggle in the country. In the year the peasant movement intensified again. In a number of departments (Air, Gard, Nord, and others), the peasants arbitrarily carried out the division of communal lands. The protests of the starving poor in the cities took very sharp forms. Spokesmen for the interests of the plebeians - "mad" (leaders - J. Roux, J. Varlet and others), demanded the establishment of a maximum (fixed prices for consumer goods) and the curbing of speculators. Taking into account the demands of the masses and taking into account the current political situation, the Jacobins agreed to an alliance with the "mad". On May 4, the Convention, despite the resistance of the Girondins, decreed the establishment of fixed prices for grain. A new popular uprising on May 31 - June 2 ended with the expulsion of the Girondins from the Convention and the transfer of power to the Jacobins.
Third stage (June 2, 1793 - July 27/28, 1794)
This period of the revolution is characterized by the Jacobin dictatorship. The interventionist troops invaded from the north, east and south. Counter-revolutionary rebellions (see Vendée Wars) swept the entire north-west of the country, as well as the south. By agrarian legislation (June - July of the year), the Jacobin Convention handed over communal and emigrant lands to the peasants for division and completely abolished all feudal rights and privileges. Thus, main question revolution - agrarian - was allowed on a democratic basis, the former feudal-dependent peasants turned into free owners. On June 24, the Convention approved a new constitution instead of the qualifying constitution of 1791 - a much more democratic one. However, the critical situation of the republic compelled the Jacobins to postpone the introduction of the constitutional regime and replace it with a regime of revolutionary democratic dictatorship. On August 23, the convention adopted a historic decree on the mobilization of the entire French nation to fight for the expulsion of enemies from the republic. The Convention, in response to the terrorist acts of the counter-revolution (the assassination of J. P. Marat, the leader of the Lyons Jacobins, J. Challier, and others), introduced revolutionary terror.
The so-called Ventose Decrees, adopted in February and March of the year, were not put into effect due to the resistance of large-scale property-owning elements in the apparatus of the Jacobin dictatorship. The plebeian elements and the rural poor began to partly depart from the Jacobin dictatorship, a number of social demands who were not satisfied. In the same time most of The bourgeoisie, which did not want to put up with the restrictive regime and plebeian methods of the Jacobin dictatorship, moved to the positions of counter-revolution, dragging along the prosperous peasantry, dissatisfied with the policy of requisitions, and after it the middle peasantry. In the summer of the year, a conspiracy arose against the revolutionary government headed by Robespierre, which led to a counter-revolutionary coup that overthrew the Jacobin dictatorship and thus put an end to the revolution (Thermidorian coup).
July 14, Bastille Day is a national holiday in France; The Marseillaise written at that time is still the national anthem of France.
Used materials
- Dictionary of modern place names, France
- http://slovari.yandex.ru/French Revolution/Geographically...ia/
- TSB, French Revolution
Prerequisites revolution. In 1788-1789. France was in the midst of a social and political crisis. And the crisis in industry and trade, and the crop failure of 1788, and the bankruptcy of the state treasury, ruined by the wasteful spending of the court Louis XVI(1754-1793), were not the main causes of the revolutionary crisis. The main reason that caused widespread dissatisfaction with the existing state of affairs that swept the whole country was that the dominant feudal-absolutist system did not correspond to the tasks of the country's economic, social and political development.
Approximately 99 percent of the population of France was the so-called third estate and only one percent privileged estates - the clergy and nobility.
The Third Estate was class relation heterogeneous. It included both the bourgeoisie, and the peasantry, and urban workers, artisans, and the poor. All representatives of the third estate were united by the complete absence of political rights and the desire to change the existing order. All of them did not want and could no longer put up with the feudal-absolutist monarchy.
After a series of unsuccessful attempts, the king had to announce the convocation of the Estates General - a meeting of representatives of the three estates that had not met for 175 years. The king and his associates hoped, with the help of the Estates General, to calm public opinion and obtain the necessary funds to replenish the treasury. The third estate connected with their convocation hopes for political changes in the country. From the very first days of the work of the Estates General, a conflict arose between the third estate and the first two because of the order of meetings and voting. On June 17, the meeting of the third estate proclaimed itself the National Assembly, and on July 9 - the Constituent Assembly, thereby emphasizing its determination to establish a new social order and its constitutional foundations in the country. The king refused to recognize this act.
Troops loyal to the king were drawn to Versailles and Paris. The Parisians spontaneously rose to fight. By the morning of July 14, most of the capital was already in the hands of the insurgent people. On July 14, 1789, an armed mob liberated the prisoners of the Bastille, a fortress-prison. This day was the start Great French Revolution. In two weeks, the old order was destroyed throughout the country. The royal power was replaced by a revolutionary bourgeois administration, and the National Guard began to take shape.
Despite the difference in class interests, the bourgeoisie, the peasantry and the urban plebeians united in the struggle against the feudal-absolutist system. The bourgeoisie led the movement. The general impulse was reflected in the adoption by the Constituent Assembly on August 26 Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. IN It proclaimed the sacred and inalienable rights of man and citizen - freedom of the individual, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, security and resistance to oppression. The right to property was declared just as sacred and indestructible, and a decree was promulgated declaring all church property national. The Constituent Assembly approved a new administrative division of the kingdom into 83 departments, abolished the old division of estates and abolished all titles of nobility and clergy, feudal duties, class privileges, and abolished workshops. Proclaimed freedom of enterprise. The adoption of these documents meant that the reign of the feudal-absolutist monarchy was coming to an end.
Stages of the Revolution. However, in the course of the Revolution, the alignment of political forces in the struggle for a new state structure changed.
There are three stages in the history of the French Revolution; the first - July 14, 1779 - August 10, 1792; the second - August 10, 1772 - June 2, 1793; the third, highest stage of the revolution - June 2, 1793 - July 27/28, 1794.
At the first stage of the revolution, the big bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility seized power. They advocated a constitutional monarchy. Among them, the leading role was played by M. Lafayette (1757-1834), A. Barnav (1761-1793), A. Lamet.
In September 1791, Louis XVI signed the constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly, after which a constitutional monarchy was established in the country; The Constituent Assembly dispersed, and the Legislative Assembly began to work.
The deep social upheavals that took place in the country intensified the friction between revolutionary France and the monarchist powers of Europe. England recalled its ambassador from Paris. Russian empress Catherine II (1729-1796) expelled the French attorney Genet. The Spanish ambassador in Paris, Iriarte, demanded his credentials back, and the Spanish government began military maneuvers along the Pyrenees. The Dutch ambassador was recalled from Paris.
Austria and Prussia entered into an alliance between themselves and announced that they would prevent the spread of everything that threatened the monarchy in France and the security of all European powers. The threat of intervention forced France to be the first to declare war against them.
The war began with setbacks for the French troops. In connection with the difficult situation at the front, the Legislative Assembly proclaimed: "The Fatherland is in danger." In the spring of 1792, a young sapper captain, poet and composer Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle(1760-1836) in a burst of inspiration wrote the famous "Marseillaise" which later became the French national anthem.
On August 10, 1792, a popular uprising took place, led by the Paris Commune. The second stage of the revolution began. During this period, the Paris Commune became an organ of Parisian city self-government, and in 1793-1794. was an important organ of revolutionary power. It was headed P.G. Chaumette (1763-1794), J.R. heber(1757-1794) and others. The Commune closed many monarchist newspapers. She arrested former ministers, abolished the property qualification; all men over the age of 21 were given the right to vote.
Under the leadership of the Commune, crowds of Parisians began to prepare to storm the Tuileries Palace, in which the king was. Without waiting for the assault, the king and his family left the palace and came to the Legislative Assembly.
The armed people captured the Tuileries Palace. The Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution on the removal of the king from power and the convening of a new supreme authority - the National Convention (assembly). On August 11, 1792, the monarchy was actually liquidated in France.
To try the "criminals of August 10" (supporters of the king), the Legislative Assembly established an Extraordinary Tribunal.
On September 20, two major events. The French troops inflicted the first defeat on the enemy troops at the Battle of Valmy. On the same day, a new, revolutionary Assembly, the Convention, opened in Paris.
At this stage of the revolution, political leadership shifted to the Girondins representing predominantly the republican commercial, industrial and agricultural bourgeoisie. The leaders of the Girondins were J.P. Brissot (1754-1793), P.V. Vergniaud (1753-1793), J.A. Condorcet(1743-1794). They constituted the majority in the Convention and were the right wing in the Assembly. They were opposed Jacobins, made up the left wing. Among them were M. Robespierre (1758-1794), J.J. Danton (1759-1794), J.P. Marat(1743-1793). The Jacobins expressed the interests of the revolutionary-democratic bourgeoisie, which acted in alliance with the peasantry and the plebeians.
A sharp struggle unfolded between the Jacobins and the Girondins. The Girondins were satisfied with the results of the revolution, opposed the execution of the king and opposed the further development of the revolution.
The Jacobins considered it necessary to deepen the revolutionary movement.
But two decrees in the Convention were adopted unanimously: on the inviolability of property, on the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republic.
On September 21, the Republic (First Republic) was proclaimed in France. The motto of the Republic was the slogan "Freedom, equality and brotherhood.
The question that worried everyone at that time was the fate of the arrested King Louis XVI. The convention decided to try him. On January 14, 1793, 387 out of 749 deputies of the Convention voted in favor of giving the king the death penalty. One of the deputies of the Convention, Barère, explained his participation in the vote in the following way: “This process is an act of public salvation or a measure of public security ...” On January 21, Louis XVI was executed, in October 1793, Queen Marie Antoinette was executed.
The execution of Louis XVI served as a pretext for expanding the anti-French coalition, which included England and Spain. Failures on the external front, the deepening of economic difficulties within the country, the growth of taxes, all this shook the position of the Girondins. Unrest intensified in the country, pogroms and murders began, and on May 31 - June 2, 1793, a popular uprising took place.
From this event begins the third, highest stage of the Revolution. Power passed into the hands of the radical bourgeoisie, which relied on the bulk of the urban population and the peasantry. At this moment, the lower ranks of the people had the greatest influence on the authorities. To save the revolution, the Jacobins considered it necessary to introduce an emergency regime - a Jacobin dictatorship took shape in the country.
The Jacobins recognized the centralization of state power as an indispensable condition. The convention remained the supreme legislative body. In his submission was a government of 11 people - the Committee of Public Safety, headed by Robespierre. The Committee of Public Safety of the Convention was strengthened to combat the counter-revolution, revolutionary tribunals became more active.
The position of the new government was difficult. The war was raging. In most departments of France, especially the Vendée, there were riots.
In the summer of 1793, Marat was killed by a young noblewoman, Charlotte Corday, which had a serious impact on the course of further political events.
The most important events of the Jacobins. In June 1793, the Convention adopted a new constitution, according to which France was declared a single and indivisible Republic; the rule of the people, the equality of people in rights, broad democratic freedoms were consolidated. The property qualification was canceled when participating in elections in government bodies; all men over the age of 21 were given the right to vote. Wars of conquest were condemned. This constitution was the most democratic of all French constitutions, but its introduction was delayed due to the state of emergency in the country.
The Committee of Public Safety carried out a number of important measures to reorganize and strengthen the army, thanks to which, in a fairly short time, the Republic managed to create not only a large, but also a well-armed army. And by the beginning of 1794 the war was transferred to the territory of the enemy. The revolutionary government of the Jacobins, having led and mobilized the people, ensured victory over the external enemy - the troops of the European monarchical states - Prussia, Austria, etc.
In October 1793, the Convention introduced a revolutionary calendar. September 22, 1792, the first day of the existence of the Republic, was announced as the beginning of a new era. The month was divided into 3 decades, the months were named according to their characteristic weather, vegetation, fruits or agricultural work. Sundays were abolished. Revolutionary holidays were introduced instead of Catholic holidays.
However, the Jacobin alliance was held together by the necessity of a joint struggle against the foreign coalition and the counter-revolutionary uprisings at home. When victory was won on the fronts and rebellions were suppressed, the danger of the restoration of the monarchy decreased, and the revolutionary movement began to roll back. Among the Jacobins, internal divisions escalated. Thus, from the autumn of 1793, Danton demanded the weakening of the revolutionary dictatorship, a return to the constitutional order, and the abandonment of the policy of terror. He was executed. The lower classes demanded deepening reforms. Most of the bourgeoisie, dissatisfied with the policy of the Jacobins, who pursued a restrictive regime and dictatorial methods, went over to the position of counter-revolution, dragging along significant masses of peasants.
Not only the rank-and-file bourgeois acted in this way; the leaders Lafayette, Barnave, Lamet, as well as the Girondins, joined the counter-revolutionary camp. The Jacobin dictatorship was increasingly deprived of popular support.
Using terror as the only method resolving contradictions, Robespierre prepared his own death and was doomed. The country and the whole people were tired of the horror of the Jacobin terror, and all its opponents united in a single bloc. In the bowels of the Convention, a conspiracy was ripened against Robespierre and his supporters.
9 Thermidor (27 July) 1794 to the conspirators J. Fouche(1759-1820), J.L. Tallien (1767-1820), P. Barraso(1755-1829) managed to make a coup, arrest Robespierre, overthrow the revolutionary government. “The republic has perished, the kingdom of robbers has come,” these were the last words of Robespierre in the Convention. On Thermidor 10, Robespierre, Saint-Just, Couthon and their closest associates were guillotined.
The conspirators who received the name Thermidorians now used terror at their discretion. They released their supporters from prison and imprisoned supporters of Robespierre. The Paris Commune was immediately abolished.
The results of the Revolution and its significance. In 1795, a new constitution was adopted, according to which power was transferred to the Directory and two councils - the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Elders. November 9, 1799 Council of Elders appointed brigadier general Napoleon Bonaparte(1769-1821) commander of the army. On November 10, the regime of the Directory was legally abolished, a new state order was established - the Consulate, which existed from 1799 to 1804.
The main results of the French Revolution:
It consolidated and simplified the complex variety of pre-revolutionary forms of ownership.
The lands of many (but not all) nobles were sold to the peasants with an installment plan of 10 years in small plots (parcels).
The revolution swept away all class barriers. It abolished the privileges of the nobility and clergy and introduced equal social opportunities for all citizens. All this contributed to the expansion of civil rights in all European countries, the introduction of constitutions in countries that did not have them before.
The revolution took place under the auspices of representative elected bodies: the National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791), the Legislative Assembly (1791-1792), the Convention (1792-1794). This contributed to the development of parliamentary democracy, despite subsequent setbacks.
The revolution gave rise to a new state structure - a parliamentary republic.
The state was now the guarantor of equal rights for all citizens.
The financial system was transformed: the class character of taxes was abolished, the principle of their universality and proportionality to income or property was introduced. The publicity of the budget was proclaimed.
If in France the process of capitalist development proceeded, albeit more slowly than in England, then in Eastern Europe the feudal mode of production and the feudal state were still strong, and the ideas of the French Revolution found a faint echo there. In contrast to the epochal events taking place in France, the process of feudal reaction began in the East of Europe.
However, the most important for Western civilization was Great French bourgeois revolution. She dealt a powerful blow to the feudal foundations, crushing them not only in France, but throughout Europe. French absolutism has been going through a serious crisis since the middle of the 18th century: constant financial difficulties, failures in foreign policy, growing social tension - all this undermines the foundations of the state. Tax oppression, along with the preservation of the old feudal duties, made the position of the French peasantry unbearable. The situation was aggravated by objective factors: in the second half of the 1980s, crop failures hit France, the country was gripped by famine. The government was on the verge of bankruptcy. In the face of growing dissatisfaction with the royal power, the King of France, Louis XVI, convenes the Estates General (a medieval class-representative body that has not met in France since 1614). The States General, consisting of representatives of the clergy, the nobility and the third estate (bourgeoisie and peasants), began their work 5 May 1780 d. Events began to take on a character unexpected for the authorities from the moment when the deputies from the third estate achieved a joint discussion of issues and the adoption of decisions on the basis of the real number of votes instead of voting by estate. All these yavlenia marked the beginning of the revolution in France. After the States General proclaimed themselves the National Assembly, that is, the body representing the interests of the entire nation, the king began to gather troops to Paris. In response to this, a spontaneous uprising broke out in the city, during which on July 14 the fortress - the Bastille prison - was captured. This event became a symbol of the beginning of the revolution, was the transition to an open struggle against the ruling regime. Historians, as a rule, distinguish several stages in the course of the French bourgeois revolution: the early stage (summer 1789 - September 1794) - the constitutional stage; the second (September 1792 - June 1793) - the period of struggle between the Jacobins and the Girondins; the third (June 1793 - July 1794) - the Jacobin dictatorship and the fourth (July 1794 - November 1799) - the decline of the revolution.
The first stage is characterized by the vigorous activity of the National Assembly, which adopted in August 1789 a number of important resolutions that destroy the foundations of feudal society in France. According to the acts of parliament, the church tithe was canceled free of charge, the remaining duties of the peasants were subject to redemption, and the traditional privileges of the nobility were also eliminated. August 26, 1789 jr. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted, within the framework of which the general principles of building a new society were proclaimed - natural rights rights, the equality of all before the law, the principle of popular sovereignty. Later, laws were issued that met the interests of the bourgeoisie and aimed at the elimination of the guild system, internal customs barriers, the confiscation and sale of church lands. By the autumn of 1791, the preparation of the first French Constitution was completed, which proclaimed a constitutional monarchy in the country. The executive power remained in the hands of the king and the ministers appointed by him, while the legislative power was transferred to the unicameral Legislative Assembly, the elections to which were two-stage and limited by property qualification. However, in general, the loyalty to the monarch, demonstrated by the Constitution, was significantly shaken after his failed flight abroad.,
An important feature of the revolution in France was that the counter-revolution acted mainly from outside. The French nobility, who fled the country, formed an "invading army" in the German city of Koblenz, preparing to return the "old regime" by force. In April 1792, the French war against Austria and Prussia began. The defeat of the French troops in the spring and summer of 1792 put the country under the threat of foreign occupation. Under these conditions, the positions of the radical circles of French society strengthened, not without reason accusing the king of relations with Austria and Prussia and demanding the overthrow of the monarchy. On August 10, 1792, an uprising took place in Paris; Louis XVI and his entourage were arrested. The Legislative Assembly changed the electoral law (elections became direct and universal) and convened the National Convention - on September 22, 1792, France was proclaimed a republic. The first stage of the revolution is over.
The events in France at the second stage of the revolutionary struggle were largely of a transitional nature. In conditions of the most acute domestic and foreign political crisis, the activation of counter-revolutionary forces, economic difficulties associated with inflation and the growth of speculation, the leading positions in the Convention are occupied by the most radical group of Jacobins. Unlike their opponents, the Girondins, the Jacobins, led by M. Robespierre, placed the principle of revolutionary necessity above the principles of freedom and tolerance proclaimed in 1789. There is a struggle between these groups on all major issues. To eliminate the threat of monarchist conspiracies within the country, the Jacobins seek the condemnation and execution of Louis XVI, which shocked the entire monarchist Europe. On April 6, 1793, the Committee of Public Safety was created to fight against the counter-revolution and wage war, which later became the main body of the new revolutionary power. The radicalization of French society, along with the unresolved economic problems, leads to a further deepening of the revolution. On June 2, 1793, the Jacobins, who had broad support from the social lower classes of Paris, managed to organize an uprising against the Girondins, during which the latter were destroyed. More than a year-long Jacobin dictatorship began. The revised Constitution (June 24, 1793) completely abolished all feudal obligations, turning the peasants into free owners. Although formally all power was concentrated in the Convention, in reality it belonged to the Committee of Public Safety, which had virtually unlimited powers. With the coming to power of the Jacobins, France was swept by a wave of large-scale terror: thousands of people, declared "suspicious", were thrown into prison and executed. This category included not only nobles and supporters of the opposition, but also the Jacobins themselves, who deviated from the main course determined by the leadership of the Committee of Public Salvation in the person of Robespierre. In particular, when one of the most prominent Jacobins, J. Danton, in the spring of 1794, announced the need to stop the revolutionary terror and consolidate the results achieved by the revolutions, he was recognized as an “enemy of the Revolution and the people” and executed. In an effort, on the one hand, to solve economic problems, and on the other hand, to expand their social base, the Jacobins by emergency decrees introduce a firm maximum in food prices and the death penalty for speculation in the country. Largely due to these measures, the French revolutionary army, recruited on the basis of universal military service, in 1793-1794. was able to win a series of brilliant victories, repelling the offensive of the English, Prussian and Austrian interventionists and localizing a dangerous royalist uprising in the Vendée (in northwestern France). However, the radicalism of the Jacobins, the incessant terror, all sorts of restrictions in the sphere of business and trade caused growing dissatisfaction among wide sections of the bourgeoisie. The peasantry, ruined by constant "extraordinary" requisitions and suffering losses as a result of state control over prices, also ceased to support the Jacobins. The party's social base was steadily shrinking. The deputies of the Convention, who were not satisfied and frightened by the cruelty of Robespierre, organized an anti-Jacobin conspiracy. On July 27, 1794 (9 Thermidor according to the revolutionary calendar), he was arrested and executed. The Jacobin dictatorship fell.
The Thermidorian coup did not mean the end of the revolution and the restoration of the "old order". It only symbolized the rejection of the most radical version of the reorganization of society and the transfer of power into the hands of more moderate circles, whose goal was to protect the interests of the new elite that had already formed during the years of the revolution. In 1795 a new constitution was drafted. The Legislative Assembly was re-created; executive power passed into the hands of the Directory, consisting of five members. In the interests of the big bourgeoisie, all emergency economic decrees of the Jacobins were cancelled.
In the revolution, more and more conservative tendencies are felt, aimed at consolidating the status quo that had developed by 1794. During the years of the Directory, France continues to wage successful wars, which gradually turn from revolutionary to predatory. Grandiose Italian and Egyptian campaigns (1796 - 1799) are being undertaken, during which the young talented general Napoleon Bonaparte is gaining immense popularity. The role of the army, on which the Directory regime relied, is constantly growing. In turn, the authority of the government, which had discredited itself by wavering between monarchists and Jacobins, as well as by open acquisitiveness and corruption, was steadily declining. On November 9 (18 Brumaire), 1799, a coup d'état took place, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The regime established during the coup acquired the character of a military dictatorship. The French bourgeois revolution is over.
In general, the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries put an end to the feudal system in Europe. The political, economic, social image of the world civilization has undergone cardinal changes. Western society has been transformed from feudal to bourgeois.