french revolution

• The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the Third Estate alone
• The Three Taxes


  • Tithe - A tax levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce
  • Taille - Tax to be paid directly to the state
  • Indirect Tax - Levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco
• Subsistence crisis


  An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered
• Philosophers


  • John Locke
  • Montesquieu
  • Jean Jacques Rousseau
• John Locke


  Two Treatises of Government - Against the absolute right of the Monarch
• Montesquieu


  The Spirit of the Laws - Division of Power within the government
• Jean Jacques Rousseau


  The Social Contract - Voting rights for everyone
• The Outbreak of the Revolution

  1. Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes

  2. The third estate walked out of the meeting as they found the voting system unfair and swore not to attend any assembly unless a constitution is drafted limiting the power of the monarchy

  3. Peasants retaliated by looting stored grains and burning down records of mortgage payments while the nobilities fled

  4. 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
• Constitution of 1791


  • New Political system - Power instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, was now separated and assigned to different institutions - the legislature, executive and judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy
  • 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 inalienable rights
  • Right to Vote - Active Citizens: Had to be a Man, Above 25 years, Own property, Pay tax equal to a labourers' wage
• France Abolished Monarchy and Becomes a Republic (1792)

  1. Louis XVI started secret negotiations with the king of Prussia

  2. Neighbouring countries wanted to seize the opportunities of the events ongoing due to the French Revolution. The National assembly declares war on Prussia and Austria

  3. The 1791 constitution gave political rights to the rich section of the public. This led to a revolt in Paris against the people. Later, the Royal families were imprisoned and elections were held

  4. The newly elected assembly was termed the Convection. It abolished the Monarchy in 1792 and made France a republic
• Jacobin Club


  The members belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society<|>Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre<|>Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers. They also wore the red cap symbolising liberty<|>Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally meaning 'those without knee breeches'<|>Women however were not allowed to do so
• The Reign of Terror

  1. Robespierre used strict policies and brutal punishment to gain effective control

  2. All those who did not agree with his methods were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal

  3. Laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices were issued

  4. Meat and bread were rationed

  5. Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed by the government

  6. Use of more expensive white flour was forbidden; all citizens were required to eat the equality bread, a loaf made of wholewheat

  7. Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and women were henceforth Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen)

  8. Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices
• A Directory Rules France

  • 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
• Condition of Women before the Revolution

  • Most of the women of the third estate had to work for a living
  • Their wages were lower than those of men
  • Most women did not have access to education or job training
• Demands of Women


  • They demanded equal pay for equal work
  • In order to discuss and voice their interests, women started their own political clubs and newspapers
  • One of their main demands was that women must enjoy the same political rights as men
• Changes for Women after the Revolution

  • 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
• Triangular Slave Trade


  French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains. Branded and shackled, the slaves 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 merchants then bought the commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar and coffee and brought them back to Bordeaux and Nantes in France.
• The Revolution and Everyday Life

  • Censorship was abolished after the storming of the Bastille in 1789
  • Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled 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 could be expressed. Each side sought to convince the others of its position through the medium of print
  • This was one way they could grasp 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
• Napoleon Bonaparte


  • In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France
  • He set out to conquer neighbouring European countries, dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms
  • He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights 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
• Legacy of the French Revolution

  • 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 nineteenth century, where feudal systems were abolished
  • Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation state