Introduction

What we are going to study in this chapter?

French society during the late 18th century

• The struggle to survive
• How the subsistence crisis happens
• A growing middle class envisages an end to privileges
The outbreak of the Revolution
• France become a constitutional monarchy
France abolishes monarchy and become a republic
• the reign of terror
• A directory rules
Did Women have a Revolution?

The Abolition of Slavery

The Revolution and Everyday Life

• Conclusion
 The struggle to survive: Subsistence Crisis

What is subsistence crisis?

An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered

Reasons?

Increase in population Rapid Increase in the demand for foodgrains.

{23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789}
Production of grains could not keep pace with
the demand.

Impact
The struggle to survive: Subsistence
Crisis

Decline in production Drought or Hail

• The price of bread which was • Further reduced the

the staple diet of the majority harvest
rose rapidly.
• Wages did not keep pace with
the rise in prices.
• Gap between the poor and the
rich widened.
 Scarcity of Rising food
Bad harvest The poor can no
grains prices
longer buy bread

Disease
epidemic

Weaker
Food riet
bodies

Increase number of
death
A growing middle class envisages an end to privileges:

Peasants and workers Participated in revolt against increasing taxes and

food Scaricty.

But only a section within the third estate became

prosperous and educated

educated
prosperous

Who and how?

Middle class
A growing middle class envisages an end
to privileges:
Prosperous Educated

• Believed that no group in society

Who? should be priviledged by birth.
• A person’s social position must
depend on his merit.
Merchant, traders, lawyers, • Society based on freedom and
manufacturers, etc. equal laws and opportunities for
all.

How

Inspired by philosopher

Overseas trade and form the

manufacturing of goods How ?
A growing middle class envisages an end
to privileges:
Role of philosophers

John Locke Jean Jacques

Montesquieu
Rousseau

“ The spirit of the laws”

“Two treatises of government” “Social Contract”

• Sought to refute the doctrine • Form of government • Division of power within

of the divine and absolute based on social the government
right of the monarch. contract betwwen between the legislative,
people and their the executive and the
representatives. Equal judiciary
voting . Democratic
government.
A growing middle class envisages an end to
privileges:
Impact of these enlightened ideas

• The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in

saloons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books
and newspapers.
• These were frequently read aloud a groups for the benefit of those
who could not read and write.

consequences

Louis 16 planned to impose further taxes to be able to meet the

expenses of the state general and protest against the system of
privileges.
The outbreak of the Revolution:

Connect with the story

Louis XVI’s plan to increase taxes.

In France of the old regime the monarch did not have the power
to impose taxes according to his will alone.

For increasing taxes he had to call a meeting of the Estate

General which would then pass his proposals for new
taxes.
The outbreak of the Revolution:

What was Estate General?

• The Estates general was a political body to

which the three estate sent their
representatives.
• However, the monarch alone could decide
when to call a meeting of this body.
• The last time it was done was in 1614.
The outbreak of the Revolution:
Louis XVI call together and assembly on the
5May 1789 Estates general to pass proposal course new taxes.

Meeting at hall in Versailles.

• The first and second year state sent 300 representative each who were seated in Raw
facing each other on two sides.
• The 600 number of the third estate had to stand at the back.
• The third state was represented by its more Phosphorus and educated members.
• Pigeons autism and women are denied to the assembly.
• However their grievances and demands were listed in some 40000 letters which the
representatives had brought with them.
The outbreak of the Revolution:

The representatives of third estate assembled in the half of

20June,1789 an indoor court in the ground of Versailles.

Why?

• They declared themselves a National Assembly.

• Swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for
France that would limit the powers of the monarch.
The outbreak of the Revolution:

The third estate was led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes

Mirabeau Abbe Sieyes

 Was born in a noble family but was convinced of • Originally a priest.

the need to do away with the society of feudal • Wrote an influential pamphlet
privilege. called “what is the third Estate”?
 He brought out a journal and delivered powerful
speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
The outbreak of the Revolution:
Connect the events

While the national assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution , the rest of
the France seethed with turmoil.

Subsistence crisis Empty treasury Rising price

Citizens VS King

At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July, the agitated
crowd stormed and destroyed and the Bastille
The outbreak of the Revolution:
Events in countryside

• In the countryside rumours spread from village to village

that the lord had hired bands of brigands who were on
their way to destroy the ripe crops.
• Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts
seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux.
• They looted hoarded grain and burn down the documents
containing records of manorial dues.
• A large number of nobles field from their homes, many of
them migrating to neighbouring counties.

Impact
The outbreak of the Revolution:
Faced with the power of his revolting subjects.

Louis xvi finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and

accepted and accepted the constitution.

Outcome

• On the night of 4th august 1789, the assembly passed a decree abolishing the
feudal system of obligations taxes.
• Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges.
• Tithes were abolished and lands by the Church were confiscated.
France became a Constitutional Monarchy:
National Assembly Completed the draft of the constitution in 1791.

• Its main objects was a limit the powers of the monarch.

• These powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one
person, were now separated and assigned to different institutions-the
legislature, executive and judiciary.
• This made France a constitutional monarchy.
France became a Constitutional Monarchy:
Elections to national assembly

• National assembly was indirectly elected.

• Citizens voted for a group of electors, who is turn chose the assembly.
• Not all citizens, however, had the right to vote.

Active citizens Passive citizens

• Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal • The remaining men and all women were classed as
to at least 3 days of a labourer’s wage were given the passive citizens.
status of active citizens. • They were not entitled to vote.
• They were entitled to vote.

To qualify as an elector and then as a member of the assembly, a men had to belong to the highest
bracket to taxpayers.
France became a Constitutional Monarchy:
Constitution of 1791

• The Constitution began with a “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”.
• Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality
before law, were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights.

They belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.

• It was the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.
Reading Political Symbols:

• The majority of men and women in the eighteenth

century could not read or write.
• So images and symbols were frequently used instead of
printed words to communicate important ideas.
• The painting by Le Barbier uses many such symbols to
convey the content of the Declaration of Right.
Reading Political Symbols:
 The eye within a triangle radiating light-

 The Law Tablet -  The all seeing eye stands for knowledge.
 The rays of the sun will drive away the clouds of
ignorance.
 The law is the same for all, and all are equal
before it.
 Snake biting its tail to form a ring-

 The broken chain-  Symbol of eternity.

 A ring has neither beginning nor end.
 Chains were used to fetter slaves.
 A broken chain stands for the act of becoming free.  sceptre -

 The bundle of roads or fasces-  Symbol of royal power.

 One rod can be easily broken, but not an entire  Red Phrygian cap-
bundle.
 Cap worn by a slave upon becoming free.
 Strength lies in unity.
 Blue- White- Red-  The winged woman -

 Personification of the law.

 The national colours of France.
France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :
Connect the story

Louis XVI: A constitutional monarch

• Although Louis XVI had signed the constitution, he

entered into secret negotiation with the king of Prussia.
• Rulers of other neighbouring countries too were worried Explain
by the developments in France and made plans to send
troops the put down the events that had been talking
place there since the summer of 1789.

Outcome Before this could happen, the national Assembly voted

in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria.
France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :

War against Austria and Prussia

• Thousand of volunteers thronged from the provinces to join the

army.
• They saw this as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies
all over Europe.
• Among the patriotic songs they sang was the Marseillaise,
composed by the poet Roget de L’lsle.
• It was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they
marched into Paris and so got its name.
• The Marseillaise is now the national anthem of France.
France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :
The revolutionary wars

Brought losses and economic difficulties to the people.

How?

• While the men were away fighting at the front, women were left to cope with the tasks of
earning a living and looking after their families.
• Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further,
as the constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society.

impact Emergence of political clubs

France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :

Emergence of political clubs

• Political clubs became an important rallying point

for people who wished to discuss government
polices and plan their own forms of action.
• The most successful of these clubs was that of the
Jacobins, which got its name form the former
convent of St Jacob in Paris.
• Women too, who had been active through out this
period, formed their own clubs.
France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :

Jacobin club

• The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less

prosperous sections of society.
• They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as
shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as
servants and daily-wage workers. sans-culottes
• Their leader was Maximillian Robespierre.
• A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing
long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers.

Why?
Knee breeches
• These Jacobins came to be know as the sans-culottes,
literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’.
• Sans Culottes men wore in addition the red cap that
symbolizes liberty. Women however were not allowed to
do so.
France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :

The event of the summer of 1792

• The Jacobins planned an insurrection of large number of Parisians who were angered by
the short supplies and high prices of food.
• On the morning of august 10 they stormed the palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s
guards and held the king himself as hostage for several hours.
• Later the assembly voted to imprison the royal family.

outcome

• Elections were held.

• From now an all men of 21 year and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
France Abolishes Monarch and Becomes a Republic :

Election were held All men of 21 years above voted. Convention

• On 21th September 1792 it abolished the monarchy

and declared France a Republic.
• There is no hereditary monarchy.

• Louis XVI was sentenced to death by court on the

charge of treason.
• On 21th January 1793 he was executed publicly at the
place de la Concorde.
• The queen Marie Antoinette met with the same fate
shortly after.
The Reign of Terror :

The period from 1793 to 1794 Reign of Terror

Why?

• Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.

• All those whom he saw as being ‘enemies’ of the republic –ex-nobles and
clergy, members of other political parties, even members of his own party who
did not agree with methods – were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a
revolutionary tribunal.
• If they court found them ‘guilty’ they were guillotined.
The Reign of Terror :

Guillotine

What is Guillotine?

• The guillotine is a device consisting of two

poles and a blade with which a person is
beheaded.
• It was named after Dr Gulatillotin who
invented it.
The Reign of Terror :

Situation during reign of terror

• Robespierre's government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and

prices. Meat and bread were rationed.
• Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed
by the government.
• Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address.
• Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men
and women were henceforth Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen).
• Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
Impact
The Reign of Terror :

The Reign of Terror : Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that

even his supporters began to demand moderation.

Explain

• He was convicted by a court in July 1794.

• Arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine.
A Directory Rules France:

Fall of the Jacobin Government Rise of the wealthier middle classes

New constitution was introduced

• 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
Problem
members.
• This was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a
one-man executive as under the Jacobins

Paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Political Instability
Napoleon Bonaparte.
A Directory Rules France:

The French Revolution

Events Idea

The ideal of freedom, of equality before

law and of fraternity remained inspiring
ideals that motivated political movements
in France and the rest of Europe during the
following century.
Did Women have a Revolution?

women The role in the revolution.

• They were active participants. They hoped that their

• involvement would pressurise the revolutionary government
to introduce measures to improve their lives.

Why?

• Most women of the third estate had to work for a living.

• Most women did not have access to education or job
training. Working women had also to care for their families, Outcome
that is, cook, fetch water, queue up for bread and look after
the children.
• Their wages were lower than those of men.
Did Women have a Revolution?

Political activities of the women

• In order to discuss and voice their interests women started Demanded same political
their own political clubs and newspapers. rights as men

• The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was

the most famous of them.

• Women was disappointed that the Constitution of 1791 reduced of them to passive citizens.
• They demand the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office.
Did Women have a Revolution?

Steps taken by the revolutionary government to improve the lives of women.

• With the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
• Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will.
• Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and registered under civil law.
• Divorce was made legal, and could be applied for by both women and men.
• Women could now train for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses.

So, with this women's struggle for political equality ended?

 h
w
Did Women have a Revolution? o
m
e
Women's struggle for equal political
n rights, however, continued.
d
u
r
Why?
i
n
• During the Reign of Terror, the
g new government issued laws
ordering closure of women'stclubs and banning their political
activities. h
• Many prominent women were e arrested and a number of them
executed. r
• They were denied voting rightse and equal wages.
v
o
l
Women's movements for votingurights and equal wages continued. The
t
example of the political activities of French women during the
revolutionary year was kept ialive as an inspiring memory. It was
finally in 1946 that women o in France won the right to vote.
n
Did Women have a Revolution?
The life of a revolutionary woman - Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793)

• She protested against the Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and
Citizen as they excluded women from basic rights that each human being was
entitled to.
• In 1791, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen, which she
addressed to the Queen and to the members of the National Assembly.
demanding that they act upon it.
• In 1793, Olympe de Gouges criticised the Jacobin government for forcibly
closing down women's clubs.
• She was tried by the National Convention, which charged her with treason.
Soon after this she was executed.
The abolition of Slavery:

Slavery and Revolution

Old regime 1789 National assembly Jacobin regime Napoleon Rule

Debates about abolition, Slavery was Slavery was

Slavery was prevalent
but it was not abolished. abolished reintroduced
The abolition of Slavery:

Why slavery was prevalent?

• The colonies in the Caribbean - Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo – were
important suppliers of commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar and coffee.
• But the reluctance of Europeans to go and work in distant and unfamiliar lands meant a
shortage of labour on the plantations.
• So this was met by a triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Slave trade
The abolition of Slavery:
The abolition of Slavery:

Slave trade

• The slave trade began in the seventeenth century.

• 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 exploitation of slave labour made it possible to meet the growing demand in European
markets for sugar, coffee, and indigo.
• Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing
slave trade.
The abolition of Slavery:

Then how slavery was abolished?

Old regime Throughout the eighteenth century there was little criticism of slavery in
France.

Debates to abolish slavery were held but national assembly did not pass any
National laws, fearing opposition from businessmen whose incomes depended on
Assembly the slave trade.

Convection Finally the Convention which in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the
French overseas possessions.

1804, Napoleon reintroduced slavery Plantation owners understood their

freedom as including the right to enslave African Negroes in pursuit of their
Napoleon Rule
economic interests.

Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

The Revolution and Everyday Life:

Can politics change the clothes people wear, the

language they speak or the books they read?

French Revolution did?

The revolutionary governments took it upon themselves to pass

laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into
everyday practice.

Explain
The Revolution and Everyday Life:
Abolition of censorship

• the Old Regime all written material and cultural activities - books,
newspapers, plays - could be published or performed only after they had
been approved by the censors of the king.
• After the storming of Bastille, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.
• Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of
France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside.
• They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in
France.
The Revolution and Everyday Life:

Abolition of censorship Freedom of the press

• Meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.

• Each side sought to convince the others of its position
through the medium of print.
• Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large numbers
of people.

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.
Conclusion

In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France

• He set out to conquer neighbouring European countries,

dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he
placed members off his family.
• Napoleon saw his role as a moderniser of Europe.

How?

He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property

and a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the
decimal system.
Conclusion

Rise and Fall of Napoleon

• 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 forces.
Explain

• He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.

Many of his measures that carried the revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern
laws to other parts of Europe had an impact on people long after Napoleon had
left.
Conclusion

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.
• Tipu Sultan and Ram Mohan Roy are two examples of individuals who
responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France.