Lesson 1 - Could the French Revolution been predicted (and prevented)?
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This is the first lesson on the most important event in modern history, the French Revolution. It is one of the few events that is studied in history lessons all around the world. To some extent, you already know why it is going to happen. The old feudal order, the 'ancien regime' of powerful great landowners (aristocracy), had slowly been decaying in the face of Protestant individualism and international merchant capitalism. The political form of feudalism, the absolute monarch, had been replaced or weakened in the economically advanced countries of Britain and the Netherlands. Even where 'enlightened' absolute monarchs still ruled, their enlightened reforms throughout the 18th century, often weakened the institution of absolutism itself.
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And then, there were the radical new ideas. Beginning with the Scientific Revolution, the application of reason resulted in rapid developments in our understanding of the natural world. When this same rational approach was applied to the science of society and politics, the works of Locke, Voltaire and Rousseau condemned the idea of the 'divine right of kings' to the dustbin of history. If kings remained in power, it was not because it was rational for them to do so, but because they were willing to reject reason itself. Those, like Voltaire, who had seen alternatives to absolutism up close, were full of praise for constitutionalism. Others like Rousseau knew exactly what he thought was wrong with absolute monarchy.
'The way the English run their country is excellent. This is not normally the case with a monarchy, but because there is a parliament, English people have rights. They are free to go where they wish; they can read what they like. They have the right to be tried properly by law and all individuals are free to follow the religion of their choice.' |
'Even the best king will do what he likes, if he feels like it. There is one reason why a republic will always be better than a monarchy. If the people have power, they will appoint men of talent and experience to the highest post. Ministers appointed simply by a nod from the King are often a disgrace to their position.' |
The Seven Years' War was, in many ways, the last of the wars of religion. The Protestant nations of Britain and Prussia defeated the largely Catholic forces led by France. The economic consequences of French defeat and her subsequent successful, though expensive, support of the American revolutionaries, almost bankrupted the French state. But above all, it was the example of the American revolt, an ordinary people overthrowing a 'tyrannical monarchy', that was was most important about 1776. The Marquis de Lafayette the young French noble who went to fight with the Americans against the British at the age of 19, 'returned home to his native land full of ideas about liberty and republics.' The radical ideas of Tom Paine's Common Sense and Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal', provided a rational but revolutionary basis for the legitimating the power of the state. Democracy was to be the future.
Activity - Using the past to predict the future (and the Tocqueville paradox).
(Above - Benjamin Franklin US ambassador to France in a Paris salon in the 1780s)
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Part 1
It is Paris, 1780. You are a young intellectual with an interest in history and a frequent visitor to one of the many salons in the city. On one such visit you meet Benjamin Franklin and also one of King Louis XVI's personal advisors. You have a long discussion with the advisor in which you explain why the French king, an absolute monarch, is in danger of being overthrow. Outline the main points of your argument. Part 2 Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that 'experience teaches that the most dangerous time for a bad government is usually when it begins to reform'. What do you think de Tocqueville meant by this? Explain why it is a paradox and consider how this might influence the advice you have for the King. |
Lesson 2 - Long-term causes of the French Revolution - How useful are documentary films?
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Understanding causes is central to what history is about. Historians like to link different events together that share something in common. For example, as we saw previously, historians use categories like political, economic, social and cultural (PESC) to explain clearly why things happen.
Another way of organising causes (and consequences) is to divide them into long-term and short-term. Long-term causes take place a long-time before the event and are not an obvious, direct cause of the event. They often provide the context in which the event is more likely to happen. Short-term causes happen immediately before the event and are obviously and directly linked to the event. |
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Activity - Watch the film 'French Revolution - Long term causes'. Then in your OneNote: 1. Identify examples of political, economic, social or cultural causes of the French Revolution as mentioned in the film. 2. The documentary film focuses on the life of the king Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. Why do you think this is? 3. How useful is the documentary film as evidence about the long-term causes of the French revolution. Remember to identify strengths and weakness of the film. |
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Below is my RRR model of questions to ask about the utility of a source. You don't have to cover everything, it's designed to give you a check list of possible questions to ask. To the right is a link to my main website on the utility of sources.
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Lesson 3 - Long-term socio-economic causes of the French Revolution
Social causes
Economic and social factors are often combined. They provide what the great Anglo-American poet T.S. Elliot called the 'vast impersonal forces'; the gradual, seismic changes that are beyond the control of any individual. As we have seen, the 19th century German philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx, spent most of life explaining why feudalism was replaced by the modern 'capitalist' world. He argued that fundamental economic changes were the key to understanding historical change; that our ideas are largely determined by the age in which we live. He once put it very simply:
‘Social relations are closely bound up with productive forces. In acquiring new productive forces men change their mode of production; and in changing their mode of production, in changing the way of earning their living, they change all their social relations. The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill society with the industrial capitalist.’
Karl Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy 1847
Economic and social factors are often combined. They provide what the great Anglo-American poet T.S. Elliot called the 'vast impersonal forces'; the gradual, seismic changes that are beyond the control of any individual. As we have seen, the 19th century German philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx, spent most of life explaining why feudalism was replaced by the modern 'capitalist' world. He argued that fundamental economic changes were the key to understanding historical change; that our ideas are largely determined by the age in which we live. He once put it very simply:
‘Social relations are closely bound up with productive forces. In acquiring new productive forces men change their mode of production; and in changing their mode of production, in changing the way of earning their living, they change all their social relations. The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill society with the industrial capitalist.’
Karl Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy 1847
The social causes of the French revolution are best understood as the gradual breakdown in the social system that had more or less remained unchanged since medieval times. In France this was known as the system of the Three Estates.
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The three estates system in theory
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The three estates system by 1780
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The First Estate was the Catholic clergy. They made up about 0.5% of the population but they were very rich. They owned about 10% of all the land and they also benefitted from the tithe which raised about 100 million livres a year. How much was this? Well a priest in Paris might earn 10,000 livres a year, whereas a skilled master carpenter might earn 200 livres a year. But a priest in the provinces might only earn 750 livres a year.
The Second Estate was the nobility, the aristocratic landlords. They made up about 1.5% of the population and owned 25% of the land. But as with the clergy there were significant inequalities within the nobility. For example, the Marquis de Mainvillette earned 20,000 a year but the 23 poorest noble families earned less that 500 livres.
The Third Estate was everyone else. As you can see from the diagram above, some of the Third Estate, the middle class (bankers, manufacturers, merchants) could be very wealthy. But the Third Estate also included other members of the middle class like shopkeepers and officials, as well as urban workers and landless peasants.
In brief, by the 1780s the Estates system was no longer working. The development of capitalism and the resultant growth of population and towns, gave rise to new social classes - the urban working class (proletariat) and merchants and businessmen (bourgeoisie) - who didn't fit into the traditional three estates. The population of France in 1715 had been 19 million, in 1789 it was 26 million. The bourgeoisie, in particular, were increasingly important, not least because they might be very rich but have no political power whatsoever. France remained an absolute monarchy, supported by the First and Second Estates. It was a system of mutual support which resisted change. The monarch ruled through divine right which the Catholic Church reinforced. The Church in return benefitted from the tithe, land ownership, exemption from taxation and its own legislative body to advise the king. The aristocracy provided regional governance, law and order and in return it was also exempt from many taxes, received feudal dues and had its own legislative body to advise the king. It was this social system that many French people believed needed to change.
These contemporary cartoons provide a similar message, what is it?
The Second Estate was the nobility, the aristocratic landlords. They made up about 1.5% of the population and owned 25% of the land. But as with the clergy there were significant inequalities within the nobility. For example, the Marquis de Mainvillette earned 20,000 a year but the 23 poorest noble families earned less that 500 livres.
The Third Estate was everyone else. As you can see from the diagram above, some of the Third Estate, the middle class (bankers, manufacturers, merchants) could be very wealthy. But the Third Estate also included other members of the middle class like shopkeepers and officials, as well as urban workers and landless peasants.
In brief, by the 1780s the Estates system was no longer working. The development of capitalism and the resultant growth of population and towns, gave rise to new social classes - the urban working class (proletariat) and merchants and businessmen (bourgeoisie) - who didn't fit into the traditional three estates. The population of France in 1715 had been 19 million, in 1789 it was 26 million. The bourgeoisie, in particular, were increasingly important, not least because they might be very rich but have no political power whatsoever. France remained an absolute monarchy, supported by the First and Second Estates. It was a system of mutual support which resisted change. The monarch ruled through divine right which the Catholic Church reinforced. The Church in return benefitted from the tithe, land ownership, exemption from taxation and its own legislative body to advise the king. The aristocracy provided regional governance, law and order and in return it was also exempt from many taxes, received feudal dues and had its own legislative body to advise the king. It was this social system that many French people believed needed to change.
These contemporary cartoons provide a similar message, what is it?
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Economic causes
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As capitalism developed in the 18th century, countries that had embraced the changes began to dominate world trade. This economic strength was matched by military might, the Seven Years' War was won by countries that had future orientated 'capitalist' economies. The losers incurred debt and pressure from their people for reform and modernise (see social causes below). Those who wanted to change the political system did so because they wanted a government more responsive to the needs of new businesses. But the ruling classes, the aristocratic landlords, still wanted a political system to govern in its traditional feudal interests, so they were resistant to reform. As the economic situation worsened, the state could only pay its debts by raising more from taxation. The diagram (right) shows you how bad the French government's financial situation was in 1786.
The problem with increasing the taxes (impots in French) was that it fell disproportionally on the poor. The aristocracy and the church were often exempt, or found a way of evading payment of taxes. The main tax on land or income was called the taille. Everyone paid it except the clergy and nobles. In addition, the peasants who made up about 80% of the population, still had to pay the traditional feudal taxes like the tithe or taxes to use the lord's mill or wine press etc. In addition, they still had the traditional labour service called the corvée which meant they had to give up their time to help maintain roads or bring in the lord's harvest. The average family paid about 10% and 15% of its annual earnings in tax. From the 1730s to 1789 the cost of living rose 45% in France but wages rose only 22%. Source B - A cartoon from pre-revolutionary France
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Source A - French government finances in 1786
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Activity - Study sources A and B carefully. 1. How much was the government's debt in 1786? What did the government spend most of its income on? 2. The government has three options. a) increase taxes b) reduce spending c) borrow more. What are the potential problems with each of these policies? 3. Explain the meaning of the cartoon in Source B. How useful is the source as evidence about the causes of the French Revolution? |
Lesson 4 - Long-term cultural and political causes of the French Revolution
Cultural causes
This should all be very familiar to you now, we've done it three times! The ideas of the Enlightenment were particularly widespread in France. As we have seen the most important of the Enlightenment political philosophers were French, they are known to history as the philosophes. They were public intellectuals, widely read but also heard in the many salon soirées hosted by prominent ladies amongst the French social elites. They strongly endorsed progress and tolerance, and distrusted organised religion (most were deists) and feudal institutions. Many also contributed to Diderot's Encyclopédie. Perhaps most importantly, the radical ideas of the philosophes had recently inspired a successful revolution in America. And nothing helps an idea spread quickly better than an idea that has been applied successfully.
This should all be very familiar to you now, we've done it three times! The ideas of the Enlightenment were particularly widespread in France. As we have seen the most important of the Enlightenment political philosophers were French, they are known to history as the philosophes. They were public intellectuals, widely read but also heard in the many salon soirées hosted by prominent ladies amongst the French social elites. They strongly endorsed progress and tolerance, and distrusted organised religion (most were deists) and feudal institutions. Many also contributed to Diderot's Encyclopédie. Perhaps most importantly, the radical ideas of the philosophes had recently inspired a successful revolution in America. And nothing helps an idea spread quickly better than an idea that has been applied successfully.
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From where we sit, the two most interesting of the philosophes were Rousseau (because he was born in Geneva) and Voltaire (because he ended up there). Rousseau's father lived in Nyon and in his Confessions Rousseau describes coming to visit him.
'It was necessary to pass through Nyon: could I do this without seeing my good father? Had I resolved on doing so, I must afterwards have died with regret. I left Merceret at the inn, and ventured to his house. How wrong was I to fear him! On seeing me, his soul gave way to the parental tenderness with which it was filled. What tears were mingled with our embraces! ...I continued my journey the next morning, well satisfied that I had seen my father, and had taken courage to do my duty.' |
I wonder if any of you can find the house? It's less than 500m from where we are now.
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For those desperate to know more see my textbook IB History of Europe Course Companion pages 1-10. An edited extract on the ideas behind the revolution is here.
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Alternatively, if jumping ahead a few years and trying a Higher Level IB Diploma text is not enough of a challenge for you, why not try some history from Yale University? John Merriman (left) was recorded lecturing a 'history 202' course for Yale undergraduates 'European Civiliization (1648-1945)'. This episode covers the impact of the Enlightenment, much of which you will easily understand. He also does later lessons on the French Revolution and Napoleon, as well conveniently covering the whole of Matu course up to the end of the Second World War. |
Political causes
In any political revolution, political causes are central. In the end, the people must be willing to forcibly remove rulers whom they feel are responsible for the country's ills. The economic and social problems of France created a context in which people wanted change. The ideas of the philosophes provided arguments about what should change and why. But history shows that revolution can be avoided when rulers are skilled, determined and ruthless. Unfortunately for the future of the French monarchy, Louis XVI was none of these things.
Individuals in history can make a difference, even if in simplistic historical explanations there is a temptation to explain too much based on simple character traits. The documentary at the top of this page is typical of this 'bad King John' theory of history. There is little doubt that Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette were not ideal monarchs for a time of crisis. Louis was not interested in ruling and their personal difficulties and extravagance did much to undermine their authority. But the fact that at Versailles they lived a life of extraordinary opulence, surrounded by sycophantic courtiers and were literally detached from the French people in a 1000 room palace, 18km from Paris, was not their fault. This was how it had always been.
In any political revolution, political causes are central. In the end, the people must be willing to forcibly remove rulers whom they feel are responsible for the country's ills. The economic and social problems of France created a context in which people wanted change. The ideas of the philosophes provided arguments about what should change and why. But history shows that revolution can be avoided when rulers are skilled, determined and ruthless. Unfortunately for the future of the French monarchy, Louis XVI was none of these things.
Individuals in history can make a difference, even if in simplistic historical explanations there is a temptation to explain too much based on simple character traits. The documentary at the top of this page is typical of this 'bad King John' theory of history. There is little doubt that Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette were not ideal monarchs for a time of crisis. Louis was not interested in ruling and their personal difficulties and extravagance did much to undermine their authority. But the fact that at Versailles they lived a life of extraordinary opulence, surrounded by sycophantic courtiers and were literally detached from the French people in a 1000 room palace, 18km from Paris, was not their fault. This was how it had always been.
Bad King John theory of history. |
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Unlike in many other European countries the French state had not been significantly changed. The only nominal legislative body (parliament) was the Estates General which had three separate assemblies for each of the Three Estates: the clergy, nobility and the rest. It had power in its own right - unlike the English parliament it was not required to approve royal taxation or legislation - instead it functioned as an advisory body to the king. It was appointed and dismissed by him and it hadn't met since 1614.
In reality, France was governed by the thousands of noblemen who lived alongside Louis XVI at Versailles. In the absence of any checks and balances on their power, this rule became increasingly despotic. One of the best examples of this was the widespread use of lettres de cachet or sealed letters. Lettres de cachet were royal warrants ordering the exile or imprisonment of the person named in it. The king could sign these and give them to his ministers to use as they wished, it was up to them to put a name in it. Quite often they were used by ministers to imprison rivals or critics of the government. Voltaire, for example, received two lettres de cachet. They could be entirely arbitrary, without either justification or right of appeal. During the reign of Louis XVI 14,000 such letters issued. For many, Lettres de cachet were a potent symbol of the injustice of the King's rule. |
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Activity - Causes of the French Revolution - essay plan. (Part 1 - Long-Term Causes)
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Following on from the last essay plan you made on the American Revolution, we are going to apply the same technique to the causes of the French Revolution. If you'd like to, you can download a planning template here.
On this occasion, I am encouraging you to go beyond the information I have provided to find evidence and examples of your own. I still expect you to respect the PESC structure, but you can go a little further in the development of your points. You might, for example, find other political points/explanations not mentioned in the text above or other examples to illustrate the points/explanations that you make. Remember this is just the first stage in the plan... Short-term causes are to be added later. |
Lesson 5 - The short-term causes of the French Revolution
The French Revolution was actually two revolutions. The first was led by intellectuals and lawyers, the men who led the Third Estate. The key event in this first stage of the revolution was 'The Tennis Court Oath', a dramatic moment when the representatives of the Third Estate defied the king. The second stage of the revolution happened less than a month later, when the ordinary people of Paris violently stormed the Bastille prison in search of gunpowder in order to defend themselves from the kings soldiers. This was the day the French chose to be their national day, 14th July, Bastille Day.
Into the long term context we have outlined above, a series of events begin to unfold in five discernible phases.
1. The Assembly of Notables refuses a tax reform.
Genevan financier (and father of Germaine de Staël - remember the name) Jaques Necker, appointed in 1777-1781, did more than anyone to try to resolve the French financial situation. He introduced important tax reforms, reduced the size of Louis state expenditure and even tried to make the king abolish feudalism. He was very popular. But the American wars, which he made possible through further loans rather than taxation, did much to ruin his careful policies. He was sacked in 1781 and moved to Coppet where he bought a rather nice chateau.
Into the long term context we have outlined above, a series of events begin to unfold in five discernible phases.
1. The Assembly of Notables refuses a tax reform.
Genevan financier (and father of Germaine de Staël - remember the name) Jaques Necker, appointed in 1777-1781, did more than anyone to try to resolve the French financial situation. He introduced important tax reforms, reduced the size of Louis state expenditure and even tried to make the king abolish feudalism. He was very popular. But the American wars, which he made possible through further loans rather than taxation, did much to ruin his careful policies. He was sacked in 1781 and moved to Coppet where he bought a rather nice chateau.
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Chateau de Coppet is open to visitors.
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By 1786, Louis had run out of money. He was unable to borrow any more. Charles de Calonne, his new finance minister, came up with a simple solution. As things stood, the richer a person was, the less tax he or she paid. Calonne said another tax was needed. Everybody should pay this new tax, even the clergy and the nobles. To try to get the nobles on his side, Calonne called together some nobles to agree to his new tax on land. This Assembly of Notables met in 1787, but Calonne's idea was rejected and he was dismissed. The king then dismissed the nobles and tried to force the Paris Parlement to agree to the new law. They refused and insisted that only the Estates General could approve such a measure.
2. Louis backs down and agrees to call the Estates General.
Over the next year, the crisis worsened. There were riots in many towns and Louis still needed money. In August 1788, he made the following announcement: 'We need an assembly of our faithful subjects to help us get over our difficulties with money. We have decided to call a meeting of the estates of all the provinces so that they may tell us their wishes and problems. Every kind of abuse will be reformed.' This was a dangerous promise that raised people's expectations. The Estates-General, was to meet in May 1789 for the first time since 1614. This was what many people had wanted for years.
Over the next year, the crisis worsened. There were riots in many towns and Louis still needed money. In August 1788, he made the following announcement: 'We need an assembly of our faithful subjects to help us get over our difficulties with money. We have decided to call a meeting of the estates of all the provinces so that they may tell us their wishes and problems. Every kind of abuse will be reformed.' This was a dangerous promise that raised people's expectations. The Estates-General, was to meet in May 1789 for the first time since 1614. This was what many people had wanted for years.
3. The Estates General meets amidst a social and economic crisis.
On 13 July 1788 a massive hailstorm had destroyed cornfields, vegetable plots, orchards and vineyards all over central France. This was followed by a drought. As a result, the harvest in 1788 was very poor. The drought was followed by the coldest winter in living memory. Rivers froze over, stopping watermills from grinding flour. Blocked roads prevented food from reaching markets. And when the snow suddenly thawed in the spring, floods ruined huge areas of farmland. The price of bread increased dramatically, leaving people with less money to spend on other essentials. This led to a fall in demand for many goods which resulted in unemployment and even less demand. There were riots and strikes in may parts of the country. At this point, in the spring of 1789, electors were invited to draw up lists of complaints they wanted the Estates General to discuss with the king. These cahier de doléances were produced all over France and listed in detail everything the people thought was wrong with country. Most importantly, they raised expectations still further that the Estates General was going to solve France's problems. It's a tradition that has been recently been resurrected by Le mouvement des Gilets jaunes.
On 13 July 1788 a massive hailstorm had destroyed cornfields, vegetable plots, orchards and vineyards all over central France. This was followed by a drought. As a result, the harvest in 1788 was very poor. The drought was followed by the coldest winter in living memory. Rivers froze over, stopping watermills from grinding flour. Blocked roads prevented food from reaching markets. And when the snow suddenly thawed in the spring, floods ruined huge areas of farmland. The price of bread increased dramatically, leaving people with less money to spend on other essentials. This led to a fall in demand for many goods which resulted in unemployment and even less demand. There were riots and strikes in may parts of the country. At this point, in the spring of 1789, electors were invited to draw up lists of complaints they wanted the Estates General to discuss with the king. These cahier de doléances were produced all over France and listed in detail everything the people thought was wrong with country. Most importantly, they raised expectations still further that the Estates General was going to solve France's problems. It's a tradition that has been recently been resurrected by Le mouvement des Gilets jaunes.
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4. The Third Estate defies the king.
When the Estates-General met in the Palace of Versailles in May 1789, there were 1,201 deputies, or representatives. They were divided up as follows: First Estate - 300 deputies. Second Estate - 291 deputies. Third Estate - 610 deputies However, each estate had only one vote, so any ideas put forward by the Third Estate could be rejected if the clergy and the nobility were opposed to them. The Third Estate, felt it was absurd that the nobles and clergy could outvote them. On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate declared that they were in charge. They called themselves the National Assembly. On 20 June, Louis locked them out of the hall, so they went instead to the indoor royal tennis court at Versailles. There they swore an oath, and promised to keep together until France was governed fairly. This was known as the Tennis Court Oath which was immortalised in the famous painting by Jacques Louis David (below). On 9 July, Louis gave in and ordered the other two Estates to join them. So far, the power struggle had been fought with words. It was soon to become violent.
When the Estates-General met in the Palace of Versailles in May 1789, there were 1,201 deputies, or representatives. They were divided up as follows: First Estate - 300 deputies. Second Estate - 291 deputies. Third Estate - 610 deputies However, each estate had only one vote, so any ideas put forward by the Third Estate could be rejected if the clergy and the nobility were opposed to them. The Third Estate, felt it was absurd that the nobles and clergy could outvote them. On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate declared that they were in charge. They called themselves the National Assembly. On 20 June, Louis locked them out of the hall, so they went instead to the indoor royal tennis court at Versailles. There they swore an oath, and promised to keep together until France was governed fairly. This was known as the Tennis Court Oath which was immortalised in the famous painting by Jacques Louis David (below). On 9 July, Louis gave in and ordered the other two Estates to join them. So far, the power struggle had been fought with words. It was soon to become violent.
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(Below) Historian Simon Schama examines the significance of the Tennis Court Oath to the history of the French Revolution.
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5. The storming of the Bastille.
Setting up the National Assembly was a great victory for the third estate but a defeat for the king. Louis XVI had lost control of the Estates General. Riots in nearby Paris showed that he risked losing control of the capital too. Urged on by the queen and members of his court, Louis ordered 20,000 royal troops to move into the area around Paris. He said this was to keep order there, but most people suspected that the troops were going to break up the National Assembly. People in Paris started to feel afraid. Their fears grew on 12 July. News came from Versailles that Louis had sacked the popular finance minister, Necker, and replaced him with a hardliner who opposed the third estate. People assumed that Louis was about to crack down on the National Assembly. Angry and frightened crowds started looking for weapons to defend themselves against the king's troops. The search for weapons went on for two days. Crowds broke into arms stores and stole thousands of guns. On the morning of 14 July rumours went round that there were tonnes of gunpowder in the Bastille, an old fortress in the cast end of Paris. The rest, as they say, is history
Setting up the National Assembly was a great victory for the third estate but a defeat for the king. Louis XVI had lost control of the Estates General. Riots in nearby Paris showed that he risked losing control of the capital too. Urged on by the queen and members of his court, Louis ordered 20,000 royal troops to move into the area around Paris. He said this was to keep order there, but most people suspected that the troops were going to break up the National Assembly. People in Paris started to feel afraid. Their fears grew on 12 July. News came from Versailles that Louis had sacked the popular finance minister, Necker, and replaced him with a hardliner who opposed the third estate. People assumed that Louis was about to crack down on the National Assembly. Angry and frightened crowds started looking for weapons to defend themselves against the king's troops. The search for weapons went on for two days. Crowds broke into arms stores and stole thousands of guns. On the morning of 14 July rumours went round that there were tonnes of gunpowder in the Bastille, an old fortress in the cast end of Paris. The rest, as they say, is history
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Activity - Causes of the French Revolution - essay plan.
(Part 2 - Short-Term Causes) Using the text above, supplemented by the video opposite, complete the essay plan you began last lesson. The short-term causes are broadly chronological and you simply need to explain how one event led to the next. Write an introduction which explains the structure of your response (Long-term, short-term etc.) and which outlines all the major points you will make. Finally write a short conclusion which brings your essay to natural an interesting end. |
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Lesson 6 - The storming of the Bastille
What really happened at the Bastille?
The fall of the Bastille was one of the most famous events of the French Revolution. It was a symbol of the victory of ordinary people over the power of their rulers. It is the day the French have chosen as their national day. Their victory was recorded in many thousands of drawings and paintings.
The fall of the Bastille was one of the most famous events of the French Revolution. It was a symbol of the victory of ordinary people over the power of their rulers. It is the day the French have chosen as their national day. Their victory was recorded in many thousands of drawings and paintings.
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Novelists like Dickens have written about the drama of the day. His book has been turned into many feature film versions.
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Copies of pictures like these appeared in their thousands. They were seen all over France, and they created images of the Bastille that everybody could recognise. Foreigners were fascinated by them, and artists abroad produced their own versions of events.
But were these images accurate? If cameras had existed then, could they have filmed such images? According to this account of what the attackers found, written by a leading French historian, the answer must be no:
But were these images accurate? If cameras had existed then, could they have filmed such images? According to this account of what the attackers found, written by a leading French historian, the answer must be no:
'The attackers were astonished to find so few captives. Many believed there were others, hidden in some secret cavern or dungeon ... On 18 July the four gaolers were questioned separately. They confirmed that the Bastille contained, on 14 July, only seven prisoners: Solages, Whyte, Tavernier, Bechade, La Correge, Pujade and Laroche. The latter four, common law prisoners accused of forgery, disappeared soon after and were never seen again. The Count of Solages had been imprisoned at the request of his family ... Whyte was an Englishman, afflicted by madness, and on 15 July he was imprisoned in Charenton. Tavernier was equally mad and he too was sent to Charenton.'
Jacques Godechot, La Prise de la Bastille', 1965
Now try comparing the pictures with another kind of evidence. The following sources are extracts from the diary of the Marquis de Sade who was a prisoner inside the Bastille until a week before it was attacked. One is a list of some of the meals he ate there. The other is an account of his spending for the month of December 1787.
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Activity
1. With reference to the artistic evidence provided above (paintings, novels and film), what do we mean by the 'myth' of the storming of the Bastille? Give examples of the myth to illustrate your answer.
2. With reference to other evidence provided, what was the reality of the storming of the Bastille?
3. Why do you think a myth of the storming of the Bastille developed and became so important?
1. With reference to the artistic evidence provided above (paintings, novels and film), what do we mean by the 'myth' of the storming of the Bastille? Give examples of the myth to illustrate your answer.
2. With reference to other evidence provided, what was the reality of the storming of the Bastille?
3. Why do you think a myth of the storming of the Bastille developed and became so important?
Lesson 7 - How and why did the king lose control of France between 1789 and 1791?
The National Guard and the Paris Commune.
Louis XVI considered sending his army into Paris to recapture the Bastille. His war minister, however, warned him that the soldiers would probably refuse orders to do so. Louis therefore had to give up control of Paris. He ordered his army back to its barracks. To keep order in Paris he allowed the people to set up their own military force, the National Guard. To run the city, leading officials of the third estate formed a new local government, the Paris Commune. Towns and cities all over France followed the example of Paris. Rioting crowds attacked town halls, forced out the royal officials, and set up their own communes and National Guard units.
Louis XVI considered sending his army into Paris to recapture the Bastille. His war minister, however, warned him that the soldiers would probably refuse orders to do so. Louis therefore had to give up control of Paris. He ordered his army back to its barracks. To keep order in Paris he allowed the people to set up their own military force, the National Guard. To run the city, leading officials of the third estate formed a new local government, the Paris Commune. Towns and cities all over France followed the example of Paris. Rioting crowds attacked town halls, forced out the royal officials, and set up their own communes and National Guard units.
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The Great Fear
The violence then spread into the countryside, where unemployment was high and millions were hungry. Many thousands of people had left home to seek work or to beg, and were now wandering around the countryside looking for food. Farmers lived in fear of gangs of wanderers who stole food from their fields and damaged their farms. As harvest time approached, rumours swept the countryside that nobles were trying to starve the people by hoarding grain. The rumours also said that nobles were paying the gangs of wanderers to attack farms and terrorise the peasants. Angry peasants responded to the rumours by refusing to pay their feudal dues. In many places they broke into their lords' homes and burned records of their dues. As the violence spread, fear of gangs increased. Villagers who thought they saw gangs rang the church bells to warn neighbouring villages. The warnings, passed from town to town, spread the panic to many parts of France. By late July, the whole country was gripped by a 'Great Fear'. |
The Assembly begins its work
The deputies in the National Assembly were scared by the violence of the peasants. They took drastic measures to end it. On the night of 4 August, noble deputies, one by one, announced that they would give up their feudal rights and dues. By the next morning hunting rights, tithes, the corvee, and the rights of the mill and the oven had all been abolished. Feudalism was dead.
Three weeks later, the Assembly made another important change to French society. It issued a 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen'. This stated that all men were free and equal in rights. It said people should have the right to speak and write freely. It changed the laws of arrest and imprisonment, and banned torture. Above all, it said that power in France belonged to the entire people, not just the king.
The deputies in the National Assembly were scared by the violence of the peasants. They took drastic measures to end it. On the night of 4 August, noble deputies, one by one, announced that they would give up their feudal rights and dues. By the next morning hunting rights, tithes, the corvee, and the rights of the mill and the oven had all been abolished. Feudalism was dead.
Three weeks later, the Assembly made another important change to French society. It issued a 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen'. This stated that all men were free and equal in rights. It said people should have the right to speak and write freely. It changed the laws of arrest and imprisonment, and banned torture. Above all, it said that power in France belonged to the entire people, not just the king.
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The women march to Versailles (The October March)
Louis XVI disliked these decisions of the Assembly. He refused to sign them, which meant they could not become law. Then, early in October, he brought more soldiers to Versailles to add to his bodyguard. Again it looked as if he was going to break up the Assembly by armed force. When news of this reached Paris, crowds of market women gathered in the streets. They marched through the city, collecting weapons. On 5 October, armed with knives, sticks, rifles and two cannons, they marched to Versailles to protest. Supported by National Guardsmen, they complained to the king about the high price of bread and about the extra soldiers in Versailles. They asked him to leave Versailles and come with them to live in Paris. This would allow them to keep an eye on his activities. Louis did not want to go. He changed his mind when a group of the women smashed their way into his palace, killed two bodyguards and threatened to kill the queen. On 6 October Louis, Marie Antoinette and their oldest son travelled in a coach to Paris, surrounded by a crowd of 60,000 people. The Palace of Versailles was locked and boarded up. From then on they lived in the Tuileries Palace in the centre of Paris. |
Reforms of the National Assembly
The deputies of the National Assembly followed the royal family to Paris, where they took over an old riding school as a meeting place. Over the next two years the Assembly made many new laws, changing the way France was organised and run. Consider the list of reforms below? Which reforms weakened feudalism and the aristocracy? Which reforms were particularly influenced by influenced Enlightenment ideas?
The deputies of the National Assembly followed the royal family to Paris, where they took over an old riding school as a meeting place. Over the next two years the Assembly made many new laws, changing the way France was organised and run. Consider the list of reforms below? Which reforms weakened feudalism and the aristocracy? Which reforms were particularly influenced by influenced Enlightenment ideas?
Reforms of the National Assembly
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1. Male tax-payers over 25 years old were given the right to vote.
2. All Church land was confiscated so that it could be sold to pay France's debts. 3. The Assembly paid off France's debts with bank notes called assignats: people who were owed money were given assignats with which they could buy confiscated church land. 4. Local government was re-organised. Local councils were elected by citizens. 5. Protestants were given the same voting rights as Catholics. 6. France was divided into 83 Departments, each run by an elected council. 7. Jews were given the same voting rights as everyone else. 8. The salt tax [gabelle) was abolished. 9. Most monasteries and convents were closed down. 10. Assignats became France's legal currency. |
11. Noble titles were abolished.
12. The Church was reformed: a 'Civil Constitution of the Clergy' said that bishops and priests must be elected by the people and must take an oath of loyalty to France. 13. A new system of law courts was created. Judges were to be elected by citizens. 14. The traites taxes were abolished. 15. A tax on land was introduced. 16. Trade guilds were abolished. 17. The aides taxes were abolished. 18. The taille tax was abolished. 19. Black people in French colonies were given the same rights as white people. 20. Slavery in France was abolished. 21. The Assembly introduced a constitution describing how France would be governed. |
The reform of the Church
Most people welcomed the above reforms. On one issue, however, they were divided. That was the reform of the Church. On one side of the argument were growing numbers of people who thought the Church had too much power, too much land and too much money. They also thought that many of the clergy lived unholy lives. See the contemporary images below which were critical of the church. Do you understand their meaning?
Most people welcomed the above reforms. On one issue, however, they were divided. That was the reform of the Church. On one side of the argument were growing numbers of people who thought the Church had too much power, too much land and too much money. They also thought that many of the clergy lived unholy lives. See the contemporary images below which were critical of the church. Do you understand their meaning?
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On the other side were millions of God-fearing Catholics who had never questioned the way the Church was run, and who could see no reason to change it. So when the National Assembly began to take land and money from the Church, many Catholics protested. Their protests grew louder in July 1790 when the Assembly drew up a law reducing the power of the Church. The law, called the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, said that priests and bishops must be elected like other public officials. It ordered all clergy to take an oath of loyalty to the French nation and the law. Over half the clergy refused to take this oath. They said that the Assembly had no right to interfere in Church affairs. The Pope supported their protest by condemning the new law. From then on, the clergy were divided between those who took the oath and who supported the revolution, and those who refused the oath and opposed the revolution. Millions of people followed the examples set by their priests. Before long, therefore, the entire nation was divided by the question of the Church and its power.
The flight to Varennes
Louis XVI was deeply unhappy with the Civil Constitution. He sided with the priests who refused to take the oath. This made it look, yet again, as if he opposed the revolution. Angry crowds protested at the gates of the Tuileries Palace. Urged on by his wife and by members of his court, Louis now decided to leave France. Their aim was to get help from the French princes who had already left France and had built up armies just across the frontier. They also hoped for assistance from Marie Antoinette's brother Leopold, the Emperor of Austria. They would then be able to invade France, get rid of the Assembly, and take back the power they had lost. But where would they go?
Louis XVI was deeply unhappy with the Civil Constitution. He sided with the priests who refused to take the oath. This made it look, yet again, as if he opposed the revolution. Angry crowds protested at the gates of the Tuileries Palace. Urged on by his wife and by members of his court, Louis now decided to leave France. Their aim was to get help from the French princes who had already left France and had built up armies just across the frontier. They also hoped for assistance from Marie Antoinette's brother Leopold, the Emperor of Austria. They would then be able to invade France, get rid of the Assembly, and take back the power they had lost. But where would they go?
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Leaving France, was far from easy. Because the Assembly suspected that Louis might try to escape, there were guards at every door in the Palace. Louis and his family therefore had to make a secret escape. Close to midnight on 21 June 1791, Louis, Antoinette and their children, all in disguise, crept out of the palace through a temporarily unguarded door. A waiting carriage then took them eastwards towards Montmedy, close to the frontier 250 km away (see map above).
They were still 50 km from the frontier when they were recognised. News of their escape was sent ahead and the local authorities were waiting for them in the little town of Varennes. They were arrested and sent back to Paris the next day. As they went, crowds shouted insults and spat at the windows.
Activity
Read the text above carefully and watch the next part of the film on the French Revolution. Then download and complete the worksheet, explaining how at each stage the king gradually lost power.
Read the text above carefully and watch the next part of the film on the French Revolution. Then download and complete the worksheet, explaining how at each stage the king gradually lost power.
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Lesson 8 - Why did the French execute their king?
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The revolutionary leaders in the National Assembly were now divided about what should happen to the King. Many moderate deputies, known as Girondins, still wanted Louis to have a place in France's new constitution. More radical deputies, known as Jacobins, felt that the King could not be trusted and should be deposed. Many ordinary citizens supported the Jacobins. A series of events in France gradually led to the Jacobins becoming more influential.
14 September 1791: The new constitution - The King accepted the new constitution which had been written by the National Assembly. Louis was still allowed to veto new laws, but most of his powers were removed. At the ceremony for the new constitution, Louis was forced to sit on a simple chair rather than a throne. |
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20 April 1792: War declared on Austria - To the east of France was the huge Austrian Empire. It was ruled by the Emperor Leopold, Marie Antoinette's brother. Leopold was protecting nobles who had fled from France and who were plotting against the Revolution. On 20 April 1792, the National Assembly declared war on Austria. But the war started badly France.
20 June 1792: The sans culottes attack the Tuileries - The sans culottes were working people in Paris who hated the monarchy. They thought that ordinary people like themselves should have power. The sans culottes suspected that Louis actually wanted France to lose the war with Austria. On 20 June 1792, a crowd of 8,000 armed sans culottes (right) broke into the Tuileries. They forced the King to wear the red cap of liberty and to toast the people of Paris. The mob had spared the King's life, but this was another humiliation for Louis 25 July 1792: The Brunswick Manifesto - By July 1792 Prussia had joined Austria in the war against France. The leader of the enemy forces was the Duke of Brunswick. On 25 July he signed a document known as the Brunswick Manifesto. This stated that if the Tuileries was attacked again the invading armies would totally destroy Paris, The sans culottes were outraged, as you can see from some of the popular cartoons of the time below. On the streets of Paris the King and Queen became even more unpopular.
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10 August 1792: Massacre at the Tuileries - At the beginning of a hot August, rumours spread that the King was secretly supporting the invading foreign armies. Early in the morning of 10 August, around 10,000 angry revolutionaries from all over Paris marched towards the Tuileries. They broke into the palace and began to massacre the King's soldiers, (the Swiss Guards) and servants. The royal family fled and took refuge at the National Assembly. Out of the nine hundred Swiss Guards defending the king, only three hundred survived, and of these an estimated two hundred either died of their wounds in prison or during the September Massacres that followed.
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2-6 September 1792: The September Massacres - At the beginning of September, there was panic in Paris. People feared that the Prussians were about to capture the city. Rumours spread that the priests and nobles in the overcrowded prisons were plotting to escape, kill the citizens of Paris and hand over the city to the Prussians. On 2 September, the sans culottes began the brutal murder of the prisoners. The massacre lasted for five days. Nearly 1,500 prisoners were killed. The Revolution had become much more violent. In England public opinion was shocked by the events, as illustrated by this famous cartoon below by James Gillray, the 'father of the political cartoon.'
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21 September 1792; The royal family imprisoned - To most revolutionaries the King now seemed like a useless burden to France. Six weeks after the massacre at the Tuileries a new Assembly (now called the Convention) voted to abolish the monarchy and set up a republic. The people would elect their own rulers and the King would no longer play any part in the government of France. The Convention decided that Louis and his family should be locked away. The King and his family spent the autumn of 1792 imprisoned in two floors of a damp tower in the centre of Paris. It was called the Temple. Life in the Temple was not pleasant. The prison guards showed the royal family a lack of respect. They called the King simply 'Louis'. Each day, when the royal family took their afternoon walk in the Temple grounds, hundreds of people shouted insults at them.
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The King had been deposed and imprisoned, but some of the revolutionaries thought that the Convention had not gone far enough. As long as Louis was alive there might be a counter-revolution. Some of the Jacobin deputies in the Convention demanded the trial and execution of the King. Their demands gained more support at the end of November when an iron box containing the King's documents was discovered at the Tuileries. It was clear from some of the King's letters in this box that he had been plotting to overthrow the Revolution. On the morning of 11 December, soldiers arrived at the Temple to escort Louis for trial at the Convention. The King, dressed in a green silk coat, stood before the Convention until the President gave him permission to sit down.
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Over thirty charges against Louis were then read out. These included:
Using force against the National Assembly
Secretly plotting to overthrow the Revolution
Accepting the Constitution which he despised
Attempting to escape from France
Bankrupting the country
On 4 January the Convention reached its verdict. 693 deputies voted for Louis' guilt. Some deputies were absent, but not one deputy voted for Louis' innocence. The question of the penalty that Louis should pay caused more disagreement.
Using force against the National Assembly
Secretly plotting to overthrow the Revolution
Accepting the Constitution which he despised
Attempting to escape from France
Bankrupting the country
On 4 January the Convention reached its verdict. 693 deputies voted for Louis' guilt. Some deputies were absent, but not one deputy voted for Louis' innocence. The question of the penalty that Louis should pay caused more disagreement.
Some deputies wanted the King to be imprisoned for life. Others felt that he should be banished to America. But in the end just over half the deputies thought the King should pay with his life. On 17 January Louis XVI was sentenced to death.
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The King was executed on 21 January 1793. The guards in the Temple woke Louis at around 6am. The King dressed in simple clothes. He took off his wedding ring and asked his valet to give it to Marie Antoinette. Louis was placed in a closed carriage and taken through the damp, foggy streets of Paris to the Place de la Revolution. The people lining the streets watched in silence. The steps to the scaffold were so steep that Louis had to lean on his priest for support. The executioner cut the King's hair roughly. Louis then attempted to address the 20,000 people in the square:
"I die innocent of all the crimes of which I have been charged. I pardon those who have brought about my death and I pray that the blood you are about to shed may never be required of France." |
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But the King's words were drowned out by a roll of drums. The executioner strapped Louis to a plank and pulled the cord on the guillotine. The blade hissed down and sliced through the King's neck. The executioner pulled Louis' head from the basket and showed it, dripping with blood, to the people.
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Activity
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From the speech of Saint-Just, the youngest deputy.
“He oppressed a free nation; he declared himself its enemy; he abused its laws; he must die to ensure the peacefulness of the people, since to assure his own he intended that the people be crushed. Monarchy is an outrage. No man can reign innocently. Louis is an alien among us and not a citizen. He must die.” Full text of the speech. |
It is 27 December 1792 and you are an elected member of the French Convention. You have just heard Saint-Just make a powerful speech in support of the execution of the king. You have not decided yet whether the king should be executed, so you write two speeches: one from a Jacobin perspective, a second from a Girondin perspective. Each speech should be no more than two minutes in length.
Additional useful websites
Additional useful websites
Lesson 9 - The causes and context of the Terror
The execution of Louis XVI shocked millions of people all over Europe. Louis' fellow monarchs were outraged. One by one, in the first months of 1793, they joined forces with Austria and Prussia in their war against France. The aim of this coalition, or alliance, was to destroy the new French Republic.
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Defeat in war
Far from scaring the revolutionaries in France, this made them more warlike than before. They wanted to fight these 'tyrants', as they called all kings, and spread the revolution to the rest of Europe. Rather than wait for the coalition to attack them, they declared war on its three latest members - Britain, Holland and Spain. France was now at war with most of Europe. Disaster immediately struck the French armies. Austrian forces beat them in a series of battles in the Netherlands. The French commander, General Dumouriez, abandoned his men and went over to the Austrian side. France seemed on the verge of defeat. |
Inflation and shortages
The war was only one of many difficulties facing the new government. A major problem was the high price of food. Prices were rising because, to pay for the war. the government was printing huge amounts of paper money called assignants . But the more bank notes it printed, the less they were worth: the currency was suffering from inflation. By February 1793 a bank note was worth only half the amount printed on it. As well as being expensive, bread was also scarce because farmers did not want to sell their grain for bank notes that were losing their value. Hungry sans culottes began raiding shops and food stores to get the food they could not buy.
Rebellion
A third major problem hit the government when, to defend the country, it ordered an extra 300,000 men to join the armies. This order was deeply unpopular. In the Vendee in western France, where many people were royalists, thousands of peasants joined in an armed rebellion against the government. In Paris, the war led to a conflict between two groups of politicians in the Convention: the Girondins, who held most of the important posts in the government, and the Jacobins, who were supported by the sans culottes. The Jacobins blamed the Girondins for France' s defeats on the battlefield, and for allowing food prices to rise. On 2 June an angry crowd of sans culottes broke into the Convention and expelled the leading Girondins. This triggered off a string of revolts in the royalist provinces which supported the Girondins. By summer 1793, sixty out of eighty-three departments had joined the rebellion against the government. The Vendée south of Nantes was particularly impacted. Tens of thousands of civilians, royalists, Republican prisoners, and sympathizers with the revolution or the religious were massacred by both armies.
The war was only one of many difficulties facing the new government. A major problem was the high price of food. Prices were rising because, to pay for the war. the government was printing huge amounts of paper money called assignants . But the more bank notes it printed, the less they were worth: the currency was suffering from inflation. By February 1793 a bank note was worth only half the amount printed on it. As well as being expensive, bread was also scarce because farmers did not want to sell their grain for bank notes that were losing their value. Hungry sans culottes began raiding shops and food stores to get the food they could not buy.
Rebellion
A third major problem hit the government when, to defend the country, it ordered an extra 300,000 men to join the armies. This order was deeply unpopular. In the Vendee in western France, where many people were royalists, thousands of peasants joined in an armed rebellion against the government. In Paris, the war led to a conflict between two groups of politicians in the Convention: the Girondins, who held most of the important posts in the government, and the Jacobins, who were supported by the sans culottes. The Jacobins blamed the Girondins for France' s defeats on the battlefield, and for allowing food prices to rise. On 2 June an angry crowd of sans culottes broke into the Convention and expelled the leading Girondins. This triggered off a string of revolts in the royalist provinces which supported the Girondins. By summer 1793, sixty out of eighty-three departments had joined the rebellion against the government. The Vendée south of Nantes was particularly impacted. Tens of thousands of civilians, royalists, Republican prisoners, and sympathizers with the revolution or the religious were massacred by both armies.
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The Death of Marat
No-one better personified the violence that was engulfing the revolution and no other death better encapsulated the divisions that were pulling France apart, than the person and death of Jean-Paul Marat. Marat was born in Boudry in Neuchatel, now part of Switzerland. Typically, his family was French Huguenot (remember what that means Josh?) in origin and for most of his 20s he lived in England and practiced as a doctor. From the outbreak of the revolution he dedicated himself entirely to spreading the ideas of the radical wing of the revolution that after 1792 became known as Jacobin. His newspaper L'Ami du peuple was highly critical of post revolutionary authorities and until the death of the king, Marat was often forced into hiding or exile. His time spent hiding in the Parisian sewers worsened his already debilitating skin disease. After the beheading of the King, Marat turned his newspaper on the Girondins and it was this attack that led to his assassination by Charlotte Corday.
No-one better personified the violence that was engulfing the revolution and no other death better encapsulated the divisions that were pulling France apart, than the person and death of Jean-Paul Marat. Marat was born in Boudry in Neuchatel, now part of Switzerland. Typically, his family was French Huguenot (remember what that means Josh?) in origin and for most of his 20s he lived in England and practiced as a doctor. From the outbreak of the revolution he dedicated himself entirely to spreading the ideas of the radical wing of the revolution that after 1792 became known as Jacobin. His newspaper L'Ami du peuple was highly critical of post revolutionary authorities and until the death of the king, Marat was often forced into hiding or exile. His time spent hiding in the Parisian sewers worsened his already debilitating skin disease. After the beheading of the King, Marat turned his newspaper on the Girondins and it was this attack that led to his assassination by Charlotte Corday.
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Marat was in his bath (because of his skin condition) on 13 July 1793, when Corday appeared at his flat. She gave him a list of supposed Girondin traitors and he promised to have them all guillotined. She then stabbed him through the heart with a kitchen knife that she had hidden in her dress.
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His death was immediately turned into a political martyrdom by the Jacobin Committee of Public Safety. David's idealised painting, that depicts Marat in Christ like form, was part of a process that turned Marat into a secular saint. After the revolution, Marat's reputation fell; the memorials to him were destroyed and his remains were removed from the Pantheon. However, over 100 years later, after the October Revolution 1917 in Russia, Marat's name was rehabilitated by the Bolshevik government. Marat became a popular name for Russian babies and Russian streets and Battleships were also named after him.
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Activity
1. Explain briefly the three problems faced by the revolutionary government (the National Convention) in the first half of 1793.
2. Who was Jean-Paul Marat? How and why was his death used by the revolutionaries. You will need to watch the two documentary films (Schama from 38 minutes) and refer to the painting by David in order to fully answer the question.
1. Explain briefly the three problems faced by the revolutionary government (the National Convention) in the first half of 1793.
2. Who was Jean-Paul Marat? How and why was his death used by the revolutionaries. You will need to watch the two documentary films (Schama from 38 minutes) and refer to the painting by David in order to fully answer the question.
Lesson 10 - The Terror
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The Law of Suspects
The Terror began with a 'Law of Suspects' in September 1793. As a precursor to the encouragement of denunciations common in 20th century authoritarian states such as Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany. Groups of citizens in every town had to draw up lists of people they suspected of opposing the government. Almost anyone could fall under suspicion. The Law said that 'suspects were people who by their behaviour, their contacts, their words or their writings, showed themselves to be ... enemies of Liberty.' In the year that followed, over a quarter of a million suspects were arrested and put in prison. |
Many suspects were sent to Paris for trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal. This was a special court set up to deal with political offences. Its judges could impose sentences of imprisonment, deportation or death. Around half the sentences they passed were death sentences.
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The guillotine
Death sentences were carried out by beheading prisoners with a recently invented machine. Known as a guillotine after the person who first suggested using it, Doctor Guillotin, it was meant to be quicker and less painful than the methods of execution used before the Revolution. An English journalist described how it worked: He [the prisoner] is first tied to a plank of wood of about eighteen inches [45cm] broad, and an inch [2.5cm] thick, with cords about the arms, body and legs; this plank is about four feet [1.2m] long, and comes almost up to the chin; the executioner then lays him on his belly on the bench, lifts up the upper part of the board which receives his neck, inserts his head, then shuts the board and pulls the string fastened to a peg at the top of the machine, which lifts up a catch. The axe falls down, and the head, which is off in an instant, is received in a basket ready for that purpose, as is the body in another basket. From an anonymous broadsheet, Massacre of the French King, 1793 Around 17,000 suspects were executed by guillotine during the Terror. One of the first to die was Marie Antoinette whose trial began on 14 October 1793, and two days later she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Révolution. |
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The Committee of Public Safety took very strong measures to crush the revolts in the countryside. Over a hundred Representatives of the Convention were sent to the provinces with instructions to do anything necessary to restore order. When the guillotine proved too slow to execute captured rebels, he had them drowned in boat-loads in the River Loire (left). At least 2,000 died in these drownings at Nantes. In Lyons, nearly 2,000 rebels were executed. To speed up the executions, prisoners were lined up in front of open graves and blasted into them with cannon fire. |
The Terror begins to work
It must be remembered that the terror was an emergency measure set up to crush the counter-revolution and to win the war. In August 1793 the Convention ordered a 'Mass Levy' of the French people. This meant that every citizen had to take an active part in the war effort. Unmarried men had to join the armies to fight. Married men were to make weapons for them. Women were to make tents and serve in hospitals. Children were to make bandages and gunpowder. The Mass Levy increased the French armies to 800,000 men, nearly three times the size of the Coalition's armies. Representatives of the Convention made sure that strict discipline was kept. Generals who did not win battles were replaced by younger officers who had proved their ability in action. The Committee also tried to halt the rise in food prices with a Law of the Maximum in September 1793. This said that the prices of forty goods, such as corn, flour, firewood and oil, must stay fixed until further notice. So too must people's wages. Breaking the Maximum carried the death penalty.
It must be remembered that the terror was an emergency measure set up to crush the counter-revolution and to win the war. In August 1793 the Convention ordered a 'Mass Levy' of the French people. This meant that every citizen had to take an active part in the war effort. Unmarried men had to join the armies to fight. Married men were to make weapons for them. Women were to make tents and serve in hospitals. Children were to make bandages and gunpowder. The Mass Levy increased the French armies to 800,000 men, nearly three times the size of the Coalition's armies. Representatives of the Convention made sure that strict discipline was kept. Generals who did not win battles were replaced by younger officers who had proved their ability in action. The Committee also tried to halt the rise in food prices with a Law of the Maximum in September 1793. This said that the prices of forty goods, such as corn, flour, firewood and oil, must stay fixed until further notice. So too must people's wages. Breaking the Maximum carried the death penalty.
Terror and the Church
As part of a process or 'dechristianisation' the Terror led to the disappearance of the Christian religion in many parts of France. Claiming that Christianity was no more than 'superstition', sans culottes closed down churches, robbed them of their bells and silver, and sacked their priests. In many towns, a 'Cult of Reason', based on revolutionary ideas such as Liberty and the worship of Marat took the place of Christianity. A Festival of Reason was held in the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was renamed 'The Temple of Reason'. As part of the campaign against Christianity, the Convention introduced a new calendar that logically decimalised time. Years were no longer counted from the birth of Christ but from September 1792, when the Republic was founded. 1792 was re-named Year One, so the Terror took place in Year Two. Each year was divided into twelve thirty-day months with names describing their weather or growing seasons. Months were divided into three ten-day weeks. Sunday was abolished. The Calendar was used for about 12 years and was also used in other areas under French rule, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Malta, and Italy.
As part of a process or 'dechristianisation' the Terror led to the disappearance of the Christian religion in many parts of France. Claiming that Christianity was no more than 'superstition', sans culottes closed down churches, robbed them of their bells and silver, and sacked their priests. In many towns, a 'Cult of Reason', based on revolutionary ideas such as Liberty and the worship of Marat took the place of Christianity. A Festival of Reason was held in the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was renamed 'The Temple of Reason'. As part of the campaign against Christianity, the Convention introduced a new calendar that logically decimalised time. Years were no longer counted from the birth of Christ but from September 1792, when the Republic was founded. 1792 was re-named Year One, so the Terror took place in Year Two. Each year was divided into twelve thirty-day months with names describing their weather or growing seasons. Months were divided into three ten-day weeks. Sunday was abolished. The Calendar was used for about 12 years and was also used in other areas under French rule, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Malta, and Italy.
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See this short article that explains French attempts to de-Christianise the calendar.
And click here to find out your birthday according to the revolutionary calendar. 
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Results of the Terror
The Committee of Public Safety achieved what it set out to do. It saved France from collapse. By mid 1794 the French armies had driven their enemies right out of France and had occupied the Austrian Netherlands. The Representatives on Mission had crushed all the revolts in the Provinces. And although prices were still rising, the Committee had managed to avoid a famine. The price of success had been high. Between 35,000 and 40,000 people had been executed or had died in filthy, overcrowded prisons. Everybody's rights and freedoms had been severely limited. Prices were still rising. And the Committee had became a kind of twelve-man dictatorship.
The coup of Thermidor
By the summer of 1794 the Committee was very unpopular. Many deputies in the Convention disliked it because they thought it was too powerful. Some disliked it because they feared ending up under the guillotine. Others disliked it because they could not see any need for the Terror now that the revolts were over and France was winning the war. Even the sans culottes, its strongest supporters, were unhappy because their wages were held down by the Maximum law, while prices were still rising.
The Committee of Public Safety achieved what it set out to do. It saved France from collapse. By mid 1794 the French armies had driven their enemies right out of France and had occupied the Austrian Netherlands. The Representatives on Mission had crushed all the revolts in the Provinces. And although prices were still rising, the Committee had managed to avoid a famine. The price of success had been high. Between 35,000 and 40,000 people had been executed or had died in filthy, overcrowded prisons. Everybody's rights and freedoms had been severely limited. Prices were still rising. And the Committee had became a kind of twelve-man dictatorship.
The coup of Thermidor
By the summer of 1794 the Committee was very unpopular. Many deputies in the Convention disliked it because they thought it was too powerful. Some disliked it because they feared ending up under the guillotine. Others disliked it because they could not see any need for the Terror now that the revolts were over and France was winning the war. Even the sans culottes, its strongest supporters, were unhappy because their wages were held down by the Maximum law, while prices were still rising.
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On 27 July 1794-9 Thermidor, Year Two in the new calendar - the Convention decided to get rid of the Committee's leading member, Robespierre, along with his supporters. Robespierre had spoken of the existence of internal enemies and conspirators within the Convention and the governing Committees. But he refused to name them, which alarmed the deputies who feared Robespierre was preparing another purge of the Convention.
Twenty-one were arrested and guillotined the following day. A further ninety-six were executed the day after. With Robespierre dead, the Convention reduced the power of the Committee, freed hundreds of suspects, abolished the Maximum and got rid of the Revolutionary Tribunal. The Terror thus came to an end. |
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Activities
1. Explain the Law of Suspects. Why do you think many innocent people may have been denounced?
2. Make a note of some of the worst things that happened during the Terror. Do some additional research to add to the limited information contained on this page.
3. In the context of the Terror, explain what was meant by dechristianisation. Research some additional examples of dechristianisation from the Terror and try to find some visual examples. Find out when you were born according to the Republican Calendar.
4. Watch the film on the Thermidorian Reaction. Why was Robespierre killed?
5.How is it possible to argue that the Terror was a success? Remember the Terror wasn't just mindless violence.
1. Explain the Law of Suspects. Why do you think many innocent people may have been denounced?
2. Make a note of some of the worst things that happened during the Terror. Do some additional research to add to the limited information contained on this page.
3. In the context of the Terror, explain what was meant by dechristianisation. Research some additional examples of dechristianisation from the Terror and try to find some visual examples. Find out when you were born according to the Republican Calendar.
4. Watch the film on the Thermidorian Reaction. Why was Robespierre killed?
5.How is it possible to argue that the Terror was a success? Remember the Terror wasn't just mindless violence.