The Age of Revolution (1780-1848)
UNIT 2: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE NAPOLEONIC
EMPIRE (1789 – 1815)
1. THE BEGINNING AND THE MODEL OF LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS:
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION(1789-1799)
1.1. FRANCE IN 1789
France in 1789 was an absolute
monarchy (under the kingdom of Louis
XVI) and one of the richest and most
powerful nations in Europe.
In the Ancient Regime the king shared the power
and prerogatives with the two first and privileged
classes or states, the nobility and the clergy.
The nobility owned the land by heritage since
medieval times and held the highest offices in the
church, the government and the army. For this
class the most important privilege was not to pay
taxes, they received the taxes from the peasants in
their dominions. Surprisingly, the richer, more
powerful didn’t pay taxes, but the poorest did (to
the king, to the noblemen and to the church).
Their privileges and their alliance with the
monarchy were remnants of feudalism and
Middle ages.
_________________________________________
On the contrary, the majority part of the __________
population (96%), belonged to the third state _________________________________________
“le tiers étát”: craftsmen, merchants,
townspeople, peasants, etc. In this state there were both, very poor people, peasants
and workers and a growing middle class that was becoming very rich due to their
efforts and hard work in trade and manufactures.
The richer in the third state was the new class of the bourgeoisie. They were getting
angry because they had everything by themselves. They were self-made men and
were tired of paying taxes and of being the support of the country with their wealth
and prosperity, without having any of the privileges and rights that the nobility had.
The peasants had became poorer and poorer and couldn’t be asked for more taxes.
“let them eat cake”
"QU'ILS MANGENT DE LA
BRIOCHE "
1.2. THE OUTBREAK OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: THE REVOLT OF THE PRIVILEGED
ORDERS AND THE REVOLUTION OF THE THIRD STATE
But Louis XVI needed help in 1789. The
treasury was bankrupt after supporting
America in their revolution and fighting
against the English –the big enemy.
Louis had to raise money but he could
not tax the peasants or the bourgeoisie,
so he had to tax the privileged classes:
aristocrats and clergy.
Some of his illustrated ministers
advise him to do this, but as it was a new _________________________________________
measure he needed the support of the __________
assembly where all the classes or states _________________________________________
were represented. The States General
(los Estados Generales) advised the king on difficult decisions, but no French king had
called the States General in 179 years (the monarchy was absolute).
The States General used to vote as a class and usually, the clergy and the nobility
voted to support whatever the king wanted, so the vote of the third state did not
matter. Because of that, this time the third state or middle class argued that voting
should be "by head" rather than by class, because they had more or less the same
number of representatives than the first two estates combined. It was its only chance
to win. The arguments for and against were highly contested but finally the third state
that represented the bourgeoisie and the majority of the French people, got very
angry and left the palace where the States General were discussing and formed, with
some members of the others two states, a so called National Assembly.
The members of this National Assembly swore the Tennis Court Oath (el
Juramento del Juego de la Pelota), saying that they would not dissolve the
Assembly until a new Constitution was created.
King Louis has supported the idea of taxing the privileged classes, but now things had
gone too far and questioned his absolute power. An assembly and a constitution were
in contradiction with the ideas of Ancient Regime and Absolute Monarchy.
The new National Assembly gave hope to the poor in the towns and on July 14th 1789
they stormed and destroyed the Bastille - the King's prison in Paris. On July 14, 1789,
the middle class and workers of the town of Paris attacked the Bastille. People were
hopeful with the promises of changes and the end of privileges. They began to think
that the King had changed his mind and would dissolve the National Assembly. The
Bastille was a prison where weapons were stored. They wanted weapons to defend
the assembly but they attacked a symbol of the royal power as well. The third state
had showed its power. The French Revolution had begun.
Write a caption Write a caption
_______________________________________ ________________________________________
_ ________________________________________
"Men are born equal and remain free and equal in rights which are liberty, property, security
and resistance to oppression. Liberty is being able to do whatever does not harm others."
Part of the Declaration of the Rights of Man decided by the Assembly in August
1789. It gave liberty to men/ but not to women.
1.3. The French Revolution from 1789 to Napoleon (1799).
There had been peasant revolts since May. Throughout
the summer of 1789 there were riots, and rich houses
were attacked. This time became known as the Great
Fear. Many noble men tried to escape from France.
Most people still wanted a king, but one who was
controlled by the laws of the people -a constitutional
monarchy. The first measure taken by the National
Assembly was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen decided by the Assembly in August 1789
and the elaboration of a constitution that was finished
and come into force in 1791.
____________________________
Louis XVI was still the king of France but in a ____________________________
constitutional monarchy. The constitution established ________________________
the separation of powers (Montesquieu). The National Assembly was the legislative
body, the king and royal ministers formed the executive branch and the judiciary
(judges and courts of justice) was independent of the other two branches. On a local
level, the previous feudal geographic divisions were formally abolished, and the
territory of the French state was divided into several administrative
units, Departments.
Attitudes towards the King changed dramatically over the next few years because
the King tried to escape to join the foreign absolute kings that pretended to invade
France. They wanted to stop the French Revolution because it was a dangerous
example to their owns kingdoms and countries. Finally France declared war on Austria
in 1792. The King was considered as a traitor. The war went badly and caused
economic problems in France and the King became more unpopular and his palace was
attacked by the people of Paris and he was arrested and kept in prison.
In September 1792 France was declared a Republic
and a new calendar was established. The King, his
wife - Marie Antoinette- , many clergy and nobles
were executed.
France was now being ruled by an assembly called The
Convention. Different political groups took control
over the convention. The most radical leader of the
Convention was Robespierre who was the leader of
the political group of the so called Jacobines, a left-
wing revolutionary politics . He was very strict with the
_____________________________
___________
_____________________________
loyalty to the convention and set the so called “Reign of Terror” that was a was a
violent period from 1793-94 when more than 12,000 people were guillotined. Finally,
Robespierre was turned on by his own supporters that feared to be executed as well
and in 1794 the Convention voted for his arrest and he was executed.
In 1794 a lot of people of the Middle Class and the bourgeoisie were scared and
thought that the things had gone too far. The Revolution couldn´t go further, indeed
to step back was necessary. The poor had become too revolutionary and they were
now dangerous for the rich members of the third state. The Convention was leaded
now by a moderate group and later an executive power of 5 members was
established (the Directory – El Directorio).
2. NAPOLEON AND THE NAPOLEONIC EMPIRE (1799-1815)
2.1. Early Career
Bonaparte led successful campaigns against the enemies of
France during the French Revolution and because of that he
became very popular. He staged a coup d'état and installed
himself as First Consul, This occurred on the 9 th of November
1799, which was 18 Brumaire, Year VIII under the French
Republican Calendar; five years later, in 1804 the French
Senate proclaimed him Emperor. In the first decade of the
nineteenth century, the French Empire took part in a series of
conflicts—the Napoleonic Wars—involving every major
European power.
2.2. The Napoleonic and French Empire
After a lot of victories, France
secured a dominant position in
continental Europe and Napoleon
maintained the French sphere of
influence through the formation of
extensive alliances and the
appointment of friends and family
members to rule other European
countries as French client states.
Napoleon defeated Austria and
Russia at the battle of Austerlitz
(1805) and almost all of Europe
was under his control. The only
enemy left free was England.
France ruled over the continent but
Great Britain remained the big
Napoleon's Empire; by 1812 Napoleon directly
ruled or controlled most of Europe
power in the seas. Also in 1805, Admiral Nelson defeated Napoleon's French and
Spanish fleet at the "Battle of Trafalgar". Napoleon couldn´t invade or conquer Great
Britain so he declared against England the "The Continental Blockade" (bloqueo
continental). Because of this trading with England was forbidden. Most of Europe did
not like the system because they needed goods from
England.
After Napoleon found out that Russia had abandoned the
system he decided that it was time to invade Russia.
The French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning
point in Napoleon's fortunes. His Grande Armée was badly
damaged in the campaign and never fully recovered and,
subsequently, Napoleon's Empire began to fall to pieces.
Before of that, things also went badly in Spain for
Napoleon. The Spanish people didn´t accept the new
French king – Jose Bonaparte, Napoleon´s brother - and
they didn´t want to be ruled by a foreign power. The French Army was being defeated
by a popular army the “guerillas” and an English army that fought the French in the
Iberian Peninsula as well since 1808. In 1813 the return of Fernando VII to the throne
of Spain was being prepared.
In 1813, as well, England, Russia, Prussia, and Austria all allied as the Sixth Coalition to
fight against Napoleon and his army. At the "Battle of the Nations" in Leipzig,
Napoleon was forced to retreat in humiliation. The following year the Coalition
invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of Elba. Less
than a year later, he escaped from Elba and returned to power, but was defeated at
the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life under
British supervision on the island of Saint Helena.
2.3. Napoleon as a soldier and civil administrator
Napoleon has been considered a genius in war and peace matters. He was a
great soldier, Napoleon's campaigns are studied at military academies the
world over.
But emperor Napoleon proved to be an excellent civil administrator as well.
Despite the fact that his government was centralized and that he was
considered a tyrant by his opponents he tried to improve and modernize
politics in the areas he conquered. He granted basic rights and freedom of
religion through his Napoleonic Code (it still forms the basis of western civil
law).
In the states he created, Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced new law
codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments and fostered
education, science, literature and the arts. Napoleon also centralized France's
government by appointing prefects to administer regions called departments,
into which France was divided.