Section outline

  • Key unit competence To be able to explain the causes and

    consequences of the 1789 French Revolution

    Introductory Activity 1.1

    Using the internet or the library research on the 1789 French
    Revolution and describe the characteristics of the Ancient regime

    before 1789.

    Introduction

    The French Revolution was a major transformation of the social and political
    system of France, from 1789 to 1799. This revolution transformed
    France from an absolute monarchy, where the king monopolized
    power, to a republic of free and equal citizens. The effects of the French
    Revolution were widespread, both inside and outside of France, and
    the revolution ranks as one of the most important events in the

    history of Europe.

    During the ten years of the revolution, France dismantled the
    old political and social system, and replaced it with a series of different
    governments. Although none of these governments lasted more
    than four years, the initiatives they took permanently changed
    France’s political system. These initiatives included the drafting of several
    bills of rights and constitutions, the establishment of legal equality for
    all citizens, introduction of representative democracy, incorporation of the
    Church into the state, and the reconstruction of state administration
    and the law code. All these have had far reaching effects on the

    whole World

    1.1. Causes of the 1789 French Revolution

    Learning Activity 1.1

    Using the internet or the library research on the 1789 French
    Revolution and describe the causes of the 1789 French

    revolution.

    The French Revolution of 1789 refers to social, economic, political and
    religious changes that took place in France. The changes included
    the removal of the ancient regime and the establishment of a new
    social order that was based on liberty, equality, and fraternity. The

    causes of the revolution are discussed below.

    Unfair political system of ancient regime

    The ancient regime in France was led by despotic kings. The
    administration was characterised by dictatorship, nepotism and
    abuse of human rights. The King’s powers were absolute and could not
    be questioned. He was the law and the law was himself, and that is
    why he once boasted “the thing is legal because I wish it to be”, “the

    state is myself!”

    There was no written constitution, no democracy, and no fair
    representation in the parliament. Even the King’s ministers had
    unlimited powers through ”lettre-de-cachet” (arrest warrant with
    imprisonment without trial), which caused a lot of suffering to the

    French people, forcing them to think of change and work towards it.

    Social class struggle

    French society was divided into three social classes; the clergy, the
    nobles and middle class with the peasants.

    The clergy and nobles enjoyed a lot of privileges. They owned large
    tracts of land, dominated the key government posts, and were

    exempted from taxes and military conscription. They were promoted 

    in the army; were entitled to education and were judged by special
    courts. They could collect tributes from the peasants, had the right to
    get pensions; the right to enjoy all forms of freedom; to stay in the King’s

    palace and the right to move with weapons in public.

    The peasants and the middle class were 23 million out of 25 millions,
    but were denied all sorts of freedom, subjected to forced labour, to unfair
    taxation, were imprisoned without trial, were denied promotion in

    the army and higher education.

    The middle class (bourgeoisie) was composed of teachers, lawyers,
    doctors, scientists and industrialists. Despite their education, they
    were excluded from top posts in the government and in the army.
    They also had to end money to the government and were not sure
    of recovering that money. By 1789, they had read and interpreted the
    work of philosophers, which opened the eyes of French people and

    forced them to fight against the ancient regime.

    Role of the French philosophers

    The philosophers were great thinkers who were highly educated in
    world affairs and put their ideas in writing, condemning the social,
    political and economic situation in France. They attacked and exposed
    the wrongs of French society and created the French Revolutionary

    spirit among the peasantry and middle classes.

    Unfair land ownership

    The land was unfairly distributed among the nobles and the clergy
    at the expense of the majority peasants. The Church also owned 20
    per cent of the land that it rented to the peasants. The peasants lived as
    tenants on the estates, landlord’s who also exploited them. This is why

    they demanded for reforms in the revolution of 1789.

    Unfair taxation system

    Before 1789, the taxation system of France was unfair. The poor
    peasants were forced to pay a lot of taxes like salt tax, property tax,
    road tax, tithe and customs duty; while the rich nobles and the clergy
    were exempted from taxation. The peasants were tired of this unfair

    taxation system rose up against the regime of the time.

    a. People lost confidence in the government and wished that
    it could be removed.
    b. When the government failed to pay back the money
    to the middle class, the people decided to remove the
    government.
    c. That crisis led to inflation and unemployment which
    forced people into the revolution.
    d. It forced the King to call the Estates General meeting in

    which the revolution started.

    Dismissal of the financial reformers

    Capable financial controllers, Turgot and Necker, were dismissed. This
    worsened the financial crisis in France. They had suggested reforms
    such as taxing the wealth of the nobles and the clergy, but the Queen
    advised the King to expel them because they criticised the financial
    mismanagement at the royal palace. This led to the revolution against

    Louis XIV in 1789.

    Character of Louis XVI

    He was the last King who ruled France from 1774 to 1793. He
    contributed to the occurrence of the French Revolution in the
    following ways:
    Louis was responsible for the financial crisis that hit France due to
    corruption, embezzlement and extravagance that characterised his reign.
    This created a revolutionary mood among the masses.
    He confined himself in the royal palace, which made him unpopular and
    he was always asleep or hunting during crucial meetings.
    He married a beautiful but less intelligent, arrogant and proud
    Marie Antoinette from Austria, a traditional enemy of France.
    Besides, she poorly advised the King hence committing blunders

    that resulted in the French Revolution.

    He signed a free trade treaty with Britain to allow her to sell her goods
    in France untaxed. This led to the collapse of local industries and generated
    a lot of hatred from the middle class who also joined the revolution

    against him.

    He lacked firmness and often shed tears during hot debates. He
    was inconsistent and that is why he was ill-advised by the Queen. To

    Frenchmen, Louis XVI was king in name but not in character.


    He involved France in the American War of Independence, which led
    to the bankruptcy of his regime and he failed to pay back the money

    borrowed from the middle class.

    Louis XVI of France was the grandson of king Louis XV and
    was married to Marie- Antoinette. Louis was considered
     a well intentioned but weak king. A heavy tax burden and court extravagance
    led eventually to a popular revolt against him and paved the way for
    the French Revolution. Louis was guillotined by the revolutionary

    regime in 1793.

    Influence of Marie Antoinette

    Marie Antoinette was a daughter of an Austrian Empress called
    Marie II Thérèse. She was hated by Frenchmen, more especially
    among the middle class, because she represented Austria which
    had supported Britain in the “Seven Years War” which led to the loss

    of French colonies in Canada and India.

    She was very insensitive to the problems of the French and that was
    why she, at one time, arrogantly told the peasants that: “let them eat
    cakes if bread is expensive” which angered the peasants during the
    French Revolution.

    She was also busy wasting taxpayer’s money on luxurious parties,
    giving a lot of gifts, employing about 500 servants and buying four
    pairs of shoes per week. This contributed to the financial crisis and

    led to the outbreak of the revolution.


    Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France who died on the guillotine
    in 1793 during the French Revolution. Her lavish life-style made her
    unpopular. Paying no attention to her country’s financial crisis, she
    refused to make any concessions to hungry mobs who marched
    on the palace in Versailles. Instead, she called out troops. Violence
    followed, and she and her husband, King Louis XVI, were imprisoned

    by revolutionaries and later executed.

    Influence of England

    England provided an example to French society. By 1750, she had
    modernised and had the best parliament, a good constitution and
    an independent judiciary as well as freedom of religion. In addition to
    a better political environment, England became a reference for
    political philosophers who based their arguments on Britain. Many
    Frenchmen desired the life of England and this fuelled the 1789

    French Revolution.

    Effects of American Revolution

    France participated in the American War of Independence to
    revenge against Britain. The French government, therefore, sent
    troops to America to fight the British. In 1776, the Americans defeated
    Britain. However, the war worsened the already alarming financial
    crisis in France and provided a practical example to the French that “if
    success could be obtained by the Americans, it could be obtained by

    the French as well”.

    Politically, the French soldiers who fought on the side of America came
    back with new revolutionary ideas and they were shocked to find
    out that the very conditions that America was fighting were present in
    France. General Marquis de Lafayette who was the commander of
    the French troops in America took the commanding role in the French

    Revolution.

    Natural calamities

    To make matters worse, from 1788 France experienced natural
    calamities, which led to the untold misery. In 1788 there was famine
    caused by poor harvests, and the poor taxation system, which

    prevented easy transportation of food.

    In early 1789 severe winter hit Europe leading to the freezing of many
    rivers in Europe; hence no fishing, transportation and employment.
    On top of that, in 1786 France had signed a free trade treaty with Britain,
    which caused suffocation of French industries as cheap goods from

    Britain flooded the French market.

    As a solution to the problems faced by the French, a revolution was
    looked at as an alternative.

    The estates General meeting of May 5th, 1789

    The above factors created a fertile environment for the revolution. It only

    needed an incident to spark off a great revolution. King Louis XVI 

    decided to call a meeting for all the three classes on Sunday May 5th,
    1789 in order to resolve the economic crisis. In attendance were 1,224
    delegates, including 308 clergy, and 295 nobles. Jacques Necker
    advised the King that the number of the third class members should
    be double because they represented the majority. That was why the

    third class members were 621.

    Trouble came when they failed to agree on the voting procedures
    where the King wanted the voting to be on class basis and their
    opinion was for one man one vote. The king being very weak, failed
    to control the situation and the third class members declared
    themselves the National Assembly. This marked the beginning of

    the French Revolution.

    Application Activity 1.1

    1. Referring to the era of enlightenment you studied in
    Senior Two, analyse the role of the French great thinkers
    to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and
    other causes of the French Revolution in general. Write
    down the results of your analysis to share with your
    classmates.
    2. Explain the political; economic and social causes of the

    1789 French Revolution?

    1.2. Effects of the French Revolution

    Learning Activity 1.2

    Using the internet or library research, identify and analyse the
    positive effects of the French Revolution in France and Europe.

    Thereafter, prepare a document to present to the class.

    Positive effects

    The 1789 French Revolution destroyed the Bastille and this

    symbolised the end of despotism on 14th July 1789.

    It revived the French parliament (National Assembly or General
    meeting on May 5th, 1789) which had last sat 175 years before in 1614.
    The revolutionaries succeeded in spreading the French Revolutionary
    principles of equality, liberty and fraternity beyond French borders.
    The French Revolutionaries passed a radical law known as “civil
    constitution of the clergy” which allowed freedom of worship in
    France and ended Catholic Church dominance.

    The national assembly produced a new constitution in November

    1791.

    The French Revolution ended feudal privileges on August 4th, 1789 in
    the assembly at Versailles. Land that belonged to the Catholic Church
    and the nobles was nationalised and given to the landless peasants

    at cheaper prices.

    It led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the citizen on August
    27th, 1789. The document abolished the social class divisionism
    which had existed in France during the Bourbon monarchy (ancient
    regime). This led to equality among French citizens, as it declared

    that all men were equal before the law.

    Multiparty politics was achieved in France with various political
    parties or clubs like Jacobins, Girondins, Feuillants, Montagnards and

    Cordoliers.

    The royalist guards were replaced by the national guard after the
    storming of the Bastille on July 14th, 1789.

    It ended dictatorship/despotism in France after the formulation of a
    new constitution.

    The revolutionaries introduced reforms in the education system.
    Polytechnic schools were built to train and produce skilled labour;
    secondary schools were built and old ones rehabilitated. This

    promoted efficiency in the education sector.

    Negative effects

    The French Revolution resulted in loss of lives and destruction of
    properties.

    The July 1790 the Civil Constitution of the Clergy passed during the
    made the Catholic Church and the state enemies.

    It damaged the diplomatic relations between France and her
    neighbours like Prussia, Austria, Russia and Britain due to the
    mistreatment of Louis XVI.

    The revolution inspired the outbreak of other revolutions like the 1830
    and 1848 revolutions in Europe that left a lot of lives and properties
    destroyed.

    It led to the disorganization of the map of Europe. This was done by France
    in her expansionist policy when it conquered Spain, Naples, German

    and the Italian states.

    It led to financial collapse and decline due to numerous wars that
    France fought with the rest of Europe. The reign of terror also led to
    financial collapse.

    It led to loss of lives. Many people died, mostly during the reign of
    terror as well as during wars between revolutionary France and her
    neighbours. People like Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and many others

    were killed by guillotine.

    It forced many people into exile in Austria, Russia, Prussia and Italy where

    they came to be known as the émigrés.

    Application Activity 1.2

    1. Find out three ways to explain how the financial crisis led
    to the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1789.

    2. The dismissal of the finance ministers led to the outbreak

    of the French Revolution. Explain this assertion.

    Unit summary

    The French Revolution broke out in 1789 against the ancient regime
    of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. It lasted about ten
    years, ending in 1799 with the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte.
    This revolution was mainly against the nature of the political regime
    under King Louis XVI. The revolutionaries were fed up with the social
    injustices under the ancient regime and all kind of unfair policies like
    unfair land distribution, unfair taxation, unfair political system, among

    others.

    The French Revolution of 1789–1799 had both negative and positive

    affects on French society, in particular and Europe in general.

    Glossary
    Bankruptcy: inability to discharge your debts
    Blunder: an embarrassing mistake
    Conscription: compulsory military service
    Dismantle: tear apart into pieces
    Guillotine: instrument of execution that consists of a weighted
    blade between two vertical poles; used for beheading
    people
    Lavish: very generous or characterised by extravagance
    Tithe: a levy of one tenth of something or an offering of a tenth part of
    some personal income

    Warrant: summons from a court commanding police to perform 
                        specified acts

    End of Unit Assessment

    1. Describe the characteristics of the ancient regime in
    France before 1789.
    2. Analyse the role of the French great thinkers in the
    outbreak of the French Revolution of 1789.
    3. Describe the social structure of the French society by 1789.
    4. Identify and analyse the positive effects brought by the
    French revolution to France and Europe.
    5. Examine the negative effects caused by the revolution
    which broke out in 1789 in the French society.
    6. To what extent were economic and financial factors
    responsible for the outbreak of the 1789 revolution in

    France?