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Main causes of the French Revolution
There were different causes that produced this:
1) Changes because of the Enlightenment (division of powers and popular sovereignty).
2) The American Revolution, which created the first republic based on Enlightenment and was also discovered in Europe (fairer society).
3) Massive debts of France (King Louis XVI needed to raise taxes).
4) Bourgeoisie became richer in the 18th century (wanted political power).
5) 1788-89 there was a famine (cost of bread rose and bad riots). -
The women's march in Versailles
A big group of Parisian women walked twenty kilometers to Versailles to complain to the king about the price of bread. Thousand of people joined them including the National Guard. There was a confrontation between the crowd and Louis' guards and a few guards were killed. The Royal family had to accompany the crowd to Paris. When they reached Paris, they were forced to remain in the Tuileries Palace. -
The States General Of 1789
It was an assembly that represented three states.
- First state: three quarters of delegates were parish priests from the low clergy .
- Second state: both high-ranking nobles at the court and lower-ranking nobles from provinces.
- Third state: mainly people from the bourgeoisie and many lawyers. They were chosen by all male taxpayers over the age of twenty-five.
Each state had one vote, so the first and the second state could vote together to keep their privileges. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Estates General met in Versailles and the three estates were unable to agree on anything. The third estate created a new National Assembly to write a new constitution for france. It invited the other two estates to join the assembly and the first estate accepted. The soldiers stopped the meeting, so delegates went to a nearby tennis court. They promised to continue meeting until they had agreed to a new constitution. It is called the Tennis Court Oath. -
Storming Of The Bastille
Louis XVI was losing control, so he decided to cooperate with the National Assembly. Ordinary people of Paris celebrated, but things were very tense as food prices were still rising and there were frequent riots and Louis brought more soldiers to Paris to maintain order.
A crowd of people attacked the Bastille, which was a prison and soldiers who deserted from the army joined the crowd and all together freed the prisoners and killed the prison governor. The revolution began at this moment. -
The End Of Feudalism
Meanwhile, peasants in the countryside were starving, due to the poor harvests. There were rumours that the nobles planned to attack them, so the peasants formed militia to protect themselves and burned some manor houses. To calm the situation down, the National Assembly abolished the feudal privileges of the nobles and clergy. -
The Flight To Varennes
Louis tried to escape from Paris to create an army and take back power. He was helped by loyal French soldiers and his brother-in-law. When they were escaping, someone recognised Louis and they were stopped at a town called Varennes. They were sent back to Paris. This is called the Flight to Varennes. By trying to escape, he showed that he didn't support the revolution, so he was accused of treason and many people now wanted a republic. -
The French Constitution of 1791.
The Marquis de Lafayette wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen for the National Assembly. It was inspired by the Enlightenment and set out the rights of French people. Although he was a noble, he believed that all men, nobles and peasants, rich and poor, deserved the same basic rights. The declaration was included in the new constitution of 30 September 1791, which created a constitutional monarchy based on popular sovereignty and the separation of powers. -
End Of The Monarchy
In 1792, the revolution became much more radical. This was partly because France was now at war with the European monarchies. In August 1792, Prussia invaded France to defend Louis XVI's rights. In response they attacked the Tuileries Palace and killed hundreds of Louis' guards.
The sans-culottes suspected that there was a secret plan to restore the absolute monarchy, so they blamed the National Assembly, which was led by the Girondins. Now, the Jacobins took control of the situation. -
The Death Of Marat and The Reign Of Terror
In October 1793 the leading Girondins were put on trial for treason. They were found guilty and executed. This started the Reign of Terror.
Over the next year, around 40,000 people were executed without a proper trial. Some were suspected of opposing the revolution. Others were ordinary people accused of hoarding food. By July 1794 most of the leaders of the revolution thought that Robespierre was behaving like a tyrant. Finally, he was arrested and guillotined, which ended the Reign of Terror.