French Revolution (1787-99) : IAS Prelims 2013 Answer Keys

French Revolution (1787-99)
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French Revolution
(1787-99)
American Revolution
Ethics Case Study: 3
Solution to Ethics Case
Emancipated by the romantic spirit of Enlightenment, the European society of 18th Century encountered
turmoil by the modern ethos. During this period in Europe two mutually exclusive forces of ideas tussled to
assert one over the other.
Study 2
Ethics Case Study 2
Ethics Case Study 1
One of these forces perpetuated the interests of absolute monarchy and

feudal privileges and was reactionary and status quoits in its tendency. The
other one was associated with the aspirations of the common man and was
radical and revolutionary in the nature. French Revolution manifested the
victory of latter and propagated the novel ideals like Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity which proved to be the cornerstone for the modern day popular
politics and institutions.
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Not only the French society witnessed an epic transformation after the
revolution but the whole world in general and Europe in particular got inspired by these ideals. French
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Revolution spread far and wide new principles of government, new ideas of social organization, new theories
of the rights of man, and was thus a challenge to the established customs and institutions of Europe.
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French society on the eve of the Revolution
IAS Test Series

Model Answers of IAS
Political and social system of France before the French Revolution was known as Ancien Regime or Old
Regime. Under the regime, everyone was a subject of the king of France. The king enjoyed absolute powers.
Apart from this every subject was the member of an estate and province. All rights and status flowed from the
social institutions were divided into three orders:
Mains Exam (Previous
1. Clergy (the First Estate)
Services Exam?
Year Papers)
How to begin your
preparation for Civil
Explanations For
2. Nobility (the Second Estate),

3. Commoners (the Third Estate).
Prelims 2012 Paper

Test Series for ias
Prelims
The Old Regime in Europe was based on authority, class privilege and absolute rule. There was no national
citizenship. One of the traits of this regime was the opulent, corpulent aristocrats enjoyed wealth, privilege and
the finery of life, while totally divorced from the masses of the France. In order to comprehend the essence of
revolution, it is necessary to understand the dynamics and attributes of these three Estates which stratified the
French society.
About Harappan Indus

Valley Civilization
About Civil Services
Exam
Fundamental Rights:
Right to Equality
Clergy: The First Estate
(Article 14-18)
Fundamental Rights:
Right to Freedom
The first estate was made up of the religious leaders who were in charge of the Church. While these
(Article 19 - 22)
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individuals made up only 1% of the total population, they controlled almost 10% of the land in France. This
Model Answer1 For
disproportionate access to property brought them a great deal of wealth from the products produced on the
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land and in the form of rent from peasants. The higher clergy monopolized all the lucrative Church offices but
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were quite indifferent to their spiritual duties. They were recruited from the younger sons of the nobility
(Second Estate) and they conducted themselves as typical men of the world.
In addition to keeping registers of births, deaths and marriages, the clergy also had the power to levy a 10%
JTS Institute
tax known
Banglore
as theJTS
tithe.
Institute
Principally, tithe was meant to run the day to day affairs of the Church. However, it was
often used to fund the luxurious lifestyles of those who belonged to the first estate.
The Nobility: The Second Estate

Nobility constituted of about 2% of the total population of France. The French Nobility contained the shadow
rather than the substance of the age old feudal system. In feudal times the nobility had certain special
privileges and exceptions from the taxation in lieu of the services they had to offer on behalf of the monarch at
provincial levels.
Gradually as the monarchy in France became centralized the local services were performed by the central
government and the associated officials. As a result the nobles were deprived of all their powers and duties.
Paradoxically in spite of being deprived of the powers and duties they continued to enjoy the privileges of
feudalism.
The nobles merely formed an honored class, holding a substantial portion of the land of the country, enjoying
the right of hunting and forestry to the injury of the peasants, exacting forced labour from them, enjoying
exemption from the Taille or property tax, monopolizing all the offices in the army, navy and the Church,
without being called upon to perform any services to the state.
It was the continuance of privileges without any corresponding duties that provoked the annoyance of the
peasants when they were subjected to the feudal exactions of the nobles. Hence as Professor Lodge remarks,
the Revolution was directed not against the feudal system but against the effect survival of parts of that
system.
The commoners: The Third Estate

The Third Estate which was the commoners represented 95 to 97% of the population. The people of the
Third Estate were the backbone of the country. They paid the largest share of the taxes, yet had very few
privileges and had little to no influence on the Monarch.
Unlike the other two Estates, the third estate was not a homogenous body. It comprised of the bourgeoisie or
the upper middle class, the artisans, the bankers-merchants-lawyers-doctors-journalists-professors and the
peasants.
The condition of the peasantry which formed by headcount the largest section of the French population was
most deplorable. The peasants had to pay rent to their feudal lord, tithes to the Church and taxes to the king.
The whole burden of taxation fell with overwhelming weight upon peasants.
Role of King Louis XVI in Revolution

Burbon dynasty ruled over France prior to the French Revolution. King Louis XVI who ruled over France
during the revolution was inexperienced, dull, timid and indecisive. He lacked the capacity to govern and to
take decision at the time of need. His indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of
France eventually to view him as a symbol of the perceived tyranny and his popularity deteriorated
progressively. Louis XVI wanted to prop the decaying economic structure of France but he too failed because
his royal spouse Marie Antoinette was a wastefully extravagant lady.
The monarchy lacked to courage to face the resistance from the aristocracy and take away some of their
special privileges which had proved to be detrimental for France. In the words of a famous historian, Louis
XVI made the revolution inevitable as he was unable to solve the question of privilege; it was not strong
enough to overthrow the remains of feudalism.
The taxation system

The system of taxation in France before the revolution was grossly erroneous and regressive. It was
unreasonable and interwoven into the complex web of discrimination, nepotism and favoritism. The first two
estates (First and second) were exempted from taxation although these two had disproportionate access to
the assets and land. On the other hand incidence of tax burden fell heavily on those who belong to the Third
Estate. Ironically in the regime the rich who were financially capable to support the state paid the least, while
the poor who were already over-burdened were crushed under the weight of discriminative taxation.
The oppressiveness of taxation became further coersive by the method of its collection. The State often sold
the right of collection to private individuals who paid a lump sum to the Government and then collected the
taxes at exorbitant rates to extract maximum from the commoners. This inequality in taxation and its
oppressiveness resulted into the most decisive cause for the Revolution.
The role of Philosophers in French Revolution

While the material base of the French Revolution was prepared by the inherent contradictions in the Ancien
Regime and various contemporary political and socio-economic factors galvanized the situation. The
ideological base for the Revolution was prepared by the writings of philosophers like Montensique, Volatire
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and Rousseau.
Some historians are of the view that the role of philosophers should be estimated with caution. A debate has
raged amongst historians about the extent of the impact of the Enlightenment had on the outbreak of the
French Revolution. According to this view, the philosophers of 18th century never preached revolution. Also
the views of various philosophers related to the revolution vary to a great extent and lacked uniformity. These
philosophers represented the interests of the middle class and did not favor democracy or republican
government. They envisaged separation of powers, end of special privileges for the first and second Estates
and constitutional monarchy.
Middle Class Thinkers

The thinkers of middle class envisaged separation of power, end of special
privileges for the first and second Estates and constitutional monarchy. These
ideals are best suited for the interest of the middle class. On the other hand ideals
like democracy and republicanism do not reflect the interests of middle class but
that of the lower class.
Middle class thinkers envisaged limited franchise for the middle class only.
Nonetheless democracy and republicanism are based on the principle of head
count which best suits the interests of lower class.
But the fact that the philosophers did not directly preached the revolution does not undermine their role in the
outbreak of the revolution. These philosophers had questioned the very foundation and the principles on
which the Ancien Regime rested. They vehemently opposed absolute monarchy the special privileges of the
First and Second class.
In nut shell the Revolution was the outcome of stark realities, but it could not be denied that without the help
of Enlightenment could never have arisen.
Role of American Revolution

American Revolution implicitly kindled the French Revolution in the following ways:
Ideals like Equality, Liberty and No taxation without Representation symbolized the very crux of the
American Revolution. These modern ideas inspired the whole world and also France
French Soldiers participated in American Revolution against the British forces with the Continental
army of the 13 colonies in America. When they came back victorious after the American Revolution
they were enthralled with the ideals of patriotism, liberalism, equality and limited monarchy. Many of
the soldiers started to believe that if they can help Americans to gain independence from an
oppressive regime, the same could be replicated in their motherland as well.
The cost that France had to incur for participating in the American War of Independence was
herculean. This made the king Louis VI bankrupt and put the country under tremendous fiscal
imbalances. As the corrective measure the king Louis VI wanted to make some rectifications in the
taxation regime which triggered the revolution.
Economic causes: the trigger to Revolution

Population explosion
France witnessed a population explosion in 18th century. In 1789 the population of France was about 27
million which was about 8 to 10 million more than in 1700. This growth in French population was without a
simultaneous growth in food production. It is estimated by the modern researches that during this period the
peasants around Paris consumed over 80 percent of what they grew. Therefore if the harvest fell by around
10 percent, which was common, people went hungry. There was insufficient government planning and storage
of grain for emergency shortages. The revolution was triggered by these shortages because it made the
peasants want more land, money and power.
The role of Burbon Kings

When Louis XVI came to power he was crowned with a legacy of recurring series of costly wars since the time
of Louis XIV, corrupt extravagance of the court and a state of chronic financial deficits. In simple words the
French government each year was spending much more than its aggregate revenues.
A grave situation had arrived before Louis XVI before revolution. The Third Estate was already overburdened
with taxes therefore could not be taxed further. At this time the First and Second Estates could be taxed by the
king, however there was a lot of resistance from the nobility and clergy because of their vested interests. As a
result of his weak and timid character, King Louis XVI lacked the guts and fervor to face this antagonism from
nobility and clergy.
To make matters worse France had to face Seven Year War and helped the revolted American colonies
against England. French involvement in the American Revolution proved to be very costly affair for Louis XVI.
Although the arch rival Britain was successfully defeated in this was, but this happened on the virtue of state
exchequer. The King became bankrupt after this war.
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Poor harvest
As discussed in the previous sections of this chapter the bulk of French population during that time was
heavily dependent on agriculture and farming. In the years 1787 to 1789, terrible weather, heavy rain, hard
winters and too hot summers led to three very bad harvests years in France.
The poor harvests and inadequate arrangements by the government to tackle the situation resulted in scarcity
of food and high inflation rate. As the income and hence the purchasing power of the bulk of population
decreased during this period the consumption and the demand of the goods also followed the similar trends.
This resulted in large scale unemployment.
Bread and meat were the two most important constituents of the daily diet of the people of France. As the cost
of flour began to rise people were left to starve, unable to afford bread anymore. Starving peasants begged,
borrowed, and stole, poaching on the hunting preserves of the great lords and attacking their game wardens.
The concern over meat and bread in Paris erupted in a riot in April 1789. This ultimately became an important source of
revolt.
"Let them eat Cake"

"Let them eat cake" is a traditional and common, although incorrect,
translation of the French phrase "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche", supposedly
spoken by "a great princess" upon learning that the peasants had no bread.
The phrase reflects aristocratic stupidity and the fact that members of Royal
house of France were completely ignorant of the ground realities.
The course of events

Estates General
The King Louis XVI faced the grave economic crisis in 1789. He couldn't raise more taxes and didn't have the
power to find the money he needed to govern. The extravagant lifestyle of royal family and frequent
involvement in wars had made him bankrupt. To prevent impending bankruptcy Louis XVI was forced to
summon the States-General in the hope of finding a way out His last chance was to call for the meeting of the
Estates-General in May 1789. It was the proof of kings surrender to aristocracy. This appeal to the people
after about a couple of centuries showed that absolutism had failed. It sounded the death knell of the Old
Regime and led to the first step in the Revolution.
A fundamental question that arises here is that: Why didnt the king at such a grave juncture went for the
option to tax the First and Second Estates and end their special privileges? It should be understood that the
special privileges formed the bedrock of the philosophy on which the Ancien Regime was based. By ending
the special privileges for the first two estates the king would have attacked the very basis of the Old Regime
which provided legitimacy for his rule as well.
What was Estate General?

Estates-General was the legislative assembly of the three Estates. It functioned
as an advisory body to the king, primarily by presenting petitions from the
various estates and consulting on fiscal policy. The Estates-General met
intermittently until 1614 and rarely afterwards, but was not definitively
dissolved until after the French Revolution. In this assembly each Estate (and
not the representatives) had single vote.
The basic weakness of this assembly was discriminative representation. The
third Estate which constitute of 95 to 97 percent of French population had single
vote like the First and Second Estates which represented the interests of the
miniscule population. During that time the voting according to the head count
was not in vogue.
The Estates General met at Versailles and Louis XVI hoped that the agenda discussed would mostly be
traditional and financial. The representatives of the other hand demanded the end of absolute monarchy.
However the representative of the different Estates had different views about the policy related taxation. The
representatives of the third Estate envisaged uniform taxation for all the people of France irrespective of the
Estate to which they belong to. This also meant end of all special privileges of first and second Estates. On
the other hand, the representatives of the first and second Estates were not ready for this as they had vested
interests.
There were also differences among the representatives of different Estates about the manner of voting. The
representatives of first and second Estates wanted that the vote of every Estate should be counted separately.
In doing so they wanted to outvote the third Estate by 2:1. On the other hand, the representatives of the third
Estate wanted voting on the basis of head count. They wanted that the individual vote of the representatives
present in the Estate General should be counted. The divergent views related to the voting procedure created
a deadlock in the assembly.
Tennis Court Oath
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Unable to resolve the deadlock related to the voting procedures in

th
the Estate General on June 20 1789 the representatives of the

third Estate had to face an alarming situation. They were locked out
of the Assembly hall of the Estate General. The representatives
were shocked to discover that the chamber door was locked and
guarded by soldiers.
The representatives of third Estates gathered in the nearby Tennis
Court under the leadership of Mirabeau. In the Tennis Court they
took a solemn collective oath "not to separate, and to reassemble
wherever circumstances require despite the royal prohibition, until the constitution of the kingdom get
established. The third Estate also declared itself as the National Assembly.
The oath connoted political legitimacy derived from the will of people and their representatives rather than
from the monarch himself. Their solidarity forced Louis XVI to recognize the National Assembly and ordered
the clergy and the nobility to join with the Third Estate in the National Assembly.
Fall of Bastille
Your Majesty. They have stormed the Bastille! exclaimed King Louis XVIs aide. Is this a
revolt? asked the king. No, sire, its a revolution.
National Assembly dominated by the third Estate made Louis XVI apprehensive. On the other hand since the
meeting of the States-General the revolutionary feeling had grown, alike among the delegates and among the
citizens. The king committed a serious mistake this time when on the advice of his wife, Queen Marie
Antoinette, he dismissed his minister of finance, Jacques Necker who was the most popular minister at that
time. This angered the people because they thought that he could have ameliorated France's economic
problems.
In this surcharged atmosphere there were rumors of deployment of royal troops by Louis XVI to capture Paris.
These rumors further increased the anger of the mob. The mob then decided to capture the Bastille for the
gunpowder and to plunder the arsenals. . The Bastille was a symbol of brutality and totalitarian power. A new
form of municipal government was formed at Paris and a city militia called the National Guard was organized
to maintain order.
This fall of the Bastille, July 14, 1789, is considered the Declaration of Independence of the French people,
who now celebrate its anniversary.
Abolition of feudal privileges

The fall of Bastille had huge psychological impact on the cities, towns and villages across France. In the rural
areas, the Revolution took the form of rising against the feudal privileges. The peasants across the France
participated actively in the risings against the nobles. The palaces and castles of nobles were attacked by the
mob and the records of their feudal services were destroyed.
The display of radicalism of this kind by peasants the feudal privileges of the nobles startled them. In the
landmark session of the National Assemble on 4th August 1789, the nobles voluntarily surrendered their feudal
rights and privileges. All the class distinctions in the French society were abolished and the principle of
Equality was adopted. In other words the uniform taxation came into vogue and the state offices were now to
be filled on the basis of merit which was earlier exclusively filled by the first and second Estates.
The prima facie task before the National Assembly at this juncture of the Revolution was to draft a new
constitution of France. The National Assembly hereafter came to be popularly known as Constituent Assembly.
The New Constitution

The new Constitution was adopted in 1791 in France. The new Constitution of France overthrew the absolute
monarchy and marked an end of the last relics of the feudalism in the French society. The principle of Equality
was adopted which marked the end of the Estates.
The following were the salient features of the new constitution
1. A constitutional monarchy was established in France and the sovereignty resides in the people.
2. The Declaration of Rights was the integral part of the new Constitutions which proclaimed that all men are
free and equal in rights.
3. The legislative powers and the executive powers were rigidly separated. The king was made the head of
the executive, while the legislative power was entrusted to the legislative assembly. The Legislative Assembly
was to be elected limited by the limited franchise.
4. The bishops and priests were made equivalent to state employees who were to be elected by popular
votes.
The Legislative Assembly met on the first day of October, 1791, in accordance with the provisions of the new
constitution. It was composed of 745 members. As per one of the provision of the new constitution, the
members of the Constituent assembly were not allowed to contest for the Legislative Assembly, as a result the
assembly got flooded with the new members who lacked qualities like political experience and statesmanship.
This was a grave danger especially in view of the fact that many of the new members were infected with the
extreme views of the republicanism.
Parties and Clubs in Legislative Assembly
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The members of the Legislative Assembly soon started to organize themselves into parties on the basis of the
political ideology and vision. The following were the major parties and their respective ideologies in the
Assembly:
1. There was a group of members of the Assembly which supported constitutional monarchy, with limited
powers to the king. They came to be known as Constitutionalist. They wanted to retain the monarchy with
the limitations imposed on the power of the king.
2. The Girondists, were moderate republicans in the Assembly. They had a theoretical outlook towards the
state. They had a strong faith in the revolution but disfavored the repeated appeals to use brute force.
3. The Jacobins were the extreme section of the radical republicans in the Legislative Assembly. They
wanted to achieve their final goal i.e. France as a republic by any means; legal, extra legal or illegal. Unlike
Girondists they were not against the use of force.
War with other European countries

The neighboring countries of France were alarmed by the intensification of the ideas pertaining to the
republicanism and constitutional monarchy during French Revolution. Nearly all the European countries during
that time (except Britain) had the absolute monarchy as the form of government. The ideas like equality, liberty
and fraternity propagated by the French Revolution was against the vested interests of the absolute monarchs
of the neighboring states.
The principles which the Revolutionist proclaimed were general in their application and so they tended to
subvert the existing order in every European country. The Declaration of Rights mentioned in the new
constitution was made in context of the people of the whole world and not just for France. The revolutionaries
in France were growing increasingly propagandist and want to unite the people of other countries as well
against the absolute monarchy. It was this fear of the spread of revolutionary principles to their own dominions
that bound together the powers of Europe against France.
The two major contemporary powers of Europe i.e. Austria and Prussia issued the Declaration of Pillnitz and
declared war against France. The motto behind the declaration of war was to restore Louis XVI to his rightful
authority. Robespierre and the Jacobins were opposed to this war. However for Girondisteds war was an
opportunity that would insure the permanence of the new order and propagate revolution abroad.
End of Monarchy
After the Prussia and Austria declared war against France, initially the French forces had to face grave
reverses against the combined forces. The undisciplined French troops suffered serious defeats at the hands
of Austro-Prussian armies in the initial phase. The Revolutionary leaders put the blame of these defeats on the
monarchy. In the public meetings the Revolutionary leaders rhetorically blamed Louis XVI to be sympathetic to
the cause of the Austria and Prussia. Hence the republican orators denounced the king as a tyrant and as the
instigator of the French defeats.
As the belligerent combined forces of Austria and Prussia approached the capital the ambience got
surcharged further. In Paris the mob led by the Jacobins (the Mountain) overthrew the former municipal
government of Paris and organized a new Commune or the City Council. This Commune now controlled Paris.
Under the utmost pressure of the Commune, the Legislative Assembly had to pass the orders to suspend the
monarchy. A National Convention was conveyed to work out new constitution.
It was under the pressure of the Jacobians that the newly elected convention abolished kingship and set up a
republic. Foreign war was thus the immediate cause of the fall of the monarchy in France. Hence it has been
correctly said that the republic in France in 1792 was the result of two factors the Prussian invasion
and Parisian Jacobinism.
The growing influence of Jacobians also indicated the fact that the leadership of the Revolution which was
initially in the hands of middle class or bourgeoisie was now hijacked by the radical lower class represented by
Jacobins and Paris Commune. This radicalized the revolution and later enhanced the violence component in
the Revolution.
Under the influence of Jacobians a mock trial of the king was held he was declared guilty of high treason. He
was also charged to be involved in the conspiracy against the liberty of the Nation. He was sentenced to
death and executed of the guillotine on January 21, 1793.
The Reign of Terror

As the danger from the Austria-Prussian invasion to France increased, the political ambiance got surcharged.
At such a juncture the radical forces in the Revolution got intensified. The leadership of the Revolution at this
time was hijacked by Jacobians and the Paris Commune. It was the interests of the lower class that was
represented by these two. Hence the leadership of the revolt slipped from the hands of the middle class to the
lower class. As mentioned above the motto of Jacobians was to convert France to a republic at any cost. They
advocated the use brutal force against the enemies of the Revolution in order to achieve their political goals.
A National Convention was conveyed after the execution of Louis XVI in order to draft the new constitution for
France as the executive head of the earlier constitution i.e. the king was publically humiliated and executed. In
the Convention the stalemate between the Jacobians and Girondist delayed the new constitution. During this
time Jacobians along with the Paris Commune became very powerful.
At this time there were two main enemies of the Revolution i.e. the army of foreign invaders and the counter
revolutionaries who wanted to restore back the feudal privileges and monarchy in France. Jacobians tackled
the two enemies of the Revolution by handling the situation with an iron hand.
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In order to counter the foreign invasion, a large army was required. In order to achieve this, for French youth
military service was made compulsory. The youths were hurriedly trained and were sent to check the
advances of the hostile nations. By 1793, France had 770,000 soldiers. By this large army the First coalition
against France suffered a crushing defeat.
To tackle the counter revolutionaries, a Committee on Public Security was constituted. Any person even
suspected to be in alliance with the counter revolutionaries was executed by the Committee. This Committee
was headed by Robespierre. During this period thousands of people were executed as they were suspected
to be in alliance with the counter revolutionaries. There were many innocent people who lost their life as they
were suspected as the enemies of Revolutions. This came to be known as the Reign of Terror. It is estimated
that during the Reign of Terror about 17000 people lost their life.
It is said about this phase that Revolution started devouring even its own children (i.e. innocent people). Apart
from the innocent people at times the loyal revolutionaries were executed for opposing Jacobians being
termed as the enemy of Revolutions.
By 1794, it was realized reign of terror was no more required. The foreign powers were defeated and the
counter revolutionaries were suppressed. Many Jacobian leaders too favored this idea; however Robespirre
was not ready for this. He wanted to concentrate all powers in his hands by continuing the reign. The reign of
terror came to an end after various Jacobian leaders themselves worked behind the scene and accused
Robespirre for curtailing liberty of the people and executed him. The end of reign of Terror along with
Robespirre is known as Thermidorian Reaction. The middle class regained the leadership of Revolution
after this.
The Rule of Directory

The National Convention drafted a new constitution in 1795. It was realized that concentration of executive
power in a single hand (as in the case of Robespirre during reign of terror) could be detrimental for the public
liberties. Thus the new constitution provided the executive power in the hand of Committee of five directors.
These directors remained in power from 1795-99. This period is also known as Rule of Directory.
The directory was unable to solve to provide substantial solutions to the problems of France. The counter
revolutionaries and the royalists started to raise their ugly head. The inflation was rampant. The condition of
working class deteriorated under the rule of directory. In 1797, the partial bankruptcy was announced. The
directory failed miserably in terms of foreign policy. Under such conditions the rule of directory was criticized
and the stage was all set for the Napoleon to ascend to the power.
Ascendency of Napoleon
The changes that France encountered during the Revolution which foresee replacement of absolute monarchy
by alternative popular arrangements were very novel for the French society. From 1789 to 1799, three
governments in succession ruled France. Many of the basic problems remained unsolved. People were
gradually fed up with the political uncertainty and instability. Above all the reign of terror has created pathos in
the mind of people. The common man in France by the beginning of the nineteenth century wanted peace and
order in France.
The ineffective fiscal policy and the feeble external policy of Directory exposed their weakness in front of the
public. The rise in inflation and the devaluation of currency further aggravated the hardship of masses. At this
juncture the public of France was willing to get rid of these difficulties even at the cost of some of the ideals of
the Revolution.
At the same time brilliant military victory of Napoleon made him the National Hero. People started to look at
Napoleon as somebody who can be the panacea for the sufferings of French public.
The policies of Napoleon at that time fulfilled the aspirations of various groups of the French society. The
middle class at this time wanted peace and order. The peasantry wanted to secure the grains they have
cultivated so far. The counter revolutionist wanted to restore back the monarchy. Thus various groups readily
accepted the ascendency of Napoleon as a monarch even though it compromised on the ideals of Revolution
like Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Napoleon as the Child of the Revolution

The material conditions for the ascendency of Napoleon as the emperor of France were created by the
Revolution. It was impossible for a commoner like Napoleon to even think of sitting on the throne of France
while the Burbon kings were ruling France prior to the Revolution. The Revolution ended the absolute
monarchy and privileges of the first two Estates. The governmental offices after the Revolution were to be
filled on the basis of merit which earlier used to be the monopoly of first two Estates. Based on his merit,
capabilities and military valor Napoleon was seen as a national hero, this played a crucial role in his
ascendency.
Finally the hardships and the sense of insecurity that people faced as the aftermath of Revolution during the
reign of terror and the ineffective rule of Directory, created a void in the politics of France. Napoleon
successfully filled this void.
Ironically, even though Napoleon can be considered as the Child of Revolution, yet in some ways his
ascendency reversed the ideals of the Revolution. The Revolution got triggered with the end of the absolute
monarchy. However the rise of Napoleon restored the monarchy back in France.
The Continental system and its Effects

Napoleon desired to conquer whole world. The biggest hurdle in realization of this dream was the arch rival
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Britain. Britain maintained a strong navy which France could not match with. The extensive trade links of
Britain with different countries was one of the prominent reasons for her being powerful.
Napoleon sought to bring England to terms by indirect means, by ruining her trade and commerce upon which
her power depended. He envisaged that the closure of every continental market to British goods would be a
fatal to Britain.
France declared a blockade of the British Isles and forbidding all commerce with them. All British goods were
ordered to be seized. He later also declared that any ship of any country which should touch at a British port,
was liable to be seized and treated as a prize. This is called as Napoleons Continental System. At Tilsit he
secured the adhesion of Russia to this scheme of destroying Englands trade.
Napoleons Continental System proved more detrimental for France vis--vis Britain. As the British fleet
controlled the seas, no colonial goods could be obtained except through British vessels. English commerce,
though put to enormous disadvantage, went on as it was prior to the arrangement, but that of the continental
states under French rule ruined. The result was that the prices of the necessaries of life went up enormously
and the greatest sufferers were the inhabitants of the Continent.
As a consequence the subject allies of France became discontented with Napoleon and his rule became
hateful to the mass of the population. The continental system was one of the great blunders of Napoleons. In
order to enforce this system, he had to adopt a policy of organized aggression upon continental countries,
which led to a succession of costly wars, exhausting his resources in men and money.
Significance of Napoleonic rule for Europe

The ascendency of Napoleon as the emperor of France proved to be a landmark event for France as well as
for whole Europe.
1. Before the ascendency of Napoleon in France, the common man in France was in the grip of number of
hardships. The political instability and fiscal imbalances had intensified the sufferings of the common man.
The rule of Napoleon for 13 years i.e. stabilized the economy and created peace and tranquility in the
country.
2. His reforms were guided by the ideals of Revolution like Equality and Fraternity.
3. Napoleon dealt with the Pope as a seasoned statesman. His Concordat with Pope in France satisfied
various aspirants and urges of public. By this Catholicism was recognized as religion of the great majority of
the French people. The Catholic Church was reestablished but with limited powers.
4. Napoleon defeated various European countries. Therefore, he not just safeguarded the borders of France
but also took the ideals of the revolution beyond the boundaries. During his wars he propagated the ideals of
the Revolution.
5. The rule of Napoleon in France initiated a new epoch political, judicial and administrative reforms. His
Code Napoleon inspired the judicial system of France and other European countries. This code was the
greatest contribution of Napoleon.
Phases of the Revolution

The third Estate, which constituted about 95 to 97% of French population and was the chief architect of the
French Revolution, was not a homogeneous group. Rather, the third Estate represented a number of vested
interests, under currents and ideologies. However, the absolute monarchy and the privileges enjoyed by the
first two Estates were the common enemies of this third Estate. For the sake of better understanding the
French Revolution can be divided into four phases based on the character of leadership along with the
changes that were envisaged.
The majority of population in the third Estate was that of peasants and artisans i.e. those belonging to the
lower class. On the other hand, initially the leadership of the Revolution was in the hand of middle class or
bourgeoisie leaders and thinkers. There were clear cut cleavages in the demands and aspirants of the lower
and middle classes. Lower class envisaged a republican constitution, universal franchise and equitable
redistribution of property in the French society. In contrast to this middle class envisioned a society based on
constitutional monarchy, limited franchise, property rights to be legitimized by the state and the government
offices to be filled on the basis of merit and not patronage. The aspirations and demands of lower class were
much more radical in nature.
Based on the fact that which class dominated the leadership and its respective agenda the French Revolution
can be divided into the following four phases:
Phase
Year
Stage
Details
Phase I
1789-92
Moderate
Constitutional Monarchy, constitution drafted for France,

end of feudal rights and privileges, Declaration of the
Rights of Man, Civil Constitution of the Clergy, government
to be run by elected officials
Phase II
1792-95
Radical
Monarchy abolished and Republic created, universal male

franchise, King executed for treason, Reign of Terror" by
Committee of Public Safety (Robespierre)
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Phase III
1795-1804
Reaction
Phase IV
1804-15
Napoleaonic Era
5-man Directory created to share power with National

Assembly, Moderates regain control
Napoleon crowned himself as emperor of France. Some of
the ideals of the revolution passed into the oblivion.
Why did Revolution occurred in France and not

elsewhere?
The contemporary political and socio-economic conditions of the other countries in Europe were no different
than France. Rather the material well being of average French men was better than their neighbors. The
condition of French peasantry at that time was much better than their counterparts in Prussia. In France the
political power of the feudal nobility had been hijacked. However, in other European countries like Germany
the nobles possessed enormous authority. The monarchs of the countries like Prussia and Russia were
equally despotic as their French counterparts. So there was nothing exceptional in the character or in the
extent of the grievances of the French people. Thus a natural question that arises here is that then why did
Revolution occurred in France and not elsewhere?
It was the inequality and unequal taxation in the French society which proved to be the death row for the
Ancien Regime in France. In France those belonging to the First and Second estates enjoyed certain rights
and privileges without corresponding onuses and duties. The political power of the French nobility was
destroyed much before the French revolution. The rights and privileges without duties appeared to be
unwarranted and irrational. The privileged classes being more or less exempt from taxation, the burden fell all
the more heavily on the common people,, thus the rich who could support the state paid the least, while the
poor who were already over-burdened were crushed with the weight of taxation.
The revolution occurred because the middle class in France was enlightened and conscious of its rights. This
class was well exposed to the doctrines and philosophies of thinkers like Montesque, Volatire, Rousseou etc.
These thinkers highlighted the fallacies of the Ancien Regime and were hypocritical about the rights and
privileges enjoyed by the upper two Estates. This middle class had deep hatred for the exclusive privileges
and status of the nobles many of those were much inferior to them in terms of wealth and knowledge. This
class gave the leadership to the French revolution. Hence the motive force of the Revolution was not intensity
of the sufferings of the French people but a new unwillingness to submit to the anomalies of Old Regime.
Significance of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was the momentous event in history of France, Europe as well as world. Various
modern day states and development agencies are guided by the principles professed by the French
Revolution. The significance of the Revolution can be estimated as follows:
1. The Revolution initiated a new political culture in France based on core values of the nation, citizen
representative and democratic ethos. The ideals like Liberty, Equality and Fraternity propagated by the
French Revolution have become the cornerstone of the modern day welfare sates and constitutions. The
Preamble of Indian constitution also explicitly mentions these values.
2. The Revolution marked an end to the absolute monarchy in France and paved the way for popular
and representative institutions which represent the mandate of people.
3. After the Revolution the aristocracy was stripped of its privileges and no longer maintained a
dominant social status. The French Revolution was able to annihilate the feudal system by removing any
trace of feudalism.
4. The malpractices of Church and higher clergy were checked by the Revolution.
5. The Revolution abolished the feudal system and brought upon a new way of living, capitalism, which
is still practiced today throughout Europe.
6. The Revolution also resulted in the growth of nationalism in the European countries. The Napoleonic
wars aroused the feelings of nationalism in the countries which were conquered by him. The people of
many countries viewed Napoleon as instrumental in promoting the ideals of Revolution and replacing
absolute monarchy. Hence he was welcomed in various countries that he conquered. However the
despotic rule of Napoleon soon demystified the people and as a reaction against the despotic rule they
got united. This again helped in giving momentum to feelings of nationalism. Thus paradoxically the
nationalism aroused because of the result of the Napoleonic wars and the reaction against them.
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