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The French revolution was a great event in the history not only of
France & Europe but of mankind as a whole. It gave to humanity new ideas of
‘Liberty, equality & fraternity’.
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The French revolution is the name given to the struggle which
swept away the old regime in France and brought about fund demented changes in
the socio – political set –up.
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This political upheaval began in 1789. King Louis XIV and his
successors had brought divine – right absolutism to the peak. The French king,
in the 18 the century, had unlimited powers. Opponents were put in prison
without trial.
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French society consisted of three estates or class. The first
(clergy) and second (nobility) estates were privileged in many ways. Members of
third estate = common nears (middle class, workers & peasants) were the
‘under dogs’. They made 90% of the population. Almost the entire tax burden
fell on third estate. But the privileged classes were exempted from these
taxes
.
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These undemocratic features of French society were sharply
criticized by able writers and thinkers like Montesquieu (1689 – 1775),
Voltaire (1694 – 1778) and Rousseau (1712 – 1778).
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The immediate cues of the French revolution were the bankrupt
condition of the French treasury brought about in part by the extravagant
expenditure and inefficiency of louses XV & Louis XVI.
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The French revolution started with the fall of Bastille fort. The
mobs in Paris attacked the Bastille on July 14, 1789, killed its governor and
freed the prisoners. This ancient fortress, where political prisoners were
kept, was the symbol of tyranny in France. Its capture aroused the whole
nation. Peasants in the provinces plundered and burnt several castles.
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‘Liberty, equality and fraternity’ became the watchword.
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Government in franc broke down, as royal officials fled and the
repel stopped paying taxes. The national assembly governed France from 1789 –
1791. It drafted a constitution which created a limited monarchy. Its preamble
was the famous declaration of the rights of man. All feudal rights were
abolished. Local government was reorganized. The old provinces were replaced by
83 departments. Church lands were abolished. The first republic was proclaimed on
sep. 21, 1792. King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette were beheaded on
the guillotine on Jan. 21 , 1793 and oct. 16, 1793 respectively on charges of
treason. Napoleon, after some time, emerged as the strong man of France.
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The French revolution ws an event of fundamental importance not
only for France but for whole of Europe and ultimately for the whole world. In
France, the revolution established the political supremacy of the middle class
in the towns and transferred the bulk of landed it represented an ideal of
popular sovereignty and equality before the it represented an ideal of popular
sovereignty and equality before the law.