The French Revolution

• 
  

  The French Revolution, which erupted in 1789 marked a turning point in the history of human struggle for freedom and equality. It put an end to the age of feudalism and ushered in a new order of society.

  
  

  This revolution brought about far reaching changes in not only French society but in societies throughout Europe. Even countries in other continents such as, India, were influenced by the ideas generated during this revolution. Ideas like liberty, fraternity and equality, which now form

  a part of the preamble to the Constitution of India, owe their origin to the French Revolution.

  
  

  
  

  Let us first examine some of the major aspects of this revolution.

  
  

  The Basic Picture of the French society: Division into Feudal Estates The French society was divided into feudal ‘estates’. The structure of the feudal French society comprised the ‘Three Estates’. Estates are defined as a system of stratification found in feudal European societies whereby one section or estate is distinguished from the other in terms of status, privileges and restrictions accorded to that estate.

  
  

  a) The First Estate consisted of the clergy, which was stratified into higher clergy, such as the cardinal, the archbishops, the bishops and the abbots. They lived a life of luxury and gave very little attention to religion. In fact, some of them preferred the life of politics to religion. They spent much of their time in wasteful activities like drinking, gambling, etc.  In comparison to the higher clergy, the lower parish priests were over worked and poverty-stricken.

  
  

  
  

  b) The Second Estate consisted of the nobility. There were two kinds of nobles, the nobles of the sword and the nobles of the robe. The nobles of the sword were big landlords. They were the protectors of the people in principle but in reality they led a life of a parasite, living off the hard work of the peasants. They led the life of pomp and show and were nothing more than ‘high born wastrels’; that is, they spent extravagantly and did not work themselves. They can be compared to the erstwhile zamindars in India. The nobles of the robe were nobles not by birth by title. They were the magistrates and judges. Among these nobles, some were very progressive and liberal as they had moved in their positions from common citizens who belonged to the third estate.

  
  

  
  

  c) The Third Estate comprised the rest of the society and included the peasants, the merchants, the artisans, and others. There was a vast difference between the condition of the peasants and that of the clergy and  the  nobility.  The  peasants  worked day  and night  but  were overloaded with so many taxes that they lived a hand to mouth existence. They produced the food on which the whole society depended. Yet they could barely survive due to failure of any kind of protection from the government. The King, in order to maintain the good will of the other two estates, the clergy and the nobility, continued to exploit the poor. The poor peasants had no power against him. While the clergy and the nobility kept on pampering and flattering the King.

  
  

  As compared to the peasants, the condition of the middle classes, also known as the bourgeoisie comparising the merchants, bankers, lawyers, manufacturers, etc. was much better. These classes too belonged to the  third estate. But the poverty of the state, which led to a price rise during 1720-1789, instead of adversely affecting them, helped them. They derived profit from this rise and the fact that French trade had improved enormously also helped the commercial classes to a great extent. Thus, this class was rich and secure. But it had no social prestige as compared with the high prestige of the members of the first and the second estates. In spite of controlling trade, industries, banking etc. the bourgeoisie had no power to influence the court or administration. The other two estates looked them down upon and the King paid very little attention to them. Thus, gaining political power became a necessity for them. The clergy and the nobility both constituted only two per cent of the population but they owned about 35 per cent of the land. The peasants who formed 80 per cent of the population owned only 30 per cent of the

  land. The first two estates paid almost no taxes to the government. The peasantry, on the other hand, was burdened with taxes of various kinds. It paid taxes to the Church, the feudal lord, taxed in the form of income tax, poll tax, and land tax to the state. Thus, you can see how much burdened and poverty stricken the peasants had become at this time. They were virtually carrying the burden of the first two estates on their shoulders. On top of it all the prices had generally risen by about 65 per cent during the period, 1720-1789.

  
  

  
  

  The Political Aspects of the French society:

  Like in all absolute monarchies, the theory of the Divine Right of King was followed in France too. For about 200 years the Kings of the Bourbon dynasty ruled France. Under the rule of the King, the ordinary people had no personal rights. They only served the King and his nobles in various

  capacities. The King’s word was law and no trials were required to arrest a person on the King’s orders. Laws too were different in different regions giving rise to confusion and arbitrariness. There was no distinction between the income of the state and the income of the King.

  1.4.3 The Economic Aspects of the French society

  The kings of France, from Louis XIV onwards, fought costly wars, which

  ruined the country, and when Louis XIV died in 1715, France had become

  bankrupt. Louis XV instead of recovering from this ruin kept on borrowing

  money from bankers. His famous sentence, “After me the deluge” describes

  the kind of financial crisis that France was facing. Louis XVI, a very weak

  and ineffective king, inherited the ruin of a bankrupt government. His wife,

  Queen Marie Antoinette, known for her expensive habits, is famous for

  her reply, which she gave to the poor, hungry people of France who came

  to her asking for bread. She told the people that, ‘if you don’t have bread,

  eat cake’.

  Now let us examine the intellectual developments in France, which proved

  to be the igniting force in bringing about the revolution.

  1.4.4 Intellectual Developments in France

  France, like some other European countries during the eighteenth century,

  had  entered  the  age  of   reason  and  ra  ionalism.  Some  of   the  major

  philosophers, whose ideas influenced the French people, were rationalists

  who believed that all true things could be proved by reason.

  
  

  Some of these thinkers were,

  
  

  Montesquieu (1689-1755),

  Locke (1632-1704),

  Voltaire (1694-1778),

  and Rousseau (1712-1778).

  
  

  Montesquieu in his book, The Spirit of the Law, held that there should not

  be concentration of authority, such as executive, legislative, and juridical,

  at one place. He believed in the theory of the separation of powers and the

  liberty of the individual.

  
  

  Locke, an Englishman, advocated that every individual has certain rights,

  which cannot be taken by any authority. These rights were :

  (i) right to live,

  
  

  (ii) right to property, and

  
  

  (iii) the right to personal freedom.

  
  

  He also believed  that any ruler who took away these rights from his people should be removed from the seat of power and replaced by another ruler who is able to protect these rights.

  
  

  
  

  Voltaire, a French philosopher, advocated religious toleration and freedom

  of speech. He also stood for the rights of individuals, for freedom of speech

  and expression.

  
  

  Rousseau wrote in his book,  The Social Contract, that the people of a country have the right to choose their sovereign. He believed that people can develop their personalities best only under a government which is of their own choice.

  
  

  
  

  The  major   ideas  of   these   and  several  othe r   intellectuals   struck  the

  imagination of the French people. Also some of them who had served in

  the French army, which was sent to assist the Americans in their War of

  Independence from British imperialism, came back with the ideas of equality

  of individuals and their right to choose their own government.

  
  

  The French middle class was deeply affected by these ideas of liberty and equality.

  
  

  This was the basic picture of the French society just before the Revolution.

  
  

  
  

  Now we will describe some of the major of the major events that took place during the Revolution.

  
  

  Important Events

  
  

  i) In France there was a parliamentary body called the Estates-General in which all the three estates were represented but which had met last in 1614. It was in 1778 that the King, Louis XVI, was forced to impose a tax on everyone irrespective of his or her social status. The French government had become bankrupt due to the extravagance of the King, as well as, the help that they had given to the Americans in their War of Independence.

  
  

  This imposition of tax led the rich nobles and the clergy to demand a meeting of the Estate-General, which they felt, was the only body, which could levy tax. The Estate-General met on May 5, 178, but in this meeting, unlike the earlier practice, the representatives of the third estate wanted all the estates to meet and vote as one assembly. But the first two estates did not agree to this.

  
  

  The refusal of the first two Estates to meet with the third Estate as a single body led to the formation of the National Assembly. The meeting of the National Assembly led by middle class leaders and some liberal minded nobles was met with stiff resistance. On 20th June 1789 when a meeting was to be held in the Hall at Versailles near Paris, the members found that it was closed and guarded by the King’s men.

  
  

  Therefore, the National Assembly members led by their leader Bailey went to the next building which was an indoor tennis court. It was here that they took an Oath to draw a new constitution for France.

  
  

  This Oath, which marks the beginning of the French Revolution, is

  popularly known as the Oath of the Tennis Court.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Storming of the Bastille

  ii) On July 14th, 1789 took place one of the most important events of

  the French Revolution. It was the storming of the Bastille, an ancient

  royal prison that stood as a symbol of oppression  On this date the mobs of Paris, led by some26 Early Sociology middle class leaders, broke open this prison and set its inmates free.

  The causes for this event were the shortage of food, on the one hand,

  and the dismissal of a very popular minister called Necker, on the other. The mobs of Paris rebelled against the ruling class, especially the King. This day is celebrated in France as its Independence Day.

  
  

  
  

  iii) Declaration of Rights of Man by the Constituent Assembly, (1789-

  1791), comprising the members of the third estate and some liberal

  minded members of the other two estates, guaranteed :

  
  

  *freedom of speech,

  *freedom of religion, and

  *freedom from arbitrary punishments.

  
  

  It abolished the special rights and privileges of the clergy and the nobility.

  
  

  The King was no longer to rule by Divine Right and several  important social and economic changes were brought about.

  
  

  According to this declaration ‘all men were born and remains equal before law.

  They have a right to choose their government and to resist oppression.

  Personal liberty becomes a right given to all individuals. Thus, the

  ideas of liberty and equality put an end to the age of serfdom, despotism

  and hereditary privileges found in the old feudal society.

  
  

  
  

  iv) In 1791 the king tried to escape from France but was recognised at

  the frontier and brought back. Since then he become a virtual prisoner.

  
  

  v) In Paris, the new Legislative Assembly (1791-1792) was formed. It

  comprised two very radical groups, namely the Girondin and the Jacobin. These groups considered the king a traitor and were in favour of establishing a Republic.

  
  

  vi) The King, Louis XVI, was beheaded in public on 21st January 1793

  after being proved guilty of treason. The Queen was also beheaded

  later in the same year. France was declared a Republic.

  
  

  vii) A period referred to as “Reign of Terror” took place in France when

  several of the nobles, priests, some of the revolutionaries themselves

  were guillotined i.e. beheaded. This period lasted for three years.

  
  

  viii) Establishment of the Directorate took place in 1795. It lasted for four

  years till a young artillery officer from Corsica, a neighbouring island,

  overthrew the Directorate in 1799. He was Napoleon Bonaparte. He

  made himself the new Director and provided a much sought after stable

  government to the people of France. Thus the French Revolution ended

  with the overthrow of the Directorate by Napoleon.

  You would have by now developed a rough idea of what the French

  Revolution was and how significant its role has been in the history of

  human civilisation. It changed the political structure of European society

  and replaced the age of feudalism by heralding the arrival of democracy.

  There were many significant themes, which arose due to the impact of this

  Revolution, which have been the focus of interest of the early sociologists.

  These significant themes included the transformation of property, the social

  disorder, caused by the change in the political structure and its impact on

  the economic structure. A new class of power holders emerged - the

  bourgeoisie. In order to understand more about these themes, we need to

  learn the details of the Industrial Revolution.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The Industrial Revolution

  
  

  The Industrial Revolution began around 1760 A.D. in England. It brought

  about great changes in the social and economic life of the people first in

  England, then in the other countries of Europe and later in other continents.

  In   Europe,   especially   England ,   the   discovery   of   ne w   territories ,

  explorations, growth of trade and commerce and the consequent growth of

  towns brought about an increase in demand for goods. Earlier goods (i.e.

  consumer items like cloth, etc.) were produced at domestic levels. This

  means that there existed a domestic system of production. With increased

  demand, goods were to be produced on a large-scale.

  
  

  
  

  New Invention

  During Industrial Revolution, new tools and techniques were invented,

  which could produce goods on a large-scale. During 1760-1830 A.D., a

  series of inventions in tools and techniques and organization of production

  took place and it gave rise to the factory system of production. Thus, a

  change in economy from feudal to  capitalist system of production

  developed. Subsequently, there emerged a class of capitalists, which

  controlled the new system of production.

  
  

  Due to this revolution society moved from the old age of hand-made goods to the new age of machinemade goods.

  
  

  This shift heralded the emergence of Industrial Revolution.

  
  

  One of the significant mechanical inventions, which led to a quicker and

  better method of production in various industries, was the Spinning Jenny,

  invented in 1767 by James Hargreaves, an English weaver. It was a simple

  machine rectangular in shape. It had a series of spindles, which cold be

  turned by a single wheel.

  
  

  In 1769, Arkwright, an English barber, invented another tool, which was named after the name of its inventor and called Arkwright’s Water Fame. This Water Frame was so large that it could not be kept in one’s home and a special building was required to set it up.

  
  

  
  

  Thus on account of this it is said that he was responsible for introducing

  the factory system. Another invention called “the Mule” was by Samuel

  Crompton in 1779 in England. There were several other inventions, which

  all contributed to the industrial growth of European society.

  
  

  
  

  Impact of the Industrial Revolution on Society

  
  

  With the change in the economy of society several social changes followed.

  As capitalism became more and more complex,

  *the developments of banks, insurance companies, and finance corporations took place.

  
  

  *New class of industrial workers, managers, capitalists emerged.

  
  

  *The peasants in the new industrial society found themselves with thousands

  of other people like themselves, winding cotton in a textile mill. Instead of

  the famous countryside they found themselves in unhygienic living

  conditions.

  
  

  *With the increase in production, population started increasing.

  
  

  *Rise of population led to the increased rate of urbanisation.

  
  

  *The industrial cities grew rapidly. In the industrial cities socio-economic disparities were very wide. The factory workers were involved in repetitive and boring

  work, the result of which they could not enjoy.

  In Marxist terms the worker became alienated from the product of his/ her labour.

  
  

  *City life in the industrial society became an altogether a different way of life.

  
  

  
  

  These   change s  moved both  conservative   and  radical   thinkers .  The

  conservatives feared that such conditions would lead to chaos and disorder.

  
  

  The radicals like Engels felt that the factory workers would initiate social

  transformation.

  
  

  Though the judgement of values differed, social thinkers of the time were

  agreed upon the epoch-making impact of the Industrial Revolution. They

  also agreed upon the importance of the new working class. The history of

  the period from 1811 to 1850 further indicates that this class increasingly

  agitated for their rights.

  
  

  
  

  Significant Themes of the Industrial Revolution

  
  

  The significant themes of the Industrial Revolution, which concerned the

  early sociologists, were as given below.

  
  

  i) The condition of labour: A new population earning their livelihood

  by working in the factories arose. In the early years this working class

  lived in poverty and squalor. They were socially deprived. At the same

  time they were indispensable in the new industrial system.  This made

  them a powerful social force. Sociologists recognised that the poverty

  of this class of workers is not natural poverty but social poverty.  Thus

  the working class became during the nineteenth century the subject of

  both moral and analytical concern.

  
  

  ii) The transformation of property: The traditional emphasis on land

  lost its value while money or capital became important during the

  Industrial Revolution. The investment in new industrial system came

  to be recognised. The feudal landlords became less significant while

  the new capitalists gained power. Many of these new capitalists were

  the erstwhile landlords.

  Property was one of the central issues that were raised in the French

  Revolution too. Its influence on the social order is considerable.

  Property is related to economic privileges, social status and political

  power. A change in the property system involves a change in the

  fundamental character of society. Sociologists have grappled with the

  question of property and its impact on social stratification since the

  days of Marx, Tocqueville, Taine and Weber.

  
  

  iii) The industrial city, i.e. urbanism: Urbanisation was a necessary

  corollary of the Industrial Revolution. Industries grew and along with

  it grew great cluster of populations, the modern towns and cities. Cities

  were present in ancient period too, such as Rome, Athens, etc. but the

  new cities, such as Manchester in England, famous for its textile, were

  different in nature. Ancient cities were known as repositories of

  civilised graces and virtues while the new cities were known as

  repositories of misery and inhumanity. It was these aspects of the new

  cities, which concerned the early sociologists.

  
  

  iv) Technology and the factory system:  Technology and the factory

  system has been the subject of countless writings in the nineteenth

  century. Both the conservative and radical thinkers realised that the

  two systems would alter human life for all times to come.29

  
  

  Shift from Domestic to Factory Work

  
  

  The impact of technology and factory system led to large-scale migration

  of people to the cities.

  
  

  Women and children joined the work force in the factories.

  
  

  Family relations changed. The siren of the factory seemed to rule peoples’ life.

  The machine rather than man seemed to dominate work. As mentioned

  earlier the relation between the labourers and the products of their labour

  changed.

  
  

  They worked for their wages. The product was the child of everybody and of the machine in particular. The owner of the factory owned it. Life and work became depersonalised.

Show older