Summary

World History Class 06

THE CLASS STARTED (IN CONTINUATION) AT (01:13 PM):

FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789-1815) (01:15 PM):

Revolution against the unjust & unequal society rather than a revolution against the monarchy.
French Revolution may be defined as a violent reaction to the questions & the challenges posed by the Age of Enlightenment in 18th-century Europe.
Character & Nature of The French Revolution:
1) With the revolution history of Europe had become the history of one nation, one event & one country, one man.
The country was France the event being French Revolution & the man Napoleon.
With the revolution France become the main center for revolutionary ideas & institutions.
In other words, whatever happened in France continued to influence Europe for nearly 100 years.
2) French Revolution is the 'Mother of All Revolution' in the sense that it inspired the Spanish Revolution and the 1830 & 1848 chain of French Revolutions.
This apart from all the great Philosophies, individualism, Liberalism, Universalism, Romanticism & Socialism were all the products of the French Revolution.
3) This revolution formed everywhere in France in the streets, palaces on the battlefields, and in restaurants. France as a country got completely influenced by the idea of the French Revolution.
A type of revolution with that intensity never happened before or after.
4) The other unique aspect of the revolution was 'mob participation', illiterate, highly violent mobs entered the city of Paris and with them, the Revolution started.
In no other evolution do we find mob participation of this kind.

CAUSES FOR FRENCH REVOLUTION (02:43 PM):

It was a Revolution against the 'unjust social order' & 'inequal' French society than a revolution against 'absolutism'.
French society was highly divided and compartmentalized as a society with extreme inequalities.
Revolution was essentially against extreme inequality.
The society was divided into three estates: 'Clergy', 'Nobility' & 'Commons'.
Clergy consisted of the upper section of the feudal & Church officers they were the most privileged section of the society enjoying all the important posts in the administration exemption from taxation & punishments.
Nobility consisted of lower sections of the Church. The two estates not even one percent of the French population controlled the resources of France.
The third estate consisted of the middle classes, peasantry & Serfs (bonded laborers).
Middle class was educated, dynamic & progressive, and opposed privileges & concessions given to the first two estates.
Peasantry of France was worst affected as the land they cultivated was not their land and belonged to the feudal lords.
Tax burden was maximum upon the peasantry, they paid the taxes called Tithe tax, Taille, etc.
Added to the tax burden the natural calamities added more problems to the peasantry.
By the time the Revolution started it was estimated that French peasantry was left away not even 20% of their produce.
The most important factor for the revolution was constant the failure of the crops in the years 1787, 1788, and 1789.
These situations combine to form a Revolutionary scene in France.
The lowest section was Serfs (bonded laborers) giving domestic services to their lords.
Politically French monarchy discredited the monarchy. It lost its power & popularity.
The ruling dynasty was known as Burbons defeated in the war against Russia, Spain & England.
The monarchy continued to enjoy continued power.
In French administrative systems:
a) no uniform currency.
b) No uniformity in weights & Measures.
c) No uniform civil administration.
French society being feudal lost area to area.
Evil practices like Simony (selling out of Public Officers) & Pluralaity(holding more than one office) virtually ruined the French administrative systems.
In France it was anarchy that prevailed in the name of the administration

OTHER REASONS FOR THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (03:37 PM)

(1) Monarchy of France was called the Bourbons, a discredited monarchy.
They were interested in enjoying only absolute power and not in the welfare of the people or the subjects
A discredited monarchy because it wasted the resources of France and was defeated in all the wars against Austria and England
(2) The administrative system of France was rotten to the core.
France had no rule of law, and class differed from area to area.
(3) No uniform currency, weights, and measures.
(4) The evil practices in the political system were 'Simony and Plurality.'
Simony means purchasing and selling the public office.
Plurality means holding more than one office at a time.
Financial Reasons For the French Revolution:
Problems with the French economy itself- an economy with extreme inequalities.
(1) The rich and well-off sections were exempted from taxes.
Whereas the middle class and the poor peasantry were made to bear the maximum burden.
(2) Revenue Farming system, a system of deciding revenue collection rights in a locality gave scope for maximum exploitation.
(3) Feudal class never accepted development.
Role Of Philosophers:
France was the country with the maximum philosophers of the time making it the center for their activity or teaching.
(1) Voltaire was the first among the philosophers called King Voltaire for his proficiency.
He was the first to question the moral and ethical rights of the church in collecting taxes from the people.
He appealed to human reason and faculties of judgment in understanding the realities by drawing a comparative study between royal absolutism of French monarchy and democracy in England.
He caught the imagination of the French people.
He wrote the famous ''Letters on English''
(2) Montesquieu in his famous thesis ''The spirit of laws'' questioned the purpose of the law and advocated for the ''Theory of Separation of Powers.''
For him law must address itself as the problem of the society than reflecting the customs and traditions.
(3) Rousseau was the most influential thinker and philosopher in the French Revolution in his famous ''Social Contract'', Rousseau emphatically declared that the ultimate right resides with the people in either creating or destroying political institutions.
He called it Popular Sovereignty or General Will.
There Rousseau was a Democrat.
He was equally a socialist when he questioned inequalities in society in his famous text ''A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality.''
Rousseau was a humanist when he talked about absolute freedom and liberty.
(4) Denis Diderot wrote ''Encyclopedia'' in which he gave new definitions for social and political ideas and institutions in the light of Enlightenment.
(5) French economists called Physiocrats also generated new ideas.
They opposed the concentration of wealth and monopolies.
For them everyone must have equal opportunity and accessibility to the resources of the country.
In other words they also supported private property.
However, the revolution was not the result of philosophers or their teachings.
Revolution would have taken place even without philosophers as revolutionary conditions were satisfied already as France was in a deep financial crisis and crops failed for 3 consecutive years.
For the French peasantry, it was a do-or-die struggle.
No philosopher asked for revolution.
(3) Revolution had not started with the educated middle class but rather with an illiterate mob that was not influenced by philosophers.
However, the role of philosophers can not be denied.
They were not a cause for revolution but they influenced the course of the revolution with their ideas.
Immediate Cause Of The Revolution:
It was Emperor Louis XVI's summon of Estate General, the French parliament.
Work Of The National Assembly.
It was the first stage of the French Revolution. (1789-1791).
Estate General, the legislative assembly of the French Parliament was summoned after 175 years.
The third estate, the Estate of Commons demanded converting Estates General into National Assembly, a single-chambered assembly and vote by head not by estate.
When the demands were rejected, the revolutionaries took an oath on the tennis court.
Mobs entered the city of Paris creating a violent atmosphere.
On 14th July 1789, the fall of Bastille had taken place.
Estates General was converted into National Assembly.
The work of the National Assembly was:
(1) To draft a new constitution for France.
(2) It recommended the evolution of feudalism and feudal privileges.
(3) The practice of buying and selling public offices ended.
(4) The lands of the church were nationalized.
(5) The monumental work of the national assembly was drafting the ''Declaration of the Rights of Man & Citizen.''
It borrowed the concept from the American Revolution.
At the same time inspired by Rousseau.
In the new constitution drafted Montesquieu's Theory of Separation of Powers, dividing power between the legislature, executive, and judiciary was implemented.
New Constitution:
(1) A new legislative assembly with 745 members was provided to be elected for 2 years.
(2) King was declared the chief executive and was given suspensive veto power.
(3) For judicial reforms, the national assembly postponed the issue, however, it provided for uniformity in the application of laws.
(4) France was divided into 83 districts of equal size called departments further divided into cantons and communes.
(5) Officers to be appointed.
(6) To overcome the financial crises, a minted currency called Assignnats was introduced against the nationalized landed property as the guarantee.
(7) Church was subordinated to the state.
All church officers were to be appointed and paid salaries.
Church of France to maintain its identity from the control of the Pope.
Critical Assessment Of the National Assembly:
It was not completely by the revolutionary slogans- ''Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.''
Work was done:
(1) People were divided into Active citizens and Passive citizens going against the spirit of equality.
2/3rd of the French population was eliminated from the decision-making process.
(2) Revolution offended the sentiments of French people, who were majority Catholics, and the priestly classes.
(3) The minted currency Assignauts finally led to inflation.
However, the national assembly did have great achievements to its credit.
Achievements:
(1) Age-old feudalism was abolished.
(2) A sense of social equality was provided.
(3) Human rights were guaranteed.
(4) Public offices were opened for merit and talent.
(5) The unjust tax system ended and tax according to the ability became the guiding principle.
Work Of The National Convention:
On September 21st, 1792, National Convention was officially formed.
The main purpose of the convention was to protect the French Revolution from its internal and external threats.
It came to power to save France from the monarchies of Europe represented by Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia.
It defeated the coalition of monarchies, saved France, and introduced a series of reforms:
(1) It made France a republic.
It ended the monarchy and France emerged as the First Republican state in Europe and 21st September 1792.
(2) The concept of Nationalism took a concrete shape for the first time under National Convention.
France became the first European country to have a full-fledged Nationalist army consisting of only the French.
(3) Language French was declared the official language of France.
(4) A new calendar was introduced for the entire of France with 3 weeks in a month.
(5) Slavery was banned in France and French colonies.
(6) Women were given the Right to Property for the first time.
(7) Law of Primogeniture was set aside.
All children are declared equally eligible for inheriting property.
(8) No criminal punishment for defaulters, providing relief to workers and the peasantry.
Radical reforms of the National Convention were:
(1) Land was distributed to the landless.
For the first time right to have property became a reality in France.
(2) Law of Maxims was passed under which essential goods were provided for every family at subsidized rates.
These reforms appeared to make France heading toward Socialism.
Undoubtedly France became the first country to implement the principles of Socialism, though not by conviction.
A new constitution was drafted for France called the Directorate with 5 directors for internal administration and to deal with external challenges.
The negative side of the National Convention was:
(1) The 'Reign of Terror' it created in the name of saving the revolution.
Under the National Convention, the revolution became a bloodthirsty revolution.
It caused a tremendous loss in terms of men and materials.
What prevailed in France in the name of revolution was virtually anarchy.
(2) Executing the royal family was a grave mistake committed by the revolutionaries.
It continued to create a constant source of conflict between France and its neighboring countries.
In other words, a struggle between the forces of Revolution and Reaction started in European history.
(3) It was an irresponsible act on the part of the National Convention in forming a directorate of 5 directors without providing them with clear direction regarding the principles and policies of the administration.
In a way, National Convention itself gave scope for Napolean to capture power.

TOPICS OF THE NEXT CLASS: Continuation of the explanation the of above topic.