Welcome to France in Revolution: 1774–1799

Hello future historians! This chapter is one of the most exciting – and challenging – in your syllabus. We are going to explore how France, one of the wealthiest and most powerful countries in Europe, descended into a dramatic revolution that changed the course of world history.

We won't just list dates; we'll analyze causes, track the shift from moderate reform to brutal radicalism, and look at the key moments when the French people decided they were done with monarchy. Don't worry if some concepts seem complex; we will break them down step-by-step!

Quick Start: Why does 1774 matter?

1774 is when Louis XVI ascended to the throne. He inherited a magnificent kingdom, but also a catastrophic financial mess and a deeply unequal society—the perfect recipe for disaster.

Section 1: The Foundations of Crisis – The Ancien Régime

The Ancien Régime (Old Order) refers to the political and social system of France before 1789. It was built upon profound inequality and privilege.

The Three Estates (The Social Pyramid)

The entire population was divided into three rigid legal groups, or Estates. This system was the fundamental cause of social tension.

1st Estate: The Clergy (Priests, Bishops, etc.)
  • Population: About 130,000 people (Less than 0.5% of the population).
  • Privilege: Owned 10% of the land, collected mandatory taxes called the tithe (a church tax).
  • Tax Exemption: They paid virtually no state taxes. They voluntarily offered a small sum called the *don gratuit*.
  • Analogy: Imagine them as the "Head Office" – they set the rules and are financially untouchable.
2nd Estate: The Nobility (Dukes, Counts, Landowners)
  • Population: About 350,000 people (Less than 1.5% of the population).
  • Privilege: Owned 25-30% of the land. Held nearly all key positions in the military, government, and courts.
  • Feudal Rights: They maintained archaic rights over peasants, such as charging rent, using the noble's mill, or demanding unpaid labour (the corvée).
  • Tax Exemption: Largely exempt from the main direct taxes, particularly the *taille* (land tax).
3rd Estate: Everyone Else (Peasants, Bourgeoisie, Workers)
  • Population: 98% of the population (around 27 million people).
  • Composition: Ranged from the poorest peasant farmers (80% of France) to urban workers (*sans-culottes*) and the wealthy, educated middle class known as the Bourgeoisie.
  • Burden: Paid almost all taxes, including the *taille*, the *gabelle* (salt tax), and various feudal dues to the nobility.
  • Political Exclusion: Despite their wealth and numbers, the bourgeoisie had virtually no political power.

Quick Takeaway: The Ancien Régime was fundamentally unstable because the group with the most wealth (the 1st and 2nd Estates) paid the least tax, while the group with the least power (the 3rd Estate) bore the entire financial burden.

Section 2: Intellectual and Financial Sparks

The Enlightenment (The Intellectual Spark)

The 18th century saw the rise of new philosophical ideas that challenged absolute monarchy and the traditional role of the Church. This movement was the Enlightenment.

  • Core Ideas: Reason, Liberty, Individual Rights, Separation of Powers, and Popular Sovereignty (the idea that political authority comes from the people, not God).
  • Key Thinkers:
    • Rousseau: Developed the concept of the Social Contract – rulers only govern with the consent of the governed.
    • Montesquieu: Argued for the separation of powers (Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to prevent tyranny.
    • Voltaire: Championed freedom of speech and religious tolerance.

Did you know? These ideas spread rapidly through salons, coffee houses, and affordable pamphlets, making them accessible even to the literate members of the 3rd Estate (the Bourgeoisie).

The Financial Crisis (The Deepest Cause)

By 1786, the French state was essentially bankrupt. This crisis was the immediate trigger for the Revolution.

Causes of Bankruptcy:
  1. Inherited Debt: Louis XVI inherited massive debt from Louis XIV’s expensive wars and extravagant court at Versailles.
  2. Foreign Wars: Costly involvement in the American War of Independence (1778–83) severely ballooned the debt (estimated at over 1 billion *livres*).
  3. Inefficient Tax System: The privileged Estates were exempt, meaning the government couldn't raise enough money, even if the economy was strong.
  4. Bad Harvests: Poor weather in the late 1780s led to terrible harvests, spiking bread prices (wheat prices rose by 60%). Bread was the staple food—making the poor desperate and angry.
Failed Reforms (The Finance Ministers)

Louis XVI appointed several finance ministers (like Turgot, Necker, and Calonne) who all reached the same conclusion: France must tax the privileged classes.

  • Calonne’s Plan (1786): Proposed a universal land tax that would apply to everyone, regardless of Estate.
  • The Refusal: The privileged classes vehemently opposed this. Louis XVI was too weak to enforce the changes himself.

Common Mistake Alert: Students often think the revolution was just about the poor. While poverty was crucial, the *financial crisis* and the *refusal of the nobility* to pay taxes are the political drivers that forced the King to call the Estates-General.

Section 3: The Path to Revolution (1787–1789)

The Assembly of Notables (1787)

Louis XVI called an Assembly of Notables (high-ranking nobles and clergy) to approve Calonne’s tax reforms. They refused, arguing that only the Estates-General—a national body that had not met since 1614—had the authority to approve new taxes.

  • This refusal marks the start of the ‘Revolt of the Aristocracy’—the nobility trying to regain power from the King.

The Estates-General (May 1789)

Forced by financial pressure, Louis XVI announced the calling of the Estates-General. Before it met, the 3rd Estate prepared their grievances in notebooks called Cahiers de Doléances, demanding fairer taxation and rights.

The Voting Deadlock (The Crucial Dispute)

The traditional method of voting was "by order" (each Estate received one vote).

  • If voting was "by order," the 1st and 2nd Estates (2 votes) could always outvote the 3rd Estate (1 vote).

The 3rd Estate demanded "voting by head" (every delegate gets one vote). Since the King had already doubled the representation of the 3rd Estate, this would give them a majority.

The King and Nobility refused to grant voting by head, leading to a complete deadlock.

The Formation of the National Assembly (June 1789)

On 17 June 1789, frustrated by the lack of progress, the delegates of the 3rd Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, claiming they represented the majority of the nation.

The Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789)

When locked out of their usual meeting hall, the Assembly moved to a nearby indoor tennis court. They swore the Tennis Court Oath, vowing not to disperse until they had written a constitution for France.

  • Significance: This act declared that National Sovereignty (authority) now rested with the representatives of the people, not the King. This was the true political start of the French Revolution.

Quick Review Box:
1787: Assembly of Notables refuses tax reform.
1789 (May): Estates-General called.
1789 (June): 3rd Estate forms the National Assembly.
1789 (June 20): Tennis Court Oath (Sovereignty shifts).

Section 4: The Popular Revolution and Reform (Summer 1789 – 1791)

The King tried to regain control by gathering troops around Paris. This fear, coupled with high bread prices, led to mass urban action.

The Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789)

Seeking weapons for their self-defence, Parisian crowds (mainly *sans-culottes*) stormed the medieval fortress and prison known as the Bastille.

  • Significance: While politically insignificant (it only held a few prisoners), the event was a massive symbolic victory over royal despotism. It showed that the people of Paris were prepared to fight and die for the revolution, forcing the King to recognize the National Assembly.

The Great Fear and August Decrees

Following the Bastille, panic spread to the countryside—this was the Great Fear. Peasants feared noble retaliation and attacked chateaux, burning the records that held their feudal obligations.

To restore order, the National Assembly issued the August Decrees (August 4, 1789), officially abolishing the feudal system, noble privilege, and tax exemptions. This meant the Ancien Régime was legally dead.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (DORMAC, August 1789)

The foundational document of the revolution. It outlined the natural, inalienable, and sacred rights of man, heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideals.

  • Key Principles: All men are born free and equal; sovereignty rests in the nation; liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression are sacred rights.

The Catch: Although revolutionary, DORMAC primarily benefited propertied men. It did not immediately grant rights to women or the property-less poor.

The Constitutional Monarchy (1789–1791)

The Assembly spent two years drafting a new constitution (finished 1791). France became a Constitutional Monarchy.

  • The King remained the executive but had limited power (a suspensive veto).
  • Elections were based on property (tax-paying citizens were "active citizens"; the poor were "passive citizens"). This ensured the Bourgeoisie maintained control.

Section 5: The Move to Radicalism (1791–1793)

The revolution began to split due to disputes over the role of the Church and the King’s loyalty.

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (CCC, 1790)

To address the financial crisis and assert state control, the Assembly confiscated Church lands and restructured the Church. Clergy were required to take an oath of loyalty to the state and were to be elected and paid by the state.

  • Outcome: This created a huge split. Those who took the oath were 'Juring' clergy; those who refused (backed by the Pope) were ‘Non-Juring’. This act alienated large parts of the devout Catholic peasantry and turned them against the Revolution.

The Flight to Varennes (June 1791)

Louis XVI, feeling imprisoned and powerless, attempted to flee Paris with his family to link up with royalist forces. He was recognized and captured at Varennes and brought back to Paris.

  • Significance: This was a mortal blow to the constitutional monarchy. The King had publicly betrayed the nation. For many, it proved he was a counter-revolutionary, making the idea of a republic (no king) far more appealing.

War and the Fall of the Monarchy (1792)

Monarchies across Europe (especially Austria and Prussia) feared the revolution would spread. France preemptively declared war in April 1792, believing war would unify the nation.

  • Brunswick Manifesto (July 1792): Austria/Prussia issued a threat stating they would destroy Paris if the royal family was harmed. This external threat backfired, confirming Parisian fears that Louis was collaborating with the enemy.
  • August 1792: Parisian *sans-culottes* stormed the Tuileries Palace (where the King lived). The King was officially suspended and imprisoned.

France transitioned from a Constitutional Monarchy to a Republic (the First Republic) in September 1792, led by the newly elected National Convention.

Section 6: The Reign of Terror and Robespierre (1793–1794)

Facing internal revolt (especially in the Vendée region) and overwhelming external war, the revolution became desperate and radicalized.

The Execution of Louis XVI

In January 1793, Louis XVI was tried for treason and executed by guillotine. This solidified France's status as a Republic but horrified other European powers, ensuring prolonged war.

The Committee of Public Safety (CPS)

To manage the crisis, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety (CPS), led primarily by Maximilien Robespierre. The CPS acted as the effective government of France, holding almost dictatorial power.

Key Actions of the Terror:
  1. Law of Suspects (September 1793): Allowed the swift arrest of anyone suspected of counter-revolutionary activity.
  2. Revolutionary Tribunal: A court set up to try and execute political enemies quickly.
  3. De-Christianization: Attempts to erase Catholic influence, replacing it with the worship of Reason or, later, Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being.
  4. Mass Mobilization: The *Levée en Masse* (mass conscription) effectively created a huge national army, turning the tide of the war by mid-1794.

The Logic of Terror: Robespierre argued that Terror was "justice, prompt, severe and inflexible" and necessary to protect the Republic and establish Virtue.

The Fall of Robespierre (Thermidorian Reaction)

By mid-1794, the immediate external and internal threats were receding. Many in the Convention feared they would be Robespierre’s next victims, particularly after he executed rivals like Danton.

  • On 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794), Robespierre was arrested and executed without trial.
  • The Thermidorian Reaction followed, leading to the dismantling of the CPS, the closing of Jacobin Clubs, and a return to more conservative Bourgeois rule.

Memory Aid: R-O-B-E-S-P-I-E-R-R-E = Reign Of Blood Ends System Persecution In Every Region Rapidly Executed.

Section 7: The Directory and the Rise of Napoleon (1795–1799)

The Directory (1795–1799)

After the Terror, the Thermidorians established a new constitution (Year III) creating the Directory—a five-man executive body.

  • Instability: The Directory was structurally weak, relying on annual elections and checks and balances that led to constant gridlock.
  • Corruption and Ineffectiveness: It was plagued by corruption and economic difficulties. It was constantly forced to rely on the military to suppress royalist and radical threats, which made the army incredibly powerful.

The French Revolution had created a political climate that valued military success and craved strong leadership to maintain stability.

The Coup of Brumaire (November 1799)

By 1799, a young, highly successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte had returned from military campaigns.

  • Recognizing the weakness of the Directory and the general public desire for order, Napoleon joined a political plot (led by Abbé Sieyès) to overthrow the government.
  • On 9–10 November 1799 (18–19 Brumaire in the revolutionary calendar), Napoleon used his troops to force the dissolution of the Directory.
  • Napoleon established a new government, the Consulate, with himself as the First Consul.

Significance: The Coup of Brumaire is generally considered the end point of the French Revolution. While revolutionary principles remained, the government had been replaced by a military dictatorship, prioritizing stability and order over revolutionary liberty.