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The French Revolution Lec 1

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22 views23 pages

The French Revolution Lec 1

Uploaded by

Vishal Rangnani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The French
Revolution
Lecture – 1 (By Reema Ghai)
Introduction
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On the morning of Bastille Day, 1789, the city of


Paris was in a state of emergency.

The king had commanded the army to move into


the city.

Rumours unfold that he would shortly order the


army to open fire upon the citizens.

Men and women both decided to form people's


militia and broke into several government
buildings in search of arms.
Introduction
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The Bastille's commander was killed and the


prisoners were released.

The Bastille was hated by all as it stood for the


autocratic power of the king.

The next day Paris and the countryside both saw


extreme turmoil. The general public was
protesting about the high value of bread.

This led to a chain of events that ultimately led to


the execution of the king in France
French Society During the Eighteenth
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Century

During the eighteenth


century the French Society
was divided into three
groups. These groups were
called estates. The three
types of groups were - First
estate, Second estate and
Third estate.
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First estate
Clergy belonged to 1st estate of then French
Society. Clergy were the group of persons who
were invested with special functions in the
church, e.g. fathers, and other members of
church.
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Second estate
Nobility belonged to 2nd estate of then
French Society. Nobility was hereditary and
hence a person could get nobility by birth.
However, new members were also awarded
nobility by monarchy after paying heavy
taxes or outstanding service to the
monarchy, i.e. nobility could be purchased
also.
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Third estate
The 3rd estate of then French society was further divided into three
categories. Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers,
etc. belonged to the first category of 3rd estate. Peasants and
artisans belonged to the second category. And small peasants,
landless labours and servants belonged to third category, and were
considered as the lowest class in the society. Members of the third
state had to pay all types of taxes including tithes and taille. Clergy
and Nobility were privileged class. They had certain special
privileges; in addition to feudal privilege. They were exempted from
paying any types of taxes. They paid feudal taxes extracted after the
members of the third estate.
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Tithes
A type of tax collected by churches which was collected
from peasants in the eighteenth century French Society.

Taille
A type of direct and indirect tax which was paid to the
state by members of third estate in French Society in the
eighteenth century. Taille was levied on items used for
daily consumption, such as tobacco, salt, etc.
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Livre
Unit of currency of France. This was discontinued in
1794.
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1. French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century


Louis XVI, who belonged to Bourbon family of kings,
became the ruler of France in 1774.

By that time; long years of war, maintenance of the court


of the immense palace of Versailles made the treasury
empty.

In addition to this; helping during the war to the thirteen


American colonies to gain their independence from
Britain by Louis XVI raised the debt of treasury to more
than 2 billion livers.
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Lenders to the state also started charging 10 percent of


interest on credit to the state; this further worsened the
situation of the society.

Thus, in order to maintain those expenses, state was forced to


increase taxes which increased the anger among the members
of the third estate.

On the whole, members belonging to third estate were


oppressed class and had to bear all the burden of all types of
taxes.
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The Struggle to Survive


Increase of population from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million
in 1789, increased the demand of food grains.

Poor production of food grains, frequent draught or hail,


diseases, epidemics, further worsened the situation.

This resulted in increase in the price of bread which was


staple diet of majority. Wages of worker did not keep the
pace with price rise.

This increased the gap between poor and rich. These things
led to subsistence crisis for the majority as poor were not
able to meet the required price to purchase even bread.
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A Growing Middle Class Envisages and End to Privileges to


Certain Class

In the eighteenth century, many persons who belonged to third estate


and earned their wealth through overseas trade and manufacturing
goods, were termed as middle class. It was a new social group, which
also comprised of court officials, lawyers and administrative officials.

Peasants, labours, had been participating in revolts against increase in


taxes and food scarcity for long time, but because of lack of means
and concrete programmes they did not bring any change to the
society. Thus bringing the change about the social and economic
order in the society was left to the middle class. People of the middle
class were also oppressed at that time, as they had to pay taxes and
meet the demands of clergy and nobility.
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A Growing Middle Class Envisages and End to Privileges to


Certain Class

People of Middle class were educated and believed that no privilege


should be given by birth, rather position of a person in society should
be merit based.

Philosophers, such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau were


envisaging a society based on freedom, equal laws and opportunity
for all. The freedom of thirteen colonies in USA from Britain based on
such ideas; strengthened the thoughts of then philosophers who
mainly belonged to middle class. The ideas of guarantee of individual
rights became one of the important examples among the political
thinkers and then philosophers of France.
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Refuting the doctrine of divine and absolute right of the


monarch was the main idea of Locke which was made public
in his Two Treaties of Government.

Rousseau proposed the idea to form a government based on a


social contract between people and their representatives.

Montesquieu gave the idea of division of power within the


government among the legislative, the executive and the
judiciary in his The Spirit of the Laws.
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These ideas of then philosophers and political thinkers


began to spread far and wide among people.

People started discussions to bring the change in society


as well as government based on those ideas.

Such discussions began to take place in salons, coffee


house, etc. Many books were published based on
those new ideas.

Some persons used to read those books and newspaper


aloud among people at public places so that those
who could not write or read could also become aware
of them.
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Spreading of ideas of freedom and news of further plans


of Louis XVI to increase the rate of taxes and
imposition of some other new taxes increased the
anger among people.

This resulted protest against the government, its system


and privileged class in the form of revolt.
Ques: Explain all estates societies.
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Ans:
(a) First Estate – Clergymen
• Exemption from paying taxes
• Collected taxes called tithes from peasants

(b) Second Estate – Nobility


• Collected feudal dues from the peasants
• Enjoyed other privileges

(c) Third Estate – Peasants, artisans, merchants and professionals


• Peasants paid tax to the church known as tithes; had to work in the
house of the feudal lords
• Had to serve in the army
• Had to participate in building roads
• third Estate had to pay a tax known as taille and taxes on consumer
goods such as salt and tobacco
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Ques: What were the causes for the empty treasury of France
under Louis XVI?

Ans:
(a) Expenditure on war such as participation in American War Of
Independence against Britain strained the resources

(b) Payment of high interest on loans by the State

(c) Heavy expenditure on the maintenance of palace at Versailles

(d) Expenditure on maintaining an army, courts, government


offices
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Ques: What was the role of philosophers during French


revolution?
Ans: (a) John Lock
• Wrote a book Two Treatises of Government
° Disproved the theory that the ruler was the representative of
God and thus could enjoy absolute authority over the people

(b) Jean Jacques Rousseau


• Proposed social contract between people and their
representatives to form the government

(c) Montesquieu
• Wrote a book The Spirit of the Laws
• Proposed division of powers within the government between
executive, legislature and judiciary
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END OF LEC-1

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