The French

Revolution
Lecture - 1
Introduction
On the morning of Bastille Day, 1789, the
city of Paris was in a state of emergency.

The king had commanded the army to

manoeuvre 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
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
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.
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. fatters, and
other members of church.
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. sobility could be
purchased also.
 Third
The estate
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.
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.
Livre
Unit of currency of France. This was
discontinued in 1794.
Livre
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Table of contents

01 02
Introduction Evolution
Here you could Here you could
describe the topic of describe the topic of
the section the section

03 04
Analysis Conclusion
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the section the section
Ques: Explain all estates societies.
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
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
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
The outcome of French Revolution
• In order to pass the proposal to raise taxes Louis XVI called an
assembly of the Estates General.

The estate general was a political body to

which the three estates sent their
representatives respectively.

• The monarch alone can decide when to call a meeting of this

body.

• The last time it was done was in 1614.

• On 5 May 1789, 300 representatives from each of the first and second
estate and 600 from the third estate, a total 1200 representatives,
gathered in a splendid hall for the assembly.

• Representatives of first and second estates were seated in two rows

while representatives of third estate had to stand at the back.

• Representatives of third estate were educated and more prosperous

and they believed to represent the whole people of France.

• Peasants and labours were not allowed in that assembly; however

about 40,000 letters regarding their grievances were carried by
representatives of third estate.

• According to principle of the monarch each estate had one vote.

Louis XVI wanted to apply the same practice this time also.
 But representatives of third estate did not agree on this,
they wanted voting assembly as a whole and wanted
each of the representatives to have only one vote.

 Louis XVI rejected this new proposal. As a result, all the

representatives of the third estate walked out of the
assembly in protest.
 National Assembly: Third Estate

The representatives of the 3rd estate

viewed themselves as spokesmen for
the whole French nation.

On 20th of the June they gathered in an

indoor tennis court in Versailles, where
they declared them as National
Assembly and took an oath not to
disburse till the new drafting of a
constitution of France under the
leadership of Mirabeau and Abbe
Sieyes.
Mirabeau belonged to noble family and Abbe Sieyes was a priest to the church.

In spite of that they believed in the need of a privilege free society.

There, they delivered powerful speeches regarding the need of new constitution
and equal opportunity to all.

Abbe Sieyes, wrote an influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?
That very year harvest was badly affected because
of severe winter. This increased the price of bread.

Hoarding of supply by bakers made the situation

more critical. One day after long hours in queues,
anger broken into women and they stormed the
bakery.

At the same time troops moved to Paris to

suppress the turmoil.

In retaliation, crowd destroyed the Bastille. A rumor

spread that an order had been given to troops to
destroy the crops.
STORMING
OF
BASTILLE
 BASTILLE REVOLT

01 02
14 July, 1978- In the countryside
Agitated crowd rumours spread that lord
stormed and of the manor hired bands
destroyed the of brigands who were on
their way to destroy the
Bastille.
ripe crops.
03 04
Freedom of the press; Caught in a frenzy of
opposing views of fear, peasants in several
events could be districts seized hoes
expressed. and pitchforks and
attacked chateaux.
 Chateaux

Chateaux Manor
Caught in a frenzy of
fear, peasants in An estate consisting
several districts of the lord’s lands
seized hoes and and his mansion.
pitchforks and
attacked chateaux.
Records of manorial dues were sat on fire.
Many people were killed in this agitation.
Many noblemen and clergy fled to
neighbouring countries to save their life.

King Louis XVI finally surrendered against

agitation and accepted the recognition of
National Assembly and agreed that his power
would be checked by constitution.

On the 4th of the August 1789 the feudal

system of obligations, taxes,

Privileges to the nobility and clergy were

abolished and lands owned by churches were
confiscated. This gave an asset of worth
about 2 billion livres to the government.
 France becomes a
constitutional monarchy
❖ 1791- Draft of Constitution
completed by National
Assembly.

❖ Main object- Limit the powers of

the monarch.

❖ These powers instead of being +

concentrated in the hands of Constitutio
one person were now separated n
and assigned to different
institutions – the legislature, Monarchy Constitutional
executive and judiciary. Monarchy
Absolute rule of
Limited Powers of King
King
 This made France a constitutional monarchy.

 There were two types of citizens according to constitution:-

active citizen and passive citizen.

 Persons who paid the tax at least equal to wages of 3 days of a

labour were categorized as active citizens

 who did not, were categorized as passive citizens.

 Only active citizens above the age of 25 had right to vote.

Women were not given the right to vote.
 Active citizens had to elect electors. Electors had to
elect National Assembly and Judiciary from among
them.

 National Assembly had control over king and group

of ministers. But king still had the power of royal veto
and the ability to select ministers.

 Qualification for member of elector and National

Assembly:- A person who belonged to bracket of
highest taxpayers and above the age of 25 could be
chosen as elector and member of National Assembly.
The Political system under the Constitution
of 1791.
Constitution began with a Declaration of Rights
to Man and Citizen.
Right to life, freedom of speech,
freedom of opinion, equality
before law, were declared as
'natural and inalienable' rights.

Every citizen had these rights by

birth and no one could be
deprived of them. State had duty
to protect 'natural and
inalienable' rights.
 Symbols of Rights to Man and Citizen

There were many person did not know the

reading or writing in eighteenth century in
France. Thus many symbols were used frequently
to explain about the rights to man and citizen, so
that illiterate person could understand them
easily.
Homework
questions
● 1. Explain Subsistence crisis.

● 2. What were the drawbacks of the constitution of 1791?

● 3. Briefly explain the meeting of Estate Generals.