French Society During the Late 18th Century and their Struggle

We often take the ideas of liberty, freedom and equality for granted. But we need to remind ourselves that these ideas also have a history. The French Revolution represents a small part of that history. The French Revolution led to the end of the monarchy in France. A society based on privileges gave way to a new system of governance. Let’s get a little deeper to understand this history.

The French Revolution

The city of Paris was in a state of panic on the morning of July 14, 1789. The king had sent troops into the city. Rumours circulated that he was about to order the troops to start fire on the civilians. Approximately 7,000 men and women assembled to form a militia of the people (an army formed by common people on their own). They raided several government buildings in quest of weapons.

Finally, a party of several hundred individuals marched to the city’s eastern outskirts and stormed the Bastille, a fortress prison where they hoped to locate stockpiled ammunition. The commander of the Bastille was killed in the ensuing armed battle and the inmates were released. People began to protest against the high cost of bread. How and why did this happen?

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon dynasty assumed the French throne. He was 20 years old when he married Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess. He provided financial aid to thirteen American colonies in their fight for independence from Britain, their common foe. This led to a substantial debt of 2 billion lives. This led to an increase in taxes to meet regular expenses of the state. 

France had a feudal system in the eighteenth century. The society was divided into three estates: Clergy (First Estate), Nobility (Second Estate – privileged minorities) and the Third Estate, representing the majority of the population. 

Clergy and nobility enjoyed certain privileges by birth such as an exemption from paying taxes to the state. The church collected taxes called tithes from peasants, and all members of the third estate had to also pay a direct tax to the state called taille and a number of indirect taxes as well.

The Struggle to Survive

Between 1715 to 1789, the population of France increased from 23 million to 28 million. Production of food grains could not keep pace with the demand resulting in a sharp rise in the price of bread. Moreover, the wages did not increase to match the prevailing prices. Things became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest. This led to a subsistence crisis.

A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges

The 18th century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class. Access to education and new ideas led people in the third estate to believe that no group in the society should be privileged by birth. Ideas like freedom, equal laws and opportunities for all were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. 

Rousseau carried the idea of a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives. Montesquieu proposed division of power among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

The news that Louis XVI planned to impose further taxes to be able to meet the expenses of the state generated anger and protest against the system of privileges.

The Outbreak of the Revolution

On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates-General to pass proposals for new taxes. The first and second estates were represented by 300 representatives while on behalf of the third estate, 600 representatives joined the assembly.

The voting rule was one vote per estate. However, the third estate members rejected this and put forward a theory of one vote for each member in the assembly. The king rejected this proposal and members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest. On 20 June, after assembling in the hall of an indoor tennis court on the grounds of Versailles, they declared themselves a National Assembly and swore to draft a constitution for France and limit the power of the monarch. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes.

During this time, a severe winter had resulted in a bad harvest. The price of bread rose. As a consequence, on July 14, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille. Louis XVI finally recognised the National Assembly and accepted the principles of the constitution. 

On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system. Privilege-enjoying estates had to give up their privileges. Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Powers were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, equality before the law etc were also included.

However, not all citizens had the right to vote. Only men over the age of 25 who paid taxes equivalent to at least three days worth of a labourer’s income were granted the status of active citizens, allowing them to vote. Passive citizens were assigned to the remaining men and women.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

Louis XVI entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia. Neighbouring countries planned to send troops to put down the events that had been taking place since summer 1789. However, before this could happen, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria. 

Marseillaise was a patriotic song sung by the French. It was composed by poet Roget de L’Isle. It is now the national anthem of France.

Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action. One of these was the Jacobin club, which got its name from the former convent of St Jacob in Paris. The members of this club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society – small shopkeepers, printers, pastry cooks, etc. They wore long striped trousers similar to those worn by dockworkers. Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.

On the morning of August 10, Jacobins stormed the Palace of Tuileries, massacred the king’s guard and held the king himself hostage for several hours. It was an agitation against the short supply and high food prices. Later the assembly voted to imprison the royal family. New elections were held, giving voting rights to all men above 21 years of age. 

The newly elected assembly was called the Convention. On 21 September 1792, it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason (Betrayal of one’s country or government). 

The Reign of Terror

From 1793 to 1794, Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. All those whom he assumed were the ‘enemy’ of the republic were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by the revolutionary tribunal. If the court found them ‘guilty’ they were guillotined. 

• During this period, peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at the prices fixed by the government 

• Laws were issued to replace a maximum ceiling on wages and prices

• The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden 

• Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices

This period of time came to be known as the reign of terror.

Did Women participate in the Revolution?

Most women of the third estate had to work for a living. Their wages were lower than those of men. Most of them did not have access to education or job training. To propagate their interests they started their own political clubs and newspapers.  

They demanded equal political rights, the right to vote and to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office. This showed some positive outcomes as schooling was made compulsory for all girls and they could no longer be forced to marry against their will. Divorce was made legal and they could now become artists or run small businesses.

Women’s struggle continued for centuries. It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.

Abolition of Slavery

The exploitation of slave labour made it possible to meet the growing demand in European markets for sugar, coffee and indigo. Many slaves were supplied in the Caribbean islands to increase labour in the mentioned products.

The National Assembly never passed any law against slavery because they feared opposition from businessmen whose income depended on the slave trade. 

It was the Jacobin regime that abolished slavery in French colonies and it is considered as one of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobins. The Convention, in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas possessions. 

However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery. It was finally completely banned in 1848.

The Revolution and Everyday Life

A law came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789. It abolished censorship. Now newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France. It gave more freedom of expression to the citizens.

Conclusion

The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important Legacy of the French Revolution. These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the 19th century where feudal systems were abolished. Tipu Sultan and Ram Mohan Roy also resonated with such ideas and worked in accordance with them.