French Revolution
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Yunus Broughton
French Revolution
The Origins of the French Revolution
1) Introduction
What are the various movements in the opening phase of the revolution?
Georges Lefebvre saw in the years 1787-9 not one revolutionary movement but four. First came the revolution of the aristocracy, which sought to defend its privileges and even extend them. Through the Parlements and the Assembly of Notables, it resisted attempts by the Crown to reduce its taxation privileges. It was the aristocracy who demanded the calling of the Estates-General and it was this what led to the second revolution, that of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie had supported the aristocracy and its opposition to 'ministerial despotism' until September 1788, when the Parlement of Paris said that the Estates-General should be formed as it was when it last met in 1614. This would mean that the two privileged orders would be able to out-vote the Third Estate would not accept this and so began a struggle against the aristocracy. They sought equality and this involved destroying the privileges of the nobility and the Church and setting up a system where promotion to high office was according to merit, not birth, where all paid taxes on the same basis and where the law was the same for all. The Revolution of 1789 was, above all else, the struggle for equal rights.
In its struggle against the King and the privileged orders - for the two had now combined to resist the bourgeois assault - the bourgeoisie needed the support of the Paris populace. In July the Crown attempted to use force to dissolve the National Assembly but was prevented from doing so by the raising of the 'menu peuple' the artisans and workers of Paris, which culminated in the fall of the Bastille. This saved the National Assembly and ensured the success of the Revolution. This third revolution, the popular revolution, arose from the economic crisis which had seen the price of bread rise to its highest point of the day the...
French Revolution
The Origins of the French Revolution
1) Introduction
What are the various movements in the opening phase of the revolution?
Georges Lefebvre saw in the years 1787-9 not one revolutionary movement but four. First came the revolution of the aristocracy, which sought to defend its privileges and even extend them. Through the Parlements and the Assembly of Notables, it resisted attempts by the Crown to reduce its taxation privileges. It was the aristocracy who demanded the calling of the Estates-General and it was this what led to the second revolution, that of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie had supported the aristocracy and its opposition to 'ministerial despotism' until September 1788, when the Parlement of Paris said that the Estates-General should be formed as it was when it last met in 1614. This would mean that the two privileged orders would be able to out-vote the Third Estate would not accept this and so began a struggle against the aristocracy. They sought equality and this involved destroying the privileges of the nobility and the Church and setting up a system where promotion to high office was according to merit, not birth, where all paid taxes on the same basis and where the law was the same for all. The Revolution of 1789 was, above all else, the struggle for equal rights.
In its struggle against the King and the privileged orders - for the two had now combined to resist the bourgeois assault - the bourgeoisie needed the support of the Paris populace. In July the Crown attempted to use force to dissolve the National Assembly but was prevented from doing so by the raising of the 'menu peuple' the artisans and workers of Paris, which culminated in the fall of the Bastille. This saved the National Assembly and ensured the success of the Revolution. This third revolution, the popular revolution, arose from the economic crisis which had seen the price of bread rise to its highest point of the day the...