Estates-General of 1789
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| - | : The French Revolution is a major turning point in continental European history, from the age of monarchies to that of the [[bourgeoisie]], and even of the [[Mass society|mass]]es, as the dominant political force. [[Richard Davenport-Hines ]] has called ''[[Frankenstein]]'' gothic literature's most enduring parable of French [[revolutionary]] [[excess]]. | + | The '''Estates-General''' (or '''States-General''') '''of 1789''' ({{lang-fr|Les États-Généraux de 1789}}) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French [[French States-General|Estates-General]], a general assembly representing the French [[estates of the realm]], the nobles, the Church and the common people. The independence from the Crown which it displayed paved the way for the [[French Revolution]]. |
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| - | The '''French Revolution''' (1789–1799) was a period of [[Radicalism|radical]] [[political revolution|political]] and [[social revolution]] in [[History of France|French]] and [[History of Europe|European]] history. The [[absolute monarchy]] that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French [[society]] underwent an epic transformation as [[feudalism|feudal]], [[aristocracy|aristocratic]], and [[Roman Catholic Church|religious]] privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from [[liberalism|liberal]] political groups and the masses on the streets. Old ideas about hierarchy and tradition succumbed to new [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] principles of [[citizenship]] and [[inalienable rights]]. | + | |
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| - | The French Revolution began in 1789 with the convocation of the [[Estates-General of 1789|Estates-General]] in May. The first year of the Revolution witnessed members of the [[Third Estate]] proclaiming the [[Tennis Court Oath]] in June, the [[Storming of the Bastille|assault on the Bastille]] in July, the passage of the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] in August, and an [[The Women's March on Versailles|epic march]] on [[Versailles]] that forced the royal court back to [[Paris]] in October. The next few years were dominated by tensions between a liberal legislature and a [[conservatism|conservative]] monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms. A [[First French Republic|republic]] was eventually proclaimed on September 22, 1792. External threats also played a dominant role in the development of the Revolution. The [[French Revolutionary Wars]] started in 1792 and ultimately featured spectacular French victories that facilitated the conquest of the [[Italian peninsula]], the [[Low Countries]], and most territories west of the [[Rhine]]—achievements that had defied previous French governments for centuries. Internally, popular sentiments radicalized the Revolution significantly, culminating in the brutal [[Reign of Terror]] from 1793 until 1794. After the fall of [[Maximilien Robespierre|Robespierre]] and the [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobins]], the [[French Directory|Directory]] assumed control of the French state in 1795 and held power until 1799, when it was replaced by the [[French Consulate|Consulate]] under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. | + | |
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| - | The [[Modern history|modern era]] has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. The growth of republics and [[liberal democracy|liberal democracies]], the spread of [[secularism]], the development of modern [[ideology|ideologies]], and the invention of [[total war]] all mark their birth during the Revolution. Subsequent events that can be traced to the Revolution include the [[Napoleonic Wars]], two separate [[Bourbon Restoration|restorations of the monarchy]], and two additional revolutions as [[modern era|modern]] France took shape. In the following century, France would be governed at one point or another as a [[republic]], [[constitutional monarchy]], and two different [[French Empire|empires]]. | + | |
| - | == Causes of the French Revolution == | + | |
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| - | :''[[Causes of the French Revolution]]'' | + | |
| - | Adherents of most historical models identify many of the same features of the ''[[Ancien Régime]]'' as being among the causes of the Revolution. Economic factors included widespread [[famine]] and [[malnutrition]], due to rising bread prices (from a normal 8 [[Solidus (coin)|sous]] for a 4-pound loaf to 12 sous by the end of 1789), which increased the likelihood of [[disease]] and death, and intentional [[starvation]] in the most destitute segments of the population in the months immediately before the Revolution. The famine extended even to other parts of [[Europe]], and was not helped by a poor transportation infrastructure for bulk foods. (Recent research has also attributed the widespread famine to an [[El Niño]] effect following the [[Laki#1783 eruption|1783 Laki eruption]] in [[Iceland]], or colder climate of the [[Little Ice Age]] combined with France's failure to adopt the [[potato]] as a [[staple crop]].) | + | |
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| - | Another cause was the fact that [[Louis XV]] fought many wars, bringing France to the verge of bankruptcy, and [[Louis XVI]] supported the colonists during the [[American Revolution]], exacerbating the precarious financial condition of the government. The national debt amounted to almost two billion [[livre tournois|livres]]. The social burdens caused by war included the huge war debt, made worse by the monarchy's military failures and ineptitude, and the lack of social services for war veterans. The inefficient and antiquated financial system was unable to manage the [[government debt|national debt]], something which was both caused and exacerbated by the burden of a grossly inequitable system of taxation. Another cause was the continued [[conspicuous consumption]] of the noble class, especially the court of [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and [[Marie-Antoinette of France|Marie-Antoinette]] at [[Versailles]], despite the financial burden on the populace. High [[unemployment]] and high bread prices caused more money to be spent on food and less in other areas of the economy. The [[Roman Catholic Church]], the largest landowner in the country, levied a tax on crops known as the ''dîme'' or [[tithe]]. While the ''dîme'' lessened the severity of the monarchy's tax increases, it worsened the plight of the poorest who faced a daily struggle with malnutrition. There was too little internal trade and too many customs barriers. | + | |
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| - | There were also social and political factors, many of which involved resentments and aspirations given focus by the rise of [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideals. These included resentment of royal [[political absolutism|absolutism]]; resentment by the ambitious professional and mercantile classes towards noble privileges and dominance in public life, as many of these classes were familiar with the lives of their peers in commercial cities in the [[Netherlands]] and [[Great Britain]]; resentment by peasants, wage-earners, and the [[bourgeoisie]] toward the traditional [[manorialism|seigneurial]] privileges possessed by nobles; resentment of clerical advantage ([[anti-clericalism]]) and aspirations for [[freedom of religion]], resentment of aristocratic bishops by the poorer rural clergy, continued hatred for Catholic control, and influence on institutions of all kinds by the large [[Protestantism|Protestant]] minorities; aspirations for liberty and (especially as the Revolution progressed) [[republicanism]]; and anger toward the King for firing [[Jacques Necker]] and [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune|A.R.J. Turgot]] (among other financial advisors), who were popularly seen as representatives of the people. | + | |
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The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (Template:Lang-fr) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm, the nobles, the Church and the common people. The independence from the Crown which it displayed paved the way for the French Revolution.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Estates-General of 1789" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
