1789 in France. French Revolution of the 18th century

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French revolution(fr. Revolution franchise), often referred to as the "Great", is a major transformation of the social and political systems of France that occurred in the late 18th century, resulting in the demolition of the Ancien Régime. It began with the capture of the Bastille in 1789, and various historians consider its end to be the coup of 9 Thermidor, 1794, or the coup of 18 Brumaire, 1799. During this period, France for the first time became a republic of theoretically free and equal citizens from an absolute monarchy. The events of the French Revolution had a significant impact on both France itself and its neighbors, and by many historians this revolution is considered one of the most important events in the history of Europe.

Causes

In terms of its socio-political structure in the 18th century, it was an absolute monarchy, based on bureaucratic centralization and a standing army. However, between the royal power, which was completely independent of the ruling classes, and the privileged classes, there was a kind of alliance - for the renunciation of political rights by the clergy and nobility, state power, with all its force and all the means at its disposal, protected the social privileges of these two classes .

Until some time, the industrial bourgeoisie put up with royal absolutism, in whose interests the government also did a lot, taking great care of “national wealth,” that is, the development of manufacturing and trade. However, it turned out to be increasingly difficult to satisfy the desires and demands of both the nobility and the bourgeoisie, who in their mutual struggle sought support from the royal power.

On the other hand, feudal exploitation increasingly armed the popular masses against itself, whose most legitimate interests were completely ignored by the state. In the end, the position of royal power in France became extremely difficult: every time it defended old privileges, it met with liberal opposition, which grew stronger - and every time new interests were satisfied, conservative opposition arose, which became more and more sharp.

Royal absolutism was losing credibility in the eyes of the clergy, nobility and bourgeoisie, among whom the idea was asserted that absolute royal power was a usurpation in relation to the rights of estates and corporations (Montesquieu's point of view) or in relation to the rights of the people (Rousseau's point of view). The Queen's Necklace scandal played some role in the isolation of the royal family.

Thanks to the activities of educators, of which the groups of physiocrats and encyclopedists are especially important, a revolution took place even in the minds of the educated part of French society. A mass passion for the democratic philosophy of Rousseau, Mably, Diderot and others appeared. The North American War of Independence, in which both French volunteers and the government itself took part, seemed to suggest to society that the implementation of new ideas was possible in France.

General course of events in 1789-1799

Background

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get out of a difficult financial situation, Louis XVI announced in December that in five years he would convene the French government officials. When Necker became minister for the second time, he insisted that the Estates General be convened in 1789. The government, however, did not have any specific program. At court they thought least of all about this, at the same time considering it necessary to make a concession to public opinion.

On August 26, 1789, the Constituent Assembly adopted the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen” - one of the first documents of bourgeois-democratic constitutionalism, which appeared in the very center of feudal Europe, in the “classical” country of absolutism. The “old regime”, based on class privileges and the arbitrariness of those in power, was opposed to the equality of all before the law, the inalienability of “natural” human rights, popular sovereignty, freedom of opinion, the principle “everything is permitted that is not prohibited by law” and other democratic principles of revolutionary enlightenment, which have now become requirements of law and current legislation. The Declaration also affirmed the right of private property as a natural right.

-October 6, a March on Versailles took place to the residence of the king in order to force Louis XVI to authorize the decrees and Declaration, the approval of which the monarch had previously refused.

Meanwhile, the legislative activities of the Constituent National Assembly continued and were aimed at solving the country's complex problems (financial, political, administrative). One of the first to be carried out administrative reform: seneschalships and generalities were liquidated; The provinces were united into 83 departments with a single legal procedure. The policy of economic liberalism began to take hold: it was announced that all restrictions on trade would be lifted; Medieval guilds and state regulation of entrepreneurship were eliminated, but at the same time, workers' organizations - companionships - were prohibited (according to Le Chapelier's law). This law in France, having survived more than one revolution in the country, was in force until 1864. Following the principle of civil equality, the Assembly abolished class privileges, abolished the institution of hereditary nobility, noble titles and coats of arms. In July 1790, the National Assembly completed church reform: bishops were appointed to all 83 departments of the country; all church ministers began to receive salaries from the state. In other words, Catholicism was declared the state religion. The National Assembly demanded that the clergy swear allegiance not to the Pope, but to the French state. Only half of the priests decided to take this step and only 7 bishops. The Pope responded by condemning the French Revolution, all the reforms of the National Assembly, and especially the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.”

In 1791, the National Assembly proclaimed the first written constitution in European history, approved by the national parliament. It proposed to convene the Legislative Assembly - a unicameral parliamentary body based on a high property qualification for elections. There were only 4.3 million “active” citizens who received the right to vote under the constitution, and only 50 thousand electors who elected deputies. Deputies of the National Assembly also could not be elected to the new parliament.

The king, meanwhile, was inactive. On June 20, 1791, he, however, tried to escape from the country, but was recognized at the border (Varenne) by a postal employee and returned to Paris, where he actually found himself in custody in his own palace (the so-called “Varenne crisis”).

On October 1, 1791, according to the constitution, the Legislative Assembly opened. This fact indicated the establishment of a limited monarchy in the country. For the first time at its meetings, the question of starting a war in Europe was raised, primarily as a means of solving internal problems. The Legislative Assembly confirmed the existence of a state church in the country. But in general, his activities turned out to be ineffective, which, in turn, provoked French radicals to continue the revolution.

In conditions when the demands of the majority of the population were not met, society was experiencing a split, and the threat of foreign intervention loomed over France, the state-political system based on a monarchical constitution was doomed to failure.

National Convention

On August 10, about 20 thousand rebels surrounded the royal palace. His assault was short-lived, but bloody. The heroes of the assault were several thousand soldiers of the Swiss Guard, who, despite the betrayal of the king and the flight of the majority of the French officers, remained faithful to their oath and crown, they gave a worthy rebuff to the revolutionaries and all fell at the Tuileries. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was in Paris at that time, said that if the Swiss had had an intelligent commander, they would have destroyed the revolutionary crowd that attacked them. In Lucerne, Switzerland, stands the famous stone lion - a monument to the courage and loyalty of the last defenders of the French throne. One of the results of this assault was the abdication of Louis XVI from power and the immigration of Lafayette.
In Paris, on September 21, the national convention opened its meetings; Dumouriez repelled the Prussian attack at Valmy (September 20). The French went on the offensive and even began to make conquests (Belgium, the left bank of the Rhine and Savoy with Nice at the end of 1792). The National Convention was divided into three factions: the left-wing Jacobin-Montagnards, the right-wing Girondins and the amorphous centrists. There were no longer any monarchists in it. The Girondins argued with the Jacobins only on the issue of the scale of revolutionary terror.
By decision of the Convention, citizen Louis Capet (Louis XVI) was executed for treason and usurpation of power on January 21.
Vendée rebellion. To save the revolution, a Committee of Public Safety is created.
June 10, arrest of the Girondins by the National Guard: establishment of the Jacobin dictatorship.
On July 13, the Girondist Charlotte Corday stabs Marat with a dagger. The beginning of the Terror.

During the siege of Toulon, which surrendered to the British, the young artillery lieutenant Napoleon Bonaparte especially distinguished himself. After the liquidation of the Girondins, Robespierre's contradictions with Danton and the extreme terrorist Hébert came to the fore.
In the spring of the year, first Hébert and his followers, and then Danton, were arrested, tried by a revolutionary court and executed. After these executions, Robespierre no longer had rivals. One of his first measures was the establishment in France, by decree of the convention, of the veneration of the Supreme Being, according to the idea of “civil religion” by Rousseau. The new cult was solemnly announced during a ceremony arranged by Robespierre, who played the role of high priest of the “civil religion.”
The intensification of terror plunged the country into bloody chaos, which was opposed by units of the National Guard who launched the Thermidorian coup. Jacobin leaders, including Robespierre and Saint-Just, were guillotined and power passed to the Directory.

Thermidorian Convention and Directory (-)

After the 9th Thermidor, the revolution did not end at all, although in historiography there was a long discussion regarding what should be considered the Thermidorian coup: the beginning of the “descending” line of the revolution or its logical continuation? The Jacobin Club was closed, and the surviving Girondins returned to the Convention. The Thermidorians abolished the Jacobin measures of government intervention in the economy and eliminated the “maximum” in December 1794. The result was a huge increase in prices, inflation, and disruption of food supplies. The misfortunes of the lower classes were countered by the wealth of the nouveau riche: they feverishly profited, greedily used their wealth, unceremoniously flaunting it. In 1795, the surviving supporters of the Terror twice raised the population of Paris (12 Germinal and 1 Prairial) to the convention, demanding “bread and the constitution of 1793,” but the Convention pacified both uprisings with the help of military force and ordered the execution of several “last Montagnards.” In the summer of that year, the Convention drew up a new constitution, known as the Constitution of the Year III. Legislative power was no longer entrusted to one, but to two chambers - the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Elders, and a significant electoral qualification was introduced. Executive power was placed in the hands of the Directory - five directors elected by the Council of Elders from candidates nominated by the Council of Five Hundred. Fearing that the elections to the new legislative councils would give a majority to the opponents of the republic, the convention decided that two-thirds of the “five hundred” and “elders” would be taken from the members of the convention for the first time.

When this measure was announced, the royalists in Paris itself organized an uprising, in which the main participation belonged to sections that believed that the Convention had violated the “sovereignty of the people.” There was a rebellion on the 13th of Vendémière (October 5); the convention was saved thanks to the management of Bonaparte, who met the insurgents with grapeshot. On October 26, 1795, the Convention dissolved itself, giving way to councils of five hundred and elders And directories.

In a short time, Carnot organized several armies, into which the most active, most energetic people from all classes of society rushed. Those who wanted to defend their homeland, and those who dreamed of spreading republican institutions and democratic orders throughout Europe, and people who wanted military glory and conquests for France, and people who saw in military service the best way to personally distinguish themselves and rise up. Access to the highest positions in the new democratic army was open to every able person; Many famous commanders emerged from the ranks of ordinary soldiers at this time.

Gradually, the revolutionary army began to be used to seize territories. The Directory saw war as a means of distracting society's attention from internal turmoil and as a way of raising money. To improve finances, the Directory imposed large monetary indemnities on the population of the conquered countries. The victories of the French were greatly facilitated by the fact that in neighboring regions they were greeted as liberators from absolutism and feudalism. At the head of the Italian army, the directory placed the young General Bonaparte, who in 1796-97. forced Sardinia to abandon Savoy, occupied Lombardy, took indemnities from Parma, Modena, the Papal States, Venice and Genoa and annexed part of the papal possessions to Lombardy, which was transformed into the Cisalpine Republic. Austria asked for peace. Around this time, a democratic revolution took place in aristocratic Genoa, turning it into the Ligurian Republic. Having finished with Austria, Bonaparte gave the directory advice to strike England in Egypt, where a military expedition was sent under his command. Thus, by the end of the revolutionary wars, France controlled Belgium, the left bank of the Rhine, Savoy and some part of Italy and was surrounded by a number of “daughter republics”.

But then a new coalition was formed against it from Austria, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey. Emperor Paul I sent Suvorov to Italy, who won a number of victories over the French and by the fall of 1799 had cleared all of Italy of them. When the external failures of 1799 added to the internal turmoil, the directory began to be reproached for having sent the most skillful commander of the republic to Egypt. Having learned about what was happening in Europe, Bonaparte hurried to France. On the 18th of Brumaire (November 9) a coup took place, as a result of which a provisional government was created of three consuls - Bonaparte, Roger-Ducos, Sieyès. This coup d'état is known as the 18th Brumaire and is generally considered the end of the French Revolution.

Religion in revolutionary France

The periods of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation were an era of upheaval for the Roman Catholic Church, but the revolutionary era that followed was even more tragic. This was due in large part to the fact that, despite the polemical rancor of Reformation theology, the opponents of the conflict of the 16th and 17th centuries still for the most part had much in common with the Catholic tradition. From a political point of view, the assumption on both sides was that the rulers, even if they opposed each other or the church, adhered to Catholic traditions. However, the 18th century saw the emergence of a political system and philosophical worldview that no longer took Christianity for granted, but in fact explicitly opposed it, forcing the Church to redefine its position more radically than it had done since the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century.

Notes

Literature

General histories of the revolution- Thiers, Minier, Buchet and Roux (see below), Louis Blanc, Michelet, Quinet, Tocqueville, Chassin, Taine, Cheret, Sorel, Aulard, Jaurès, Laurent (much has been translated into Russian);

Manfred A. The Great French Revolution M., 1983.
Mathiez A. French Revolution. Rostov-on-Don, 1995.
Olar A. Political history of the French Revolution. M., 1938.
Revunenkov V. G. Essays on the history of the Great French Revolution. 2nd ed. L., 1989.
Revunenkov V. G. Parisian sans-culottes of the era of the Great French Revolution. L., 1971.
Sobul A. From the history of the Great Bourgeois Revolution of 1789-1794. and the revolution of 1848 in France. M., 1960.
Kropotkin P. A. The Great French Revolution
New History A. Ya. Yudovskaya, P. A. Baranov, L. M. Vanyushkina
Tocqueville A. de. The old order and revolution Translated from French. M. Fedorova.

M.: Moscow Philosophical Foundation, 1997

Furet F. Comprehension of the French Revolution., St. Petersburg, 1998.
popular books by Carnot, Rambaud, Champion (“Esprit de la révolution fr.”, 1887), etc.;
Carlyle T., "The French Revolution" (1837);
Stephens, "History of fr. rev.";
Wachsmuth, "Gesch. Frankreichs im Revolutionszeitalter" (1833-45);
Dahlmann, "Gesch. der fr. Rev." (1845); Arnd, idem (1851-52);
Sybel, "Gesch. der Revolutionszeit" (1853 et seq.);
Häusser, “Gesch. der fr. Rev." (1868);
L. Stein, "Geschichte der socialen Bewegung in Frankreich" (1850);
Blos, "Gesch. der fr. Rev."; in Russian - op. Lyubimov and M. Kovalevsky.
Current problems in studying the history of the Great French Revolution (materials of the “round table” on September 19-20, 1988). Moscow, 1989.
Albert Soboul “The problem of the nation during the social struggle during the French bourgeois revolution of the 18th century”
Eric Hobsbawm Echo of the Marseillaise
Tarasov A. N. Necessity of Robespierre
Cochin, Augustin. Small people and revolution. M.: Iris-Press, 2003

Links

“French Revolution” original text of the article from ESBE in wiki format, (293kb)
The French Revolution. Articles from encyclopedias, chronicles of the revolution, articles and publications. Biographies of political figures. Cards.
The Age of Enlightenment and the Great French Revolution. Monographs, articles, memoirs, documents, discussions.
The French Revolution. Links to personalities of figures of the Great French Revolution, counter-figures, historians, fiction writers, etc. in scientific works, novels, essays and poems.
Mona Ozuf. History of the revolutionary holiday
Materials on the French Revolution on the official website of the French Yearbook

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Story	Gaul Middle Ages Absolutism The French Revolution

France before the revolution was a rich and prosperous power: constituting approximately 1/5 of the population of Europe, it concentrated over a quarter of its wealth. Revolution 1789-1794 was essentially inevitable, since French society, which continued to bear the burden of feudal ideas and institutions, reached a dead end. The absolute monarchy was unable to prevent the steadily growing economic, social and political crisis. The main obstacle to the further development of France was the absolute monarchy. It had long ceased to express national interests and more and more openly defended medieval class privileges, including exclusive land ownership of the nobility, the guild system, trade monopolies and other attributes of feudalism.

Prerequisites for the Great French Revolution:

growing dissatisfaction with the existing order among broad sections of the population, incl. the bourgeoisie, part of the nobility and clergy;
crop failure, financial crisis caused by immense spending on the maintenance of the army, apparatus and royal court;
oppression of the bureaucracy, arbitrariness in the courts;
extortionate exactions from peasants, guild regulations that hindered the development of manufactures, customs barriers, depravity of the ruling elite.

French enlighteners (Voltaire, Montesquieu, Morreli, J.-J. Rousseau, Diderot, Holbach) played a particularly significant role in preparing the revolution. Religion, understanding of nature, society, state order - everything was subjected to merciless criticism.
The ideas of Montesquieu formed the basis of the Constitution of 1791, the creators of the Constitution of 1793 were guided by the teachings of Rousseau, and the ideas of Adam Smith were the basis of the Civil Code of 1804.

Stages of the Great French Revolution

There are three stages in the history of the French Revolution:

July 14, 1789 - August 10, 1792;
August 10, 1792 - June 2, 1793;
the highest stage of the revolution - June 2, 1793 - July 27/28, 1794.

The first stage of the Great French Revolution

In May 1789, the Estates General was convened (a body of class representation, convened 3 times a year, in which the nobility, clergy and third estate were represented). The king demanded the introduction of new taxes, insisting on voting by estate (each estate - one vote). The Estates General refused to obey. It was determined that decisions should be made by a majority vote at joint meetings of the estates. This majority turned out to be on the side of the opposition forces. The king tried to dissolve the Estates General, which objectively reflected the interests of the big bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility and sought to preserve the monarchy, to lay a solid foundation of constitutionalism under the shaky edifice of the old statehood (in this regard, the leaders of the third estate in the Constituent Assembly were called constitutionalists).

Constitutionalists had as their main and immediate political goal achieving a compromise with the royal power, but at the same time they constantly experienced the “influence of the street” - the revolutionary-minded masses. Thus, The main content of the first period of the revolution was the intense and protracted struggle of the Constituent Assembly with the royal power for a constitution, for the reduction of traditional royal prerogatives, for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.

The Estates General proclaimed themselves the National and then the Constituent Assembly, declaring that they were engaged in the reorganization of the state. Troops were brought to Paris. On July 14, 1789, the rebels of Paris with the soldiers who went over to their side took possession of the Bastille. Moderate forces of the revolution came to power - the Feuillants, who advocated a constitutional monarchy and the abolition of feudal remnants.

On August 11, 1789, the Constituent Assembly adopted a decree “On the abolition of feudal rights and privileges,” according to which:

feudal orders were abolished;
personal duties were abolished;
the lands of emigrants were transferred into perpetual possession or were subject to sale;
the sale of positions was prohibited;
seigneurial justice was abolished;
the lands of the clergy were transferred to the disposal of the nation;
internal restrictions on goods and the guild system were abolished;
the territory was divided into 83 departments.

The National Assembly adopted the “Declaration of Human Rights”, which proclaimed:

sacredness and inviolability of natural rights and freedoms;
the principle of national;
principle of legality;
principles of criminal procedure and law.

Legislature was granted to a unicameral legislative assembly. A small part of the population - active citizens (4 out of 26 million people) took part in his election; women were not allowed to participate in the elections. Deputies were elected for two years, enjoyed the right of immunity and were representatives of the entire nation.
Powers of the meeting:

publication of laws;
adoption of the budget (establishment of taxes, determination of government expenditures);
determining the size of the army and navy;
holding ministers accountable;
ratification of treaties with foreign states. The king retained the right of suspensive veto on laws adopted by the Assembly, and the decision to go to war was subject to approval by the king.

In the interests of which the government also did a lot, taking great care of the “national wealth”, that is, the development of the manufacturing industry and trade. However, it turned out to be increasingly difficult to satisfy the desires and demands of both the nobility and the bourgeoisie, who in their mutual struggle sought support from the royal power.

On the other hand, both feudal and capitalist exploitation increasingly armed the masses against themselves, whose most legitimate interests were completely ignored by the state. In the end, the position of royal power in France became extremely difficult: every time it defended old privileges, it met with liberal opposition, which grew stronger - and every time new interests were satisfied, conservative opposition arose, which became more and more sharp.

Royal absolutism was losing credit in the eyes of the clergy, nobility and bourgeoisie, among whom the idea was asserted that absolute royal power was a usurpation in relation to the rights of estates and corporations (point of view) or in relation to the rights of the people (point of view).

General course of events from 1789 to 1799

Background

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get out of a difficult financial situation, he announced in December that in five years he would convene the government officials of France. When he became a minister for the second time, he insisted that they be convened in 1789. The government, however, did not have any specific program. At court they thought least of all about this, at the same time considering it necessary to make a concession to public opinion.

Estates General

National Assembly

The National Assembly was saved, and Louis XVI again conceded: he even went to Paris, where he appeared to the people, wearing a tricolor national cockade on his hat (red and blue are the colors of the Parisian coat of arms, white is the color of the royal banner).

In France itself, the storming of the Bastille served as a signal for a number of uprisings in the provinces. Peasants were especially worried, refusing to pay feudal duties, church tithes and state taxes. They attacked castles, destroyed them and burned them, and several nobles or their stewards were killed. When alarming news began to arrive at Versailles about what was happening in the provinces, two liberal nobles introduced a proposal to the assembly to abolish feudal rights, some free of charge, others by ransom. Then the famous night meeting took place (q.v.), in which deputies of the upper classes began vying to renounce their privileges, and the meeting adopted decrees abolishing class advantages, feudal rights, serfdom, church tithes, privileges of individual provinces, cities and corporations and declaring equality all before the law in the payment of public taxes and the right to hold civil, military and ecclesiastical offices.

Noble emigration began. The emigrants’ threats to the “rebels” and their alliance with foreigners supported and intensified the anxiety among the people; The court and all the nobles remaining in France began to suspect of complicity with the emigrants. Responsibility for much of what subsequently happened in France therefore falls on the emigrants.

Meanwhile, the national assembly took up the new structure of France. A few days before the destruction of the Bastille, it adopted the name of constituent, officially recognizing for itself the right to give the state new institutions. The first task of the meeting was to draw up a declaration of human and civil rights, which was demanded by many. The court still did not want to make concessions and did not lose hope for a military coup. Although Louis XVI, after July 14, promised not to gather troops to Paris, nevertheless, new regiments began to arrive at Versailles. At one officers' banquet, in the presence of the king and his family, the military tore off their tricolor cockades and trampled them under their feet, and the ladies of the court handed them cockades made of white ribbons. This caused the second Parisian uprising and a march of a crowd of one hundred thousand, in which there were especially many women, to Versailles: they broke into the palace, demanding the king move to Paris (-). Louis XVI was forced to fulfill this demand, and after the king and the national assembly moved to Paris, they moved their meetings there, which, as it later turned out, limited his freedom: the extremely excited population more than once dictated its will to representatives of the entire nation.

Political clubs were formed in Paris, which also discussed the issue of the future structure of France. One of these clubs, called the Jacobin club, began to play a particularly influential role, because it had many very popular deputies and many of its members enjoyed authority among the population of Paris. Subsequently, he began to open his branches in all the main cities of France. Extreme opinions began to dominate in the clubs, and they also took over the political press.

In the national assembly itself, not only were there no organized parties, but it even seemed shameful to belong to any “faction.” Nevertheless, several different political directions emerged in the assembly: some (the higher clergy and nobility) still dreamed of preserving the old order; others (Mounier, Lalli-Tollendal, Clermont-Tonnerre) considered it necessary to provide the king with only executive power and, preserving the primacy of the clergy and nobility, to divide the national assembly into an upper and lower house; still others imagined the future constitution with nothing other than one chamber (, Bailly, ); further, there were figures who wanted to give greater influence to the Parisian population and clubs (Duport, Barnave, the Lamet brothers), and future figures of the republic were already emerging (Gregoire, Pétion, Buzot), who, however, remained monarchists at that time.

Legislative Assembly

Immediately after the constituent assembly ceased to function, its place was taken by a legislative assembly, to which new and inexperienced people were elected. The right side of the meeting room was occupied by constitutional monarchists ( Feuillants); people without sharply defined views took middle places; the left side consisted of two parties - Girondins And Montagnards. The first of these two parties consisted of very capable people and included several brilliant speakers; its most prominent representatives were Vergniaud, and. The Girondins were challenged for influence over the assembly and the people by the Montagnards, whose main strength was in the Jacobin and other clubs. The most influential members of this party were people who were not part of the assembly: , . The rivalry between the Girondins and the Jacobins began in the very first months of the legislative assembly and became one of the main facts of the history of the revolution.

The Legislative Assembly decided to confiscate the property of emigrants, and punish disobedient priests with deprivation of civil rights, deportation, and even prison. Louis XVI did not want to approve the decrees of the assembly on emigrants and unsworn clergy, but this only aroused extreme discontent among the people against himself. The king was increasingly suspected of secret relations with foreign courts. The Girondins, in the assembly, in clubs, and in the press, argued for the need to respond to the defiant behavior of foreign governments with a “war of peoples against kings” and accused ministers of treason. Louis XVI resigned the ministry and appointed a new one from like-minded people of the Gironde. In the spring of the year, the new ministry insisted on declaring war on Austria, where at that time Francis II already reigned; Prussia also entered into an alliance with Austria. This was the beginning that had a great influence on the history of all of Europe.

Soon, however, Louis XVI resigned from the ministry, which caused a popular uprising in Paris (); Crowds of insurgents took possession of the royal palace and, surrounding Louis XVI, demanded that he approve the decrees on emigrants and priests and the return of the Girondin ministers. When the commander-in-chief of the allied Austro-Prussian army, the Duke of Brunswick, issued a manifesto in which he threatened the French with executions, the burning of houses, and the destruction of Paris, a new uprising broke out in the capital (), accompanied by the beating of the guards who guarded the royal palace. Louis XVI and his family found a safe haven in the legislative assembly, but the latter, in his presence, decided to remove him from power and take him into custody, and to convene an emergency meeting called national convention.

National Convention

The system of intimidation, or terror, received more and more development; the Girondins wanted to put an end to it, but sought to strengthen it, relying on the Jacobin club and the lower strata of the Parisian population (the so-called sans-culottes). The Montagnards were only looking for a reason to reprisal the Girondins. In the spring of the year, he fled abroad with the son of the Duke of Orleans (“Philippe Egalité”), whom he wanted, with the help of troops, to place on the French throne (he became king of France only as a result). This was blamed on the Girondins, since Dumouriez was considered their general. The external danger was complicated by internal strife: that same spring, a large popular uprising, led by priests and nobles, broke out in I (northwestern corner of France) against the convention. To save the fatherland, the convention ordered the recruitment of three hundred thousand people and gave the system of terror an entire organization. Executive power, with the most unlimited powers, was entrusted to the Committee of Public Safety, which sent its commissioners from among the members of the convention to the provinces. The main instrument of terror became the revolutionary court, which decided cases quickly and without formalities and sentenced people to death by guillotine, often on the basis of suspicion alone. At the instigation of the Montagnard party, at the end of May and beginning of June, crowds of people twice broke into the convention and demanded that the Girondins be expelled as traitors and brought before a revolutionary court. The Convention yielded to this demand and expelled the most prominent Girondins.

Some of them fled from Paris, others were arrested and tried by the revolutionary court. The terror intensified even more when a fan of the Girondins, a young girl, killed with a dagger, who was distinguished by the greatest bloodthirstiness, and uprisings broke out in Normandy and some large cities (in,), in which the fleeing Girondins also took part. This gave reason to accuse the Girondins of federalism, that is, in an effort to fragment France into several union republics, which would be especially dangerous in view of foreign invasion. The Jacobins, therefore, vigorously advocated a tightly centralized "one and indivisible republic." After the fall of the Girondins, many of whom were executed and some committed suicide, the Jacobin terrorists, led by Robespierre, became masters of the situation. France was governed by the Committee of Public Safety, which controlled the state police (committee of general security) and the convention commissioners in the provinces, who everywhere organized revolutionary committees from the Jacobins. Shortly before their fall, the Girondins drafted a new constitution; the Jacobins reworked it into the constitution of 1793, which was adopted by popular vote. The dominant party decided, however, not to introduce it until all enemies of the republic were eliminated.

After the liquidation of the Girondins, Robespierre's contradictions with Danton and the extreme terrorist came to the fore. In the spring of the year, first Hébert and him, and then Danton, were arrested, tried by a revolutionary court and executed. After these executions, Robespierre no longer had rivals.

One of his first measures was the establishment in France, by decree of the convention, of the veneration of the Supreme Being, according to the idea of “civil religion” by Rousseau. The new cult was solemnly announced during a ceremony arranged by Robespierre, who played the role of high priest of the “civil religion.”

The terror was intensifying: the revolutionary court received the right to try members of the convention itself without the latter’s permission. However, when Robespierre demanded new executions, without naming the names of those against whom he was preparing to act as an accuser, the majority of the terrorists themselves, frightened by this, overthrew Robespierre and his closest assistants. This event is known as the 9th Thermidor (). The next day, Robespierre was executed, and with him his main followers (, etc.).

Bibliographic index

popular books by Carnot, Rambaud, Champion (“Esprit de la révolution fr.”, 1887), etc.;
Carlyle, "French revolution" (1837);
Stephens, "History of fr. rev.";
Wachsmuth, "Gesch. Frankreichs im Revolutionszeitalter" (1833-45);
Dahlmann, "Gesch. der fr. Rev." (1845); Arnd, idem (1851-52);
Sybel, "Gesch. der Revolutionszeit" (1853 et seq.);
Häusser, “Gesch. der fr. Rev." (1868);
L. Stein, "Geschichte der socialen Bewegung in Frankreich" (1850);
Blos, "Gesch. der fr. Rev."; in Russian - op. Lyubimov and M. Kovalevsky.
Historical sketches about the French Revolution. In memory of V.M. Dalina (on her 95th birthday) / Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. M., 1998.

Periodicals, specially dedicated to the history of the French Revolution:

"Revue de la révolution", ed. Ch. d'Héricault et G. Bord (published 1883-87);
"La Révolution franç aise" (from 1881, and edited by Aulard from 1887).

Essays on the convening of the States General and about the orders of 1789. In addition to the works of Tocqueville, Chassin, Poncins, Cherest, Guerrier, Kareev and M. Kovalevsky, indicated in resp. article, see

A. Brette, “Recueil de documents relatifs à la convocation des états généraux de 1789”;
Edme Champion, "La France d'après les cahiers de 1789";
N. Lyubimov, “The Collapse of the Monarchy in France” (cahiers’ demands regarding public education);
A. Onou, “Orders of the Third Estate in France in 1789” (“Journal of the Ministry of Public Education”, 1898-1902);
his, “La comparution des paroisses en 1789”;
Richard, “La bibliographie des cahiers de doléances de 1789”;
V. Khoroshun, “Noble orders in France in 1789.”

Essays on individual episodes French Revolution.

E. et J. de Goncourt, “Histoire de la société française sous la révolution”;
Brette, “Le serment du Jeu de paume”;
Bord, "La prise de la Bastille";
Tournel, "Les hommes du 14 juillet";
Lecocq, "La prise de la Bastille; Flammermont, "Relations inédites sur la prise de la Bastille";
Pitra, "La journée du juillet de 1789"; N. Lyubimov, “The first days of Φ. revolutions according to unpublished sources";
Lambert, “Les fédérations et la fête du 14 juillet 1790”;
J. Pollio et A. Marcel, “Le bataillon du 10 août”;
Dubost, "Danton et les massacres de septembre";
Beaucourt, “Captivité et derniers moments de Louis XVI”;
Ch. Vatel, "Charlotte Corday et les girondins";
Robinet, "Le procès des dantonistes";
Wallon, "Le fédéralisme";
Gaulot, “Un complot sous la terreur”;
Aulard, “Le culte de la raison et le culte de l’Etre Suprème” (presentation in volume VI of the “Historical Review”);
Claretie, "Les derniers montagnards"
D'Héricault, "La révolution de thermidor";
Thurau-Dangin, “Royalistes et républicains”;
Victor Pierre, “La terreur sous le Directoire”;
his, “Le rétablissement du culte catholique en France en 1795 et 1802”;
H. Welschinger, “Le directoire et le concile national de 1797”;
Victor Advielles, "Histoire de Baboeuf et du babouvisme";
B. Lavigue, “Histoire de l’insurrection royaliste de l’an VII”;
Félix Rocquain, “L"état de la France au 18 brumaire";
Paschal Grousset, “Les origines d'une dynastie; le coup d"état de brumaire de l'an VIII".

Social significance of the French Revolution.

Lorenz Stein, “Geschichte der socialen Bewegung in Frankreich”;
Eugen Jäger, “Die francösische Revolution und die sociale Bewegung”;
Lichtenberger, “Le socialisme et la révol. fr.";
Kautsky, “Die Klassengegensätze von 1789” and others.

Essays on the history of legislation and institutions of the French Revolution.

Chalamel, “Histoire de la liberté de la presse en France depuis 1789”;
Doniol, “La féodalité et la révolution française”;
Ferneuil, “Les principes de 1789 et la science sociale”;
Gomel, “Histoire financière de la constituante”;
A. Desjardins, “Les cahiers de 1789 et la législation criminelle”;
Gazier, “Etudes sur l’histoire religieuse de la révolution française”;
Laferrière, “Histoire des principles, des institutions et des lois pendant la révolution française”; Lavergne, "Economie rurale en France depuis 1789";
Lavasseur, “Histoire de classes ouvrières en France depuis 1789”;
B. Minzes, “Die Nationalgüterveräusserung der franz. Revolution";
Rambaud, "Histoire de la civilization contemporaine";
Richter, “Staats- und Gesellschaftsrecht der francösischen Revolution”;
Sciout, “Histoire de la constitution civile du clergé”;
Valette, “De la durée persistante de l’ensemble du droit civil française pendant et après la révolution”;
Vuitry, “Etudes sur le régime financier de la France sous la révolution”;
Sagnac, “Législation civile de la révol. franc."

Links

The French Revolution. Articles from encyclopedias, chronicles of the revolution, articles and publications. Biographies of political figures. Cards.

When writing this article, material from (1890-1907) was used.

At the first stage of the Great French Revolution (1789-1791), the absolute monarchy was overthrown in France and a constitutional monarchy with limited suffrage was established.

At the second stage of the revolution (September 1791 - August 1792), revolutionary wars began, as a result of which Louis XVI was overthrown.

At the third stage of the revolution (August 1792 - May 1793), a republic was established in France, in which at first the Girondins were in the majority, and then the Jacobins. The latter established a dictatorship and organized reforms that were important for the peasants and the army.

The fourth stage of the Great French Revolution (1793-1794) ends with the overthrow of the Jacobin dictatorship as a result of the Thermidorian coup.

At the last, fifth stage of the revolution (1794-1799), power was in the hands of the “new rich,” and the influence of the generals increased. The new Constitution provided for the creation of a new government - the Directory. The main role in this period was played by Napoleon Bonaparte, who ended the Great French Revolution with a coup d'etat on the 18th Brumaire.

Causes of the Great French Revolution

Pre-revolutionary crisis (1788-1789)

In addition to the immediate causes of the Great French Revolution, some indirect causes contributed to increased tension in society. Among them - economic And economic decline in France.

Economic decline (unemployment and crop failures)

According to the 1786 treaty concluded by the king with England, a large number of cheap English goods entered the French market. French industry turned out to be incapable of competition. Manufactories were closed, and many workers were thrown into the streets (only in Paris unemployed became 80 thousand people).

At the same time, the village was hit crop failure 1788, followed by the unusually severe winter for France of 1788-1789, when frosts reached -20°. Vineyards, olive trees, and grain crops were destroyed. Many peasants, according to contemporaries, ate grass so as not to die of hunger. In the cities, sans-culottes gave their last coins for bread. In taverns they sang songs directed against the authorities, and posters and leaflets ridiculing and scolding the government were passed around.

Economic decline

The young king of France, Louis XVI, sought to improve the situation in the country. He appointed the banker Necker as controller general of finance. He began to reduce the costs of maintaining the court, proposed collecting taxes from the lands of the nobles and clergy, and also published a financial report that indicated all monetary income and expenses in the state. However, the aristocrats did not at all want the people to know who was spending the treasury money and how. Necker was dismissed.

Meanwhile, the situation in France worsened. Bread prices fell, and the French nobles, accustomed to selling it on the market, began to suffer losses. Trying to find new sources of income, some nobles extracted from the archives of their great-grandfathers half-decayed documents about the payment of dues by peasants 300 years ago for the right to marry or move from village to village. Others came up with new taxes, for example, for the dust raised by peasant cows on the lord's road. Meadows, watering holes and forests, which had been used by peasant communities from time immemorial, were declared by the nobles to be their full property and demanded a separate payment for grazing livestock or cutting down forests. Outraged peasants filed complaints to the royal courts, but they, as a rule, decided the case in favor of the nobles.

Caricature: peasant, priest and nobleman

Convocation of the Estates General in France (1789)

King Louis XVI of France, convening the Estates General, hoped to introduce new taxes to restore the treasury and pay off debts. However, the meeting participants, taking advantage of the situation, despite the king, decided to correct the situation of the peasants and bourgeoisie in the country by putting forward their demands.

After some time, opponents of the old order announced the creation of a Constituent (National) Assembly, which quickly gained popularity. The king, realizing that he had a minority on his side, had to recognize him.

Beginning of the French Revolution (July 14, 1789)

In parallel with the convening of the Estates General, King Louis XVI was gathering troops to keep the situation under control. But the residents started an uprising, which quickly gained momentum. The king's supporters also went over to the side of the uprising. This marked the beginning of the Great French Revolution.

The revolution, which began with the storming of the Bastille, gradually spread throughout France and led to the overthrow of the unlimited (absolute) monarchy.

Constituent Assembly (1789-1791)

The main task of the Constituent Assembly was to abandon the previous order in France - an absolute monarchy, and establish a new one - a constitutional monarchy. To this end, the assembly began developing a Constitution, which was adopted in 1791.

The king did not recognize the work of the Constituent Assembly, and tried to flee the country, but His attempt failed. Despite the opposition between the king and the assembly, the Constitution did not provide for the removal of Louis XVI, but only limited his power.

Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)

After the formation of the Legislative Assembly, provided for by the Constitution of 1791, French society split into political trends in the revolution. It was divided into "right" constitutionalists, "left" Girondins, and "extreme left" Jacobins.

The constitutionalists, in fact, were not the most “right-wing”. Those who most adhered to the old order, that is, were completely on the side of the king, were called royalists. But since there were only a few of them left in the Legislative Assembly, those whose only goal was not revolutionary actions, but only the approval of the Constitution, were considered “right.”

Beginning of the revolutionary wars in France (late 1792)

Since the royalists were categorically against the revolution, almost everyone emigrated from France. They hoped to enlist help from abroad in restoring royal power, primarily from neighboring countries. Due to the fact that the revolutionary events in France had a direct threat to spread throughout Europe, some countries came to the aid of the royalists. Was created first anti-French coalition, which directed its forces to suppress the revolution in France.

The beginning of the revolutionary wars was unsuccessful for the revolutionaries: the allies of the first anti-French coalition came close to Paris.

Overthrow of the monarchy

But, despite the disastrous start to the war, the revolutionaries were unstoppable: they not only achieved the overthrow of their king Louis XVI, but also managed to expand the revolutionary movement beyond the borders of France.

This put an end to the old order—the monarchy—and set a course for a new one—the republican one.

First French Republic

On September 22, 1792, France was declared a republic. After discovering evidence of the betrayals of Louis XVI, it was decided to execute the king.

This event caused another revolutionary war of the first anti-French coalition in 1793. Now the coalition has expanded to include several countries included in it.

Another of the first problems of the republic was the peasant rebellion - a civil war that lasted from 1793 to 1796.

Jacobin dictatorship

An attempt to maintain the republican system in France was made by the Jacobins, who were in the majority in the new highest state body of power - the National Convention. They began to establish a regime of revolutionary dictatorship.

The development of the French Revolution led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the Jacobin dictatorship, which resolved most of the contradictions that had accumulated in France and was able to organize an army that repelled the forces of counter-revolution.

Thermidorian coup

As a result of the abuse of revolutionary terror, as well as due to the dissatisfaction of the peasants with some of the economic reforms of the Jacobins, a split occurred in the society of the latter. On 9 Thermidor (the date according to the newly introduced French calendar), key events took place in the further political development of France - the so-called Thermidorians put an end to the Jacobin dictatorship. This event was called " Thermidorian coup".

Directory in France (1795)

The coming to power of the Thermidorians meant the creation of a new Constitution, according to which the Directory was the highest authority. The authorities found themselves in a difficult position, so to speak, between two fires: on the one hand, the remaining Jacobins were opposed to them, on the other, the emigrated “whites”, who still had hope for the restoration of royal order and the return of their property. The latter continued to oppose France during the still ongoing revolutionary wars.

Foreign policy of the Directory

The Army of the Directory was able to stop the attacks of the First Anti-French Coalition and turn the tide of the war thanks to General Napoleon Bonaparte. His invincible army conquered new territories for France with enviable success. This resulted in France now seeking European dominance.

The successes culminated in 1799, when the allies of the Second Anti-French Coalition won a series of victories. The territory of France even temporarily found itself under the threat of enemy intervention.

End of the French Revolution

The final moment of the French Revolution is the coup d'état 18 Brumaire (9 November) 1799, who established the dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte instead of the Directory.

On this page there is material on the following topics:

Why couldn't the enlightened King Louis 12 prevent the revolution? conclusion
Results of the French Revolution 1789 abstract
Why the enlightened King Louis 16 could not prevent the revolution
Causes of the French Revolution of 1789 brief presentation
Message on the topic of the French Revolution 1791 reasons

Questions about this material:

What events and actions of the authorities created the conditions for the start of the revolution in France?
1. Describe the historical conditions in France that developed by the end of the 18th century. Fill the table.

Historical conditions in France on the eve of the revolution were difficult. The king was pushed to convene the Estates General by both social and economic, as well as political reasons. Although France's ally was victorious in North America, France lost the war overall. The main thing is that France failed to seize significant possessions in the Caribbean region, and it was through them that the government hoped to cover military expenses thanks to the very profitable sugar trade at that time. Largely thanks to this, a revolutionary situation arose in the kingdom, caused primarily by economic reasons. However, they, naturally, were not the only ones.

2. For what purpose did the king convene the Estates General? How did the conflict between the king and the deputies develop?

The king convened the Estates General to approve the introduction of new taxes. Perhaps he wanted to propose the abolition of pensions and other payments to aristocrats, relying in this decision on the authority of all classes. But he did not have time to make such a proposal. The Estates General showed disobedience even when clarifying the question of the voting procedure: whether the decision would be made by the number of votes of the chambers (then the Third Estate was losing to the two highest ones), or by the number of deputy votes (representatives of the Third Estate made up half of the Estates General). In response to the king's order to disperse, the deputies refused to do so. Representatives of the Third Estate, together with some deputies from the two highest ones, formed the National Assembly on June 17, and the Constituent Assembly on July 9.

3. Highlight and characterize the main stages of the Great French Revolution.

Stages of the revolution.

The first period is characterized by the active struggle of the court and the Constituent Assembly with the victory of the latter. Marked by numerous victories of the revolution. It ended with the storming of the royal Tuileries Palace and the overthrow of the monarchy. At the same time, differences emerged in the revolutionary camp, which were most clearly manifested during the next period.

Characterized by the struggle between radical and moderate forces in the revolutionary camp. At the same time, the methods of struggle became more and more bloody, and it was then that the death sentence became a common means of political struggle. At the same time, wars with invaders and immigrants intensified on the external borders, which escalated the situation within the country.

Jacobin dictatorship. The period of the most radical transformations and at the same time the most massive terror.

Directory Board. In many ways, a return to pre-revolutionary luxury and part of the pre-revolutionary order, but the hosts at this new celebration of life were those who had become rich during the previous stages. Almost the end of the revolution.

4. What was the significance of the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen? What ideas formed its basis?

The main ideas of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen were:

Universal equality of rights;

State guarantees of natural rights;

Classless society;

The power is based only on the will of the people;

Freedom of personality and will, freedom of expression.

The Declaration was the first practical implementation of many of the ideas of the Enlightenment. It laid the foundation for almost all subsequent reforms during the revolution. To this day, the Declaration is one of the foundations of French legislation.

5. Why did the reforms of the first stage of the revolution not remove the contradictions in French society?

Many especially the economic demands of the poorest sections of the population were not satisfied. At the same time, the solution to these issues caused opposition from the propertied layers of the revolutionary camp. Thus, significant contradictions emerged in the revolutionary movement itself, without resolution of which the further program of action seemed vague. This conflict also reflected the contradiction in society as a whole, no longer between the privileged and the unprivileged, but between the haves and the have-nots.

6. Indicate the internal and external factors that contributed to the deepening of revolutionary processes.

External factors include France’s war with a number of European anti-French coalitions and the next offensives of their armies.

Internal factors are much more varied:

An unsuccessful attempt by Louis XVI and his family to flee abroad;

Public debates in political clubs that fueled passions;

Frequent changes of governments by the king;

7. Assess the policies of the Jacobin dictatorship. What methods did the Jacobins use to overcome economic and political difficulties?

Of course, the darkest page of the Jacobin dictatorship is the revolutionary terror, which claimed many lives. But this was not the only mistake on the part of the authorities of the First Republic. In fact, they were unable to offer solutions to the problems facing France: the country's economy was collapsing, its money was incredibly devalued, the poor were not living better, despite executions and confiscations, foreign policy problems were far from being resolved. At the same time, it was actually possible to solve many problems in the countryside and suppress counter-revolutionary protests. However, this did not remove urgent crisis phenomena for the state from the agenda.

8. Describe the internal and external policies of the Directory. Why did the Thermidorian regime lose its support in the country?

In foreign policy, the Directory achieved great success by demonstrating that it was much less revolutionary. In 1795, peace was concluded with Prussia and Spain. Holland, as a result of the victories of the French troops, was turned into the puppet Batavian Republic in the same year. In the following years, Directory commanders, including Napoleon Bonaparte, won a number of impressive victories in battles against the rest of the coalition. Therefore, it can be argued that foreign policy was successful: France’s position stabilized and began to improve noticeably.

The internal politics of the Directory was more controversial. On the one hand, it was possible to stabilize the economic situation by repealing the “maximum” law and other directive measures of the Jacobins. On the other hand, this caused a sharp rise in prices and a sharp deterioration in the lives of the poor. It was also important that the country's leaders openly abandoned revolutionary ideals and publicly demonstrated their wealth. Such a government cannot count on popular love.

9. What was the state structure and administration of France under the constitution of 1799? How did Napoleon gradually strengthen his power? How did he manage to reconcile different layers of French society?

According to the new constitution, the separation of powers, municipal power, independence of courts, freedom of speech, etc. were actually abolished. The government of the country was subject to a rigid vertical of power headed by three consuls. Initially, General Bonaparte was just the first of these consuls, and therefore became the only one for life. The rest of the system did not need to be changed because it was already subordinate to the consuls. Therefore, when Napoleon crowned himself emperor in 1804, he only accepted the title; in fact, the state had already been a monarchy.

Different layers of French society were tried in many ways even before Napoleon, during the stubborn struggle of the times of the revolution - the dissatisfied were simply destroyed or immigrated. As a result of the revolutionary wars, there was no force left in the country that could compete with the army (especially since, under conditions of universal conscription, it truly represented the majority of the population), and Napoleon had unquestioned authority in the army thanks to his victories.

10. What impact did the Great French Revolution have on European countries?

Initially, the revolution was greeted with enthusiasm by some enlightened circles in Europe. Over time, the ruling circles of the region also spoke out - the radicalism of the revolution frightened them, which is why a number of coalitions of European states were organized with the aim of suppressing the popular movement in France by force of arms. At the same time, Paris actively promoted the expansion of the revolution to other countries, proclaiming the slogan “Peace to the huts, war to the palaces.” Such calls sometimes met with warm responses in some circles, for example, Holland, Italy, etc. But pro-French sympathies never played a decisive role; a particular territory supported France only after the victory of French troops there. Over time, the population considered the occupying nature of these troops. During the Napoleonic Wars, cases of popular hatred and attitudes towards French troops simply as invaders are already known. Such sentiments were especially evident in Spain, where a real guerrilla war unfolded. It was under the influence of these anti-occupation sentiments that the national self-awareness of some peoples clearly manifested itself, and among others it received a powerful impetus.

11. Compare the course, stages of development and results of the English bourgeois revolution and the Great French Revolution. What similarities and differences can you identify?

Both revolutions have many similarities. Their stages were different because they were determined by the specific situation, but the course revealed many similarities. In both cases, the king was opposed by the legislative authorities, and both losing kings were executed according to court sentences. Both revolutions established republics. Both revolutions involved the struggle of different parties within the revolutionary camp and the rise to power of a successful commander. But in England and France these events took place in a different order.

However, the differences between the revolutions were more significant. In England, parliament acted within the framework of religious Protestant ideology. At the same time, it was initially intended only to consolidate the original rights of parliament; the idea of restructuring the state arose already during the revolution. French revolutionaries initially acted within the framework of a secular ideology and immediately sought a reasonable reorganization of society within the framework of the ideas proposed by the Enlightenment. That is why only the Great French Revolution had followers; it was on it that throughout the 19th century those who sought to transform the political system in their countries were guided.

1789 in France. French Revolution of the 18th century

Causes

General course of events in 1789-1799

Background

National Convention

Thermidorian Convention and Directory (-)

Religion in revolutionary France

Notes

Literature

Links

Prerequisites for the Great French Revolution:

Stages of the Great French Revolution

The first stage of the Great French Revolution

General course of events from 1789 to 1799

Background

Estates General

National Assembly

Legislative Assembly

National Convention

Directory

Bibliographic index

Links

Causes of the Great French Revolution

Pre-revolutionary crisis (1788-1789)

Economic decline (unemployment and crop failures)

Economic decline

Convocation of the Estates General in France (1789)

Beginning of the French Revolution (July 14, 1789)

Constituent Assembly (1789-1791)

Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)

Beginning of the revolutionary wars in France (late 1792)

Overthrow of the monarchy

First French Republic

Jacobin dictatorship

Thermidorian coup

Directory in France (1795)

Foreign policy of the Directory

End of the French Revolution

Why couldn't the enlightened King Louis 12 prevent the revolution? conclusion

Results of the French Revolution 1789 abstract

Why the enlightened King Louis 16 could not prevent the revolution

Causes of the French Revolution of 1789 brief presentation

Message on the topic of the French Revolution 1791 reasons

What events and actions of the authorities created the conditions for the start of the revolution in France?