The French revolution is an exercise which saw the French people redesign their political landscape and the ultimate overthrow of the monarchy which began in the year 1789 and came to an end in the late 1790s. The French revolution just like the American Revolution which had occurred before took place majorly as a result of the Enlightenment ideals such as the sovereignty and also the rights that can be said as inalienable. It can be said that the revolution was not much successful in terms of achieving its intended goals but on the other hand it showed to the world that the will of the people is what prevails.
The non-whites and more so the slaves responded to the revolution by killing their masters, burning plantations and doing all sorts of actions to air out the plea and show solidarity that they indeed wanted change. For once, the women in the country wanted the rights which had been denied to them for a long time. For instance, just like any other citizen the demanded to vote and many other rights and freedoms.
There were a number of causes that probably may have led to the revolution and amongst them were:
Political causes
Notably, the country of France was indeed the autocratic monarchy center in the eighteen century. The leaders of the day assumed power that went beyond what the subjects could swallow. Those in leadership were so much powerful to the extent of equating themselves as representatives of the Most High. They lived lives of luxury and were spendthrifts and worst of all they could arrest anybody anywhere and imprison them at their pleasure. In essence, nothing was left in their hearts as to hearing the pleas towards their subjects. Some rulers like Louis XIV who was at the helm in the years 1643-1715 could not be ashamed to speak out that he was the state meaning everything in France was at his mercy. In a nutshell, the monarchy that was autocratic, cases of defective administration and expenditure that was extremely extravagant on the side of those in power formed the foundation of revolution. Those people who were at the helm of power never wanted to shoulder any financial burden.
Social causes
The condition as far as the social end is concerned was miserable in France at the time. There was a division amongst the people of France, and this gave out the category of three classes namely the common people, those regarded as nobles and also the clergy. All these classes were characterized differently. For instance, the clergy group of people comprised of those individuals who assumed the number one position in society. They were the mangers of such institutions like France’s educational institutions, the monasteries and also the churches and never knew what it meant to feel the pain of paying taxes. This class of people exploited those without means and from the exploitations lived lives of extravagance. Through their actions, the common man hated them so much. The nobility was second in the French land. They too just like their other counterparts in the clergy class never knew what paying tax was like. The struggles and problems of the common man was never a bother to this class of people. The third estate comprised the group of people we can simply refer to as heterogeneous and here falls the farmer, sweepers, and all the individuals were see as useless because of their occupations or poverty standards. This class of have not’s ironically was the one that paid taxes. There was a group of individuals in society who fell in the category of teachers, doctors, and even lawyers but was ranked as the third estate by the French monarchy. They are the people who put the zeal amongst the common man for a revolution. They educated them of their rights and by their influence; the common person became hostile towards the monarchy.
Economic Causes
When leaders spend extravagantly on themselves, families and those around them the country becomes bankrupt. This is what exactly happened in France. The leaders were spending without any second thought, and this led to the country becoming penniless. Additionally, in the reign of Louis XVI, the country entered into wars that were in fact so expensive and thereby leading to the country becoming poor. His wife also contributed immensely to this condition because she was so extravagant in her expenditure. The instability of the economy in France was surely a major cause of the revolution.
Among the short term causes were the poor harvests experienced in the year 1788 going to 1789 thereby making bread expensive.
There were three stages of the revolution namely:
The period in the years of 1789 and 1792 is referred to as the moderate phase. In this first period the, there were no funds and as such the King became bankrupt. There were efforts in trying to raise funds by calling into session the estates general. Since there were no funds, the country experienced the high food prices which added to the peoples’ misery. There was unrest in the Paris streets as all classes of people from beggars to the learned fellows without jobs flocked the streets. The king through the advice from his advisors came out with a large army in a bid to keep the people quiet, something that angered people the more.
The second phase can be referred to as the radical phase taking place in the year 1792-1795. This phase was characterized by the bid of the French government to raise an army whose major task was to protect the country against invasion. The king was executed by the national convention which was commissioned into action by the Paris mob. There was a stir and people felt to that sense of nationalism for once. The movement was strengthened by those who opposed the monarchy whereby each pointed fingers to the other.
The other phase was the counter revolutionary which took place in 1795-1815.
This one was characterized by a new constitution that was written and provided for restricted suffrage which of course was a benefit to the well-to-do individuals. The army was called upon to defend this group of individuals against invasion and subsequent overthrow.
Napoleon can be taken as one of the officers who though young was very brilliant. He rose the ranks quickly and became a commander of the garrison of Paris where he aided a lot in clearing those people who were demonstrating in the streets. The advancement of his fame came when he was quite successful in his campaigns in Italy something that helped build his reputation and in due course gave him the freedom to move around in the maneuverings of politics that followed. He advanced his aggressiveness to as far as Egypt whereby his political skill prevailed by gaining the day’s Muslim local government support. Napoleon was keen to do away with the opposition and actually to identify himself with the revolution. He called upon every French citizen to support him and in the end became very successful in appealing to people to accord him the support he needed. He managed to unite the country that had the experience of civil war for more than a decade.
The role that this great man Napoleon played in the revolutionary front is so controversial since he identified himself with this revolutionary cause during the time he seized power. However, the actions speak that he was a counter-revolutionary figure who had himself crowned as an emperor and going to the extent of appointing his brother to become king in some parts of the French territory and also creating an order was saw his close allies and confidants benefit by appointing them into systems that were hereditary. All these show that he only wanted power, and there was nothing like making the lives of the subjects better.
In conclusion, we can say that the French Revolution was a sure show that for leaders to be successful in their rule, they must be ready to serve and not act selfishly in a bid to retain power and enjoy extravagance while the subjects live in abject poverty. It was a show that together people can manage to bring change not only to their lives but also to the lives of subsequent generations. Those in power have always ensured that they impart fear amongst their subjects so as to remain at the helm. This must not be allowed as we can learn from the revolution.
Bibliography
De Tocqueville, Alexis, François Furet, and Françoise Mélonio.The Old Regime and the Revolution, Volume II: Notes on the French Revolution and Napoleon. Vol. 2.University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Hunt, Lynn Avery. Politics, culture, and class in the French Revolution.Vol. 1.Univ of California Press, 2004.
Lefebvre, Georges. "The Coming of the French Revolution (Princeton Classic Editions) by." (1947).
