Although the Glorious Revolution and the French Revolution took place at different periods of time, the fundamental cause of both revolutions was the same; the people wanted to be granted individual rights. The Glorious Revolution took place in 1688 while the French Revolution took place in the 1788-1799. The glorious revolution can be considered to be a success because it ended the absolute monarchy in England for good. It was also a bloodless revolution. On the other hand, the French Revolution was bloody, and it gave them a dictator in Napoleon Bonaparte. While the Glorious Revolution was organized, the French Revolution was not carefully planned and appeared to gain momentum after famine and economic crises.
The Glorious Revolution was as a result of King James's stand and religious beliefs. Later in the year sixteen eighty five, the leading social class began opposing him since they did not share the king's view of religion. Another reason for his opposition was the fact that he was developing close ties with the French. In the year, sixteen eighty eight, the king bore a son. The citizens did not welcome this news well since it meant that there would be a change in the king's heir. The original heir to the throne would be the king's daughter whose name was Mary. The nobles had no problem with Mary being heir since she was a protestant. The change in succession line meant that the chances of enforcing Catholicism were likely. After weighing their options, the nobles approached William of Orange who was Mary's husband so as to overthrow King James.
William's support both financially and politically was the reason behind his courage and success in overthrowing King James. He invaded England with a thoroughly equipped army in a great fleet. He also received support from the citizens of England who led demonstrations. James could not stand against such a formidable army and fled for his life. The French revolution, on the other hand, was as a result of poor agriculture, lack of employment and social struggles among the members of various classes.
The French revolution began after the poor began to complain about the increase in prices of the common goods and blamed it on poor governance. As a result, King Louis XVI tried his best to make changes in prices and reduce the amount of tax that the poor paid shifting the burden to the rich class and partly to the church. Unfortunately, the poor were at the time too angry to notice his efforts. Moreover, the actions he took caused the rich class and the church to turn against him.
Later in the year seventeen eighty nine, the poor began holding demonstrations and damaging the property of the wealthy class. The government of France took advantage of this situation and took military action against the peasants in the country. History records this event as “the great scare”. The peasants in turn, fought for their lives leading France into a revolution. However, this was not the intention of the government. This historical occurrence led to the reign of terror. Consequently, Maximilien Robespeirre took over France.
After a long struggle and tyrannical reign by Maximilien, Napoleon Bonaparte with the support of the lower class was able to take over the country and set things straight where they were crooked. His greed, however, could not allow him to settle for France alone. He made war with several countries in Europe and capturing their territories. He took away one problem, replacing it with another one. He became a dictator in France. His fall came after certain powerful nations, Britain included, came together against his nation. In the initial stages, he was able to withstand their opposition, but as time went by the force became too strong for him leading to a collapse of his kingdom.
Many historians agree that the Glorious Revolution was more successful than the French Revolution because the Glorious revolution ended the monarchy in England permanently while the French Revolution gave them a ruthless dictator (Napoleon Bonaparte). Also, while the Glorious Revolution was bloodless, the French Revolution was a bloody affair and people lost their lives.
Works Cited
Cruickshanks, Eveline. The Glorious Revolution. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2000. Print.
Miller, John. The Glorious revolution. Harlow: Longman, 1997. Print.
Ross, Stewart. The French Revolution. London: Evans Brothers, 2003. Print.
Stewart, Matt. The French Revolution: A Novel . Berkeley, CA: Soft Skull Press, 2010. Print.
