CHAPTER 21: The French Revolution and Napoleon
Roots of Revolution
A. Versailles and the Estates-General: May-June 1789
1. Louis XVI lacked initiative, married to frivolous Marie Antoinette, alienated many
2. High national debt
3. King agreed to call Estates-General to deal with financial problems
a. Consisted of three estates: clergy, nobles, commoners
4. Once assembly met, Third Estate insisted on voting by head, rather than by order
French Revolution
A. Suffering and Explosion in
1. Louis
XVI brought troops to
2. Soldiers
guarding grain, weapons in
3. Crowds formed in Paris, people took Bastille, July 14, symbol of popular revolt
4. Night of August 4, Assembly ended feudalism, Old Regime
5. Women,
National Guard, Lafayette marched to
a.
King unprepared for confrontation, royal family returned to
B. Moderate Phase of the Revolution: August 1789-September 1791
1. To
define its political principles Assembly adopted Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen
a. Proclaimed “inalienable rights” to liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression
b. Promised freedom of speech, press, religion
c. All male citizens equal before law, eligible for public office
2. Assembly declared martial law, concerned with keeping order, protecting property
3. Assembly attempted to solve financial problems by seizing church properties as collateral for new paper currency (assignats)
4. Assembly
decreed Civil Constitution of the Clergy
a. Clergy became salaried public servants
b. Churchmen required to swear loyalty oath to nation
c. Alienated many Catholics, especially peasants
5. Assembly’s policies favorable to middle class
6. Women involved in early stages of Revolution in crowds, salons, political clubs
a. Society of Republican Revolutionary Women
b. Royalist Olympe de Gouges wrote manifestos, guillotined in 1793
c. Assembly ignored pleas for free divorce, women’s education, civil rights
7. Assembly
finally wrote Constitution of 1791, made
a. Local government on three levels
A. The Drift Toward Radicalism: September 1791-June 1793
1. Tension mounted
a.
Unrest in country, mob action in cities, radical demagogues like Danton
b. Emigré nobles, foreign royalists denounced Revolution
c.
Royal family tried to flee
2. Variety of opinions in Assembly
a. Conservatives sat on right, Moderates sat in middle, Liberals/radicals sat on left
3. Possibility of war loomed, 1791
a.
b. Girondists exploited foreign threat
c. King, queen considered benefits of war
d. Jacobins opposed war as hindrance to Revolution
4.
a. French armies met disaster in early battles
5. Paris Commune seized power from Legislative Assembly
a. Deposed king, executed 2000 suspected royalists, priests
b. Constitutional Convention called to create new government
6. French defeated Prussians at Valmy, stirred radicalism, nationalism
7. Jacobins
gained one-vote majority to execute king, European states horrified = formed
First Coalition to counter
B. The Jacobin Republic
1. Charlotte Corday (Girondist) murdered Marat, Jacobin leader
a. Maxmilien Robespierre, Jacobins began to dominate Convention
b. Rigid dictatorship, terror followed
2. Committee
of Public Safety began Reign of Terror
a. “Enemies of Revolution” denounced, tried by revolutionary tribunal, usually sent to guillotine
b. 25,000 executed
3. Convention raised enormous army, changed the nature of European warfare
a. Began mass conscription (levée en masse), citizen army of 800,000, largest standing army in Europe
4. Jacobins adopted stringent economic policies to fight war, placate restive population
5. Convention enforced new styles, symbols, calendar, festivals, religion
6. Jacobins
began to distrust women activists, executed Olympe
de Gouges
C. Conservative Reaction and the End of the Terror
1. Execution of Robespierre, July 1794, marked end of Reign of Terror
2. Directory governed 1795-1799, conservative, antiroyalist
a. Came from narrow political base, upper middle class
b. Opposed return of monarchy, restoration of church, royalist land
c. Depended on army
Napoleonic Era
A. Napoleon the Corsican
1. Napoleon, bright, ambitious, daring, lucky
a. Took advantage of opportunities
2. Knew he was “man of destiny,” had enormous ego, energy, organizational ability
3. Directory gave him army to mount diversionary attack on Austria from south, 1797
a. Napoleon won several victories in Italy, outdid main French armies
4. Commanded Egyptian campaign, 1798
a. Planned to attack British holdings in India after giving up on invasion of Britain
b. Trapped when Nelson destroyed fleet, later touted scientific accomplishments, discovery of Rosetta Stone
5. Returned home to oversee coup
a. Replaced Directory with Consulate, 1799
B. New Foundations
1. Produced system based on merit, efficiency, law
a. Set up Bank of France, maintained stable monetary system, honest tax system
b.
Came to terms with papacy through Concordat of 1801
c. Set up mass education at all levels, supervised by University of France
d. Compiled comprehensive civil law code, Code Napoléon, greatest achievement
e. Strengthened security system through censorship, secret police, spies
2. To consolidate changes, Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, followed by plebiscite
C. Napoleon as Military Leader
1. Key was his leadership, tactics, ideology, backed by superior technology/materiel support
2. Britain controlled seas, Napoleon established Continental System to isolate/defeat Britain
3. Napoleon set up satellite kingdoms, placed his relatives on thrones of nearby lands
Napoleonic Era (Continued)
D. Napoleon’s Revolution in Europe
1. Continental System hurt Britain’s exports, but stimulated economy, industrial progress
2. Napoleon carried Revolution’s message of liberty, equality, fraternity to defeated areas
a. Abolished serfdom/feudal privileges, reorganized administration, introduced Code Napoléon
b. Instilled liberalism, nationalism that later spurred resistance
3. Major error in Peninsular War, deposed Bourbons
E. Napoleon’s Downfall
1. Frustrated by opposition, Napoleon set out to consolidate control over Europe
2. Napoleon
suffered disaster in
3. Prussians, Austrians, Russians pushed west
a.
Napoleon suffered decisive defeat at
4. Napoleon returned February 1815 for 100 Days
a.
Raised army of 300,000, defeated at
A Return to Peace
A. The Congress of
1. After
Napoleon in
a.
All but
b.
Leaders of great powers included Castlereagh
(
2. After Napoleon’s 100-day return, deliberations resumed along traditional balance of power perspective, largely ignoring democratic, liberal, nationalistic forces
3. Congress followed four main principles
a. Legitimacy: old ruling families restored to thrones
b.
Encirclement of
c. Compensation: land exchanges to balance gains, losses
d. Balance of power: solutions to attain relatively equal strength among powers
B. The Congress System
1. Allies sought arrangements to maintain postwar order, peace, stability
a.
2. Congress System provided collective security to suppress challenges to status quo
3.
Metternich arranged meetings at Troppau,
Laibach,
a.
Troops sent to
b.
4. Congress System considered intervention to deal with Latin American revolutions
a.
5. After 1825 Congress System little more than Austro-Russian alliance
a. Metternich set agenda
b.
Russians acted as policeman of