The 6 Stages of the French Revolution and its Characteristics

The stages of the French Revolution took place in an approximate period of 10 years, beginning with the inaugural session of the Estates General in 1789 and concluding in 1799 with the coup d'état carried out by Napoleon Bonaparte to position himself as the first consul of France.

The French Revolution took place at the end of the eighteenth century, when the country faced an economic crisis derived from the perpetuation of feudalism and the subjugation of the peasant class to the will of a few lords and clergy (Ltda., 2017).

end of the feudal monarchy, one of the consequences of the French revolution

Social inequality, excessive taxation of the peasant class, the emergence of bourgeoisie and the ideas of equality proposed by Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau, led the people to rise up and fight for the reorganization of legal power and popular sovereignty.

As a result, the monarchy in France received a coup that ended once and for all with the feudal system and led to the declaration of human rights, the struggle against oppression and the constitution of France as an independent republic.

Main stages of the French Revolution

1 - Meeting of the States-General in 1789

In 1789, the monarch Louis XVI called the representatives of each state to an assembly known as the Estates General.

During this event both the clergy and the nobility and some representative characters of the Third Estate (the people) met to discuss the situation of the kingdom.

The financial crisis, the bad harvests, the hunger and the general misery led the kingdom to a situation of general discontent that required an early solution (Bibliographies and lives, 2017).

2 - National Assembly and revolt between 1789 and 1791

Those individuals who represented the people and the most important members of the bourgeoisie unsuccessfully requested the right to vote individually.

By being rejected and seeing that the monarchy refused to yield to their petitions, they decided to constitute the National Assembly, as the highest representative of the sovereignty of the nation.

In 1789, members of the National Assembly took an oath to remain together until France was constituted as an independent republic with a constitution.

3 - Taking of the Bastille in 1789

On July 14, 1789, the fortress charged with serving as a prison and protecting the western side of Paris (the Bastille) was assaulted by the people.

This event took place before the possibility that the National Assembly was dissolved by decision of the monarchy.

It was with the assault and capture of the Bastille that the French Revolution formally began. This assault was largely a symbolic act against the monarchy, since the Bastille was considered a fundamental icon of the sovereignty of the king.

Once the Bastille was assaulted, other French cities followed suit, causing the phenomenon of revolution to spread to rural areas.

An initiative was launched against the lords and began what was subsequently known as the"regime of terror"or"the great fear."

In August 1789, the National Assembly had become the National Constituent Assembly. In this way, feudalism and the rights and privileges associated with it were abolished.

During this same month, the Rights of Man were published for the first time, based on the ideals of fraternity, equality and freedom.

For the year 1791, the Assembly secured the approval of the first Constitution of France, where the three political powers (executive, legislative and judicial) were separated, and popular sovereignty was established.

To this date, France was considered a constitutional monarchy. Both the king and the ministers had to be respected and would be in charge of regulating the executive power.

Legislative power was conferred on a Legislative Assembly, whose members would be elected by popular vote (Universal History, 2017).

The process to establish a constitution in France was fraught with difficulties, especially during its final stage.

King Louis XVI pretended to accept the requests of the Assembly, while secretly managed the intervention of other monarchies to end the revolution.

Finally, the strategy of the king did not have success and this one tried to flee of failed form in the year 1791. The behavior of Louis XVI took to that the town rejected to him.

4 - Legislative Assembly between 1791 and 1792

The constitutional monarchy did not last a year in France. On the other hand, the Legislative Assembly failed to stop the discontent of the people.

The ideals of revolution became increasingly strong and other monarchies of Europe, such as those of Austria and Prussia, feared that these ideals affected southern kingdoms.

This is how France enters into war with other countries on April 20, 1792, suffering a great defeat that reinforced the ideals of revolution mainly of the leftist groups in France.

5 - The convention and the republic between 1792 and 1795

The monarchy in France finally fell when the people burst into the palace of Tuileries (residence of Louis XVI), finding documents that proved their betrayal. This is how the king is imprisoned and it is considered that the monarchy definitely falls.

Immediately after the fall of the monarchy, elections are held by universal suffrage (male only).

Also, the implementation of the constitution coincided with the triumph of the troops of France against the Prussian army in Valmy. Two days after this triumph, France was proclaimed republic.

The French Convention, composed of its two parties (right and left), was affected by the struggle for power that took place among those who were part of the process of revolution.

Problems also appeared later, when Louis XVI was beheaded and the other monarchies of Europe decided to form a coalition to end the revolution.

The initiative of the coalition, as well as the resolution of any problem that appeared after the death of Louis XVI, was mitigated by the force of the left wing that conformed the Convention (the Jacobins).

These were in charge of drafting a new constitution, which would allow them to leave the regime of terror in which they were. This is how a new executive power, known as the Board of Directors, is designated.

6 - The Directory

For the year 1795, the Convention was dismissed and two chambers were created (the Council of Elders and the Council of the Five Hundred).

Both chambers were elected by popular vote and were dominated by the conservative bourgeois class, charged with suppressing revolts and demonstrations.

This directory implemented policies that would unleash the malaise. This is how it was decided to make a coup at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte, in the year 1799.

All this in order to replace the Directory by an authoritarian regime, to appoint to Napoleón like first consul and to end with the process of the revolution.

References

  1. Bibliographies and lives . (2017). Obtained from Stages of the French Revolution: biografiasyvidas.com
  2. with, R. (2017). Exemplode.com . Obtained from Stages of the French Revolution: ejemplode.com
  3. View Forum Posts . (2017). Retrieved from"What were the historical phases of the French Revolution?: escuelapedia.com
  4. Universal history . (2017). Obtained from The French Revolution: mihistoriauniversal.com
  5. , Q. y. (2017). Online Teacher . Obtained from French Revolution: profesorenlinea.cl


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