What causes revolutions? Answer with reference to France between 1789 and 1870.

In this essay I am going to look at the French Revolution of 1789 and what the Revolution’s causes were and the effects it had on the society of the time.

The 1789 French Revolution is explained as a social upheaval, where a bourgeoisie asserted itself against the old order which was dominated by the nobility. Feudalism was therefore destroyed in 1789 which meant that a new capitalist order was developed and was based on the wealth and influence of the bourgeoisie. However, non-nobles wanted to join the nobility rather than destroy the aristocratic order. (Rapport (2005) p.10)  

Historians have interpreted the French Revolution as a political transformation, with its roots still in 18th century political culture and ideas. A new political culture emerged where the power of the monarchy shifted to the ‘people’ in various ways. The emergence of ‘public opinions’ in the 18th century, had lively public debates on politics, terms such as ‘nation, liberty, citizen’ and ‘patriot’ was current before the French Revolution. (Rapport (2005) p.10)  

The first few years of the French Revolution 1789-92 can be seen as a period of rapid social and institutional change during which the monarchy was dismantled. This was the ‘moderate’ phase as the leaders of the National and Constituent Assemblies tried to control the radicals and to establish a ‘balanced’ constitution. The speed in which the changes occurred in 1789 is a result of pendulum reaction between the king’s government and the people of Paris. Louis XVI tried to win back some ground he had lost to the National Assembly by dismissing his most progressive minister Necker and reconstituting his government. This provoked demonstrations and riots which ended on 14th of June in the fall of Bastille – result of bankruptcy of royal authority. The king tried to keep his power by rejecting some of the reforming legislation put forward by the National Assembly. This resulted in the March of the Women (5 October) and the forcible removal of the king from Versailles, the seat of royal power since 1680s. Participation spread and R. R. Palmer states ‘Plain people took part in continuing revolutionary activity at the bottom while the Constituent Assembly and its successors governed at the top’. (Lee (1982) p.10)

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During the second phase of the Revolution 1792-4, the Revolution became more violent and doctrinaire. The Swiss historian Burckhardt stated that as the Revolution sped up, the representatives of the previous stages were more ‘moderate’. The catalyst of the change was war. Most of the Assembly were enthusiastic about taking on France’s neighbours, the Feuillants assumed that national struggle could strengthen the authority of the king, but the Girondins believes that a ‘people’s war’ would destroy the monarchy which in the end turned out to be true as D. I. Wright stated ‘revolutionized the revolution’. The awaiting invasion of ...

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