Historian's Feud - The French Revolution
Historian's Feud The French Revolution began in 1789 and provided the world with its first meaningful experience with political ideology through the year 1799. The Revolution spelled a definitive end to the ancient regime and eclipsed all subsequent revolution as the republicans overthrew the monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. The French Revolution has been described as the encounter of competing classes beginning with the aristocratic protest against the absolute monarchy only to enlarge into a movement seeking fundamental political change and the popular dimension with working-class participation, particularly in Paris. The French Revolution could be classified as a revolution of ideology - a time for the intellectual system makers, the abstractionists. Ideology is the secular equivalent of theology directing the believer's attention to a perfected future when present woes will have dissipated and social harmony will reign. The French Revolution was a liberal revolution where the liberty of the individual was proclaimed and private property was respected, thus culminating in a time of extending praise of the self-made man. Francois Furet - seeing the Revolution as not only a set of causes and consequences but the opening of a society to all possibilities; Pierre Chaunu; and Michelle Vovelle - with a pluralistic
Australian History: Settlement of Australia
The Botany Bay Debate Evaluate the differing explanations of historians for the British government s decision to establish a colony in New South Wales History is based on historians interpretations of sources that remain from that time. First hand testimony and records that give direct access to the past are referred to as primary sources. These sources have not continued to exist by chance. The reason they have survived is that someone deemed them worthy of preservation. However there are some that survive by accident. These sources restrict and shape an historian s interpretation, however, different historians still have conflicting ideas about certain events in history. These differences in opinion are the result of the fragmentary and selective nature of the sources available. People have a great deal of scope to interpret sources differently. History cannot speak for itself; historians speak for it. Therefore historians put forward their own interpretation of history, as they understand it from the documents available. One event in Australian history that is of particular interest to historians is the decision made by the British government in seventeen eighty-eight to establish a colony in New South Wales (NSW), which was the name for the eastern half of the Australian continent. The range of primary sources relating to this event is very limited and
A Plan of investigation - To what degree is the Bois Caiman incident in Haiti at 14th of August 1791 a legend and what are facts?
A Plan of investigation To what degree is the Bois Caiman incident in Haiti at 14th of August 1791 a legend and what are facts? This investigation seeks to evaluate the nature around the Bois Caiman ceremony and whether or not it affected the Haitian revolution 1791-1804, or actually occurred at all. In the evening of August 21 1791 the first great slave rebellion in Haiti occurred and it's believed that this rebellion was organised on a secret slave meeting at August 14 in the Bois Caiman woods on Haiti. Some say at this day Haiti gave itself to the devil, others say slave rebellion leaders arranged the meeting, some historians even claim that the meeting never occurred, or that it was organised by the French governor to show the rich white people on Haiti that they needed French support and therefore should remain a French colony. Gathering information about the topic proved to be more difficult than assumed. Sources have mainly been internet web pages, and interviews with historians through mail and chat. There are remarkably few books written about the subject as well, so the information gathered in this essay comes from quite a variety of sources. B Summary of evidence In a report read at the Harriet Tubman seminar in November 1999, Robin Law at the university of Scotland said the following about the Bois Caiman ceremony "According to the received story, the
“Hegel legitimised the French Revolution but not the Revolutionaries themselves” Discuss.
"Hegel legitimised the French Revolution but not the Revolutionaries themselves" Discuss. George Willhelm Fredrich Hegel was a philosopher and political thinker whose ideas have shaped much political writing. His work can be seen as a progression and a criticism of Kant and Rousseau. In discussing an historical event that had a profound effect on his writings, it is necessary to consider not only Hegel's ideas on the way in which a state should be run, but also the concept of freedom as Hegel understood it. It is also important to realise how he viewed the role of the individual in society and how these thoughts could be used to justify the French Revolution. Hegel sought to go beyond the Kantian idea of society that involved blending individuals with state. It is also clear to see the influence of the classical Greek philosophers in his work as well as his allusion toward the autonomy of human kind. All of these elements can be combined to show how the idea behind the Revolution can be justified but the Revolutionaries can be condemned. Hegel's views on the role of the individual can be seen and used to justify the Revolution. Individual freedom can also be woven into these ideas and living in a community or society is how Hegel saw the individual fulfilling their life. Hegel agreed with the ideas of the classical Greeks in as much that he thought the individual
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and relating the concepts to David's "Brutus" and Friedrich's "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" Published in 1762, The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and relating the concepts to David's "Brutus" and Friedrich's "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" Published in 1762, The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau was originally intended to be a segment of a much more extensive work on political institutions. This abandoned, the Contract remained, and Rousseau's writing has a distinct originality - he disagrees with other contract theorists like Hobbes and Grotius, who have talked of people being virtually enslaved. Rousseau's central argument is that by a principal of unity, and social responsibility to follow the 'general will', people will attain freedom. Rousseau believed that collective person following their own law was freedom, and in this theory, an interesting paradox emerges; "whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole of society, which means nothing more or less that that he will be forced to be free." -Political Writings of Rousseau, ed by C.E Vaughan (Cambridge 1915.) Rousseau does not state that people are forced to commit free acts. He states people can be forced in relation to acts that can ultimately endanger the state of freedom. The example used would be a person experiencing drug addiction. To subsequently prevent someone from continuing this dangerous addiction would in essence be 'forcing' freedom. Rousseau is saying
From 1911-14 were the Trade Unions a threat to British society?
From 1911-14 were the Trade Unions a threat to British society? The five years or so before the First World War showed a dramatic upsurge in the amount of strike action taking place and historians such as Halevy, Cole and Postgate have argued that this was brought about by a desire from the workers to follow the principles of syndicalism. In other words, they wished to take 'direct action' instead of following the constitutional system of politics, in order that they may first take control of the country's industry and then total control of the whole country. The historians who advocate this theory list various reasons for their belief. To begin with, they point to the fact that the railwaymen, transport workers and miners had amalgamated into the Triple Alliance, which could mark the start of a union for the whole of industry and henceforth increasing the chances of a general strike. A general strike would have been necessary for the workers to take control of industry- the first objective of a syndicalist. A further reason which historians use to demonstrate the influences of syndicalism, is the sheer scale and seriousness of strikes taking place and certainly there was a noticeable increase in the number of working days lost and the number of strikes after 1910. In 1912, forty-one million working days were lost, when in the preceding five years the average had been just
The Surrealists Had No Practical Political Programme: They Were Nothing More Than Idealists and Dreamers” Do YouThink This Criticism Is Justified? Discuss.
THE SURREALISTS HAD NO PRACTICAL POLITICAL PROGRAMME: THEY WERE NOTHING MORE THAN IDEALISTS AND DREAMERS" DO YOU THINK THIS CRITICISM IS JUSTIFIED? DISCUSS. As much as they wanted to deny it, the surrealists did inherit the Dadaist's nihilism and love of violence. They retained the antisocial character of Dada in many respects, however, they did so in the name of a new principle, that of revolution which at first, meant the liberation of the mind and spirit, but later came to include political and social revolution. Their major primary goal was to place the dream and the unconscious at the highest level of Art but like the Dadaists, they were determined to destroy traditional culture by ridicule and even by violence. The first manifesto of surrealism was published in 1924 and was fundamental for the understanding of surrealist thought, such as their desire to have a global revolt. The surrealists have been accused of being nothing more than being idealists, dreamers and anarchists. They were interested in dream and free association purely as a method of liberating man's creativity, and they claimed that poetry came from the unconscious, the irrational part of man's nature. They also believed that man has been inhibited by logic and rational thought and so saw it their task to liberate man's mind and wanted to teach him how to rediscover his own unconscious and show him
Through examining the historians Georges Lefebvre and Alfred Cobban, what are the underlying factors that shape and affect the historian's writing of the French Revolution
Through examining the historians Georges Lefebvre and Alfred Cobban, what are the underlying factors that shape and affect the historian's writing of the French Revolution? _____________________________________________________________________________________ Synopsis By exploring the different interpretations of the French Revolution, the aim of my historical enquiry- which was consistent throughout the entire process- was to demonstrate the notion that historians in writing history are affected by their context and methodology. This directed my research and the formulation of my essay. As both historians are prominent, I was able attain copious amounts of information detailing their context, methodology, political affiliation and ideological convictions. Initially, the intended focus was on the historiographical issues which shaped the historical debate between the Marxist interpretation of the Revolution and the Revisionist reaction against this interpretation, represented by Lefebvre and Cobban respectively. This debate would revolve around the question of whether the revolution was 'bourgeois'. However, in analyzing Cobban's The Social Interpretation and Lefebvre's Coming of the French Revolution, it dawned that what seemed to be a debate was in fact a change in the historiography of the French Revolution which resulted from the differing contexts of the historians.
To What Extent Was The Destruction Of The Principle Of Privilege The Most Consequence Of The French Revolution For France?
Raz Rauf L6AB To What Extent Was The Destruction Of The Principle Of Privilege The Most Consequence Of The French Revolution For France? There were many changes or consequences of the French Revolution, all of which are interlinked in 1 way or another. However the purpose of this essay is to analyse each factor and conclude which factor is the most important, and why. Here is a list of all the factors/consequences of the French revolution: Ideological Changes Social Consequences Political Consequences Religious Consequences Financial/Economical Consequences Military Consequences The ideological changes leading up to the revolution affected every single cause of the French Revolution, no matter the degree of significance it had on a particular consequence. This was mainly due to the movement known as the Enlightenment. This was an intellectual movement in which had a wide audience among the educated classes. These included the bourgeoisie; liberal-minded nobility and churchmen. The ideas of philosophes like Voltaire, Montesquieu & Rousseau led to a questioning of the existing arrangements in society, politics & religion; whilst the ideas of economic thinkers like François Quensay helped shape proposals to reform the tax system and the economy more generally. The writings of Rousseau, especially his work The Social Contract, laid out a basis for a representative
Literature of the Romantic Period
Literature of the Romantic Period The impact and influence that the French Revolution had upon British cultural, political and literary life was unarguably substantial, and virtually all writers during this period can be seen to have responded to the onslaught of revolution in one way or another. The revolution was at first largely welcomed by the British public, the French monarchy at the time being something of a tyrannical dictatorship. The revolutionary doctrine was based upon equality, and the right to liberty. Political institutions founded upon right of birth and including only members of the aristocracy or monarchy were deemed worthless. The French revolution advocated freedom from strictures such as class, and the release of individual subjectivity. Various financial difficulties experienced by the French government after its involvement in the American War of Independence in 1776 added to the rising feelings of tension and unrest, and eventually culminated with the 1789 Storming of the Bastille, the catalyst needed to spark off the revolution. It is around this time that some of the most important and influential pieces concerning the movement were composed in English literature. As aforementioned, the French Revolution initially enjoyed a great deal of credence in this country, particularly amongst lower middle class rebels and intellectuals, being as it was
