During the French Revolution. French Revolution of the 18th century. Restoration of the Bourbons and the July Monarchy

The 18th century is considered to be the century of the Great french revolution. The overthrow of the monarchy, the revolutionary movement and vivid examples of terror eclipsed even bloody events in their cruelty October revolution 1917. The French prefer to bashfully remain silent and romanticize this period in their own history in every possible way. The French Revolution is hard to overestimate. A striking example how the most bloodthirsty and terrible beast, dressed in the robes of Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood, is ready to sink its fangs into anyone, and its name is Revolution.

Prerequisites for the beginning of the revolution: socio-economic and political crisis

Assuming the throne in 1774, he appoints Robert Turgot as comptroller general of finances, but a wide range of reforms proposed by this politician were rejected. The aristocracy strenuously clung to its privileges, and all requisitions with duties fell heavily on the shoulders of the third estate, whose representatives in France were 90%.

In 1778 Turgot succeeded Necker. He abolishes serfdom in royal domains, torture during interrogations, limits the court's expenses, but these measures were only a drop in the ocean. Absolutism prevented the development of capitalist relations that were maturing in society. Therefore, the change of economic formations was only a matter of time. There was a deepening economic crisis, expressed in rising prices in the absence of production growth. Inflation, which hurt the poorest sections of the population, was one of the catalysts that spurred the growth of revolutionary sentiment in society.

The US War of Independence, which inspired hope in the revolutionary-minded French, also showed an excellent example. If we talk briefly about the Great French Revolution (and about the prerequisites that are ripe), then we should also note the political crisis in France. The aristocracy considered itself located between the rock and the anvil - the king and the people. Therefore, she fiercely blocked all innovations, which, in her opinion, threatened liberties and preferences. The king understood that at least something had to be done: France could no longer live in the old way.

Convocation of the Estates General May 5, 1789

All three estates pursued their goals and objectives. The king hoped to avoid the collapse of the economy by reforming the tax system. The aristocracy - to maintain its position, it clearly did not need reforms. The common people, or the third estate, hoped that they would become the platform where their demands would finally be heard. Swan, crayfish and pike...

Fierce disputes and discussions, thanks to the huge support of the people, were successfully resolved in favor of the third estate. Of the 1,200 deputy seats, 610, or the majority, went to representatives of the broad masses of the people. And soon they had a chance to show their political strength. On June 17, in the arena for playing ball, the representatives of the people, taking advantage of the confusion and vacillation among the clergy and aristocracy, announced the creation of the National Assembly, vowing not to disperse until the Constitution was drafted. The clergy and part of the nobles supported them. The Third Estate has shown that it must be reckoned with.

Storming of the Bastille

The beginning of the French Revolution was marked by a landmark event - the storming of the Bastille. The French celebrate this day as a national holiday. As for historians, their opinions are divided: there are skeptics who believe that there was no capture: the garrison surrendered voluntarily, and everything happened because of the frivolity of the crowd. We need to clarify some points right away. There was a capture, and there were victims. Several people tried to lower the bridge, and he crushed these unfortunates. The garrison could resist, they had guns and experience. There were not enough provisions, but history knows examples of heroic defenses of fortresses.

Based on the documents, we have the following: from the Minister of Finance Necker to the deputy commandant of the fortress Pujo, everyone spoke out about the abolition of the Bastille, while expressing the general opinion. The fate of the famous fortress-prison was a foregone conclusion - it would have been demolished anyway. But history does not know the subjunctive mood: on July 14, 1789, the Bastille was taken, and this marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

A constitutional monarchy

The determination of the people of France forced the government to make concessions. The municipalities of the cities were transformed into a commune - an independent revolutionary government. A new state flag was adopted - the famous French tricolor. The National Guard was led by de Lafayette, who became famous in the US War of Independence. The National Assembly began the formation of a new government and the drafting of the Constitution. On August 26, 1789, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" was adopted - the most important document in the history of the French Revolution. It declared the fundamental rights and freedoms of the new France. Now everyone had the right to freedom of conscience and resistance to oppression. He could openly express his opinion and be protected from attacks on private property. Now everyone was equal before the law and had an equal obligation to taxation. French Revolution was expressed in every line of this progressive document. While most European countries continued to suffer from social inequality generated by the remnants of the Middle Ages.

And although the reforms of 1789-1791. much has changed dramatically, the adoption of a law on the suppression of any uprising was directed against the poor. It was also forbidden to unite in unions and hold strikes. The workers have been deceived again.

On September 3, 1891, a new constitution was adopted. It gave the right to vote only to a limited number of representatives of the middle strata. A new Legislative Assembly was convened, whose members could not be re-elected. All this contributed to the radicalization of the population and the possibility of terror and despotism.

The threat of external invasion and the fall of the monarchy

England was afraid that with the adoption of advanced economic reforms, the influence of France would increase, so all forces were thrown to prepare for the invasion of Austria and Prussia. The patriotic French supported the call to defend the Motherland. The French National Guard advocated the removal of the king's power, the creation of a republic and the choice of a new national convention. The Duke of Brunswick issued a manifesto outlining his intentions: to invade France and destroy the revolution. After they learned about him in Paris, the events of the French Revolution began to develop rapidly. On August 10, the rebels went to the Tuileries and, having defeated the Swiss guards, arrested the king's family. The illustrious persons were placed in the Temple fortress.

War and its impact on the revolution

If we briefly characterize the Great French Revolution, it should be noted that the mood in French society was an explosive mixture of suspicion, fear, distrust and bitterness. Lafayette fled, the border fortress of Longwy surrendered without a fight. Purges, arrests and mass executions began at the initiative of the Jacobins. The majority in the Convention were the Girondins - it was they who organized the defense and even won victories at first. Their plans were extensive: from the liquidation of the Paris Commune to the capture of Holland. By that time, France was at war with almost all of Europe.

Personal disputes and squabbles, a drop in living standards and an economic blockade - under the influence of these factors, the influence of the Girondins began to fade, which the Jacobins took advantage of. The betrayal of General Dumouriez served as an excellent occasion to accuse the government of complicity with the enemies and remove him from power. Danton headed the Committee of Public Safety - the executive power was concentrated in the hands of the Jacobins. The significance of the Great French Revolution and the ideals it stood for lost all meaning. Terror and violence swept France.

Apogee of terror

France was going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. Her army retreated, the southwest, under the influence of the Girondins, revolted. In addition, supporters of the monarchy became more active. The death of Marat shocked Robespierre so much that he craved only blood.

The functions of the government were transferred to the Committee of Public Safety - a wave of terror swept over France. After the adoption of the decree of June 10, 1794, the accused were deprived of the right to defense. The results of the Great French Revolution during the dictatorship of the Jacobins - about 35 thousand dead and over 120 thousand who fled into exile.

The policy of terror so absorbed its creators that the republic, having become hated, perished.

Napoleon Bonaparte

France was bled civil war, and the revolution loosened its thrust and grip. Everything has changed: now the Jacobins themselves were persecuted and persecuted. Their club was closed, and the Committee of Public Safety gradually lost power. The Convention, defending the interests of those who enriched themselves during the years of the revolution, on the contrary, strengthened its position, but its position remained precarious. Taking advantage of this, the Jacobins staged a rebellion in May 1795, which, although it was brutally suppressed, accelerated the dissolution of the Convention.

Moderate republicans and Girondins created the Directory. France is mired in corruption, debauchery and a complete decline in morals. One of the most prominent figures in the Directory was Count Barras. He noticed Napoleon Bonaparte and promoted him through the ranks, sending him on military campaigns.

The people finally lost faith in the Directory and its political leaders, which Napoleon took advantage of. On November 9, 1799, the consular regime was proclaimed. All executive power was concentrated in the hands of the first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. The functions of the other two consuls were only advisory. The revolution is over.

The fruits of the revolution

The results of the Great French Revolution were expressed in a change in economic formations and a change in socio-economic relations. The church and the aristocracy finally lost their former power and influence. France embarked on the economic rails of capitalism and progress. Her people, hardened in battles and hardships, possessed the most powerful combat-ready army of that time. The significance of the Great French Revolution is great: in the minds of many European nations formed the ideals of equality and dreams of freedom. But at the same time there was also a fear of new revolutionary upheavals.

History of the new time. Crib Alekseev Viktor Sergeevich

28. RESULTS OF THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION

French Revolution 1789–1794 was indeed a great revolution. It did away with the feudal system, with the remnants of the Middle Ages, and paved the way for the development of a new, progressive system for that time - capitalism. The French Revolution put an end to the monarchy, established new order contributing to the development of both the economy and social thought, art, science - all areas of the material and spiritual life of French society.

Over the next century, revolutionary movements in Europe and America used the experience of the French Revolution - its slogans of freedom, equality and fraternity, its practical actions to establish bourgeois democracy and order.

The French Revolution took place almost a century and a half later than the English. If in England the bourgeoisie opposed the royal power in alliance with the new nobility, then in France it opposed the king and the nobility, relying on the broad plebeian masses of the city and the peasantry.

The participation of the popular masses left its mark on all the outstanding events of the revolution; it was at their request and under their direct pressure that the most important revolutionary acts and measures were carried out. The revolution developed along an ascending line, and it achieved its boldest and most effective results in 1793 during the Jacobin dictatorship, when the influence of the popular masses was strongest. Based on this experience, the founder of scientific communism, K. Marx, in the middle of the 19th century, developed a theory about the need for the dictatorship of the proletariat in making a socialist revolution.

The bourgeois-democratic content of the Great French Revolution was to "cleanse" the social relations (orders, institutions) of the country from the Middle Ages, from serfdom, from feudalism. The successes of this revolution led to the rapid growth of capitalism and at the same time contributed to the formation and growth of the proletariat. The French Revolution, despite its enormous progressive role and revolutionary influence on most countries and peoples, was bourgeois-limited in its results. It did not abolish the exploitation of man by man, but only replaced feudal forms of oppression with capitalist ones.

Under the influence of the events of the French Revolution, the Third Republic in the XIX century. made the Marseillaise her anthem and the tricolor flag her banner. At the Sorbonne (University of Paris) the teaching of the course of the French Revolution was introduced, a special scientific journal was founded, and publication began with state subsidies. archival documents during the revolution of 1789–1794. Since that time, researchers have begun to rely on a wide scientific material, and it is not by chance that arose in the 80s. 19th century the school of the history of the French Revolution was called "scientific". The first work in France that paid due attention to the socio-economic history of the French Revolution was the "Socialist History" by J. Jaurès. This book was based on the use of a huge archival material on the revolution of 1789-1794. and was written by J. Zhores for ordinary workers and peasants.

The Great French Revolution "gave birth" to a great figure, the future Emperor of France - Napoleon Bonaparte, the creator of a huge empire at the beginning of the 19th century. in Europe. Napoleon's comrades-in-arms were people from among the common people who went through the harsh school of the revolution of 1789-1794, they were also his support in advancing to power. Thus, the Great French Revolution was an important and main prerequisite for the creation of the Napoleonic Empire.

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1789-1799 - truly folk. All sections of French society took part in it: the urban mob, artisans, the intelligentsia, the petty and big bourgeoisie, and the peasants.

Before the revolution, as in the Middle Ages, the monarchy guarded the division of society into three estates: the first - the clergy, the second - the nobility, the third - all other segments of the population. The old formula clearly defined the place of each estate in the life of the country: "The clergy serve the king with prayers, the nobility - with a sword, the third estate - with property." The first and second estates were considered privileged - they owned land and did not pay land tax. Together they made up 4% of the country's population.

Causes of the French Revolution

Political: the crisis of the feudal-absolutist system, the arbitrariness and extravagance of royal power against the background of their unpopularity.

Economic: excessive taxes, restriction of land turnover, internal customs, financial crisis of 1787, crop failure of 1788, famine of 1789.

Social: the lack of rights of the people, the luxury of the aristocracy against the backdrop of people's poverty.

Spiritual: the ideas of the Enlightenment, an example of the war for independence in the United States.

course of the French Revolution.

1st stage. May 1789 - July 1792.

1789, May 5 - Convocation of the States General (to introduce new taxes). Notables rejected the offer

1789, June 17 - The transformation of the States General into the National Constituent Assembly, establishing a new state system in France.

1789, August 24 - Approval by the Constituent Assembly of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The declaration read: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Articles 7, 9, 10, 11 affirmed freedom of conscience, freedom of speech and the press. The last article declared that "property is an inviolable and sacred right." Elimination of class division. Nationalization of church property, state control over the church. Change of administrative division, introduction of a new one, consisting of departments, districts, cantons and communes. The destruction of obstacles that hindered the development of industry and trade. Le Chapelier's anti-labor law, which forbade strikes and workers' unions.

During 1789 - 1792- unrest throughout the country: peasant uprisings, riots of the urban poor, counter-revolutionary conspiracies - some were not satisfied with the half-heartedness of reforms, others - their radicalism. New militia, municipalities, revolutionary clubs. Threat of intervention.

1791, June 20 - an unsuccessful attempt by members royal family secretly leave Paris (Varenne crisis), a sharp aggravation of political contradictions in the country.

September 3, 1791 - Approval by the king of the constitution, developed back in 1789. The supreme legislative power was transferred to the unicameral Legislative Assembly. Created independent of the executive and legislative branches Supreme Court. The constitution abolished all domestic customs and the guild system. The “aristocracy of origin” was replaced by the “aristocracy of wealth”.

2nd stage. August 1792 - May 1793.

1792, August 10 - Another Parisian popular uprising. The overthrow of the monarchy (Louis XVI arrested). "La Marseillaise" - the anthem of the first French Revolution, and then - of France, was written in Strasbourg in June 1791 by officer Rouger de Lille. It was brought to Paris by a battalion of federates from Marseille, who took part in the overthrow of the monarchy.

September 22, 1792 - France is declared a republic. The slogans of the Great French Revolution: freedom, equality, fraternity; peace to huts - war to palaces

1792, September 22 - a new calendar is introduced. 1789 was called the First Year of Liberty. The republican calendar officially began to operate from 1 vendémière II year of freedom

1793, spring - the defeat of the French troops in battles with the armies of the coalition, the deterioration of the economic situation of the people

3rd stage. June 1793 - June 1794.

1793, June 2 - uprising, coming to power of the Jacobins, arrest and expulsion from the Girondins Convention

1793, end of July - The invasion of the troops of the anti-French coalition into France, the occupation of Toulon by the British

1793, September 5 - A huge demonstration in Paris demanding the creation of an internal revolutionary army, the arrest of "suspicious" and the purge of the committees. In response: on September 9th - the creation of a revolutionary army, on the 11th - a decree on the "maximum" for bread (general control of prices and wages- September 29), 14th reorganization of the Revolutionary Tribunal, 17th "suspicious" law.

1793, October 10 - The Convention renewed the composition of the Committee of Public Safety. Temporary Revolutionary Order Law (Jacobin Dictatorship)

1793, December 18 - Revolutionary troops liberated Toulon. Napoleon Bonaparte took part in the battle as an artillery captain

4th stage. July 1794 - November 1799.

1794, July 27 - Thermidorian coup, which returned the big bourgeoisie to power. The abolition of the law on "suspicious" and maximum prices, the Revolutionary Tribunal was dissolved.

1794, July 28 - Robespierre, Saint-Just, Couthon, 22 more people were executed without trial or investigation. The following day, 71 more people from the Commune were executed.

1794, end of August - the Paris Commune was abolished and replaced by an "administrative police commission"

1795, June - the very word "revolutionary", the word-symbol of the entire Jacobin period, was banned

1795, August 22 - The Convention adopted a new Constitution, which established a republic in France, but abolished universal suffrage. Legislative power was entrusted to two chambers - the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Elders. Executive power was placed in the hands of the Directory - five directors elected by the Council of Elders from candidates presented by the Council of Five Hundred.

1795 - France forced Spain and Prussia to sign a peace treaty

1796 April - General Bonaparte leads French troops to Italy and wins crushing victories there

1798, May - Bonaparte's 38,000-strong army sailed from Toulon to Egypt on 300 ships and barges. Ahead of victory in Egypt and Syria, defeat at sea (the British defeated almost the entire French fleet in Egypt).

November 9-10, 1799 - A coup d'état without the shedding of blood. On 18 Brumaire, the government was forced to "voluntarily" sign a letter of resignation. The next day, Bonaparte, with soldiers loyal to him, appeared in the Legislative Corps and forced the Council of Elders to sign a decree transferring all power in France to three consuls. The French Revolution is over. A year later, Napoleon Bonaparte became the first consul, in whose hands all power was concentrated.

Significance of the French Revolution

Destruction of the old order (overthrow of the monarchy, destruction of the feudal system).
The establishment of a bourgeois society and clearing the way for the further capitalist development of France (the elimination of the feudal estate system)
The concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
The emergence of forms of bourgeois landed property: peasant and large property of the former nobles and the bourgeoisie.
Creation of prerequisites for the industrial revolution.
Further formation of a single national market.
Influence of the ideas of the French Revolution. Ideas about the liberation of man, about freedom, equality of all people found a response on all continents; they developed, took root in the European society within 200 years.

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Reviewer – Associate Professor, Ph.D. history Sciences E.A. Pakhomov

Great The French Revolution and its influence on the development of Europe: a method. development for students. those. specialist (bachelors and specialists) / comp. - NOT. Arkhipova. - Nizhny Novgorod: Publishing House of FBOU VPO "VGAVT", 2014. - 16 p.

The causes and main stages of the French Revolution of 1789, its results and significance for France and Europe as a whole are considered in a brief form.

The material is intended for students of technical specialties to prepare for seminars and exams in history.

Causes of the French Revolution

Spreading educational ideas in France seriously influenced the subsequent revolution. The ideas of the French enlighteners found a response in the orders to the States General - the highest body of class representation (clergy, nobility and cities) (1337-1453). All classes of French society defended, on the basis of the ideas of the Enlightenment, rights and freedoms, including the right to Fluency earth. Most of the orders proposed to limit the power of the king, in particular by proclaiming a constitutional monarchy in the country.

Socio-economic problems also became the causes of the French Revolution. The first estate of the country - the priests (1% of the population) - had 10% of the land. Most of the priests were poor. Many of them supported the revolution.

The second estate - the French nobility - accounted for 2-2.5% of the population of France, while having 20% of the land. The nobles, like the priests, enjoyed numerous taxes from the peasants. In the second half of the XVIII century. in France, the nobles sought to consolidate feudal relations in the country. For these purposes, the institute of "Fevdists" was created, which was engaged in the search for the duties of the peasants of a thousand years ago. Some historians regard this process as a response of the feudal lords to the development of capitalism in Europe.

95-97% of the country's population belonged to the third estate: bourgeois, employees, urban plebs, peasantry. It is in this estate that we observe signs of class stratification.

The bourgeoisie in France towards the end of the 18th century. accounted for 8% of the country's population, it owned 20% of the land. The French bourgeois preferred to lease the land to the peasants, for which the latter gave half of their harvest.

Peasants in France owned 40% of the land. But ownership was not assigned to them. It was the only one in the country taxable estate. Peasants paid direct taxes, as well as indirect taxes on the sale of wine and salt, performed numerous state duties, and paid tithes to the church. Poverty in the country was significant, but its degree varied by region. The right to private ownership of land and the abolition of feudal duties became the main demands of the peasants in the revolution.

It is necessary to recognize the class differentiation in France on the eve of the revolution, but the French revolution began as a struggle for power between the aristocrats and the king.

Political reasons revolutions were associated with the crisis of French absolutism, which was born and flourished under Louis XIV(1661–1715). His successor - Louis XV (1715-1774) - was poorly educated, spent his life on numerous favorites. The nobles at this time began to strengthen their political influence in the country. Louis XVI (1774–1792) was not interested in politics. Under him, local parliaments became more active, which from ancient times were obliged to register royal laws, but by the end of the 18th century. they began to seek greater powers, such as the restoration of the right to cast their vote for or against royal decrees and laws. The Duke of Orleans, during his regency under the infant Louis XV, gave them such a right. Growing up, Louis XV dispersed the local parliaments, and Louis XVI restored them, seeking to use them to collect taxes from the population. However, local parliaments gradually turned into centers of resistance to the French monarchy. In addition, after the defeat of France in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the country experienced financial crisis. France towards the end of the 1980s. 18th century treasury went bankrupt. The church and the nobility did not pay taxes, and the bulk of the French by the end of the 18th century. was unable to do so. The situation was aggravated by customs barriers to trade. France was divided into numerous administrative units, each of which had its own currency, its own weights. Local aristocrats expressed their willingness to help in solving financial problems, but only on the condition of expanding their political rights. Thus, the provincial nobility tried to limit the absolute power of the king.

Comptroller General Charles de Calonne put forward a project of a land-based direct tax. Local parliaments did not want to take on such responsibility. The Kalonne project was thwarted. The king dismissed him.

The French aristocrats demanded the convocation of the Estates General, counting on the decision of the national parliament, with the support of the king, to increase the burden of taxes on the third estate. The king once again dissolved the local parliaments. Political anarchy set in in the country, which inevitably forced the royal court to convene a national assembly.

May 5, 1789 meetings started States General. This meant the collapse of absolutism in the country. Against the will of the king, the Estates General restored the local parliaments again. At the same time, the aristocrats decided that voting in the Estates General would be carried out according to the principle: one estate - one vote. As a result, the third estate was opposed to the first and second and was doomed to defeat in the voting. The Royal Council approved this voting procedure, which testified to the helplessness of the royal house to resist the influence of aristocrats and the church. This, in turn, turned the third estate against the king.

The third estate in the States General demanded to prohibit persecution by the authorities without trial or investigation, to reduce taxes and collect them from all estates, to regularly convene the national parliament of the country (after 4 years).

The last decade of the 18th century was marked by an event that not only changed the existing order in a single European country, but also influenced the entire course of world history. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 became the preachers of the class struggle of several succeeding generations. Its dramatic events brought heroes out of the shadows and exposed anti-heroes, destroying the habitual attitude of millions of inhabitants of monarchical states. The main prerequisites and the French Revolution of 1789 itself are briefly described below.

What led to the revolution?

The causes of the French Revolution of 1789-1799 have been repeatedly rewritten from one history textbook to another and boil down to the thesis that the patience of that large part of the population of France, which, in conditions of hard daily work and extreme poverty, was forced to provide a luxurious existence for representatives of the privileged classes.

Grounds for the revolution in France at the end of the 18th century:

huge external debt of the country;
unlimited power of the monarch;
bureaucracy of officials and lawlessness of high-ranking officials;
heavy tax burden;
harsh exploitation of the peasants;
exorbitant demands of the ruling elite.

More about the causes of the revolution

Louis XVI of the Bourbon dynasty headed the French monarchy at the end of the 18th century. The power of his crowned majesty was unlimited. It was believed that she was given to him by God by chrismation during the coronation. In making a decision, the monarch relied on the support of the smallest, but the most senior and wealthy residents of the country - the nobility and representatives of the clergy. By this time, the external debts of the state had grown to monstrous proportions and became an unbearable burden not only for the mercilessly exploited peasants, but also for the bourgeoisie, industrial and trading activity which was heavily taxed.

The main reasons for the French Revolution of 1789 are the discontent and gradual impoverishment of the bourgeoisie, which until recently put up with absolutism, which patronized the development industrial production in the interests of national welfare. However, it became more and more difficult to satisfy the demands of the upper classes and the big bourgeoisie. There was a need to reform the archaic system of government and the national economy, choking on bureaucracy and corruption of state officials. At the same time, the enlightened part of French society was infected with the ideas of philosopher writers of that time - Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Montesquieu, who insisted that absolute monarchy infringes on the rights of the main population of the country.

Also, the causes of the French bourgeois revolution of 1789-1799 can be attributed to the natural disasters preceding it, which worsened the already difficult living conditions of the peasants and reduced the income of a few industrial productions.

The first stage of the French Revolution 1789-1799

Let us consider in detail all the stages of the French Revolution of 1789-1799.

The first stage began on January 24, 1789, with the convocation of the Estates General at the behest of the French monarch. This event was out of the ordinary, since the last time the meeting of the highest class-representative body of France was held in early XVI century. However, the situation, in which the government had to be dismissed and a new chief financial officer in the person of Jacques Necker urgently elected, was an emergency and required drastic measures. Representatives of the upper classes set the goal of the meeting to find funds to replenish the state treasury, while the whole country expected total reforms. Disagreements began between the estates, which led to the formation of the National Assembly on June 17, 1789. It included delegates from the third estate and two dozen deputies from the clergy who joined them.

Formation of the Constituent National Assembly

Soon after the meeting, the king made a unilateral decision to cancel all the decisions adopted at it, and already at the next meeting, the deputies were placed according to their class affiliation. A few days later, 47 more deputies joined the majority, and Louis XVI, forced to make a compromise, ordered the remaining representatives to join the ranks of the assembly. Later, on July 9, 1789, the abolished States General were reorganized into the Constituent National Assembly.

The position of the newly formed representative body was extremely shaky due to the unwillingness of the royal court to put up with defeat. The news that the royal troops were put on alert to disperse the Constituent Assembly stirred up a wave of popular discontent, which led to dramatic events that decided the fate of the French Revolution of 1789-1799. Necker was removed from office, and it seemed that the short life of the Constituent Assembly was drawing to a close.

Storming of the Bastille

In response to events in Parliament, an uprising broke out in Paris, which began on July 12, reached its climax the next day and was marked by the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The capture of this fortress, which was in the minds of the people a symbol of absolutism and despotic power of the state, entered the history of France forever as the first victory of the insurgent people, forcing the king to admit that the French Revolution of 1789 had begun.

Declaration of Human Rights

Riots and unrest swept the whole country. Large-scale peasant uprisings secured the victory of the French Revolution. In August of the same year, the Constituent Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen - a landmark document that marked the beginning of the construction of democracy throughout the world. However, not all representatives of the lower class had a chance to taste the fruits of the revolution. The assembly abolished only indirect taxes, leaving direct ones in force, and after a while, when the fog of romantic illusions dissipated, numerous townspeople and peasants realized that the big bourgeoisie had removed them from making state decisions, providing themselves with financial well-being and legal protection.

Hike to Versailles. reforms

The food crisis that broke out in Paris in early October 1789 provoked another wave of discontent, culminating in a campaign against Versailles. Under pressure from the crowd that broke into the palace, the king agreed to sanction the Declaration and other decrees adopted in August 1789.

The state headed for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. This meant that the king exercised his rule within the framework of existing legislation. The changes affected the structure of the government, which lost the royal councils and secretaries of state. The administrative division of France was greatly simplified, and instead of a multi-stage complex structure, 83 departments of equal size appeared.

The reforms affected the judiciary, which lost its corrupt positions and acquired a new structure.

The clergy, part of which did not recognize the new civil status of France, was in the grip of a split.

Next stage

The French Revolution of 1789 was only the beginning in a chain of events, including the attempted escape of Louis XVI and the subsequent fall of the monarchy, military conflicts with the leading European powers that did not recognize the new state structure France and the subsequent proclamation of the French Republic. In December 1792, a trial took place over the king, who found him guilty. Louis XVI was beheaded on January 21, 1793.

Thus began the second stage of the French Revolution of 1789-1799, marked by a struggle between the moderate party of the Girondins, seeking to stop the further development of the revolution, and the more radical Jacobins, who insisted on expanding its activities.

Final stage

The deterioration of the economic situation in the country as a result of the political crisis and hostilities aggravated the class struggle. Peasant uprisings broke out again, leading to the unauthorized division of communal lands. The Girondins, who colluded with the counter-revolutionary forces, were expelled from the Convention - the highest legislature First French Republic, and the Jacobins came to power alone.

In the following years, the Jacobin dictatorship culminated in an uprising of the National Guard, which ended with the transfer of power to the Directory at the end of 1795. Her further actions were aimed at suppressing pockets of extremist resistance. Thus ended the ten-year French bourgeois revolution of 1789 - a period of socio-economic upheaval, which was brought to an end by a coup d'état that took place on November 9, 1799.