Revolutions or volcanoes do not break out suddenly without reason or long evolution. We only see the sudden burst and are surprised. But underneath the surface of the earth, many forces play against each other for long ages and this friction between these various forces led to the sudden eruption of lava. They burst forth in mighty flames shooting up to the sky, and molten lava rolls down the mountainside.
-Jawahar Lal Nehru, Glimpses of World History.
Revolution v/s Volcanoes
The same is true in the case of revolutions. The stratification of society in which the majority section suffers because of powerful minorities generally leads to some friction among the sections. This friction force increases in magnitude when some intellectuals demand equality, fraternity, and liberty for all. The magnitude of friction force reaches its peak when there is a wide economic gap in society. One section is starving to death and another one is enjoying a luxurious life. In a complete scenario, there can not be a sudden reason for the outbreak of the revolution. There are both long term and short term causes for this. But it is true that the eruption of the revolution is sudden.
Foolish people in authority, blind to everything that does not fit in with their ideas, imagine that revolutions are caused by agitators. Agitators are people who are discontented with the existing condition and desire a change and work for it. Every revolutionary period has its full supply of them. They are themselves the outcome of the ferment and dissatisfaction that exist.
Common people, in general, do not want to go for extreme solutions. They always try to have a simple and adaptable solution for their problems. But the bureaucracy was not in the mood to listen to common people. Also, when economic conditions were such that their day to day suffering was growing. Their life became almost an intolerable burden. So, in this condition, even the weak prepared themselves to take risks and go for a way out of their misery.
We have already seen the distress and discontentment among the masses during the seventeenth and eighteenth-century of France. These all were the signals for the coming of the revolution in France.
Political deadlock
We have seen the circumstances that build the ground for an inevitable revolution. People were starving to death and though the Louis-XVI was not in his senses and to handle the financial crisis he was going to impose new taxes. Louis-XVI committed a mistake of sending military aid in America (1781) under commander Lafayette, which led to financial bankruptcy in France. To overcome this situation he appointed a capable finance minister Turgot. Turgot gave a very simple and genuine solution to overcome financial bankruptcy. Like:
- Economic reforms: – Reforms in the agricultural sector, which would empower the primary sector of the country and would definitely strengthen the secondary and tertiary sectors.
- Taxes on nobility.
- To reduce the unnecessary expenditure of the Royal Palace.
The proposals given by Turgot were very genuine but King outrightly refused all these proposals and dismissed Turgot. After the dismissal of Turgot, Louis-XVI planned to impose new taxes. In France of the Old Regime, the monarch did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will alone. Rather he had to call a meeting of the Estates-General which would then pass his proposals for new taxes.
Estates-General
The Estates-General was a political body. However, the monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body. Louis-XVI finally summoned the Estates-General in May 1789. This body consisted of the representatives of the three estates. The three representatives were Clergy, Nobles, and Peasants.
In composition, it was thus not unlike to British Parliament. But there were many differences between the two.
On the one hand, the British Parliament had been meeting regularly for hundreds of years. It had a well-established set of rules, whereas Estates-General met occasionally and had no traditions. The last time, Estates-General met in 1614. Voting has been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote.
General Assembly
On 5 May 1789, Louis-XVI opened Estates-General at Versailles. A magnificent hall in Versailles has welcomed the delegates. The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, while the 600 members came to represent the third estate. The prosperous and educated members of the third estate represented themselves in Estates General. However, they listed their grievances and demands in some 40,000 letters that the representatives had brought with them.
The king invited Estates-General with his own hidden agenda that, he thought that the clergy and nobility section would unite and would vote in favor of the imposing of new taxes. But this calling of Estates General backfired upon him because people of the third estate came with some demands:
- Common people in a large number started marching towards Paris to attend General Assembly.
- The voting pattern was based on the one estate one vote but the commons or the middle classes began to take the bit between their teeth and insist that no taxation could be levied without changing the existing voting pattern of Estate General.
- So the members of the third estate demanded to conduct voting in a manner where each member would have one vote.
Oath of Tennis-Court
When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest. The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as leaders of the whole French nation. On 20 June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court on the grounds of Versailles. This is known as the Oath of the Tennis-Court.
They declared themselves a National Assembly and decided not to disperse until they had established a constitution to check the powers of the monarch. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyés. Though Mirabeau belonged to a noble family but still gave leadership to the national assembly. He asked people to do away with a society of feudal privilege.
While the National Assembly was drafting a constitution at Versailles, the rest of France was facing turmoil. A severe winter was followed by a bad harvest. The price of bread rose, people were starving from hunger. After spending hours in long queues to take pieces of bread, crowds of angry women stormed into the shops. Louis-XVI once again faced intellectual bankruptcy and took very harsh steps, which consequently irritated the common mass. Like:
- Necker came with the idea to change the existing voting pattern but Louis-XVI imprisoned Necker.
- The King called his forces but his own soldiers denied to obey his orders. Frightened Louis-XVI in his usual foolishness, intrigued to get foreign regiments to shoot down his own people.
The common people finally rose in Paris and led to the attack on Bastille on the 14th of July, 1789 with two major objectives:
- To release political prisoners.
- To collect arms and ammunitions to give strong resistance to the foreign army.
The Fall of Bastille
The fall of Bastille is a great event in history. It began the French Revolution. This was a signal for popular risings all over the country. It meant the end of the old order in France, of feudalism and grand monarchy and privilege. It was a terrible and terrifying portent for all the kings then present in Europe. France, which earlier set the fashion of grand monarchs, was now waiting for its new order to come and take over the grievances of the people. Some looked at the event with fear and trembling, but many saw hope in the new order.
All these events led to the recognition of National Assembly by the King, which we will discuss in the upcoming post 🙂
Thank you so much :). Stay Connected :).
