Mullinz Notes, Ch. 13-22: (And Yes, I Know His Name Is Spelled With An "S")
Mullinz Notes, Ch. 13-22: (And Yes, I Know His Name Is Spelled With An "S")
Ch. 13-22
Chapter 14 Notes
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Background to Revolution
Legal Orders and Social Change
o French society divided into 3 “estates” – the clergy, the nobility...and, you
guessed it, everyone else
#1: The clergy had important privileges, owned large amounts of land, and
paid little taxes (but taxed everyone else)
#2: The nobility enjoyed “manorial rights” (privileges of being a noble),
had a monopoly on certain village services, and also paid little taxes
#3: Everyone else – peasants and their cronies
o Bourgeoisie (“upper middle class”) – wealthy members of the 3rd estate
o The original theory was that the b-dudes led the entire 3rd estate in a massive
uprising, known today as the “French Revolution”...although it should be called
the “French Devolution” because it made France an even cruddier place to live in
than it already was
o However, because historians love to screw around with simple things and make
them more complicated, they came up with 3 reasons why this is wrong:
1) The nobility wasn’t some kind of super-elite birthright-only club –
many commoners joined, too
2) The b-dudes were not actually more liberal than the nobility
3) The nobility and the b-dudes didn’t hate each other
o Now that we’ve spent 2 pages describing how the Revolution didn’t happen, let’s
get down to why it did...
The Crisis of Political Legitimacy
o After Louis XIV died, his son, Louis XV (ruled 1715-1774) came to power and
proceeded to engage in epic fail
He basically scrapped all of Louis XIV strong central monarchy stuff in
favor of councils making his decisions for him
The duke of Orléans (1674-1723) – regent to Louis XV until 1723 (note
that the only thing stopping him ruling for longer was his own death)
The duke restored the right of the parlements to evaluate royal decrees,
creating a “counterweight to absolute power” – absolutism goes out the
window
o Louis hired René de Maupeou to restore order
The dude created new parlements loyal to the king, called the “Maupeou
parlements”, and once more taxed the privileged groups
o Desacralization – Louis’s public image sunk lower and lower; a series of affairs
with ever more low-born women made the king appear to be more of a degenerate
than God’s anointed on Earth
o Louis XV was succeeded by his son, Louis XVI (ruled 1774-1792), who lived
only to please his nobles – useless, in a word
The Impact of the American Revolution
o The French Revolution was inspired by the American one, which coincided with
the first few years of Louis XVI’s reign
o The Americans declared the sovereignty of the American states and denounced
the tyranny of George III (who ruled 1760-1820, incidentally) in favor of
LIBERTY and all that crap...you know the rest
o The marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) was one of George Washington’s most
trusted generals...and yes, he was French
o French backing of the Americans meant that France was most affected by the
Revolutionary War
Financial Crisis
o Because France had no central bank and therefore no way of getting rid of debt
the lazy way (by simply blowing it off), the Crown raised taxes...but this required
a massive reboot of the existing tax infrastructure
o Certain entities convinced the king to call an “Assembly of Notables” to gain
support...and it all went downhill from there
o The “notables” in question – important nobles and some high-ranking clergymen
– demanded that the king give them control over all government spending
o When he refused, they responded by demanding a meeting of the Estates General
(the representative body of all 3 estates) to approve these sweeping reforms...but
there was just one catch...the Estates General hadn’t met for almost 2 centuries!!!
1
o The king dismissed the “notables” and just created the new tax himself; however,
it was immediately opposed by the Parlement of Paris
o When he tried exiling them, the entire country protested; Louis eventually
relented and convened the Estates General
Revolution in Metropole and Colony, 1789-1791
The Formation of the National Assembly
o The clergy who showed up at the Estates General were dissatisfied with the
church hierarchy
o The nobles were politically divided
o The middle class represented everyone else
o “Doubling the 3rd” – Louis XVI made it so that there were twice as many people
in the 3rd estate as in the other 2, but this didn’t change anything because the votes
were counted by house, not by head
o During negotiations, the 3 estates were deadlocked; eventually, some parish
priests went over to the 3rd estate’s side (called the “National Assembly”)
o The 3rd estate signed the “Oath of the Tennis Court” (so-called because it was
signed in a tennis court), wherein they pledged not to disband until they had
written a new constitution
o Eventually, Louis XVI dissolved the Estates General by force
The Revolt of the Poor and Oppressed
o A poor harvest in 1788 triggered an economic depression; 1-in-8 Frenchies was a
pauper with practically nothing
o In response to the king’s armies marching on Paris to quell unrest, the citizens
stormed the “Bastille” (an old medieval fortress) to acquire weaponry
o This small element of resistance saved the National Assembly
o Throughout the countryside, peasants rose against their lords
o The “Great Fear” – fear by peasants of vagabonds and outlaws
o The duke of Aiguillon urged for equality in taxation and the elimination of noble
privileges
o The French peasantry had achieved a tremendous victory
A Limited Monarchy
o The “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” – “men are born and
remain free and equal in rights”
Sovereignty is in the nation, not the monarchy
Issues remained over the power of the king
o A horde of Parisian women marched to Versailles and broke into the royal
apartments, demanding bread – BEGINNING OF LE REVOLUTION
o The king was forced to live Paris
o The nobility was abolished as a legal order
o Creation of a “constitutional monarchy” – like in England, lawmaking power was
outside of the king’s sphere of control
o Women were still excluded
o The complicated province system was replaced by 83 “departments”
o Lafayette (I think the same one from earlier) – liberal; helped keep the
revolutionaries in line and prevented anarchy from getting too out-of-hand
o Le Chapelier Law – abolished monopolies + guilds
o Jews and Protestants were granted religious freedom
o Emigrees – nobles who left France
o The new government clashed with the church
Monasteries were abolished
Civil Constitution of the Clergy – loyalty oath for priests; only ½ signed it,
and only 1 bishop: Talleyrand
Law of Seizure – helped along by Talleyrand
Priests were chosen by voters (!!!)
Revolutionary Aspirations in Saint-Domingue
o Saint-Domingue also had to contend with race issues
o “Free people of color” – free people of African or African-European descent
o The rights of these “free people of color” were gradually restricted by white
landowners
o Slavery was abolished in France, but not in the colonies, because...
o The National Assembly ruled that colonies were free to enact their own legislature
regarding slavery, etc.
o Vincent Ogé – raised an army in July 1790 with the intent of providing political
rights for all citizens; he was eventually defeated and executed
o In May 1791, the National Assembly granted political rights to “free people of
color” born to 2 free parents who possessed sufficient property
Even this weak compromise outraged the white elite, prompting civil war
in Saint-Domingue
World War and Republican France, 1791-1799
Foreign Reactions and the Beginning of War
o Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
Troubled by overzealous reformatory spirit
“Reflections on the Revolution in France” – defended the old order;
brilliant defense of European conservatism
o Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
“A Vindication of the Rights of Man” (1790) – reaction to Burke
“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792) – denounced sexual
inequality
o Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) – Wollstonecraft’s French counterpart
Problems in France are because of sexual inequality
o Declaration of Pillnitz – after the French royal family tried to sneak out of France,
Austria and Prussia announced that they would intervene if things got really bad
o The National Assembly was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly (the 1st
elected national legislature); many members belonged to the “Jacobin club”, a
club where people discussed political boredom
“Self-denying ordinance” – no-one in the National Assembly can be in the
Legislative Assembly
o Fueled by patriotic fury, the French stupidly declared war on “tyranny” –
effectively everyone else
o Following a series of unfortunate events involving crazed Frenchmen, the king
was stripped of all his governmental powers – French monarchy was dead
“Storming of the Tulleries” – Frenchies attack their own palace
o Partition of Poland distracts Austria + Prussia
The Second Revolution
o The “September Massacres” – many imprisoned members of the 1st and 2nd estates
were slaughtered
o The Jacobin club was divided into competing groups
The “Girondists” – led by some people from southwestern France
“The Mountain” – led by Robespierre and Georges Jacques Danton
Both, however, were eager to waste their lives fighting “tyranny”
o The Mountain was accused of aiming for a bloody dictatorship, while the
Girondists were accused of being too sympathetic with the old ways
o “Sans-culottes” (without breeches) – the laboring poor and petty traders
o The Mountain sided with the sans-culottes’ call for the guarantee of their daily
bread; they engineered a popular uprising and deposed the Girondists
o Ironically, peasant revolts threatened the integrity of the country; France as a
nation seemed doomed...
Total War and Terror
o Unfortunately, France somehow recovered
o Robespierre and his buddies instituted a “planned economy” – the government
controls everything; they even forced bakers to make a specific kind of bread
o The “Reign of Terror” (1793-1794)
Robespierre executed 40,000 French citizens (what did they do with all the
heads?)
Another 300,000 suspects were arrested
o Nationalism – for some reason, French people liked the new France with all those
heads rolling around and patriotically supported it
o The French military stood at 800,000 soldiers – 4x their enemies’ – divided into
14 armies
Revolution in Saint-Domingue
o Slaves secretly planned a mass insurrection
o “Voodoo” – a religion combining Catholicism and African cults (weird combo)
o The insurrection grew to 10,000 by August 27; the slaves destroyed hundreds of
plantations
o The National Assembly “enfranchised” (emancipated) all free people of color, but
not the slaves, figuring that support from said free people of color was vital to
counter the rebellion
o European divisions soon spread to Saint-Domingue
Slaves fled to the Spanish half of the island (“Santo Domingo”)
Toussaint L’Ouverture – freed slave; joined the Spanish army as an officer
(he eventually rejoined France, though)
o The Convention eventually abolished slavery altogether
The Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory, 1794-1799
o Robespierre’s Reign of Terror happened to wipe out all the people who opposed
him (how convenient)
o Many of his buddies – including Danton – eventually had a fatal date with
“Madame Guillotine”...fearing that they would be next, the Convention shouted
him down on 9 Thermidor (normal people call it “July 27, 1794”); he was
executed the following day
o This was called the “Thermidorian reaction”
o After the fall of Robespierre, the National Convention eliminated economic
controls and local political organizations (such as the Jacobins), hitting the sans-
culottes hard
o Massive religious revival, mainly instituted by rural women – people returned to
Catholicism
o The “Directory” – the 5-man executive branch of the government, created by the
Convention
o The Directory eventually became a dictatorship before being ended by Napoleon
Bonaparte
o Abbé (abbot) Sieyes
“What is the 3rd Estate?” (1789) – EVERYONE!
By 1799, however, he changed his tune – supported “authority from
above, confidence from below”
o Napoleon Bonaparte is selected as Sieyes’ “front man” because they think he can
be controlled...he can’t
Young, in the military, etc. – appealing candidate for control of the
government
“The Consulate” – the 4th French government, headed by Napoleon
Napoleon! :D
o Napoleon Bonaparte was young, flamboyant, and a military man
o He was born in Corsica, where he absorbed Mediterranean values
o Believed that he was destined for greatness
o “Outsider”
o Attended a military school
Excellent student
Uses what he has better (equipment, maps...armies)
o Cynical
“Men want to be led”
Rise to power and all that stuff
o Abbe Sieyès and his buddies overthrew the Directory and placed Napoleon on the
(figurative) throne
o He was named “first consul of the republic” (sounds awfully like Augustus
Caesar)
o France kept the appearance of a republic, but a constitution consolidating
Napoleon’s position was overwhelmingly approved by the people
o Civil Code of 1804 – equality of all male citizens before the law and absolute
security of wealth/private property
o Napoleon thus assisted the peasantry and middle class
o He also integrated revolutionaries and émigrés into the new government
o Concordat of 1801 (with Pius VII)
French Catholics had freedom of religion
The government nominated bishops, paid the clergy, and held great power
over the Church in France
o Created a Bank of France
o Women were made subordinate to men in the family
o Freedom of speech and of the press were continually violated
o The population was ceaselessly spied upon by Joseph Fouché’s secret police
Timeline
o Toulon – 1793
o Paris – 1795
o North Italy – 1796-7
o Nile – 1798-9
o Consul – 1799
Napoleon’s Expansion in Europe
o Napoleon attempted to make peace with Austria and Great Britain; when he was
rejected, he proceeded to pwn Austria
Treaty of Lunéville (1801) – Austria gave up its Italian stuff
o Treaty of Amiens (1802) – diplomatic triumph for Napoleon; France got a lot of
stuff
Peace with Britain
o Restricted British trade
o When he tried to invade Britain directly, his combined French-Spanish fleet was
obliterated at the Battle of Trafalgar by the famously 1-armed Lord Nelson
o After Russia and Austria withdrew, Napoleon rearranged the German states to his
liking, creating the “Confederation of the Rhine”
o The Prussians mobilized but were defeated 3 times in a row (ouch) – the last time
they even had Russian assistance
o Treaties of Tilsit
Prussia lost half its population
Russia accepted Napoleon’s reorganization of western/central Europe and
agreed to help him economically blockade Britain
The War of Haitian Independence
o André Rigaud ruled the southern peninsula of Saint-Domingue
o During a brief civil war-ish event, Toussaint L’Ouverture (remember him?) and
his lieutenant, Jean Jacques Dessalines, invaded and won
o Napoleon sent over his brother-in-law, General Charles-Victor-Emmanuel
Leclerc, to crush the resistance and other such stuff
L’Ouverture was captured and imprisoned
o Dessalines united the remainder of the resistance under his command and crushed
the French
Saint-Domingue – now called Haiti – thus became an independent state
2nd free republic in the western hemisphere
o “1-crop country”
The Grand Empire and Its End
o “Grand Empire” – Napoleon’s European empire
1) France
2) Satellite kingdoms
3) Austria, Prussia, and Russia (allies)
o Ideals of the Revolution “exported”
o But, this unfortunately also brought along...
French law
High taxes
Men for army
Nationalism
o In Spain, a guerilla insurrection challenged French power after Napoleon decided
to invade
o Napoleon invaded Russia with a force of 600,000, the largest single army in
human history
Wanted a decisive battle
o After lurking in Moscow for a bit, he was forced into a disastrous retreat and fled
back to Paris, fully 95% of his “Grand Army” having perished
Borodino
o Continental system
Economic warfare
No British imports
Damages trade for France + allies
British trade actually increased 2x (they traded with Latin America
instead)
o France was crushed by the combined forces of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great
Britain
The Treaty of Chaumont officially sealed the alliance
Battle of Leipzig (1813) – Napoleon loses
o Frankfurt proposals – France would keep the borders of 1792
Napoleon refused
o Napoleon was banished to the island of Elba
He still kept his title, however, and also received an income of 2 million
francs
o Louis XVIII (ruled 1814-1824) took the throne of France
o However, Napoleon escaped for a famous “Hundred Days”, before being defeated
at the Battle of Waterloo
He was exiled to the rocky island of St. Helena and there died
The end!
Boring stuff (it’ll probably – almost certainly? – be what the essay’s on, though, so look
out D:)
o Bergeron – “Napoleon was an Enlightened absolutist monarch/despot”
Revolution from above
Govern how men want to be governed
Rigid, oppressive – can be seen as source of strength
Citizens → subjects
o Lyons – “Napoleon was a preserver of the Revolution/modern ruler”
Secular
Conscripts army
Police state
Professional bureaucracy
Embodies rights of the people
Anti-liberal
Rationalized new “regime”
Rests on “notables”
Preserves gains of the Revolution
Louis XVI and Napoleon “in different spheres”
Napoleon
Napoleon! :D
o Napoleon Bonaparte was young, flamboyant, and a military man
o He was born in Corsica, where he absorbed Mediterranean values
o Believed that he was destined for greatness
o “Outsider”
o Attended a military school
Excellent student
Uses what he has better (equipment, maps...armies)
o Cynical
“Men want to be led”
Rise to power and all that stuff
o Abbe Sieyès and his buddies overthrew the Directory and placed Napoleon on the
(figurative) throne
o He was named “first consul of the republic” (sounds awfully like Augustus
Caesar)
o France kept the appearance of a republic, but a constitution consolidating
Napoleon’s position was overwhelmingly approved by the people
o Civil Code of 1804 – equality of all male citizens before the law and absolute
security of wealth/private property
o Napoleon thus assisted the peasantry and middle class
o He also integrated revolutionaries and émigrés into the new government
o Concordat of 1801 (with Pius VII)
French Catholics had freedom of religion
The government nominated bishops, paid the clergy, and held great power
over the Church in France
o Created a Bank of France
o Women were made subordinate to men in the family
o Freedom of speech and of the press were continually violated
o The population was ceaselessly spied upon by Joseph Fouché’s secret police
Timeline
o Toulon – 1793
o Paris – 1795
o North Italy – 1796-7
o Nile – 1798-9
o Consul – 1799
Napoleon’s Expansion in Europe
o Napoleon attempted to make peace with Austria and Great Britain; when he was
rejected, he proceeded to pwn Austria
Treaty of Lunéville (1801) – Austria gave up its Italian stuff
o Treaty of Amiens (1802) – diplomatic triumph for Napoleon; France got a lot of
stuff
Peace with Britain
o Restricted British trade
o When he tried to invade Britain directly, his combined French-Spanish fleet was
obliterated at the Battle of Trafalgar by the famously 1-armed Lord Nelson
o After Russia and Austria withdrew, Napoleon rearranged the German states to his
liking, creating the “Confederation of the Rhine”
o The Prussians mobilized but were defeated 3 times in a row (ouch) – the last time
they even had Russian assistance
o Treaties of Tilsit
Prussia lost half its population
Russia accepted Napoleon’s reorganization of western/central Europe and
agreed to help him economically blockade Britain
The War of Haitian Independence
o André Rigaud ruled the southern peninsula of Saint-Domingue
o During a brief civil war-ish event, Toussaint L’Ouverture (remember him?) and
his lieutenant, Jean Jacques Dessalines, invaded and won
o Napoleon sent over his brother-in-law, General Charles-Victor-Emmanuel
Leclerc, to crush the resistance and other such stuff
L’Ouverture was captured and imprisoned
o Dessalines united the remainder of the resistance under his command and crushed
the French
Saint-Domingue – now called Haiti – thus became an independent state
2nd free republic in the western hemisphere
o “1-crop country”
The Grand Empire and Its End
o “Grand Empire” – Napoleon’s European empire
1) France
2) Satellite kingdoms
3) Austria, Prussia, and Russia (allies)
o Ideals of the Revolution “exported”
o But, this unfortunately also brought along...
French law
High taxes
Men for army
Nationalism
o In Spain, a guerilla insurrection challenged French power after Napoleon decided
to invade
o Napoleon invaded Russia with a force of 600,000, the largest single army in
human history
Wanted a decisive battle
o After lurking in Moscow for a bit, he was forced into a disastrous retreat and fled
back to Paris, fully 95% of his “Grand Army” having perished
Borodino
o Continental system
Economic warfare
No British imports
Damages trade for France + allies
British trade actually increased 2x (they traded with Latin America
instead)
o France was crushed by the combined forces of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great
Britain
The Treaty of Chaumont officially sealed the alliance
Battle of Leipzig (1813) – Napoleon loses
o Frankfurt proposals – France would keep the borders of 1792
Napoleon refused
o Napoleon was banished to the island of Elba
He still kept his title, however, and also received an income of 2 million
francs
o Louis XVIII (ruled 1814-1824) took the throne of France
o However, Napoleon escaped for a famous “Hundred Days”, before being defeated
at the Battle of Waterloo
He was exiled to the rocky island of St. Helena and there died
The end!
Boring stuff (it’ll probably – almost certainly? – be what the essay’s on, though, so look
out D:)
o Bergeron – “Napoleon was an Enlightened absolutist monarch/despot”
Revolution from above
Govern how men want to be governed
Rigid, oppressive – can be seen as source of strength
Citizens → subjects
o Lyons – “Napoleon was a preserver of the Revolution/modern ruler”
Secular
Conscripts army
Police state
Professional bureaucracy
Embodies rights of the people
Anti-liberal
Rationalized new “regime”
Rests on “notables”
Preserves gains of the Revolution
Louis XVI and Napoleon “in different spheres”
Chapter 22