French Revolution

The French Revolution (French: Révolution française; 1789–1799), is a period of radical social and political upheaval in France that has a major impact on France and indeed all of Europe.

The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapses in three years.

French society undergoes an epic transformation, as feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporate under a sustained assault from radical left-wing political groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside.

Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy – of monarchy, aristocracy, and religious authority – are abruptly overthrown by new Enlightenment principles of equality, citizenship and inalienable rights.The French Revolution begins in 1789 with the convocation of the Estates-General in May.

The first year of the Revolution sees members of the Third Estate proclaiming the Tennis Court Oath in June, the assault on the Bastille in July, the passage of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August, and an epic march on Versailles that forces the royal court back to Paris in October.

The next few years are dominated by tensions between various liberal assemblies and a right-wing monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms.A republic is proclaimed in September 1792 and King Louis XVI is executed the next year.

External threats also play a dominant role in the development of the Revolution.

The French Revolutionary Wars start in 1792 and ultimately feature spectacular French victories that facilitate the conquest of the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and most territories west of the Rhine – achievements that had defied previous French governments for centuries.Internally, popular sentiments radicalize the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins and virtual dictatorship by the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror from 1793 until 1794 during which between 16,000 and 40,000 people are killed.

After the fall of the Jacobins and the execution of Robespierre, the Directory assumes control of the French state in 1795 and holds power until 1799, when it is replaced by the Consulate under Napoleon Bonaparte.The growth of republics and liberal democracies, the spread of secularism, the development of modern ideologies, and the invention of total war all mark their birth during the Revolution.

Subsequent events that can be traced to the Revolution include the Napoleonic Wars, two separate restorations of monarchy (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy), and two additional revolutions (1830 and 1848) as modern France takes shape.

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