French Revolution & Napoleon Bonaparte

French revolution was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. The outbreak of revolution was due to the political incompetency of King Louis XVI, disorganized administrative step, sharp inequalities in the society and impending financial crisis.

Body:

The French Revolution was not only a popular uprising against the absolute power of the king but was also against the privileges and wealth of the elite. The causes are generally agreed to be a combination of social, political and economic factors, which the existing regime proved unable to manage.

Political Causes:

• Degeneration of the Absolute Monarchy:
  • Absolute monarchy reached its peak under Louis XIV, and began to degenerate during his lifetime.
  • Refusal of Louis XV to remedy the abuses of the old order, inefficiency of Louis XVI, all added to the initiation of the process of revolution. 
  • His wife, Marie Antoinette, squandered money on festivities and interfered in state appointments.
• Administrative Ruins:
  • The administrative system of the country was hopelessly unsatisfactory. Various units of the administration possessed ill-defined and overlapping jurisdictions.
  • At different times, France had been divided into districts under bailiffs and seneschals whose offices were purely ornamental. It had also been divided into provinces under governors.
  • It had been divided into intendancies (under intendants), judicial districts, educational districts and ecclesiastical districts.
  • The conflict of jurisdictions added to the difficulties and troubles of the people.
• Judicial Malfeasance:
  • The legal system of the country was full of confusion. There was no uniform law for the whole of the country.
  • Different laws were in force in different parts of the country. While at one place German law prevailed, at another place the Roman law was in force.
  • It is estimated that there were about 400 different systems of law in the country.
  • The laws were written in Latin and consequently were not within the comprehension of the people.

Social Causes:

• Inequalities:
  • There was too much of inequality in French society on the eve of the French Revolution. French society was divided into two parts the privileged and the unprivileged.
  • It is estimated that the clergy and nobility owned about one-fifth each of property in France.
  • Thus, about one per cent of people owned about 40 per cent of property in the country. While they enjoyed privileges, they were exempted from taxes.

Economic Causes:

• The series of wars France took part in Austrian War of succession, Seven Years war and American war of Independence which was great drain on the resources of the country.

Role of French Philosophers:

• Another cause of the French Revolution was the effect of the preaching of the French philosophers.
• Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau were the three intellectual giants of the age.

Immediate Cause:

• The impending bankruptcy and the acute shortage of food in France started the revolution in France.

Conclusion:

French Revolution was a total revolution having manifestations in almost all spheres from ending Royal Absolutism, Feudalism and inspiring many other revolutions which marked the beginning of the end of the ancient regime on which modern politics took shape.

Napoleon was the child of the Revolution, but in many ways he reversed the aims and principles of the movement from which he sprang. Critically analyze.

• The role of Napoleon in French Revolution and aftermath is highly debatable in the European history.
• Napoleon can be regarded as the child of the French Revolution as during the initial period he promoted some of the ideas and aims of the revolution. French revolutionaries had the vision of making the people free by ending “absolute monarchy” which was supported by Napoleon and paved the way for his uprising.
• The earlier government (Monarchy) did not support the welfare of the people. As the new leader of France, Bonaparte introduced a new system of government aimed at making the society equal.
• During the early phase, he was able to preserve the basic principles of the French Revolution i.e. Equality , Fraternity and Liberty.
• He also introduced the famous Napoleonic Code, which included criminal code, military code & code of civil procedure and commercial code.
• Napoleon Bonaparte abolished “serfdom and feudalism” in the country in order to make the people free.
• Napoleon set up an elaborate system of schools, called lycées, which is still in use, and was a proponent for universal education.

Impacts of french revolution 

1. The French Revolution is significant for the fact that it marked the end of the institution of absolute monarchy in France and saw the establishment of a Republic.
2. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, which had become the guiding principles of the French Revolution, also became the foundational values of the French Republic.
3. The Revolution led to the establishment of a democratic government for the first time in Europe.
4. Feudalism as an institution was buried by the Revolution, and the Church and the clergy were brought under State control.
5. It led to the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as the Emperor of France.
6. It also signified the end of ancient beliefs and political systems and a qualified acceptance of the new era of Industrial Revolution.
7. It popularised the idea of nationalism. It also led to the eventual development of the Welfare State.
8. The success of the French Revolution inspired people all over the world, and especially in Europe. Mobilized by the spirit of nationalism and the ideas of liberty, equality
   
   
   
   and fraternity, people rose in revolt against the absolutist autocratic State and strived to install democracy as the new form of Government. 

Negative about Napoleon .........? 

Decline of Napoleon, Congress of Vienna