The French Revolution (jan 1, 1787 – jan 1, 1789)

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The French revolution began in July 14, 1787 and ended in 1799, reaching its first climax in 1789. The start of this revolution was a combination of factors, including a weak government, and an increasing population that needed more food. The first part of the revolution was the aristocratic revolt. This happened when a progressive fiscal leader elected by king Louis XVI suggested higher taxes for aristocratic families. This lead people in the parlements, courts of justice, to revolt. This aristocratic revolt was in contrast to the peasants, who wanted more taxes for these wealthy people. In 1789 a council with 300 nobles, 300 from the clergy, and 600 peasants was supposed to meet to reconstruct the state. There was discourse between the peasants and the nobles on the issue of how to vote, and the meeting was not a success. After this the peasant gathered at king XVI's tennis courts and demanded that the nobles and clergy come so that they could create a new constitution. The king urged the nobles and clergy to come, but at the same time he gathered troops to dissolve the assembly. In July of the same year there was a great famine among the common people. This combined with the gathering of troops in Paris and rumors that the king was going to try and take power away from the peasants instilled great fear in the people. With this fear of tyranny in them, they stormed the Bastille, a symbol of royal rule, and king Louis XVI yielded. The assembly creating the new constitution now could see only one way to make the peasants stop revolting, abolishing the feudal system. They then decreed this along with The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This was not received well by the king, and he refused to sanction it. This caused the people of Paris to march to his temple in Versailles, and they then took hold of the royal family and brought them back to Paris. The new constitution created by the assembly was then put in place, and people could now actively participate in government. This however, would not be the final end of the revolution. This new government was not popular with aristocrats, who had lost much power, causing them to flee to neighboring countries looking for help in a counter-revolution. With the help of these neighboring countries, France was invaded by counter-revolutionaries. Enraged by this, the people of Paris locked up the royal family and massacred both nobles and members of the clergy. After this, the assembly met once again, and the republic was created with the abolition of monarchy. The second phase of the war saw France occupying many neighboring countries that had helped with the counter revolution. There was then a convention where King Louis XVI was executed, marking the end of French monarchy.

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