The French Revolution and the Birth of Modern Political Ideologies

The French Revolution: Causes and Initial Events (1789)

In 1789, France faced a severe social and economic crisis. Key factors included:

• Rising crop prices, which led to widespread hardship.
• The bourgeoisie (the wealthy middle class) was politically marginalized, as privileges were reserved only for the aristocracy.
• A profound financial crisis caused by excessive state spending and the costs of the royal court.

The proposed solution was a tax reform requiring the aristocracy to pay taxes. The French Revolution began when the aristocracy refused this measure and demanded the convening of the **Estates-General**.

The Estates-General and the National Assembly

The Estates-General opened in May 1789 to allow members to vote on reforms. The representatives of the Third Estate demanded:

1. Double representation.
2. Joint deliberation (all three estates meeting together).
3. Vote per person (rather than per estate).

The principle of national sovereignty was at stake. When the monarch and the nobility only accepted double representation, the Third Estate formed the **National Assembly** and pledged to draw up a constitution that reflected the will of the majority of the French people.

The People's Uprising and Feudal Abolition

The revolutionary process accelerated with popular action:

• The people of Paris stormed the **Bastille fortress**, seizing arms.
• In the countryside, an **anti-seigneurial riot** (often called the Great Fear) erupted, destroying feudal documents and aristocratic residences.

In response to these events, the Assembly decreed on August 4th the abolition of feudal privileges and promulgated the **Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen**.

Restoration, Liberalism, and Nationalism (1814–1848)

The Congress of Vienna and the Holy Alliance

The victorious states over Napoleon gathered between 1814 and 1815 at the **Congress of Vienna** to restore absolute monarchy across Europe. The Congress:

• Reshaped the map of Europe.
• Returned France to its 1792 borders.
• Divided the former Napoleonic Empire among the victors.

Furthermore, the **Holy Alliance** (1815) was established—a treaty among European monarchs pledging mutual aid against any threat of liberal revolution, asserting the right to military intervention.

The Rise of Opposing Ideologies

The return of the Old Regime in 1815, coupled with the enduring ideas generated by the French Revolution, ensured that **Liberalism** and **Nationalism** became powerful forces opposing the Restoration.

Liberalism

Liberalism is a political system centered on the individual citizen, asserting that the nation holds sovereignty. Its core tenets include:

• The individual is a citizen, not a subject.
• Decisions are made by a publicly gathered parliament.
• Support for the **division of powers** to ensure there is no absolutism.
• The right of ownership is considered a fundamental freedom.

Nationalism

Nationalism is an ideology asserting that a people should decide its own destiny and defend its sovereignty. It expanded throughout the nineteenth century, advocating for a Europe of free nations against absolutist regimes. Nationalists sought to regroup members of a shared national community within unified borders.