French Revolution: Major Events and Political Shifts

The French Revolution: From Monarchy to Republic

The Constitutional Monarchy (1789-1792)

The French Revolution began with the bourgeoisie seeking to establish a constitutional and parliamentary monarchy, limiting the power of the King and privileged classes.

• National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791): This assembly abolished feudalism and approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August 1789.
• Constitution of 1791: Based on the separation of powers, national sovereignty, and legal equality. The King's right of veto was limited, and suffrage was based on property (census suffrage).
• Legislative Assembly (1791-1792): Formed after the Constitution, it aimed to implement liberal reforms. Nobles were to pay taxes, guilds were abolished, and the National Guard was established.
• Church Reforms: To address the financial crisis, Church lands were nationalized and sold. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) reorganized the Church, with the state promising to fund Catholicism.

The Royal Family and privileged classes resisted these changes, seeking help from absolute monarchies in Europe to restore absolutism. The King's attempted Flight to Varennes (June 1791) and the subsequent invasion by the Austrian army (entering Paris in September 1792) fueled public distrust and led to further radicalization.

The First French Republic and Radicalization (1792-1794)

The Girondin Convention (1792-1793)

The perceived betrayal by King Louis XVI and the military invasion led to the revolt of the common people, known as the sans-culottes. On August 10, 1792, they attacked the Tuileries Palace, imprisoned the Royal Family, and declared the First French Republic, marking a new, more radical phase of the Revolution.

The National Convention, elected by universal male suffrage, was initially controlled by the moderate bourgeoisie (the Girondins). King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were convicted of treason and executed in 1793. In response, European absolutist powers formed a coalition against France.

The Jacobin Rule and Reign of Terror (1793-1794)

In June 1793, the Jacobins, the most radical sector of the bourgeoisie, supported the demands of the popular sectors and seized power. The Revolution entered its most extreme phase.

• A new constitution was enacted, recognizing popular sovereignty and the right to social equality.
• To repel the Austrian invasion, a massive levée en masse (mass conscription) was organized, forcing all citizens to join the army.
• To suppress conspirators and counter-revolutionaries, the Reign of Terror was imposed. Freedoms were suspended, and those opposed to the government were imprisoned or executed by guillotine after trials by revolutionary courts.
• Economic measures included price and wage controls, distribution of assets from counter-revolutionaries among the poor, sale of Church lands, and compulsory education.

Widespread opposition to the dictatorial Jacobin government led to a coup in July 1794, which ended their rule and the Reign of Terror.

The Directory: A Conservative Republic (1795-1799)

Following the Thermidorian Reaction, the moderate bourgeoisie regained control of the Revolution, entering its final phase. A new Constitution granted executive power to a collegial government known as the Directory, and restored census suffrage.

In this context of ongoing crisis and war against the absolutist powers, General Napoléon Bonaparte organized a coup in 1799, which effectively ended the Directory and the French Revolution itself.