French Revolution Stages and Industrial Transformation
Stages of the French Revolution
| Stage | Dates | Constitution and Features | Most Important Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monarchy | 1789-1792 | 1791 Constitution: Constitutional monarchy, power distribution, and male censitary suffrage. |
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| Convention | 1792-1794 | Constitution of 1793: Universal male suffrage; Jacobins in power. |
|
| Directory | 1794-1799 | 1795 Constitution: Legislative power corresponds to the Chamber; Executive power held by the Directory; Girondins in power. |
|
| Consulate | 1799-1804 |
| Napoleon's coup d'état and the end of the Directory. |
| Empire | 1804-1817 | Spread of revolutionary ideas throughout Europe. |
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Key Historical and Political Definitions
Censitary suffrage: The right to vote granted only to people with a certain level of income.
Holy Alliance: A military alliance between Russia, Prussia, and Austria signed to intervene anywhere in Europe against liberal revolutions.
Nationalism: An ideological tendency to unify the State and the nation (defined by shared history, language, customs, traditions, and religion), defending the right of each people to govern themselves.
Industrial society: A system where production moves outside the family scope, characterized by the concentration of labor, division of labor, economic growth, and capital accumulation.
Extensive agriculture: Land cultivation without major investment, focusing on the production of the collection itself.
Long-crisis: A period of worsening living conditions, hunger, and disease due to bad harvests.
Four-year rotation system: A method of land use where fields are divided into four parts with products alternated annually to avoid fallow periods.
Physiocracy: An economic doctrine defending agriculture as the main economic activity.
Open field: Open land used for cultivation without fencing.
Enclosure: Laws authorizing large landowners to remove small landowners from their land and fence it.
Old Demographic Models and Population Growth
- High death rate and high birth rate
- Impact of bad harvests and poor food supply
- Low natural (vegetative) growth rate
- Frequent wars and plagues
- Lack of good hygiene habits and inefficient medicine
- Overall slow population growth
The Agrarian Revolution and Economic Impact
- Reform of land ownership: Use of fertilizers, new crops, and techniques.
- Mechanization: Introduction of machinery leading to higher productivity and production.
- Demographic revolution: Increased food supply supporting population growth.
- Economic flow: Farmers gain benefits, leading to increased demand for consumer goods.
- Urbanization: Migration from the countryside to the city and the rise of industry.