The French Revolution

The French Revolution was one of the major turning points of world history, critical in shaping much of the Modern World. For example, it introduced the modern notion of nationalism, as the...

The Reign of Terror was a period of violence during the French Revolution emanating from conflicts between the Girondins and the Jacobins. During this period people perceived to be against the...

The French Revolution was principally caused by the growth in dissatisfaction among the poor and middle class of French society towards the nobility and the clergy, comprising, respectively, the...

Metternich was an Austrian alive during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era. He would have been around to witness the revolution in France and its wide-reaching consequences, like involving...

The French Revolution of 1789-1799 followed on the American Revolution and was inspired by similar ideals, albeit in different circumstances. A key element in the Revolution was revulsion against...

The French Revolution is often referred to as a watershed event because it had a profound effect on France, as well as other European countries. Because of the financial excesses of King Louis XV,...

To put it simply, the third estate revolted in response to an unfair economic and political system that disproportionately taxed the middle classes and peasants while benefiting the other estates....

Despite its short existence—just over two years—the National Assembly racked up an impressive list of achievements. The most important of these was arguably the abolition of feudalism, serfdom,...

The French Revolution affected other countries because there was immediately a perceived threat that the French would attempt to spread the Revolution to other countries. The movement to overthrow,...

Actually, the First and Second Estates paid no taxes whatsoever. This meant that one hundred per cent of the tax burden fell on the Third Estate. To make matters worse, as a means of raising money...

It is unclear for certain if and how many children were subjected to the guillotine during the French Revolution, but some sources imply that they did in fact guillotine children. In many cases,...

The storming of the Bastille on 14th July, 1789, is usually taken to be the day on which the French Revolution began. The significance of the event, however, is more symbolic than anything...

Although Napoleon was in practice very much a despot, he was still a product of the Enlightenment. Growing up in Corsica, Napoleon was exposed to the enlightened ideals of the Corsican nationalist...

This is one of the great questions on the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era and a subject of considerable debate (and you can probably make a case for either side of it). Of course, it...

The Directory ruled France from 1795-1799. There were five Directors that led France. The Directory dealt with competing forces that wanted a constitutional monarchy or a radical democracy. The...

There were a number of turbulent events of the French Revolution. Some of the key ones between 1789 to 1794 are described below. The Tennis Court Oath - June 20, 1789 - This pivotal event occurred...

The French Revolution was a deeply transformative (as well as destabilizing) period in history, and its repercussions continued to be felt across the nineteenth century. It's also deeply difficult...

The directory was the government set up by the Constitution of the Year III as a result of the French Revolution. It was a very short-lived government, lasting only 4 years. The Directory included...

Robespierre and the Jacobins massively overreached during the Terror. The Terror was getting rapidly out of hand, destroying the lives of many who, by no stretch of the imagination, could...

Danton and Robespierre were around the same age, were both provincial lawyers before they started out in politics, and were both fanatical revolutionaries who believed in meting out extreme...

One major significance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was that it was one of the first European governing documents to apply the concepts of the Enlightenment to the...

The ideals of the French Revolution were a direct outgrowth of Enlightenment philosophy. A major focus of the Enlightenment was the worth of the individual and his or her right to take a role in...

The French Revolution was caused by a number of factors, some of which served to exacerbate others. Some of these factors, like a dying class system, were common to most of the European...

Let's try for four. 1) All three represented a transition from a less democratic to a more democratic government. The Glorious Revolution replaced a king who had come to the throne by monarchic...

I would argue that the end should never justify the means. If the French Revolutionaries genuinely wanted to build a society based on liberty, equality, and fraternity, then they should have used...

The major conflicts between classes in the decades leading up to the French Revolution were between the lower classes (proletariat) and the upper class (bourgeoisie), which consisted mainly of the...

A major cause of the French Revolution was the severe economic stress the country faced near the end of the eighteenth century. France was heavily in debt due to foreign wars, including its support...

Looking back through the lens of history, there are several points where the revolution could have been avoided, or at the very least, delayed. The food shortages and economic decline that began in...

The French Revolution, which begin in 1789, and the Haitian Revolution, which first began in 1794, were products of the Enlightenment. In the eighteenth century, philosophers like John Locke began...

Though the French Revolution was largely the handiwork of the bourgeoisie, the working-class people of France also played their part. For the most part, their political role was outside the formal...

I think that much of this answer is going to be dependent on the idea of what defines "radical." If we are examining the idea of "radical" as one that fundamentally changes the way revolution is...

The Bourbon Monarchy was undoubtedly both the main cause and the main victim of the French Revolution. Enlightenment ideas encouraged the people of France to question their government and demand...

France’s conflicts with its neighbors can be evaluated in the context of its internal strife. Domestically, the French Revolution produced myriad violence and death. In June of 1793, the radical...

The circumstances that led to the outbreak of the French Revolution were intricate and complex. In analyzing these conditions, it becomes clear how seismic the French Revolution actually was. One...

I think the negative outcomes were mainly short-term and the positive ones long term. There is no question that the French Revolution was needed. The Ancien Régime was brutal, denying basic human...

One similarity between both revolutions is in how the will of the majority of the body politic was expressed extremely loud and extremely clear. There was an undeniable will of the people heard in...

To me, the major effect of the French Revolution was that it created the idea of nationalism in Europe. This idea came to be hugely influential -- it led, for example, to the creation of the...

The French Revolution began the establishment of social and economic rights for all citizens, affording them voice and some control over their political destinies. The Napoleonic Era established...

The French Revolution led to the fall of absolutism in France through very extreme means. The Revolution was not something that came about unprovoked—a number of factors contributed to this event....

The French Revolution occurred in several stages, beginning in 1789 with the overthrow of the Ancien Régime and culminating in 1799 with a military coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte. There were...

The French Revolution produced many reforms and changes for French citizens. Obviously, the main reform that happened was the removal of the monarchy and the nobility, who were oppressive to the...

I think that this is going to be a challenging question because of the lack of consensus on the issue. The reason for this is because both answers are represented in the French Revolution. I...

The French Revolution took place in 1789, about 14 years after the American Revolution of 1776. It was a time for upheaval worldwide. The ideas and values of the Age of Enlightenment questioned...

One of the most intriguing aspects of the French Revolution is the role that absolutism played in its development and in its overall lesson. On one hand, the French Revolution was a direct...

The people expressed their resentment towards the oppressive absolute monarchs by supporting the revolution in their countries. America stood against King George while France rejected King Louis...

I think that the contribution of print, or the printed word, had a huge impact on the French Revolution. The "rise of Enlightenment" ideals played a massive role in the initiation of thought that...

These four readings gathered by Perry McAdow Rogers reveal a corrupt French society from the king all the way down. Let's look at each reading in turn, focusing on its depiction of all that had...

Napoleon underestimated several crucial factors that would arise during his invasion of Russia. First, the distance his armies had to cross in order to reach Moscow was enormous in an age long...

Many of the philosophes cited as inspirations by the liberal revolutionaries (though not, admittedly, the radicals) were strongly impressed by the English constitution, which they believed to be...

As we have seen repeatedly in history, people in nations often assign all the ills of the country to the political party or the regime in power at the time. In France, especially since the reign...