When did the French Revolution end?

The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1799 with a military led by Napoleon. The French peasantry resented their treatment at the hands of the monarch and the aristocrats. Citizens overthrew the monarch, King Louis XVI, and sent him, along with his wife Marie Antoinette, to Madame Guillotine. Louis XVI spent lavishly, and although there is no actual record of the queen saying “Let them eat cake,” the apocryphal statement reflects the way the citizenry viewed the monarchy. In fact, the country was economically crippled by the time the revolution began.

In addition to the profligate royal spending, the country had also been devastated by two decades of poor crop harvests, and as a result, food was in short supply and the price of food staples such as bread soared. The king’s solution to continue to impose taxes fueled the resentment of the general population and eventually led to revolt.

France ratified its first constitution in 1791. The king was arrested in 1792. At the same time, violence within the French capital escalated. In 1793, the king and queen went to the guillotine.

That year, the Jacobins took control and introduced radical measures that also led to the Reign of Terror, during which thousands of people were executed. Many had been aristocrats, and many others were suspected of plotting to overthrow the new government. The military, led by Napoleon, was gaining power during this period. Napoleon conducted a military coup in 1799, which officially ended the French Revolution.

When and how did the French Revolution end?

In the final analysis, the French Revolution ended in a manner that reflected the adage that "the more things change, the more they stay the same."  Robespierre and the Jacobins assumed control after the overthrow of the French Monarchy.  Robespierre, for all purposes, consolidated his control and through the Jacobins and the Committee of Public Safety began to identify his own aims as those of "the public's."  At this point, the Revolution began to betray its initial causation, confirmed with the Reign of Terror, where public safety became confused with violence and mass executions.  After garnering much in the way of political opponents, Robespierre, himself, was overthrown and lost his own head, both literally and politically.  After much in the way of political fumbling, Napoleon, a French General who distinguished himself with tactical brilliance, assumed power in a coup d'etat.  In Napoleon assuming control, the French Revolution, designed to eliminate monarchy, had managed to deliver a singular ruler to political power in France.  In some respects, this became one of the best historical examples of "Meet the new boss/ same as the old boss."