Summary
Highlights
The French Revolution was driven by the common people's desire for an equal seat at the table of power. This desire emerged from the stark inequality between the 97% of the population (the average citizens) and the privileged 3% (the King, nobility, and clergy) who held all political power and economic benefits.
Three main factors converged to ignite the revolution: first, severe economic crises due to Louis XIV's expensive wars, with the tax burden falling solely on the commoners. Second, the imbalance of the Estates General, where the First and Second Estates (clergy and nobility) held disproportionate voting power compared to the Third Estate, despite representing a tiny fraction of the population. Third, widespread bread shortages caused by famines in 1788, leading to hunger and unrest among the lower classes.
In 1789, frustrated by the unresponsiveness of the First and Second Estates during the Estates General meeting, members of the Third Estate declared themselves the 'National Assembly,' the true representative body of France. They then took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing not to disperse until they had drafted a new constitution, thus limiting the King's power. The storming of the Bastille by the sans-culottes after the King attempted to suppress the assembly marked the first major uprising.
The liberal phase saw the National Assembly draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, inspired by American documents, which provided for freedom of speech and abolished hereditary privileges. The Catholic Church was nationalized through the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Women played a crucial role, notably in the October March on Versailles in 1789, demanding bread and forcing the King and Queen back to Paris, emphasizing their impact despite not having their rights explicitly included in the initial declaration.
The revolution entered a radical phase with the rise of the Jacobins, who seized control of the National Convention in 1792. They dissolved the constitutional monarchy, declared France a Republic, and executed King Louis XVI. This act horrified monarchies across Europe, leading to an alliance against France. In response, and fearing internal dissent, the Jacobins launched the Reign of Terror under Maximilian Robespierre, during which over 40,000 people were guillotined. To protect the revolution, the largest army in Europe was created through mass conscription. The Reign of Terror ended when Robespierre himself was guillotined in 1794, as challengers within the committee ended his brutal authoritarian rule.