1. By 1789, the French peasants were
in serious demand for Land, abolition of uniform tax system, forced
Labour, conscription in to the army, feudalism, serfdom and wanted Law
and order to prevail. While the peasants in other despotic states like
Prussia, Austria and Russia had given up the struggle for change and
accepted their status as sufferers, the conditions of the French
peasants were relatively better and this motivated them to struggle for
better conditions. This is because change can always be caused by people
who have something to sacrifice in order to achieve such desired
changes.
2. The peasants formed the Paris
revolutionary mob that greatly cheered and supported the revolution.
This forced Louis xvi to summon the estates general meeting partly to
find a way of handling the chaos caused by the mobs. Otherwise, had it
not been because of the disorder and Lawlessness caused by peasants,
possibly the estates general meeting would not have been called and
there would be no mobs to cheer and support the revolution.
3.
Beside the peasants were active in revolutionary events such as the
reign of terror, storming of Bastilles, March of women, confiscation of
property and setting up barricades against government troops.
4.
The peasants participated in the election of representatives to the
chamber of deputies. Their representatives stood against the old order
of sitting arrangement and joined the middle class in the declaration of
the national assembly.
5. The peasants dominated
the National Guard that protected the French revolution from internal
and external threats. They were not afraid of losing their life for they
had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
6.
Lastly, it was the peasants who aborted Luis attempt to flee to Austria
(to seek foreign support against the French revolutionaries). They
arrested him and his family members at varrenes (150 kms from Paris) and
brought him back as an enemy of the revolution. This frustrated the
hopes of foreign assistance that Louis had wished to use against the
revolutionaries.
Although the Bourgeoisie were
considerably wealthy and enjoyed some exemptions like conscription,
feudal rural taxes and owned most of France's non-agricultural Wealth,
they had serious causes of discontent. They were prominent on the French
revolution because they provided ideas and words of encouragement to
the oppressed peasants.
1. The elite Bourgeoisie
had, the ambitions of achieving political and social prestige, which was
monopolized by the unqualified nobles and clergy. This was because they
were excluded from politics. Inspite of their wealth and education they
even had no prospect of promotion in the army because all commissioned
ranks were reserved for the children of the nobility. These made them to
be critical of the Bourbon monarchy and spear head the revolution.
2.
Besides political grievances, the Bourgeoisies had economic grievances
as well. They Were opposed to unfair taxation system which reduced their
profit margins and benefited the “unproductive nobles and clergy”. The
middle class were frustrated by Louis xvi's free commercial treaty with
England in 1786 that made them to be out competed by the British
merchants. The greatest grievance was that by 1789 they had lent huge
chunks of money to the government. However, with the financial crisis in
France, the Bourgeoisies had no prospect of recovering their money.
They therefore advocated for a change of government in order to
establish one that would improve the economy and pay their debts.
3.
The philosophers whose critical analysis contributed to the revolution
belonged to the intellectual Bourgeoisies. Even after the death of
philosophers, it was the middle class who interpreted the writings of
the philosophers to the oppressed peasants and urban dwellers. This made
the peasants and urban dwellers politically conscious and it's what
partly made them to participate in the revolution.
4.
Similarly, most of the revolutionary leaders came from the middle
class. Compared to other European states, France had the greatest number
of prosperous middle class who were eager for change. They financed and
provided leadership to the revolution of 1789. The middle classmen were
the master brains behind the tennis court oath and the formation by the
national assembly.
5. The middle class recruited
and financed the revolutionary army (National Guard). The role of the
National Guard was very significant in defending the revolution from
internal and external enemies.
6. It was the middle
class that provided the tri-colour flag of the revolution which
manifested that France was in a revolutionary state. The tri-colour flag
replaced the white flag of the Bourbon monarchy. It was therefore a
symbol of change in France.
7. The middle class was
the architect of reforms and changes in France during the revolution.
They were at the forefront of the civil constitution of the clergy
declaration of rights of man and citizens, nationalization of land,
storming of Bastilles, march of' women and the reign of terror
8.
it’s a general belief that the French revolution was a Bourgeoisie
revolution. This is so because the Directory government which Napoleon
succeeded was dominated by file middle class and Napoleon himself had
become a middle class man by 1799.
1. Like the clergy, the nobility
were a privileged minority who were favored by virtue 'of their birth.
They were a parasitic group of people who survived on the sweats of the
peasants and middle class and this is why they were nicknamed the "the
spoilt child of France". They monopolized Land and exploited the
peasants on such Land as serfs. This forced the peasants to take a
revolutionary stand in 1789.
2. The nobility were
also exempted from taxation and conscription in the army. On top of
these, they had the right to levy unnecessary taxes like feudal dues and
toll taxes that made the peasants miserable and frustrated the
middlemen's profit. This prompted the peasants to ally with the middle
class to cause the revolution in 1789.
3. The
nobility monopolized key and important government posts at the expense
of even the suitably qualified middle class. For instance, they were
ambassadors, top civil servants, army and naval commanders not on merit
but by virtue of their birth right. This greatly annoyed the middle
class who felt it was an insult to them since they were better educated
than the nobles hence they had to mobilize the peasants for the
revolution.
4. Like the clergy, the nobility were
very corrupt, extravagant and mismanaged state resources, which brought
financial crisis and economic hardship. For example, the court-nobles
lived luxuriously at the royal palace and the Bastilles and that is why
the revolutionaries could not spare these places during the revolution.
5.
The incompetent nobles who monopolized key positions in the government
gave poor and often fatal advice to the king. For instance they advised
the king to insist on the ancient system of sitting during the 5^ May
1789 estates general meeting that triggered off the revolution. They
also advised Louis to dismiss Necker and Turgot which dismissal caused
wide spread political discontent to the king and the monarchy.
6.
The greater nobility were too influential as court nobles from where
they administered severe punishments to the unfortunate peasants and
middle class. They were very biased in their judgment, which called for a
revolution to end such French society.
7. The
nobility were arrogant and had developed a superiority complex over the
common man in France. They collected their feudal dues and products
(food crops) from the peasants with a lot of brutality. They even
demanded strict obedience to their decisions and failure to comply means
heavy punishment.
8. Lastly, the nobility also had
internal wrangles which arose from discrimination within their rank and
file. The greater nobility were more privileged than the lesser
nobility and the nobility of the robe. They were entitled to the best
promotions, pensions, appointments and other states favors. This caused
internal jealousy and hatred, which made the lesser nobility and the
nobility of the robe to jump on the revolutionary vehicle in order to
reform the monarchy.
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