i) The outbreak of the French
revolution of 1789 was a landmark in the collapse of the ancient regime.
The Ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy failed to address the political,
economic and social problems of the French men that dragged them to
revolt by 1789. After the outbreak of the revolution, the
revolutionaries established the national assembly that was monopolized
by diehard revolutionary personalities who enacted policies that
undermined the existence of the monarchy. They hijacked the Kings powers
and left him as a "figure head" in French political affairs. Besides,
revolutionary principles of liberty, equality and fraternity antagonized
the political, social and economic structures of the ancient
regime/monarchy and made its collapse inevitable.
ii)
Revolutionary events in the aftermath of the revolution speeded up the
collapse of the Ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy. The declaration of the
rights of man and citizens (Aug 1789) unveiled fundamental human rights
and freedoms like freedom of press, association, worship, ownership of
property, participation in govemment and equality of all by nature. It
was a one sided declaration that dealt with the rights of citizens and
ignored people's duties to the monarchy. Thereafter, the French
revolutionaries struggled for their rights at the expense of their
duties that could have supported the monarchy. The document destroyed
unfair political system, class system, feudalism and serfdom that had
sustained the ancient regime/monarchy. It also gave rise to
revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity that were
incompatible to the existence of the monarchy, ^he declaration therefore
consolidated the ideas of republicanism and influenced the
revolutionaries to substitute the monarchy with a republican government
by 1793.
iii) The civil constitution of the clergy,
July 1790 was yet another revolutionary event that contributed to the
collapse of the ancient regime/ Bourbon monarchy. It destroyed the
Catholic church influence on state affairs, religious intolerance and
privileges of the Catholic Church and Clergies in France. The upper
clergy and the Pope influenced King Louis xvi to veto it, which
increased the determination of hardcore revolutionaries to do away with
the monarchy/ ancient regime. Apart from uprooting the Catholic Church
influence, the document brought to an end church alliance with the
ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy. This led to the collapse of the
monarchy because the Catholic Church was its strongest base and greatest
supporter.
iv) The calling of the estates general
meeting of 5th may 1789 also propelled the collapse of the ancient
regime/ Bourbon monarchy. The delegates were summoned by King Louis xvi
to find solutions to pending problems most especially financial crisis
in France. The failure of King Louis xvi to handle the crisis over
seating arrangement forced the third estate delegates to declare
themselves the national assembly. This sparked off the 1789 revolution,
which came with events that hastened the collapse of the monarchy. It
was thus the beginning of the-revolutionary government that formally
ended the reign of the regime/monarchy and instituted a republican
government by 1793.
v) The rise of the national
assembly also influenced the collapse of the ancient regime/Bourbon
monarchy. When the King failed to settle the disagreement over the
seating arrangement, the third estate delegates defied him and converted
themselves into the national assembly on 17th June 1789. This
undermined the powers of the ancient regime/ monarchy as the third
estate- used the national assembly to make laws that trimmed the powers
of the monarchy and the King in French affairs. The assembly kept the
third estate delegates united against the monarchy as they made laws on
behalf of all the Frenchmen.
vi) The March of women
to Versailles was also responsible for the collapse of the ancient
regime/Bourbon monarchy by 1793. On 5th Get 1789, about 6500 women
including men dressed in women's clothes marched from Paris to
Versailles to petition King Louis xvi to accept reforms and settle
socio-economic problems of famine, unemployment. Inflation etc. The King
yielded to their demands and was brought back to Paris with, his
entire family. However when they reached Paris, they were put under
house arrest in the Tuillaries palace as prisoners. This made it easier
to transfer the national assembly from Versailles 'that was a stronghold
of the ancient regime/ Bourbon monarchy to Paris, which was a
revolutionary centre controlled by the mob. It became a big setback to
the powers of the regime/monarchy as it lost control of the destiny of
France.
vii) The destruction/fall of Bastilles was
very crucial in the collapse of the ancient regime/ Bourbon monarchy. On
14th July 1789, the Paris mob under the leadership of Desmoulins
destroyed the Bastilles that was a symbol of despotism where victims of
lettress-de-cachet were imprisoned. Prisoners most of whom diehard
revolutionaries were released. The released prisoners revenged by
joining the Paris mob to cause more chaos that contributed to the death
of Louis xvi and the downfall of the Bourbon monarchy. The fall of
Bastilles also implied the end of dictatorship, lettress-de-cachet and
centralization of power that had been part and parcel of the monarchy.
It forced the nobles and clergy into exile thereby narrowing the support
of the monarchy while increasing the determination of the third estate
to uproot it from power. Besides, the destruction of the Bastilles was
preceded by change of the national flag from the white flag of the
Bourbons to the tri-colour flag of the revolutionaries and dissolution
of the royal guard that was replaced by the National Guard. This denied
the ancient regime/monarchy of its symbol and protection hence
accelerating its collapse.
viii) The promulgation
of the first French constitution also contributed to the collapse of the
ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy. On 5th Sept 1791, the constituent
assembly enacted the first constitution in the history of France. It
confirmed people's rights in the declaration of the rights of man and
citizens ignoring people's duties that was very important in
strengthening the monarchy. Above all, the constitution drastically
reduced the traditional powers of the monarchy and the King. It
established a new administrative system where the King's powers were
decentralized to be exercised by junior officers. This left King Louis
xvi and the Bourbon monarchy with very limited power that made the
collapse of the ancient regime inevitable by 1793.
ix)
The weaknesses of King Louis xvi contributed to the collapse of the
ancient regime in a number of ways. In the first place, Louis' failure
to settle the political, social and economic problems in France led to
the outbreak of the French revolution that undermined the survival of
the ancient regime.
b) It was Louis who blundered
by calling the estates general meeting and failed to settle the issue of
the sitting arrangement that graduated into the revolution. Louis'
personal weakness could not enable him to hijack the revolution on its
eve. This is why the revolutionaries took control of events and
destroyed the monarchy by 1793.
c) Louis xvi's
insensitivity to reforms made the revolutionaries to take a radical and
violent step of destroying the ancient regime and executing him by 1793.
The French revolutionaries of 1789 were merely demanding for reforms
but Louis xvi used his veto powers to block the proposed reforms. For
instance, he refused to sign important documents like the declaration of
the rights of man and citizens, the civil constitution of the clergy
and the general amnesty to the émigrés. These made Louis xvi and the
ancient regime an obstacle to the French revolution and that is why they
were destroyed by 1793.
d) Louis xvi's treasonable
acts against the French revolutionaries led to the downfall of the
monarchy / ancient regime and his own death by 1793. His attempt to
suppress the revolution using foreign troops, calling the royal session
and closing the third class delegates out of the assembly hall forced
the revolutionaries to destroy the monarchy and replace it with a
republican government. This is because the revolutionaries saw Louis and
the ancient regime as a threat to the survival of the revolution and
hence decided to eliminate them for the sake of the revolution.
e) Louis Xvi's aborted flight to Varennes was a blunder that led to the collapse of the ancient regime.
This
was a secret move where Louis intended to flee to Austria in order to
seek foreign assistance, link up with the émigrés and suppress the
revolution. However, he was arrested and imprisoned as an enemy of the
revolution. Investigators found secret documents in his office drawer
and house that linked him to the émigrés and other hostile foreign
states like Austria. Consequently, he was charged with treason and
guillotined as a closing chapter to the ancient regime.
x)
The negative role/character of Queen Marie Antoinette was instrumental
in the disintegration of the ancient regime. Marie Antoinette was
arrogant, cantankerous and unsympathetic to the problems of the
Frenchmen. She gave poor and unfortunate advice to Louis xvi which made
him to pursue negative policies against the Frenchmen. For instance, she
advised the king to dismiss Turgot and Necker and reject all reforms
proposed by the national assembly. This forced the revolutionaries to
attack the Bastilles and destroy the ancient regime.
xi)
The untimely death of Mirabeau was also responsible for the collapse of
the ancient regime. Mira beau was the chairman of the national assembly
and a counselor to Louis xvi. Unfortunately, he died in 1791 and this
gave rise to blood thirsty and power hungry men like Danton, Marat and
Robespierre whose role led to the collapse of the ancient regime. Mira
beau foretold the destruction of the monarchy when he said on his death
bed that; I carry with me the last rags of the monarchy. It's therefore
logical to say that the death of Mira beau robbed France of a political
conciliator who could have saved the ancient regime and Louis xvi from
destruction and death respectively.
xii) The role
of political parties / clubs such as the Girondins, Jacobins,
Cordilliers etc weakened the monarchy and led to its demise / downfall
by 1793. These parties intensified violence and instability that
undermined people's confidence in the monarchy. The Jacobins terrorized
and assassinated all those who were still sympathetic to the ancient
regime and monarchy. They also exposed and exaggerated the weaknesses of
the ancient regime that undermined its existence by 1793.
xiii)
The rise and role of revolutionary extremists was of paramount
importance in the collapse of the ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy. Marat
used his revolutionary newspaper, L’ Ami du people to decampaign the
Bourbon monarchy and incite the masses to overthrow it. He was a
supporter of the Paris mob and the master planner of the September
massacre where over 1,000 imprisoned monarchical supporters were
murdered in cold blood. Robespierre, Danton and Marat perpetuated
violence and killing of supporters of the monarchy including King Louis
xvi and Queen Marie Antoinette. They were blood thirsty radical
republicans who brought the ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy to an end
and established a republican government in France by 1793.
xiv)
Persistent financial crisis affected the performance of the ancient
regime/Bourbon monarchy and contributed to its downfall. Financial
bankruptcy forced Louis xvi to call the estates general meeting of 5th
May 1789 that triggered off 'the-revolution, which led to the collapse
of the ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy. The outbreak of the revolution
did not give the King and his Ministers time to consult the members of
parliament on the solutions to financial crisis. Consequently, the
crisis persisted and worsened the problems of inflation, unemployment,
poverty, famine and starvation. It eroded the little confidence that
some Frenchmen still had in the monarchy and consolidated the spirit of
republicanism. This was used by radical republicans like Robespierre to
destroy the monarchy and institute a republican government in France by
1793.
xv) The establishment of Convention government and a republic sealed the fate of the ancient
regime/Bourbon
monarchy in France. On Sept 1792, the national assembly suspended King
Louis xvi but feared to pass a final judgment on him and the monarchy. A
resolution was passed that a new government that would be called the
convention government should be formed (through elections) to determine
the fate of the monarchy and the King. In the aftermath of its
formation, the Convention government deposed King Louis xvi and declared
France a republic on 22nd Sept 1792. This became the end of the road
for the ancient regime/Bourbon monarchy in France.
xvi)
The abolition of Feudalism influenced the collapse of the ancient
regime/Bourbon monarchy. On 4thAug 1789, the national assembly nullified
feudalism and scrapped the oppressive ancient system of taxation in
France. It also guaranteed equality in accessing public offices and
services. These influenced some clergy and nobles to denounce their
privileges and join the third estate in a spirit of brotherhood. This
undermined the basis of survival for the monarchy and caused its
collapse by 1793.
xvii) The role of mobs and mob
injustice cannot be underrated in the collapse of the ancient regime.
During the reign of terror, there was total breakdown of law and order
which made the mob to take control of events in France. This was
manipulated by ambitious and opportunistic politicians like Robespierre
to destroy the ancient regime and achieve their hidden political
ambitions.
xviii) The hostility of European
monarchs towards the French revolution forced the revolutionaries to
destroy the ancient regime and replace it with a republican government.
The Pilnitz declaration and the Brunswick manifesto where Prussia and
Austria threatened (and even invaded) France forced the revolutionaries
to "do away" with the ancient regime before it could be saved.
xix)
The effects of American war of independence and the failure of the army
to support the ancient regime also led to its collapse. A part from
contributing to financial crisis, the war politicized the
French
soldiers negatively against the monarchy. This made it very easy for
power hungry men like Robespierre, Danton and Marat to use the
politicized soldiers in bringing about the downfall of the ancient
regime.
xx) The better political, social and
economic conditions in England partly influenced the Frenchmen to cause
the collapse of the ancient regime. England had a constitutional
monarchy with a functional parliament, independent judiciary, a
modernized agriculture and industries. Besides, the socio economic
conditions of the English were better than those of the Frenchmen. This
influenced radical Frenchmen to replace the monarchy with a republic
that was to resemble the form of government in England.
xxi)
The role of political philosophers, encyclopaedists and physiocrats
undermined the survival of the ancient regime beyond 1793. Their
writings politicized the Frenchmen against the rule of Louis xvi and the
Bourbon monarchy. They compared the conditions of the Frenchmen with
those of the English and exposed the "rottenness" of the French
monarchy. This biased the Frenchmen with negative attitudes against the
monarchy and contributed to its collapse by 1793.
xxii)
The growing threats of the émigrés also contributed to the collapse of
the ancient regime. By 1792, they had mobilized themselves to a tune of
20,000 men with a declared intention to suppress the revolution, restore
their privileges and King Louis to his throne, They were supported by
foreign powers and had internal collaborators who provided them with
military secrets and strategies. King Louis xvi and the monarchy were
key suspects amongst internal collaborators. This biased the
revolutionaries to eliminate them as a strategy to deal with the threats
of the émigrés
xxiii) Conclude generally without taking a standpoint.
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