The French Revolution: one of the most significant political events of world chronicle started on May 5, 1789; therefore, it is an appropriate time to re-visit it. Actually, it was not a single incident but a series of developments which kept-on unfolding till 1799. We may call it a ‘process’ that continued for ten long years and left indelible prints on the course of history. It was not simply a change of government or system, like numerous other cases: it was something much larger and comprehensive which impacted all the aspects of human life timelessly within and without the French circumference. Nonetheless, the most noticeable was French Revolution’s role in shaping-up the modern democracy ‘by showing the power inherent in the will of the people’.
Briefly speaking the causes of the Revolution were so intense that it had to happen latter if not at that particular point of time. The pre-Revolution set-up termed as ‘Ancien Regime’ was based upon ‘Estate System’ which divided people into birth-oriented groups. The ‘First Estate’ was made-up of clergy who led the Catholic Church. They were the smallest group and paid no tax. The ‘Second Estate’ consisted of the nobility and was also exempted from taxes. The ‘Third Estate’ included peasants, urban laborers and the educated middle class called ‘bourgeoisie’. The first two estates were considered ‘privileged’ and the third one the ‘unprivileged’. Social inequality between the ‘privileged’ and the ‘unprivileged’ was unbelievably huge. It is to be noticed that out of 24 million population of France, the ‘privileged’ were only 1% and the rest of 99% belonged to the ‘unprivileged’. Similarly, the economic disparity was not only colossal but was ever- increasing as well because the 80% income of the ‘unprivileged’ was consumed in clearing the claims of government, aristocracy and church leaving them with a meager 20% of the total. The situation was further aggravated by ‘a marked upward movement of prices without a corresponding increase in the real wages’. Fast growth in population i.e. it doubled between 1715 and 1800, increased the number of landless peasants who were driven to the status of beggars. Successive poor harvests, yearly droughts particularly in 1788, regular spread of man and animal diseases added to the misery of rural inhabitants. Meanwhile, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution combined with extravagant spending by King Louis xvi pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy. The bourgeoisie were also part of ‘unprivileged’, but unlike the peasants, they had both ‘brains and money’. They were also well-exposed to the changes taking place in other societies and were profoundly influenced by the French philosophers. They resented their exclusion from political power and were in no mood to continue with the inferior position which the ‘Ancien Regime’ accorded to them. Needless to say that it was this class which latter provided leadership to the ignorant and wretched commoners. Additionally, the administrative-cum-legal system had become too ineffective to provide any relief to the public. In particular, after the death of Louis xiv, the situation worsened at a faster pace, due to incompetence and indifferent attitude of his successors. Apart from that, fresh ideas regarding state and society; concepts of social equality and democracy; and emphasis over science and reasoning sidelining tradition, transformed the thought pattern of the French public. Under the new approach they stopped considering the French monarchy as ‘divinely ordained’. The ‘Enlightenment philosophers’: Montesquieu, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau played cardinal role in popularizing these notions through their writings. Although they were influenced by 17th-century theorists like Rene Descartes, Benedict Spinoza and John Locke, but they came to different conclusions regarding the contemporary socio-politico-economic issues. Last but not the least, the people of France were also inspired by the ‘American Revolution’ through which the US successfully gained independence from Britain. Gradually, the public started expressing its desperation by challenging the writ of the regime through rioting, looting and striking: a trend which ultimately assumed the shape of a full-fledge revolution.
In the end of 1786, due to acute economic crises the government proposed a universal land tax. Because the scheme ended the tax-exemption of two ‘privileged’ estates and burdened the ‘third’ even further; it was acceptable to none. To sort-out the issue, Louis xvi summoned the ‘Estates General’ for May 5, 1789. It was an outdated assembly composed of nobility, clergy and middle class, practically dysfunctional since 1614. The voting pattern in the ‘Estates General’ was such that despite their much larger population the unprivileged ‘Third Estate’ could not carry the day, therefore they started agitating for voting on the basis of head instead of status. Upon rejection of their demands, the representatives of the ‘Third Estate’ met alone, adopted the title of ‘National Assembly’ and took oath not to disperse till the announcement of reforms. This oath is recorded in history as the Tennis Court Oath’. Left with no alternate, Louis xvi absorbed the new assembly into the new order. Meanwhile insurgency proliferated, of which the fall of Bastille Fortress on July 14, 1789, was the highest mark. The anti-privileged violence compelled the nobles and clergymen to flee en-masse. Amid this mess, the National Assembly abolished the feudalism and adopted the ‘Charter of Human Rights’ based upon democratic principles on August 4, 1789. A constitution was passed on September 3, 1791 retaining king with moderate powers and instituting a strong National Assembly. However, the arrangement could not satisfy the more radical elements under the leadership of Maximilien de Robespierre, who wanted trial of the king and more republican form of government. The wrangling between the different ideological groups delayed the much-needed stability and unleashed the most violent phase of the French Revolution: the ‘Reign of Terror’. During this chapter, thousands of persons labeled as ‘enemies of revolution’ including Louis xvi and Queen Marie Antoinette were massacred and it ended with its engineer Robespierre’s own execution on July 28, 1794. By now, the National Assembly had been replaced by ‘National Convention’ which had abolished monarchy and proclaimed establishment of Republic. On August 22, 1795, the moderate sections of the ‘National Convention’ drafted a fresh constitution with a bicameral legislature and a new institution called ‘Directory’. The ‘Directory’ was a five-member group to be appointed by the parliament with powers to govern the country. Unfortunately, the ‘directory could neither bring back the rule of law nor manage financial crises leading to military take-over on November 9/10,1799, under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. The rest is history.
All the analysts are unanimous on the conclusion that the French Revolution was a land-mark in the history of mankind. It was also observed as a ‘transformative moment toward modernity’. It gifted to humanity the fresh ideas of ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ which gradually expanded to the nook and corner of the world. The Marxist historiographer Peter Kropotkin observes that ‘it overthrew everything and began the task of universal reconstruction in the course of few years; it was like the working of cosmic forces: dissolving and re-creating a world’. No other political event has breached the past with the present of humanity so decisively, clearly and permanently: it was a real watershed in human history. The similarity between the 1st Article of the’ Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen’ adopted during the French Revolution and the 1st Article of the UNO’s ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ evidences the lasting impact of the event. The founding fathers of the USA and latter colonial period nationalists were also influenced by the French Revolution. The Russian, Chinese and Iranian revolutions in the 20th century had certain intellectual and conceptual linkages with it. In a nutshell, the French Revolution is still relevant and it will continue to affect the people politically, philosophically and ideologically; more than any other occurrence.
The last word: Pakistan’s elite should read the causes, events and results of the French Revolution. There is a lot in it, for them, to learn.
