THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONChapter 3: How Can Nationalism Develop?

TO WHAT EXTENT IS NATIONALISM SHAPED BY VARIOUS FACTORS?

• How did nationalism develop in France?

• How did Napoleon contribute to French nationalism?

• How has nationalism developed in recent times?

• TO WHAT EXTENT SHOULD NATION BE THE FOUNDATION OF IDENTITY?

HISTORICAL FACTORS THAT SHAPED FRENCH NATIONALISM

• The political system that was in place in France during the time period between 400-1500 CE is also referred to as the ANCIEN REGIME.

• During this period, ABSOLUTISM was established which gave the monarch the power to rule the land and the people by the divine right of kings-this meant that the King was only answerable to God.

SOCIETY IN FEUDAL FRANCE

• French society was divided up into three estates:

• First Estate (the Roman Catholic Clergy)

• Second Estate (the Nobility)

• Third Estate was made up of serfs and the rest of the population. The Third Estate was the largest in population making up approximately 2.3 million, or 98%, of the French population.

SKIPPING AHEAD

• In 1539, King Francis 1, signed a law called the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterets, which was legislation to discontinue using Latin in official French documents.

• This legislation set the stage for French to become the official language of France rather that the many different dialects and languages of the various regions.

• HOW MIGHT THE USE OF FRENCH INFLUENCE THE PEOPLES’ SENSE OF NATION?

SKIPPING AHEAD

• By the 18th century, the BOURGEOISIE (working class), started to demand change to the ancient regime. They were educated and literate and understood the disparity of the classes.

• They resented the First and Second Estates due to the heavy taxes that were imposed upon the Third Estate.

• They also opposed being dictated by the clergy and nobility.

• Even some members of the Second Estate encouraged changes to the political structure-after all, this was the Age of Enlightenment.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

• Due to the inequality of the Estates-General (1st, 2nd & 3rd Estates), the Bourgeoisie were angry with the limitations placed upon their class.

• The Third Estate did not have a voice that was taken seriously because the 1st and 2nd Estates would out-vote them if they so desired (vote by bloc). Therefore, change for the Third Estate did not happen.

TIMELINE

• France participated in a series of events which proved to be extremely costly and unsuccessful.

• When a meeting of the Estate General was called, the absolute power of the King was questioned.

• Little was settled during these meetings and the Third Estate was outraged.

TIMELINE JUNE 1789

• Creation of the National Assembly

• After the failure of the Estates-General, many of the reps of all three estates proclaimed themselves the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

• King Louis XVI locked them out of the regular meeting room so they took to a nearby tennis court and swore not to disband until France had a new constitution-The Tennis Court Oath.

TIMELINE: JULY 14TH, 1789

THE STORMING OF THE BASTILLE

• The king refused to acknowledge the National Assembly. Troops were sent to Paris whereby it was rumored that attacks had taken place.

• This event had spurred the crowds to storm the Bastille, the royal prison, to release prisoners and collect weapons for their own defense.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

•How might an attack on a royal symbol such as the Bastille become symbolic of the beginning of the French Revolution?

•How did political change to the social structure lead to the development of nationalism in France?

TIMELINE: AUGUST, 1789

Abolition of the Feudal System

• Due to the scarcity of food, fear and panic led to attacks on the estates of the nobility.

• The National Assembly abolished the Estates-General, ending the feudal system and gained legislative power in France.

Creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

• This Declaration was passed by the National Assembly.

• It described the rights of individuals and guiding democratic principles.

• “All people shall have equal rights upon birth and ever after: the right to freedom, property, safety and the right to resist oppression.

TIMELINE: OCTOBER, 1789

March on Versailles

• Several thousand people marched to Versailles to protest the high price of bread.

• It was discovered that the royal family was attempting to flee France so they forced the family to Paris where they would have little opportunity to escape. This act by the royal family disintegrated any remaining feelings of loyalty to the monarchy.

1790

Creation of a Constitutional Monarchy

• The National Assembly created the constitutional monarchy. It limited the powers of the King and gave most of the power to the elected legislative assembly.• Eliminated nobility as a defined class.

• Granted civil rights to all citizens

• Stripped the clergy of their property and special rights.

TIMELINE: 1790-1793

Jacobins

• Radicals who wanted to establish France as a republic.

• Stormed the Tuileries Palace in 1792 and suspended the king from his duties by the elected Legislative Assembly.

Girondins

• Moderates who wanted to maintain the monarchy.

TIMELINE 1792

• The Jacobins and Girondins created the National Convention and voted to remove the monarchy and establish a republic. They later execute King Louis XVI under the charge of treason.

• Not all of French society supported his execution.

• With Austria, Prussia and Britain as threats against the newly formed French Republic, the National Assembly instituted a Levee en Masse (mass conscription) to increase French soldiers.

TIMELINE: 1793

The Execution of King Louis XVI

• January, 1793: tried and found guilty of treason by the new republic.

The Execution of Marie Antoinette

• October, 1793: She was charged and tried with treason and was executed. Her death marked the official end to the royal line as her son died of neglect a few years later.

TIMELINE: REIGN OF TERROR

• From 1793-1794, the Reign of Terror gripped the people of France. No one was safe from the Guillotine.

• The National Convention arrested and executed up to 40,000 perceived enemies of the state.

• Led by the notorious Robespierre.

• Enforced conscription to provide additional soldiers for France’s military efforts.

• How would conscription shape nationalism among the people of France?

POINTS TO PONDER

•What was different in France after the revolution?

• What understandings of nation emerged?

•Who felt a part of the nation?

• What expressions of nationalism emerged?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTTvKwCylFY

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEZqarUnVpo

HOW DID NAPOLEON CONTRIBUTE TO FRENCH NATIONALISM?

• Napoleon Bonaparte is honoured throughout France as an icon and a hero.

• Many praise his military successes, his role as leader of France and the reforms he created after the French Revolution.

WHO IS THIS GUY?

• Was born in 1769 on the island of Corsica.

• He was the son of a noble and won a scholarship to the elite military training college in Paris.

• Between 1785-1795, Napoleon made huge occupational gains within the military.

• Between 1796-1797, Napoleon re-organized the French army and then went on to win several great victories over the Austrians and Italians.

NAPOLEON

• Between 1798-1799, Napoleon’s attacks on the British were unsuccessful.

• His army was ravaged by plague and sickness.

• Nelson’s British Navy (Napoleon’s nemesis) destroyed many of Napoleon’s own ships.

• After 1799, Napoleon returned to Paris and seized control of France in a coup d'état, whereby a new constitution was introduced.

• Napoleon was made First Consul of France.

• In 1804, in the presence of the Pope, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor.

A BRIEF HISTORY

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfHnwqtJT9U

• http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/nationalism-grows-in-europe-timeline-events-impact.html

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXsZbkt0yqo&feature=youtu.be