The Radical Revolution In September 1792, the newly elected National

Convention began its sessions. 2/3 of its deputies were under 45 and almost all gained

political experience as a result of the Revolution Almost all distrusted the king The conventions step was to abolish the monarchy and

establish a republic. On January 2, 1793 the king was executed and the

destruction of the old regime was complete In Paris, the local government known as the Commune, whose leaders came from the working class, favored radical change and put constant pressure on the convention.

The National Convention did not rule France. Peasants in the west and people in the provinces refused to accept the authority of the convention.

In 1793, a military alliance of the major powers of Europe including Austria, Britain, and Prussia attacked France in late spring.

A Nation In Arms The convention gave broad powers to the Committee

of Public Safety, headed by Maximilian Robespierre. From 1793 to 1794, the Committee took control of

France In less than a year, the Republic’s army had grown

to 1,619,000, the largest army ever seen in European history. It pushed the allies across the Rhine and even conquered the Austrian Netherlands.

The new French army was the creation of a “peoples” government; its wars were now “peoples” wars.

In people’s wars, warfare increased in ferocity and lack of restraint.

Reign Of Terror To meet the domestic crisis the National Convention and the

Committee of Public Safety launched the “Reign of Terror” Revolutionary courts were instituted to protect the Republic

from its internal enemies In the course of nine months, 16,000 were officially killed

under the blade of the guillotine. The Committee of Public Safety said that the bloodletting was

only temporary. Once the war and the domestic emergency were over, they would have a “republic of virtue” in which the Rights of Man would be fully implemented.

Revolutionary armies were set up to bring recalcitrant cities and districts back under control of the National Convention.

The Committee of Public Safety made an example of the city of Lyons, which defied the authority of the National Convention.

By April 1794, some 1,880 citizens of Lyons had been executed.

When the guillotine proved to slow, cannon fire was used to blow condemned me into open graves.

Dechristianization

The National Convention also pursued a policy of dechristianization. A new calendar was made. It was not based on the birth of Christ but rather on September 22, 1792, the first day of the Republic.

They’re were also 10 days in a week. This was to prevent people from knowing what day of the week Sunday was.

Norte Dame Cathedral was designated the Temple of Reason.

Equality And Slavery Club called Friends of the Blacks advocated the

abolition of slavery French colonies in West Indies opposed this idea National convention came to power and slavery issue

rethought Slavery abolished in colonies by government Black slaves in Saint Domingue revolted against

French plantation owners led by Toussaint L’Ouverture

100,000+ black slaves seized control of all Hispaniola Western part of Hispaniola (Haiti) announced its

freedom Haiti was the first independent state in Latin America

Reaction & the Directory Robespierre executed on July 28, 1794 More moderate middle-class leaders took control

-Reign of Terror stopped -National Convention reduced power of the

Committee of Public Safety-Churches reopened for public worship

New constitution created on August 1795 The Directory (5 directors) were executive authority Government of Directory faced political enemies from

both sides-left—continuing economic problems-right—royalists wanting to restore monarchy

This led Directory to increasingly rely on military to maintain power

Led to coup d’état in 1799 where popular military general Napoleon Bonaparte seized power

The Age of Napoleon Born in 1769 in Corsica and when he was young, he

was sent to France to study in a military school He was a lieutenant when Revolution broke out By age 25 he was a brigadier general 2 years later he commanded French armies in Italy

came back as a conquering hero After disastrous expedition to Egypt, Napoleon

returned to Paris, where he participated in the coup that gave him control of France at age 30.

Coup of 1799, new form of Republic—called Consulate—Napoleon (1st consul) controlled entire executive authority of government

Had overwhelming influence over legislature, appointed members of administrative bureaucracy, commanded army, and conducted foreign affairs

1802—Napoleon made consul for life 1804—returned France to monarchy and crowned

himself Emperor Napoleon I

Domestic Policies One of Napoleon’s first policies was to fix things between

the Catholic church and the government Napoleon arranged a concordat with the pope. Which

said the Catholicism was the religion of France, and that the pope would not question about the land taken.

As a result they were no longer enemies Napoleon’s most noted achievement was his codification

of the laws. Before the Revolution France had over 300 legal systems. During it the people tried to make a single code system but it was up to Napoleon to complete it in the Civil Code

It recognized that all people were equal before the law, and abolished serfdom and feudalism, and religious toleration. Property rights were protected and interests of employers were as well by outlawing trade unions and strikes

Domestic Policies Con’t. Also the Civil Code changed things. It made men and

women less equal then before. Women could still divorce but it was harder, and all of their property when they were married was under the control of the man. Also when in lawsuits women were treated like minors.

Napoleon created a powerful bureaucracy. Early on the government showed that it didn’t care whether the expertise of an official was acquired in royal or revolutionary bureaucracies.

Promotion was now based on the ability of a person not on rank or birth.

He both destroyed and persevered aspects of the Revolution. Liberty was replaced by an initially good tyranny that grew unlimited as the demands of war overwhelmed Napoleon and the French. And the careers open to talent were preserved.

Napoleon’s Empire and The European Response

He became consul in 1799, while France was at war with the 2nd coalition (Russia, Great Britain, and Austria). He made a peace treaty in 1802, but Britain (later joined by Russia, Austria, and Prussia) and France were at war again by 1803.

Britain and all of them became the 3rd coalition and the battles lasted from 1805 – 1807. However, Napoleon’s Grand Army defeated them all, giving him the opportunity to create a new European order

The Grand Empire From 1807 – 1812 Napoleon was the master of Europe Composed of 3 parts:

the French Empire- was the inner core of the Grand Empire, was from the Rhine in the east and included the western half of Italy

Dependent States- were kingdoms under Napoleon’s relatives; Spain, Netherlands, kingdom of Italy, Swiss Republic, Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and Confederation of the Rhine

Allied states- those defeated by Napoleon and forced to fight against Britain (Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Sweden)

Napoleon sought acceptance of certain principles, including legal equality, religious toleration, and economic freedom

In the inner core and dependent states he tried to destroy the old order. Nobility and clergy in these areas lost all special privileges.

The Fall of Napoleon Napoleon’s fall came with the invasion of Russia Napoleon took 600,000 troops into Russia Only 40,000 of the original 600,000 returned to Poland in

1813 In March of 1814 Napoleon was sent to exile on the island

of Elba He then escaped Elba and reentered France When troops were sent to capture him, he told them he was

their emperor no one fired a shot at him Napoleon decided to strike first at his enemies In what is today Belgium, Napoleon met the combined

forces of the British and Prussian armies under the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon suffered a bloody defeat and was once again exiled

This time he was sent to the small forsaken island of Saint Helena

Conclusion Everywhere in Europe at the beginning of the 18th

century the old order remained strong Monarchs continued to seek expansion of their

bureaucracies to raise taxes Five great powers existed, two of them being France

and England, and embattled in the eastern and western hemispheres

The Seven Years War can legitimately be considered the first World War

British victories allowed Great Britain to rise as the world’s greatest naval and colonial power

With the Revolutionary era came great transformations The liberal and national political ideals that gave rise

due to the Revolution dominated the political landscape for well over a century

THE END