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The '''French Revolution''' was a revolutionary movement that hit France from the late 1780s to the late 1790s. The revolution marked the end of the '' |
The '''French Revolution''' (French: ''Révolution française'') was a revolutionary movement that hit [[France]] from the late 1780s to the late 1790s. The revolution marked the end of the a''ncien régime'' and paved the way for a republican France. |
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== Causes == |
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== The Revolution and the Rise of Spiga == |
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=== |
==== Loss in the Silesian war ==== |
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In France, the seeds of revolution had already been sown. After the French defeat in the [[History of Europe#Great Silesian War (1750-1755)|Great Silesian War]], and the disproportionate concessions made by France to Great Britain and her allies, the legitimacy of the Kingdom in the eyes of her subjects waned. |
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==== Tax burden and absolutism ==== |
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In 1788, it was announced that the national treasury was empty. With the growing unrest, Philip VIII's advisors advised convening the Estates-General, which had not been convened for more than a hundred years. However, Philip VIII refused to do so. However, as |
More so, when Philip VIII refused calls to lift the restrictions against taxing the French nobility, resulting in the third estate carrying the financial burdens of France. In 1788, it was announced that the national treasury was empty. With the growing unrest, Philip VIII's advisors advised convening the Estates-General, which had not been convened for already more than a hundred years. However, Philip VIII refused to do so. However, as unrest spilled over into the capital, Philip VIII announced from Versailles that he would endorse and convene the Estates-General, to the shock of his advisors. This announcement temporarily pacified the unrest, but as 1789 came to a close, Philip VIII made no signs of convening the assembly. |
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== Revolution == |
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| ⚫ | In February of 1790, a mob of peasants marched to Versailles and surrounded the palace. They were accompanied by some of the liberal nobles, notably the ones who tried to convince Philip VIII to convene the Estates-General. At last, Philip VIII did. In 22 February 1790, the Estates-General had been convened. Eventually, this Estates-General would morph into the |
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=== |
==== March on Versailles ==== |
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| ⚫ | In February of 1790, a mob of peasants marched to Versailles and surrounded the palace. They were accompanied by some of the liberal nobles, notably the ones who tried to convince Philip VIII to convene the Estates-General. At last, Philip VIII did. In 22 February 1790, the Estates-General had been convened. Eventually, this Estates-General would morph into the National Assembly. However, this national assembly would be unstable, as there would be a lot of political infighting that would ensue between the estates and the various political factions that had formed within the estate. |
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| ⚫ | |||
==== Philip VIII's flight to New France ==== |
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| ⚫ | Philip VIII had started to regret convening the Estates-General, instead of relying on his instincts and just crushing the initial unrest outright. Philip VIII contemplated leaving France and asking help from Austria and Britain, but his brother, the liberal Henri |
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| ⚫ | From 1790 to 1793, the political infighting within France would soon go out of control. It was starting to be clear that the authority of the King had waned. With the poor state of the army, the various political factions had started raising paramilitary groups. These militias would become more appealing for young men to join, rather than the under-rationed and poorly equipped Royal army, to the point that it became a point of prestige to become involved in these organizations. Conservatives had begun leaving France, most of them heading to the colony of [[New France]], which became a royalist stronghold. |
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| ⚫ | Philip VIII had started to regret convening the Estates-General, instead of relying on his instincts and just crushing the initial unrest outright. Philip VIII contemplated leaving France and asking help from Austria and Britain, but his brother, the liberal Henri, Duke of Anjou, had discouraged him from doing so. Without Henri's knowledge, Philip VIII and his family - most the future king Crown Prince Louis - escaped their residence from Versailles and departed for Lé Hâvre in Northern France on the 12th of March, 1793. They only brought their jewelry and other possessions, and only accompanied by three of his guards. This inconspicuity would make them successful in leaving Versailles. He had set sail for New France and had left France in a state of political turmoil. |
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=== Coronation of Henri, duc d’Anjou, as King of the French === |
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| ⚫ | |||
Philip VIII would die shortly after their arrival in Quebec. His son was crowned [[Louis XV|King Louis XV]], the first French monarch to be crowned outside of Europe. |
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=== Augustine Spiga === |
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{{Main|Augustine Spiga}} |
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== |
=== Henri the Unfortunate's rule === |
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When the news was revealed that Philip VIII had left France, the National Assembly labelled him as a traitor. “The King has abdicated!” was plastered on political leaflets after news of Philip VIII’s betrayal of the French people spread across the country. The National Assembly, however, still wanted to see to it that the new constitution of France would be respected. |
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They had to find a new king and found their ideal leader in Henri, Duke of Anjou and brother of Philip VIII, a man with liberal views. Although he had been arrested for allegedly conspiring with his brother Philip in leaving France, he was pardoned by the National Assembly on the grounds of a national emergency. In June 1793, he would be proclaimed King of France. Despite his noble intentions, his reign would be marked with inefficiencies. The Royal Army barely had any power, and his supposedly supreme word would constantly be overruled by the National Assembly. |
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=== Ultimatum to Spain and the Annexation of the Low Countries === |
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As part of Spiga's planned "liberation of Europe," he and Rossignol turned their attention to the Spanish Low Countries. Spiga delivered a letter to the Spanish King, demanding them to hand over possession of the Low Countries to the French. The Spanish King, worried about war with France (whose armies had recently been strengthened), reluctantly accepted Spiga's terms. On 4 September 1794, the Spanish Low Countries territory was officially transferred to France and its provinces were integrated as new French Départements. |
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| ⚫ | |||
This exchange became problematic for Britain and Austria, and they feared that the republic might upset the balance of power in Europe if left unchecked. |
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| ⚫ | In 1794, just a few weeks after the French Republic annexed the Spanish Low Countries, it was found out that King Henri (still locked up in Versailles) had been having a secret exchange of letters with the Austrian emissaries. The letters were called the Fruit Basket Letters, due to the fact that the letters would be hidden inconspicuously in fruit baskets to deliver them inside and outside the palace. |
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In these letters, Henri had supposedly detailed the supposedly harsh conditions of his imprisonment in Versailles, although there was no evidence to suggest this). He also had pleaded for Austria and Britain to attack the French Republic and restore Bourbon rule. Further letters from Austria had revealed a secret agreement between Britain and Austria, that they would invade France in the spring, just in time for the French National Assembly's new round of elections. Auguste Spiga had been informed of this plot and was enraged. He publicly denounced King Henri and ordered for him to be transferred to prison. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | In 1794, just a few weeks after the French Republic annexed the Spanish Low Countries, it was found out that King Henri (still locked up in Versailles) had been having a secret exchange of letters with the Austrian emissaries. The letters were called the Fruit Basket Letters, due to the fact that the letters would be hidden inconspicuously in fruit baskets to deliver them inside and outside the palace. |
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==== The Bathetic Overthrow ==== |
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| ⚫ | In 1794, he would be indefinitely suspended by the leaders of the majority party in the National Assembly, marking the end of the ''ancien regime.'' In 16 May 1794, the President of the National Assembly, Auguste Spiga, had declared the establishment of the French Republic. The King of France and his family was still allowed to live comfortably in Versailles (despite Spiga's opposition), but was placed under constant guard. This aroused mixed reactions from France's neighbouring countries, but they were more than happy to see France spiral into unrest, as long as the liberals don't do any harm to the royal family. |
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==== Murders of Versailles ==== |
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On the eve of 18 January 1795, a day before Henri was supposed to be transferred, a mob had gathered around the Versailles palace, gathering all the way from Paris. The mob had denounced King Henri as a traitor. Henri refused to speak to the crowd, and the crowd grew more violent. The few guards that were stationed in Versailles had sent a messenger to Rossignol for help, but this letter did not reach him, nor Spiga, and no forces came to their help. A gunshot was heard within the ruckus, presumably fired by a constabulary, and soon the situation developed into a riot against the guards, and it was not long until the Palace of Versailles itself was stormed by the crowd. The crowd had found Henri, his wife, and his son, the Great Dauphine, inside the palace, and was murdered by the violent mob in cold blood. This event would be known as the Murders of Versailles. |
On the eve of 18 January 1795, a day before Henri was supposed to be transferred, a mob had gathered around the Versailles palace, gathering all the way from Paris. The mob had denounced King Henri as a traitor. Henri refused to speak to the crowd, and the crowd grew more violent. The few guards that were stationed in Versailles had sent a messenger to Rossignol for help, but this letter did not reach him, nor Spiga, and no forces came to their help. A gunshot was heard within the ruckus, presumably fired by a constabulary, and soon the situation developed into a riot against the guards, and it was not long until the Palace of Versailles itself was stormed by the crowd. The crowd had found Henri, his wife, and his son, the Great Dauphine, inside the palace, and was murdered by the violent mob in cold blood. This event would be known as the Murders of Versailles. |
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To this day, the Murders of Versailles remain a strong point of debate and contention among modern historians. A popular belief among historians is that Rossignol had actually received the letters from the constabulary in Versailles asking for help, but Auguste Spiga, president of the National Assembly, had advised him to let the situation develop violently, to justify his autocratic tendencies (although in this version of the story, Spiga had not expected the death of Henri). Another theory is that Spiga had organized the riot itself, and had deliberately sent the mob there for the purpose of killing Henri, which seemed to align to his strong anti-royalist views. |
To this day, the Murders of Versailles remain a strong point of debate and contention among modern historians. A popular belief among historians is that Rossignol had actually received the letters from the constabulary in Versailles asking for help, but Auguste Spiga, president of the National Assembly, had advised him to let the situation develop violently, to justify his autocratic tendencies (although in this version of the story, Spiga had not expected the death of Henri). Another theory is that Spiga had organized the riot itself, and had deliberately sent the mob there for the purpose of killing Henri, which seemed to align to his strong anti-royalist views. |
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==== Legacy of Henri the Unfortunate ==== |
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Nevertheless, France, after the Murders of Versailles had grown even more increasingly autocratic. |
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Henri the Unfortunate had not been given a regnal number by the Augustinian or Valentinois governments, and remains as the most ineffectual and disgraced monarch in modern French history. |
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== First War of Deliverance (1795-1798) == |
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[[File:French_Expansion_in_the_First_Deliverance_War_(1795-1798).png|thumb|French Expansion in 1795-1798]] |
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After news of the murders hit London and Vienna, the allies decided that France had to be put down. Britain and Austria declared war on France. As a response, Rossignol had sent the National Army to occupy the Bishopric of Liege and the Dutch Republic in the spring of 1795. Rossignol's forces were met with very little resistance, and the Dutch had even welcomed the French as their liberators. On 4 April 1795, the Dutch Republic government was dissolved, and a new republic had been established: the Batavian Republic, which had an autonomous government but under the umbrella of the French Republic. William, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, had across the channel to Britain, and in the ''Dutch House'' of the Kew Palace of England, he had written the infamous Kew Letters, which ordered the colonies of the Dutch Republic to surrender to Great Britain for "safekeeping". Britain and Austria declare war on France. |
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These letters were wildly unpopular among most of the Dutch colonies, most especially in [[New Netherland]]. The letters have triggered an anti-Orangist coup in New Netherland, with the leaders denouncing William as a traitor. Great Britain attempted to invade New Netherland in 1796, and had led to the [[History of New Netherland#The Autumn War (1796)|Autumn War (1796) or the New Netherland Independence War]]. The New Netherland government was recognized and supported by France. However, the situation in Europe forced Britain to sign a peace with the New Netherland government and in the winter of 1796, New Netherland's independence was recognized by Britain. |
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In Europe, the situation for the British and Austrians had gotten worse. In 1798, the French forced Britain and Austria to sign the ''Treaty of Maastricht'', which formalized the creation of the Batavian Republic and the French annexation of the Spanish Low Countries, the Bishopric of Liege, and Franche-Comte. |
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== See also == |
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{{Timeline and Lore}} |
{{Timeline and Lore}} |
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Revision as of 23:46, 24 March 2022
The French Revolution (French: Révolution française) was a revolutionary movement that hit France from the late 1780s to the late 1790s. The revolution marked the end of the ancien régime and paved the way for a republican France.
Causes
Loss in the Silesian war
In France, the seeds of revolution had already been sown. After the French defeat in the Great Silesian War, and the disproportionate concessions made by France to Great Britain and her allies, the legitimacy of the Kingdom in the eyes of her subjects waned.
Tax burden and absolutism
More so, when Philip VIII refused calls to lift the restrictions against taxing the French nobility, resulting in the third estate carrying the financial burdens of France. In 1788, it was announced that the national treasury was empty. With the growing unrest, Philip VIII's advisors advised convening the Estates-General, which had not been convened for already more than a hundred years. However, Philip VIII refused to do so. However, as unrest spilled over into the capital, Philip VIII announced from Versailles that he would endorse and convene the Estates-General, to the shock of his advisors. This announcement temporarily pacified the unrest, but as 1789 came to a close, Philip VIII made no signs of convening the assembly.
Revolution
March on Versailles
In February of 1790, a mob of peasants marched to Versailles and surrounded the palace. They were accompanied by some of the liberal nobles, notably the ones who tried to convince Philip VIII to convene the Estates-General. At last, Philip VIII did. In 22 February 1790, the Estates-General had been convened. Eventually, this Estates-General would morph into the National Assembly. However, this national assembly would be unstable, as there would be a lot of political infighting that would ensue between the estates and the various political factions that had formed within the estate.
Philip VIII's flight to New France
From 1790 to 1793, the political infighting within France would soon go out of control. It was starting to be clear that the authority of the King had waned. With the poor state of the army, the various political factions had started raising paramilitary groups. These militias would become more appealing for young men to join, rather than the under-rationed and poorly equipped Royal army, to the point that it became a point of prestige to become involved in these organizations. Conservatives had begun leaving France, most of them heading to the colony of New France, which became a royalist stronghold.
Philip VIII had started to regret convening the Estates-General, instead of relying on his instincts and just crushing the initial unrest outright. Philip VIII contemplated leaving France and asking help from Austria and Britain, but his brother, the liberal Henri, Duke of Anjou, had discouraged him from doing so. Without Henri's knowledge, Philip VIII and his family - most the future king Crown Prince Louis - escaped their residence from Versailles and departed for Lé Hâvre in Northern France on the 12th of March, 1793. They only brought their jewelry and other possessions, and only accompanied by three of his guards. This inconspicuity would make them successful in leaving Versailles. He had set sail for New France and had left France in a state of political turmoil.
Philip VIII would die shortly after their arrival in Quebec. His son was crowned King Louis XV, the first French monarch to be crowned outside of Europe.
Henri the Unfortunate's rule
When the news was revealed that Philip VIII had left France, the National Assembly labelled him as a traitor. “The King has abdicated!” was plastered on political leaflets after news of Philip VIII’s betrayal of the French people spread across the country. The National Assembly, however, still wanted to see to it that the new constitution of France would be respected.
They had to find a new king and found their ideal leader in Henri, Duke of Anjou and brother of Philip VIII, a man with liberal views. Although he had been arrested for allegedly conspiring with his brother Philip in leaving France, he was pardoned by the National Assembly on the grounds of a national emergency. In June 1793, he would be proclaimed King of France. Despite his noble intentions, his reign would be marked with inefficiencies. The Royal Army barely had any power, and his supposedly supreme word would constantly be overruled by the National Assembly.
The Fruit Basket Plot
In 1794, just a few weeks after the French Republic annexed the Spanish Low Countries, it was found out that King Henri (still locked up in Versailles) had been having a secret exchange of letters with the Austrian emissaries. The letters were called the Fruit Basket Letters, due to the fact that the letters would be hidden inconspicuously in fruit baskets to deliver them inside and outside the palace.
In these letters, Henri had supposedly detailed the supposedly harsh conditions of his imprisonment in Versailles, although there was no evidence to suggest this). He also had pleaded for Austria and Britain to attack the French Republic and restore Bourbon rule. Further letters from Austria had revealed a secret agreement between Britain and Austria, that they would invade France in the spring, just in time for the French National Assembly's new round of elections. Auguste Spiga had been informed of this plot and was enraged. He publicly denounced King Henri and ordered for him to be transferred to prison.
The Bathetic Overthrow
In 1794, he would be indefinitely suspended by the leaders of the majority party in the National Assembly, marking the end of the ancien regime. In 16 May 1794, the President of the National Assembly, Auguste Spiga, had declared the establishment of the French Republic. The King of France and his family was still allowed to live comfortably in Versailles (despite Spiga's opposition), but was placed under constant guard. This aroused mixed reactions from France's neighbouring countries, but they were more than happy to see France spiral into unrest, as long as the liberals don't do any harm to the royal family.
Murders of Versailles
On the eve of 18 January 1795, a day before Henri was supposed to be transferred, a mob had gathered around the Versailles palace, gathering all the way from Paris. The mob had denounced King Henri as a traitor. Henri refused to speak to the crowd, and the crowd grew more violent. The few guards that were stationed in Versailles had sent a messenger to Rossignol for help, but this letter did not reach him, nor Spiga, and no forces came to their help. A gunshot was heard within the ruckus, presumably fired by a constabulary, and soon the situation developed into a riot against the guards, and it was not long until the Palace of Versailles itself was stormed by the crowd. The crowd had found Henri, his wife, and his son, the Great Dauphine, inside the palace, and was murdered by the violent mob in cold blood. This event would be known as the Murders of Versailles.
To this day, the Murders of Versailles remain a strong point of debate and contention among modern historians. A popular belief among historians is that Rossignol had actually received the letters from the constabulary in Versailles asking for help, but Auguste Spiga, president of the National Assembly, had advised him to let the situation develop violently, to justify his autocratic tendencies (although in this version of the story, Spiga had not expected the death of Henri). Another theory is that Spiga had organized the riot itself, and had deliberately sent the mob there for the purpose of killing Henri, which seemed to align to his strong anti-royalist views.
Legacy of Henri the Unfortunate
Henri the Unfortunate had not been given a regnal number by the Augustinian or Valentinois governments, and remains as the most ineffectual and disgraced monarch in modern French history.
