Subscribe this blog by clicking "Join this Site" Button.
Go to download page for French Revolution:
http://www.thoughtcrackers.blogspot.in/p/download.html
In France of
the Old Regime the monarch did not have the power to impose taxes according to
his will alone. Rather he had to call a meeting of the Estates General which
would then pass his proposals for new taxes. The Estates General (French: Les États-Généraux de) was a
political body to which the three estates sent their representatives. However,
the monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body. The last
time it was done was in 1614.
On 5 May
1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass
proposals for new taxes. A resplendent hall in Versailles was prepared to host
the delegates. The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who
were seated in rows facing each other on two sides, while the 600 members of
the third estate had to stand at the back. The third estate was represented by
its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans and women were
denied entry to the assembly.
Voting in
the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle
that each estate had one vote. This time too Louis XVI was determined to
continue the same practice. But members of the third estate demanded that
voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would
have one vote. This was one of the democratic principles put forward by
philosophers like Rousseau in his book The Social Contract. When
the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the
assembly in protest.
The
representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the
whole French nation. On 20 June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis
court in the grounds of Versailles. They declared themselves a
National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had drafted a
constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch. They were
led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès(originally a priest, wrote an
influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’). Mirabeau was born in a
noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal
privilege. He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the
crowds assembled at Versailles.
The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. The only person who did not sign was Joseph Martin-Dauch from Castelnaudary, who would not execute decisions not decided by the king. They made a makeshift conference room inside atennis court, located in the Saint-Louis district of the city of Versailles, near the Palace of Versailles.
While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil. A severe winter had meant a bad harvest; the price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women stormed into the shops. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille (http://www.thoughtcrackers.blogspot.in/2015/09/the-french-revolution-and-idea-of-nation.html).
While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil. A severe winter had meant a bad harvest; the price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women stormed into the shops. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille (http://www.thoughtcrackers.blogspot.in/2015/09/the-french-revolution-and-idea-of-nation.html).
In the
countryside rumors spread from village to village that the lords of the manor
(An estate consisting of the lord’s lands and his mansion) had hired bands of
brigands who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops. Caught in a frenzy of
fear, peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux
(Castle or stately residence belonging to a king or a nobleman).
They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. A large number of nobles fled from their homes, many of them migrating to neighboring countries.
The Great Fear (French: la Grande Peur) was a general panic that occurred between 17 July and 3 August 1789 at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring, and fueled by the rumors of an aristocrat "famine plot" to starve or burn out the population, peasant and town people mobilized in many regions.
They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. A large number of nobles fled from their homes, many of them migrating to neighboring countries.
TAKEN FROM
NCERT BOOK ( India and the Contemporary World -II FOR CLASS X )
Wikipedia
NCERT BOOK ( India and the Contemporary World -II FOR CLASS X )
Wikipedia
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Estates-General
http://www.historywiz.com/greatfear.htm
http://www.historywiz.com/greatfear.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment