The French Revolution
“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” - Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of The Rights Of Men and Of The Citizen.
The French Revolution happened in 1789 and a decade later ended in 1799.
Some say the circumstances of the French Revolution still exist in countries that have royalty today. I am going to tell you about how it started, the major events,the rise to power of Napoleon, and the legacy of the revolution.
How did the revolution start in the first place? The French revolution was caused by the poor economic policies of King Louis. He had taxed the poor in the years leading up to the revolution. And he had involved France in costly wars against the English (Cough Cough The Seven years’ war.) There was also a thing called the bourgeoisie. I don’t know what that is. The people of France were also questioning if they even needed a king and this was called ‘The Age Of Enlightenment.’ Did I say that King Louis XVI taxed the poor? Oh yeah I did. King Louis XVI taxed the poor due to his costly wars against Britain for global primacy (Cough Cough The Seven Years’ war.) He also involved France in the American war for Independence. Speaking about the American war for independence, the war has also influenced the revolution. The French saw that a revolt can win against a major military power. The French people had enough of reforms, now they want something else starting with re. Revolution.
The storming of the Bastille. The Bastille was a state prison on the east side of Paris, the prison had been a symbol of the monarchy’s tyrannic rule over France. An angry and aggressive mob had stormed the prison to get gunpowder for the muskets they got from storming a military hospital. The storming of the prison was the beginning of the revolution that would change France, from being a country with monarchies to a republic to an empire then ending up being a semi-presidential republic.
During the revolution something else was happening, a kid from Corsica was on the rise, Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the best military leaders France has probably seen. He fought 7 wars against 7 coalitions. Why was Napoleon a good military leader? Napoleon moved fast, he moved troops from one side of France to the other side of France in just two weeks. Napoleon had the element of surprise and surprised many allied troops. He commanded loyal soldiers, his men were so loyal that when Napoleon told them to charge they did so even if the other side was open firing. Napoleon rose to power and formed the first French Empire, before this he named himself consul for life. He was exiled to The Island of Elba, but this failed because somehow he managed to slip past guards and past through some British interception ships and managed to get back France and reclaimed his throne as Emperor of France. His last battle was a battle against the 7th Coalition. The Campaign of Waterloo was deadly on both sides, the total casualties of the war was 41,000. The bodies of those who died during this war were used as fertilisers on English crops.
The 15 year long wars were fought hard, These started with the Third Coalition and was the third of the coalition wars. During this time France was a republic after the ascension of Napoleon as leader of France. The English ended a treaty they had with France and so the Napoleonic wars started.
The legacy of the revolution. The greatest legacy of this revolution was liberty and democratic rights for all of the French people. They also gained equality. This revolution also established the democratic government of France. One of the legacies of this revolution was a document called the Declaration of Rights Of Man And of The Citizens. I quoted it above.
After all the conflict and wars France had endured during the times of the revolution were all not in vain. Napoleon had subsequently ended the revolution during his time as the Emperor of France. All in all the French Revolution was the greatest but most violent movement for equality and an uprising against the monarchy. The monarchy of France no longer exists today and will most likely not exist forever. All because of the parties and bankruptcy of France.
