Page 304 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

revolution—france 1605

already begrimed with gunpowder and sweat, issued
orders, issued arms, thrust this man back, dragged this also dispersed power so widely between a five-man exec-
man forward, disarmed one to arm another, laboured utive branch (the Directory) and a bicameral legislature,
and strove in the thickest of the uproar. neither of which was responsible to the other, that dead-
“Keep near to me, Jacques Three,” cried Defarge; lock was the inevitable result.The only way to effect sig-
“and do you, Jacques One and Two, separate and put nificant political change under the Directory regime
yourselves at the head of as many of these patriots as (1795–99) was to mount coups d’etat. Thus civilians
you can.Where is my wife?” made alliances with generals, who were increasingly
“Eh, well! Here you see me!” said madame, com- powerful as France reversed early losses in the war with
posed as ever, but not knitting to-day. Madame’s res- European rivals and began to conquer significant por-
olute right hand was occupied with an axe, in place tions of Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. Napo-
of the usual softer implements, and in her girdle leon Bonaparte, who overthrew the Directory in the
were a pistol and a cruel knife. coup d’etat of 18 Brumaire Year VIII (9 November 1799)
“Where do you go, my wife?” and ruled as First Consul (and later as emperor) of a new,
“I go,” said madame “with you at present.You shall autocratic regime, was only the last and most successful
see me at the head of women, by-and-by.” in a series of military men who participated in such anti-
“Come, then!” cried Defarge, in a resounding voice. constitutional adventures.
“Patriots and friends, we are ready! The Bastille!”
A Continuing Legacy
Source: Dickens, C. (1981). A tale of two cities (pp. 198-199). New York: Bantam Classics.
(Original work published 1859) The French Revolution left an ambiguous legacy. It per-
manently abolished legal privilege based on birth and
guaranteed freedom of religion. (France was the first
punishment of “traitors,” who were believed to be profit- European country to recognize the civic equality of Jews
ing from the war and hoarding grain while the people and Gentiles.) Other gains were more tenuous.With the
went hungry.The Convention responded with the procla- exception of the election of the Convention, revolution-
mation,“Terror is the order of the day.” Institutionally the ary France failed to provide real democracy, as either
Terror was centered in the Committee of Public Safety, a property qualifications or the atmosphere of political ter-
group of twelve men who technically reported to the ror prevented the voice of the people from being heard.
Convention but who for ten months dominated it. Max- The abolition of slavery in 1794 was reversed by
imilien Robespierre (1758–1794), the most infamous Napoleon in 1803, and permanent abolition passed
member of this committee, went to the guillotine himself only during the revolution of 1848. Democracy, more-
when his enemies, anticipating their own execution, over, was limited to men, though the principle of equal-
denounced him before the Convention and succeeded in ity inherent in revolutionary thinking became a central
having him prosecuted for treason. Shortly after Robes- feature of the female suffrage movement and French fem-
pierre’s death on 28 July 1794, the legal apparatus of the inism more generally. And the advantages of the Revo-
Terror was dismantled.At least fourteen thousand people lution must be seen in the context of the pain and
had fallen victim to it during less than a year. suffering produced by denunciations, purges, executions,
The following year the Convention passed a new con- and war.Whether the gains of the Revolution might have
stitution, known as the Constitution of the Year III. (The come to pass less violently, in other words, whether the
revolutionaries had established a new calendar beginning Revolution was necessary, has been and is still much
with the declaration of the Republic in September 1792.) debated. Whatever one’s position, the Revolution un-
This constitution abolished universal male suffrage and doubtedly cast a long shadow over the subsequent two
restored property qualifications for political rights. It centuries, not only in France but around the world.