The French Revolution: France And The French Monarchy

Shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire, the area that is now the country of France began to evolve rapidly. The name of France comes from the Germanic tribe, known as the Franks. The Franks were led by certain Merovingian kings, who were actually more like chieftains, not kings with real power. Later, those kings were replaced by the Carolingian kings, who reigned from 751 to 987. Charlemagne was king of the Franks and became the first Holy Roman Emperor. France’s monarchy became more powerful with each successive king. For example, the French king Louis XIV was considered an absolute monarch since he was the supreme and only law giver. In theory, he was responsible to God alone. To showcase this, he said, “I am the state”. He
He was more focused on himself then the needs of France. The French were so upset with the reign of Louis XVI, that they ended storming the Bastille on July 14, 1789. This ultimately resulted in the French Revolution and the execution of King Louis XVI. The French Revolution ended up eliminating the French Monarchy. France’s political landscape was permanently altered by the rejection of monarchy by the commoners during the French Revolution.
France’s total population was around 25 million at the time of the revolution, and “only 200,000 belonged to the privileged classes—the clergy and the nobility” (Foresman 474). This meant that nearly 80 percent of France’s population was made up of peasants, while the rest made up the middle class. These peasants were tied down with the heavy load of the “taille” or tithe, an income tax that took away half of their income. At the same time, the peasants were suffering from unfair feudal laws. For example, if wild animals were to destroy the peasant’s fields, they could not try to solve the issue by hunting the varmints because it was forbidden. Also, France was involved with helping fund the
So, the National Assembly had to do something quickly. On August 4th, 1789, the Assembly passed a decree that was targeted at ending the feudal system once and for all. The feudal system was part of the French Monarchy and now it was eliminated just like the absolute power of the King. As was noted by Steve Thompson, “The events of August 4th have been portrayed as the pinnacle of the revolution, a surge of patriotic self sacrifice, the last noble act of the nobility”.
In 1791, the National Assembly created a constitution which made France a limited monarchy” (Foresman 476). Louis XVI opposed the constitutional monarchy and in June of 1791, he and his family attempted to escape France. Many suspected that he was an enemy of the Revolution. Radical groups emerged such as: the Jacobin’s, whose leader was Maximilien Robespierre. Later, the Girondists also emerged as part of the radical Jacobin