The French Revolution

Summary of the Documentary: The French Revolution

The French Revolution is phenomenal in that it abolished the French monarchy and ushered in the French republic. The documentary titled ‘The French Revolution’ aims to describe this historic period vividly by recreating the events in a detailed manner. The scenes are accompanied by an eloquent narration of the occurrences that inspired the revolution, its achievements, and its challenges.

France was a monarchy up to the 18^th century. The monarchy’s troubles began after King Louis XIV lost the ‘Seven Year War’ in North America. The war drained France’s finances, a situation that had not been remedied by the time King Louis XVI took to the throne. Being a young king, Louis XVI described as indecisive, lacked in many leadership qualities. Rather than taking steps to improve the country’s economy, he decided to send troops to North America to fight in the American war of independence. This decision further strained France’s resources. The country’s population was growing rapidly due to reduced deaths from diseases hence more people to feed.

The French revolution was inspired by two major factors: the age of enlightenment and hunger. The age of enlightenment informed people that they could think for themselves. They didn’t have to rely on the authority for information. This undermined the monarchy. It wasn’t long before lawyer Maximilien Robespierre leveled charges against the royals for overspending despite the few resources in the country. The strained resources affected one major aspect, food security. At the heart of Frances agriculture was flour. People heavily depended upon bread. The documentary states that ‘bread was the measure of existence’ and that ‘flour was the essence of life.’ A harsh winter made matters worse with flour prices skyrocketing. There was hunger in the country. The hunger soon turned to rage which culminated in riots.

In an attempt to improve the economy, King Louis XVI introduced taxes that burdened the poor while the nobles didn’t pay. This further made the king unpopular. This gave people more reason to riot. To improve his image, the king appointed a finance minister, Jacques Necker, who was popular with the people. Necker proposed that the estates’ representatives meet to try and solve the economic disaster to which the king obliged. In 1789, the representatives were meeting for the first time in 175 years. They represented the three social classes, the clergy, nobility, and peasants. Lawyer Robespierre seized this opportunity to stand before the representatives and speak for the third estate. He demanded that the clergy and nobility also pay taxes. Such utterances led to Robespierre and his company being silenced. They moved to form the national assembly. Although the assembly was only declared on paper at the time, it was the first institution in the move to introduce a constitutional monarchy. The riots had turned into a revolution.

On the ground, the people were attacking the most hostile prison in Paris, the Bastille. They were able to seize weaponry and gun powder from the fortress. One of the guards is said to have reported this rebellion to the king who in turn asked: “is it as revolt?” and was answered, “no, it is a revolution.” The national assembly led by Robespierre penned the charter known as the declaration of the rights of men. They demanded that social classes are abolished and all men considered equal. More rebellion was marked by the ‘October march’ when in October 1789, the women from the marketplace marched to the palace to complain about the shortage of bread. They demanded that the royal family move back to Paris, where he was a prisoner of the people although still regarded as the king. By 1791, France was a constitutional monarchy.

King Louis XVI’s powers continued to decrease. He decided to make a run for Austria where he would join with allies to overthrow the monarchy. This plan was foiled by the rebellion guards. He was returned to Paris and considered as a betrayer. He lost his power completely to the revolutionaries. This power was then used to spread terror across the country. Anyone who was against the rebellion was sent to the guillotine, a machine designed for decapitation. The king and the queen are also sentenced to death and also sent to the guillotine.

The reign of terror ended with the same man who began it, Robespierre. He was sent to the guillotine after the deputies who once stood with him turned against him. They viewed him as a man who was drunk with power and declared him an outlaw. Five years later, power was consolidated at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte who became Emperor of France. Although the revolution had achieved its goal and there were equality and adequate bread, some say it continued into the nineteenth century. It was a revolution that inspired many nations to rise for liberties, from Russia to Latin America.

YouTube, YouTube, 3 Mar. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3AbMUQXft4.