Summary

This document provides a detailed overview of Europe in the 1700s, exploring its social, economic, and religious contexts, including a discussion on global trade, the Agricultural Revolution, and the rise of scientific knowledge. It includes broad examinations of the economy and political structures as well as major shifts in beliefs and practices.

Full Transcript

EUROPE IN THE 1700S: The larger world was a mystery (as far as you could see was your world) 9/10 died in the district in which they were born (little travel other than merchants) Most people were peasants or serfs (legally attached to the land, slavery) Most people illitera...

EUROPE IN THE 1700S: The larger world was a mystery (as far as you could see was your world) 9/10 died in the district in which they were born (little travel other than merchants) Most people were peasants or serfs (legally attached to the land, slavery) Most people illiterate (some letters being written, rare and valuable) Few newspapers Communication difficult (some postal routes for horses to make it faster but overall very slow, trade can takes years depending on how far) ¼ of the contemporary population Wilderness and wasteland (unused land) Few luxury items (basic food items like turnips and beer (north) or wine (south), pears are considered exciting because they have flavour) Rural life, small market town (town to maybe sell eggs) Tremendous linguistic diversity (many different dialects in places like Germany , not everyone speaks the same) Social and cultural conservatism (you did the things the same way your grandparents did) Largely Christian (few Jews, few muslims) CHANGE STARTS: Global Trade (its slow) Luxury Commodities (coffee, tea, sugar, textiles appearing mainly from Asia) New World Settlement (educated ppl are aware there is more out there) Growing Scientific Knowledge A Sense of European Identity (they start to know that where they are, its different than other places out there) Population Growth The Enlightenment Politics are dynastic - Europe is ruled by families in competition with one another Europe is ruled by aristocracy - being born into a family who owns land is powerful, many families are established through marriage Fiefdoms - land given to you by the king in exchange for your service (lastly military) Estates and Parliaments - almost democratic institutions to limit the power of kings (kinda) Politics through mainly marriage and war Huge Families - marrying daughters off to expand ○ Habsburg ○ Bourbon ○ Hohenzollern ○ Hanover (Germans ruling India) ECONOMY: Mostly agriculture Mercantile capitalism (protectionist, charter companies (form company of merchants to make monopolies on trade) and zero-sum) ○ Hudson’s Bay company had that monopoly Trade with Asia (Naval Warfare and Piracy) - where lots of the wealth is generated ○ Lots of textiles ○ Europe doesn’t really have much Asia wants (besides opium, which causes the opium wars) so they use their superior military and technology Trade with the New World (Genocide and slavery) ○ Access to new land and territories to grow things like tobacco and sugar ○ Ship in labour from Africa to generate lots of money for European economy Nabobs and the West India Lobby Manufacture ○ Textile (very important) ○ Metalworking ○ Beer AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION: Technological developments (new plows) Fodder crops/manure (thinking more technically how to integrate farming and use new technologies) New world crops (ex: potatoes) Better Husbandry Access to markets ○ Better roads More land under cultivation Consolidation fields ○ Taking away lands from peasants as they realize there is a lot of money in agriculture Enclosure Population Boom (consequence) Labour Market Changing ○ Fewer people to work the land who then move to cities ○ Paying less for labour with better technology ○ Industrial Revolution (people who aren’t working the fields can now work factories) Penury Urbanization RELIGION: Friday, September 6, 2024 1:25 PM Integral to daily life Center of ritual calendar Different types: ○ Roman Catholic ○ Eastern Orthodox ○ Protestant (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican) Confessional Europe: ○ Prince decides the religion of the people ○ State churches: Cuius regio, eius religio (Peace of Augsburg, 1555) Dissenting Churches ○ It was late that non-anglicans could go to oxford or government, etc. ○ Excluded from power Judaism Islam Popular Practice ○ Local practices for peasants RESPECTABLE RELIGION: Vicar, pastor and priests are representative of the state and society as much as God They are paid through tithes, patronage, rent and farming They protect the interests of the ruling class And are often members of that class Symbols conservative respectability THE GREAT AWAKENING: Reform movements within the churches (dissatisfaction within the churches) ○ Puritanism ○ Jansenism ○ Pietism Evangelical Revival (revolution) in 18th and 19th centuries ANTICLERICALISM Skeptics are criticizing tithing ○ Absenteeism ○ Hypocrisy ○ Secularism ○ Desacralization and disenchantment SOCIETY: Rural: Three estates or orders Urban: Emergence of class society (middle class), growth and the bourgeoisie Conflict and Tensions lead to: ○ Crime ○ Riots ○ Revolution THE BLACK ACT AND THE BLOODY CODE: 1723 Initially anti-poaching ○ Conflict between land owners and the rural poor Came to include arson, disguised in a forest with a weapon, fishing, hare-hunting, destruction of ponds ○ Harsh punishments for new crimes Understood as class warfare, reaction to loss of rights to common land, terror of social unrest Part of a trend beginning in 1688, “The Bloody Code” ○ Don’t have police forces yet Deterrence rather than policing Public hangings Between 1770 and 1830: 35000 convictions, 7000 deaths Resisted by jurors, often reduced to transportation FRENCH REVOLUTION: Origins: - Absolute Monarchy - Feudalism and Privilege - The American Revolution/Salons/Philosophical ferment - Fiscal Crisis - Massive Debt - Unequitable Taxation (tithe and taille) - Corruption - Louis XVI and Maroe Antionette as unlikeable rules - 1787: Assembly of Notables/Parlement of Paris (the Rich) - 1788: Bad harvest - King proposes the Estates General (ALL the people meet together) - People given the right to formally complain (about taxes, privilege, elections, etc.) - The Estates-General convenes in May - National Assembly on June 17th (Created by the Third Estate aka the poor) - Tennis Court Oath on june 20th - Not to overthrow the monarchy, but want more authority and rights SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL CAUSES: Immediate Fiscal Crisis (inability to raise enough tax revenue) ○ Kept taxing the poor Bad Harvest ○ People starving Unpopular Leadership Conflict among Elites Intellectual Ferment Structural Class Tensions ○ Rich had an inability to understand the intense suffering of the poor ○ Emerging middle class Ideological Conflict: The King as the State vs the People as the Nation Inadequate Government Institutions CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY, 1789-1792 1789 - A New Politics (State wants National Assembly) No longer absolute monarchy Storming of the Bastille, July 14th ○ Swiss Guard rumors lead to storming Stormed Hotel les Invalides for guns but found no powder French army, normal people, former soldiers get gun powder from the fortress (the National Guard) ○ Low death count (including the head of the bastille) ○ National Assembly supported the actions of the National Guard The Sans-Culottes and the Paris Commune ○ The working poor (without breaches - reference to the clothing gentlemen wore) ○ Radical group The Great Fear ○ Countryside people are also scared of the Swiss Guard and rebel ○ Burn documents and les chateaux The Abolition of Feudalism, August 4th ○ No more tithes, no more special rights for aristocrats Church land taken Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, August 27th ○ All MEN in France are equal ○ Made by the National Assembly March on Versailles, October 5th ○ Still no food for regular people ○ So hungry women of Paris start the march for cheap bread ○ Consequence: king and royal family get abducted to Paris (they still lived in a palace though) Less and less power 1790 - Secularization of the state The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, July 12th ○ Complete government control over the church to limit their influence, abuse and corruption ○ Clergy (first estate) were also then paid employees of the government ○ Limited Pope's jurisdiction in spiritual affairs ○ Catholics turned against the revolution Oath of Loyalty, November 27th ○ All clergy were required to make an oath to the state ○ Causes tension between the city and the countryside But now the state has a lot more money because of all the things the churches owned Lots of priests refusing the oath and being thrown into prison 1791 - Counterrevolution Flight to Varennes, June 20-21 ○ Royal family make a run for it to the Austrian Netherlands Louis pretended to be in support of the revolution for ages Saw his rich friends get taxed the same as everyone else and taxes could no longer pay for lavish luxuries But the suck and get arrested They are now seen much more as an enemy (betrayal for fleeing) Guillotine also introduced here as an "equal" form of execution 1792 – The Revolutionary Wars (other monarchy nations getting concerned that radical ideas would spread to them): War with Austria and Prussia, April, 1792 ○ Other monarchies of Europe deciding whether or not to get involved with the revolution ○ Austrian troops on French border refused to back down so Radical France declared war (afraid they'd attack first) ○ Pillnitz declaration: says that if a hair on the head of a royal family is hurt he will burn down Paris Later a proclamation Brunswick Manifesto which essentially said the same thing and wished to return the king to full power This angered revolutionary france which caused… Attack on the Tulieres and Universal Male Suffrage, Aug. 10th ○ Royal family in a palace in paris Sans culottes attack it and seized them September Massacres ○ Mostly prisoners (at the time a lot of nobility and priests) killed by the lower class due to paranoia relating to Prussian war and fear over counterrevolutions Republic Established Sept. 22nd (21st?) ○ A New constitution - no more monarchy ○ King is no longer head of state Hes a figurehead with no power THE FIRST REPUBLIC, 1792-1795 The National Convention ○ Used to be National Assembly ○ Every adult male in France can now vote (democracy) Girondins and Jacobins/Mountain ○ Jacobin = left wring radical group Girondins = section of the group but left Didn’t want to execute the king The Mountains, the other section of the group, care about the sans-culottes Citizen Louis Capet executed, Jan. 21st 1792 ○ Sentenced by just one vote (otherwise hed be deported) War and Economic Crisis ○ Direct consequence of killing the formal king ○ No one is interested in trading with France Conscription and Counterrevolution (The Vendée) ○ Rural peasants and nobles supported the monarchy and the church and were angered by the restrictions on religion by the revolutionaries Supported the church and didn’t have that much inequality before revolution ○ Brutal civil war Robespierre (radical) and the Committee for Public Safety, April 1793 ○ Route out conterrevolytionairies ○ Committee was essentially a 12 man dictatorship ○ Purpose to protect the French Republic from enemies Marat (journalist and supporter of sans-culottes) assassinated, 13 July 1793 ○ Very Radical and wrote a lot about committing violence against the nobility ○ Killed by a woman who supports the Girondins Killed after angered from increasing radicalism and violence in an almost total Jacobin gov. (moderates aka the Girondins were few left) The Cult of Supreme Reason ○ Their idea of replacing religion entirely ○ Revolutionary Calendar ○ Metric system introduced ○ Hostile towards priests ○ Not very popular amongst those other than radicals ○ Slavery abolished 4 February 1794 Sugar produced in Haiti by slaves Execution of Louis XVI Sieveking, 1793 All and all, a very extremist reign that caused fear even in the revolutionaries themselves, economy wasn’t improving either The Reign of Terror (17,000 official executions) ○ Marie Antionette executed 16 Oct 1793 ○ Suspected enemies of the revolution guillotined Spies everywhere and even criticizing the heavy surveillance could get you killed 40,000 were killed for suspected crimes against liberty ○ This was under a radical gov. ○ Inspired to become more violent after Marat's death ○ Desmoulins, friend of Robespierre (leader of rev. gov essentially) saw war turning out well for the French and people eating better (most problems solved) so suggested to end the Reign Robs. Executed him THERMIDORIAN REACTION More moderate revolutionaries who started a coup A response to the extremist radical government in order to restore stability to the country Robespierre arrested, 27 July 1794 ○ He went crazy… Created a the Cult of the Supreme Being Told the National Convention that many of them would be killed for suspicion ○ Arrested by the National Assembly ○ Executed, 28 July 1794 (shot in the jaw) 70 members of the Paris Commune executed, 28 July 1794 Popular Revolt Crushed, 20 May 1795 ○ Sans Culottes against Thermidorians wanted bread but got punished The White Terror, 1795 (2000 killed) ○ White is symbol of royalty ○ Robespierre allies now the targets of suppression Royalist Revolt Crushed, 5 October 1795 ○ Revolutionary troops vs royalists (wanted a monarchy and revolted) ○ Napoleon defeated the royalists and sort of got his start to fame here National Convention Dissolved 26 October 1795 and replaced by… The Directory, 1795-1799 New constitution to prevent a single person coming into power Property Requirements Aggressive Foreign Policy ○ Napoleon with many wars The ascendancy of the Bourgeoisie (word for specific segment towns people who have money and property - middle class) ○ Didn’t take much part in the revolution (neither the revolting poor or the targeted rich) yet benefited the most from it Since they weren't poor, many could afford things but didn’t really have access due to special nobility privilege and church privilege The abolition of those opened up more trade and more land which made economics better Unlike the poor, they were also educated and benefited from a merit like society and not a heredity one Wasn’t very popular The Consulate, 1799-1804 Napoleon as an autocrat SUMMARY Immediate consequence of fiscal crisis, philosophical debate, and socio-economic tension Sequence of increasingly radical political experiments that ends in the Thermidorean reaction Massive political and social turmoil: ○ Aristocracy, Peasants (countryside), Sans Culottes (cities), Bourgeoisie, The Church Transition from subject to citizen The idea of Universal Human Rights War with European monarchs Napoleon: Rise To Power Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) ○ Corsican Not even from the French mainlands ○ Minor nobility Second estate but not great family ○ Artillery Officer Very minor position for an officer Calvary is for wealthy families ○ Supported the Jacobins, Robespierre Close to Robespierre’s brother Located within the radical elements ○ Put down a Royalist rebellion, 1795 First Italian Campaign (against the Austrians), 1796-1797 ○ National prominence (popular) ○ Does a lot of looting Egyptian Campaign (against the Ottomans), 1798 ○ Politicians start to get nervous over napoleons popularity ○ Took a lot of historians and archeologist with him to Egypt ○ Orientalist kinda starts with this campaign ○ Doesn’t go too well and they go to Syria and ditched the historians The Consul (upon returning to Paris) Established the Consul, 1799 ○ Napoleon was behind many coups He is then able to establish himself as sort of a leader of France New Constitution and Plebiscite ○ Yes/no questions ○ 1799 New Constitution Authoritarian Metric System, 1799 Concordat, 1801 ○ Renews relationships with the pope ○ Church gets a lot more power back (but still lots of state control) Fouché, Minister of Police ○ Part of the secret police Shut down most newspapers Centralized government Established the Bank of France Secular, Public Education ○ Remains accessible 1802, First Consul for life ○ No more elections ○ Not yet king or emperor Republic to Empire Patronage and Merit ○ Advance on the basis of skills (merit) Family members rule conquered territories ○ Italy, Belgium, etc. Civil Code, 1804: ○ Protected property rights ○ Patriarchal Reversed women’s advancements (divorce, property) ○ Religious Freedom Mostly catholic but Protestant’s and Jewish people have rights ○ Prohibited Workers Organizations Rightwards swing Stuff like Unions People like jacobins being sidelined Encouraged Scientific Research Emperor, 1804 ○ Declared and crowned by himself ○ Starts loosing fans Marries Marie-Louise, a Habsburg, 1880 ○ After ditching his previous wife Josephine Conquers most of mainland Europe but Russia and the UK Apogee (climax) and Fall Continental System, 1806 ○ Closed European trade network that doesn’t rely on international trade Peninsular War, 1807-1814 ○ Fights with Spain and Portugal ○ Draws Britain into land battles ○ Before Spain, Napoleon had small well trained army and did conquests with SPEED Spain was more barren with little agricultural resources and food Invasion of Russia, 1812 ○ Things turn to shit ○ Doesn’t understand how vast the land is and intense Russian winters are ○ Russians keep retreating further into mainland and set fire to the land because they know Napoleon needs to rely on the resources First Defeat, 1814 ○ From the Russians ○ Europe bans together to defeat Napoleon Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815 ○ How to return the land Napoleon took? Elba ○ Where he was banished The Hundred Days and Waterloo, 1815 ○ He returns to France but is defeated again and sent to Waterloo St. Helena and Death, 1815-1821 The Revolutionary Wars (Before he died) Conscription ○ Chief innovation Conscript peasants and townspeople ○ Also volunteer Promotion based on merit ○ If you were a common soldier before, you were a common soldier Officers bought positions (patronage) ○ Anyone who shows worth on the battle field gets promoted Integration of artillery Emphasis on mobility and speed Living off the land (looting) Destruction, not just defeat, of enemies Export of Revolutionary Values: ○ End of Feudalism All special rights of aristocracy and church ○ Rise of Nationalism Driving success of the armies ○ Legal Reform Most of Western Europe still follows Napoleonic code ○ Language of Citizenship Replaces the old language of kings ad subjects with citizens and nationality ○ The Idea of Revolution Itself Proof that you can overthrow a king Napoleon as the Romantic Hero The Fragility of the Old Regimes The Export of Revolutionary Values or Their Destruction The Rise of Nationalism Strategic Genius from nowhere ○ Popular figure originally before authoritarianism Historiography Monday, September 23, 2024 12:45 PM Three ideological positions on the Revolution: Conservative ○ Things should stay the way they are ○ Revolution was wrong Liberal ○ Systems can be tweaked ○ Revolution was good Radical ○ Aggressive ideas ○ Economic Radical, Feminist Radical, etc. ○ Revolution got stopped too early In the 20th Century: ○ Social Interpretation (Radical/Liberal) Consensus that the way to understand the revolution was that it was a social event of classes ○ Revisionist (Conservative/Liberal) And also: ○ Feminist (Liberal/Radical) ○ Postcolonial (Liberal/Radical) EARLY CONSERVATIVE ACCOUNTS Explanations of the French Revolution were highly politicized from its earliest days. First histories written largely by politicians and journalists The Conservative Interpretation was that it was a crime against God and/or the Natural Order ○ We need tradition The Monarchy and the Church were ordained to rule by God. Conspiracy Theories blaming Freemasons, Illuminati, and Occultists. ○ Augustin Barruel (1741-1820) - vocal satanist Edmund Burke (1729-1797). Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) Considered the Revolutionaries misguided fantasists ○ Argued the traditional structure of the government were necessary for an ordered society EARLY LIBERAL ACCOUNTS The early stages of the Revolution were necessary, a constitutional Monarchy desirable, even Republicanism, and the end of feudalism a cause for celebration, but that it went to far. ○ Nation itself needs a voice Emphasize political liberty more than economic or social equality ○ Not super sympathetic towards Sans-culottes Gradualist and progressive ○ Think the revolution progressed too fast and went off the rails Blamed both radicals AND the king Driven by Enlightenment ideals and Rationality ○ We need to have laws in place to protect the individual Many examples: Adolphe Thiers, a politician (1797-1897); François Auguste Marie Mignet, a journalist (1796-1884), Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), former aristocrat RADICAL OR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS Above all a Bourgeois Revolution Emphasize (social and economic) equality more than (political) liberty Emphasize how the rise of capitalism enriched the bourgeoisie: merchants, bankers, manufacturers ○ Feudalism limited their political power despite their economic power ○ Driven by class - new class of people Class conflict first between the bourgeoisie and the nobility Revolution justified by the ideas of the Enlightenment (ideology - equality) but more about economics ○ Old politics no longer makes sense ○ Heart of the nation is now the bourgeoisie And then between the bourgeoisie and the urban poor ○ Bourgeoisie don’t wanna go too far to protect their economic power, the poor want to go further to get equality The radical interpretation was that the Thermidor and the governments that followed were a betrayal of the revolution and the French people Marx et al argued the bourgeois revolution would eventually be overturned by a working class or proletariat revolution 20th century academic/sorbonne: Jaurès, Lefebvre, Soubol, Vovelle COLD WAR REVISIONISM (disregarding early history and accounts) A return to Liberal and Conservative Perspectives Anglo-American/Cold War Alfred Cobban (1901-1968): ○ Feudalism long gone/Bourgeoisie and Nobility constituted a single economic class/ revolutionaries actually lawyers and bureaucrats Argued feudalism had faded out BEFORE the revolution and the bourgeois and the nobility were on similar page ○ The French Revolution was a political revolution with social consequences, not a social revolution with political consequences. Francois Furet (1927-1997), Simon Schama (1945-): Revolutionaries essentially ideological and irrational ○ Didn’t understand the world and had crazy utopian fantasy ideas Revolution as inevitably violent and inherently totalitarian Revolution was a product of Enlightenment Culture/Discourse FEMINIST RECONSIDERATIONS Women received no substantial benefit from the Revolution Some prominent individuals: Madame De Staël, Madame Roland, Olympe de Gouges, Charlotte Corday 1970s and 80s a big burst of research ○ Post-Feminism, women interested in different subjects that the men were Social and Cultural life of women in the period ○ Because women wee excluded in politics Misogyny and Marie Antoinette ○ How women’s bodies are politicized Why wasn't the Revolution good for women? ○ Push for political liberty and economic equality, why were women excluded? 1791 women were "passive" citizens without a vote, 1793 even after "universal" suffrage - no vote, 1795 no longer considered citizens, 1804 loss of legal rights in the Napoleonic Code ○ Brief moment at the beginning of the revolution that gives false hope of women being included The Revolution, the napoleonic Era that followed and the subsequent governments were aggressively masculine Lynn Hunt, Joan Landes - both Revisionist or Revisionist adjacent POSTCOLONIAL RECONSIDERATIONS Postcolonial in this instance means re-examining the Revolution from the perspective of colonized persons. Especially in light of Slavery and Slave Rebellions in the Caribbean. ○ Consequence of the revolution ○ Problematic for the revolutionary government who wanted equality, but also money from sugar production  he classic text is Black Jacobins by CLR James T Last twenty years have seen a proliferation of arguments not just about how the Revolution impacted enslaved people, but how the reaction of the enslaved people to Revolutionary ideas transformed the world. ○ Not just a one way flow SUMMARY All interpretations of the Revolution driven by political interests New approaches open up new vistas of research ○ Social historians gave us the poor Prev. Only interested in the Jacobins ○ Revisionists complicated the class interpretation and introduced discourse and culture Not just about economics and politics How people use language to understand the world and shapes their responses Feminist and Postcolonial historians showed how even at its most radical the utopian vision of the Revolutionaries was limited by attitudes towards gender and race THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION In Haiti, they followed voodoo ○ Syncretism: Mixed religious beliefs (ex: Christianity overlaying Voodoo) Saint-Domingue, 1730s + ○ Island French Colony ○ Sugar producer (valuable) Code Noir (1685) ○ Legal system to control slaves with a lot of violence Slaves had horrible lives and rules to prevent them form acting “badly” 90% enslaved peoples ○ All African (mostly west Africa) Free people of color ○ Manumission: an owner can free a slave Grandes Blancs, Petit Blancs ○ Two type of colonizers ○ Rich whites (Grandes, often not in Haiti), Colonial Class present in Haiti (petit) Already a debate about rights and freedom ○ Free POC pushing back to gain rights or in some cases, for abolition of slavery Bois Caïman, 14 August 1791 ○ Voodoo ceremony Revolt ○ They are aware there’s a revolution in France Demanding Freedom but not Independence ○ They are willing to work National Assembly grants grant civil rights to free men of colour in 1792 ○ “Universal Revolution” all men need to be free Abolish slavery in 1794 ○ Potentially destroying their economy ○ Scares other colonial powers that their slaves are gonna revolt Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803) ○ Big leader Britain and Spain fighting against the freed Slaves. ○ Against revolution 1797 British and Spanish withdraw ○ They had their asses handed to them ○ Difficult place to fight in, free people are familiar with the terrain 1801 Constitution ○ Written by L’ouverture ○ Still not independent of France Napoleon sends an army, 1802 ○ To put this new nation down ○ Louverture captured French start re-establishing slavery in the Caribbean ○ Repeal the Jacobin laws French driven out by 1803 ○ By the Haitians ○ His first defeat? Independence Declared, 1 January 1804 ○ Haiti gets allowed back into the European market (they are bankrupt) but have to pay restorations (to their ex-slave owners) A VERY QUICK INTRODUCTION TO ROMANTICISM A very capacious category ○ Hard to define Late 18th and early 19thcenturies ○ Culture phenomenon Politically diverse ○ It’s not automatically radical or conservative Art, literature, music, architecture (follies, fake temples) Philosophical origins in Germany A reaction to the Enlightenment: ○ Irrationality vs Rationality The importance of irrationality in human existence ○ Emotion vs Reason Celebrates emotion ○ Imagination vs Tradition Celebrates the imagination Sort of like the revolution ○ Expressive vs Mannered Lots of words to produce emotional effect Willing to break rules for expression ○ The Past vs The Present ○ Nature vs Civilization Nature over civilization ○ The Past vs The Present ○ Full of contradictions ○ The artist as a genius Not through rationality or intellect, but through emotion and skill Ex: Beethoven The public replacing the patron ○ Appealing to the reading public, the rich people don’t matter as much THREE KEY QUESTIONS: 1. What is the Third Estate? – Everything. 2. What has it been so far in the political order? – Nothing. 3. What does it ask to be? – Something - **Definition of a Nation**: A nation consists of people united under common laws and represented by the same legislative body. The nobility, with its separate privileges and rights, functions as a "nation within a nation." - **Nobility's Political Separation**: The nobility acts independently, with its own representatives and interests, which are separate from and contrary to the general public. - **Third Estate as the True Nation**: The Third Estate represents the entirety of the nation, and those outside of it (the privileged) should not be considered part of the nation. - **Criticism of Privileges**: Freedom and citizenship should be based on rights, not privileges. The nobility’s claim to power based on "right of conquest" is outdated and unjust. - **Aristocracy's Control**: The Church, Army, and Law have formed a “triple aristocracy,” seizing control over essential public life and exercising power through a court system rather than a monarchy. - **Third Estate’s Political Non-existence**: Historically, the Third Estate has lacked true representation in the Estates-General, rendering its political influence non-existent. - **Demands of the Third Estate**: 1. *Equal Representation*: The number of deputies from the Third Estate should equal that of the privileged orders combined. 2. *Voting by Headcount*: Votes in the Estates-General should be counted by individual members (heads) rather than by orders. 3. *Equality in Influence*: The Third Estate seeks an influence in the Estates-General equal to that of the privileged orders to avoid remaining politically powerless. - **Unfair Representation**: The Third Estate argues that the privileged orders, though small in number, hold disproportionate influence and political power. - **Historical Precedent for Change**: The growth of commerce and cities has created a new, prosperous class within the Third Estate, justifying increased political representation. - **Final Demand**: The Third Estate insists on voting by heads, not orders, to avoid the privileged classes vetoing changes that threaten their interests. Discipline and Punish SEPT 6 FRI Friday, September 06, 2024 7:18 PM Demonstrates that the way we punish criminals changes over time Starts with Damiens (a criminal who attempted to assassinate the king) ○ He is publicly executed HARSHLY (horses tied to his arms and legs and made to walk in opposite directions) ○ This is to demonstrate power of the Sovreign In contrast, a timetable schedule for prisoners is shown (they are able to work, pray and eat) ○ Attempt at reforming the soul THE RELATION OF THE SOVREIGN AND THE SUBJECT REVALED THROUGH JUSTICE Still true to this day ○ Rather than bodily torture, we now subject many people to psychological scrutiny (lay bare their childhood traumas to understand motive) ○ Building discipline to conform to a certain way of life We can see these dynamics in areas other than law ○ School or work place now talking about mental health (Do they care actually about your happiness and wellbeing or do they care that you continue to be productive to support existing power structures?) The way we punish people is historically contingent ○ Modes of punishment change over time and therefore we can choose to change them Women French Revolution Friday, September 20, 2024 2:05 PM 1. Overview of Domesticity and Political Participation Integration of Domestic and Political Spheres: The article explores a philosophical moment during the early French Revolution (1789-1793) when women could participate in politics from their homes. This moment challenged the traditional divide between public (political) and private (domestic) spheres, creating a space where women could influence political events while fulfilling domestic duties. Women’s Political Influence: Women engaged in politics not by holding public office but by influencing political ideas and reforms from within their homes. This involvement was largely grounded in the ideals of the republican home, where domestic spaces were seen as nurturing grounds for political virtues. 2. The Concept of the Republican Home Public and Private Merging: The republican home was portrayed as a space where public and private spheres merged. It was envisioned as a virtuous place that fostered political ideas, influenced public discourse, and allowed women to engage politically without leaving their traditional domestic roles. Rousseau’s Influence on Domestic Politics: The conception of the home as a political space drew heavily from Rousseau’s writings on motherhood and domesticity, which praised the nurturing role of women as crucial to the health of the republic. 3. Manon Roland’s Role and Political Participation Manon Roland as a Central Figure: Manon Roland was a key figure who exemplified how women could navigate the political landscape of the French Revolution from within the home. Her influence was notable among the Girondin faction, where she played a crucial behind-the-scenes role. Balancing Domesticity and Politics: Roland embraced domestic ideals inspired by Rousseau but adapted them to engage politically. She managed her household, advised her husband, and drafted important political documents, highlighting the potential of the republican home as a center of political influence. Writing as Political Action: Roland’s writings, including her memoirs, reflect her dual role as a devoted housewife and an active political thinker. Through her letters and political writings, she subtly critiqued male leaders, offered policy advice, and helped shape revolutionary thought, demonstrating that domesticity could be a form of political engagement. 4. The Failure of Domestic Political Models Insecurity of the Framework: The model of domestic political participation was fragile because it relied on ideals that did not fully support women’s political power. Rousseau’s view of women as inherently domestic meant that even sympathetic male allies often failed to support women’s political influence beyond the home. Repression of Women’s Influence: As women’s political influence became more visible, they were subjected to severe repression. Revolutionary leaders, threatened by the growing prominence of politically active women, cracked down on their participation, effectively pushing them out of the political sphere. 5. Louise Kéralio Robert and the Home as a Political Forum Louise Kéralio Robert’s Perspective: Another key figure, Louise Kéralio Robert, argued that the home was a political space where women could exert significant influence. She supported the idea that women’s domestic roles were crucial to nurturing republican values and shaping future citizens. Resistance to Public Political Engagement: Despite her active involvement in journalism and political commentary, Kéralio maintained that women should focus on their domestic roles and exert influence indirectly. Her stance reflects the tension between advocating for women’s political power and adhering to the limits set by traditional gender norms. 6. The Shift to Liberalism and Its Impact Rise of Liberal Values: The shift from republican to liberal values around 1795 marked the decline of the home as a political space. Liberalism emphasized individual rights and autonomy, sidelining the communal and domestic aspects of political life that had allowed women’s participation. Marginalization of Women’s Political Roles: As liberal ideals took hold, the home’s political significance diminished, and women were further confined to private, non-political roles. This transition highlighted the fragility of the republican model that had temporarily allowed women to engage in politics. 7. Gender Prejudice and the Limits of Support Male Allies and Their Biases: Even male allies like Jacques-Pierre Brissot, who supported women’s rights, were influenced by Rousseau’s restrictive views on women. Despite their advocacy, they often failed to fully endorse women’s political participation, reflecting the deep-seated gender biases of the time. Rousseau’s Contradictory Legacy: Rousseau’s writings both empowered and constrained women. While his ideas allowed women some political engagement through their domestic roles, his broader philosophy reinforced traditional gender norms, ultimately limiting the scope of women’s political influence. 8. Conclusion and Implications for Women’s Political Emancipation Unfulfilled Potential of the Republican Home: The efforts of revolutionary women like Roland and Kéralio to make the home a political space were significant but ultimately failed to secure lasting political power for women. The insecure foundation of their political roles, rooted in domesticity, could not withstand the ideological shifts of the period. Lessons for Modern Feminism: The article suggests that the strategies employed by Jacobin women to integrate domesticity with political activism are worth revisiting, as they offer insights into the challenges of increasing women’s political participation in male-dominated societies

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