Secondary Three History Textbook (Part 1) PDF

 Secondary Three History (Part-1) Content Page 1. Section 1 1 2. Section 2 7 3. Section 3 15 4. Section 4 23  SECTION 1 Inciting Revolution...

 Secondary Three History (Part-1) Content Page 1. Section 1 1 2. Section 2 7 3. Section 3 15 4. Section 4 23  SECTION 1 Inciting Revolution Camille Desmoulins was a French revolutionary leader and journalist who wrote pamphlets and journals to express his views on the revolution. He also spoke to Parisian crowds and his stirring speeches in 1789 were a cause of the storming of the Bastille prison on july 14, 1789. This excerpt is from one of his speeches, “Better to Die than no Live Free”: “ In a democracy, though the people may be deceived, yet they at least love virtue. It is merit which they believe they put in power as substitutes for the rascals who are the very essence of monarchies. The vices, concealments, and crimes which are the diseases of republics are Camille Desmoulins and the very healthy and existence of monarchies. ” French Revolution banner Focus Question What led to the storming of the Bastille, and therefore, to the start of the French Revolution? On the Eve of Revolution On April 28, 1789, unrest exploded at a Paris wallpaper factory. A rumor had spread that the factory owner was planning to cut wages even though bread prices were soaring. Enraged workers vandalized the owner’s home. Riots like these did not worry most nobles. They knew that France faced a severe economic crisis but thought that financial reforms would ease the problem. Then, rioters would be hanged, as they deserved. The nobles were wrong. The crisis went deeper than government finances. Reform would not be enough. By July, the hungry, unemployed, and poorly paid people of Paris had taken up arms. Their actions would push events further and faster than anyone could have foreseen. French Society Divided In 1789, France, like the rest of Europe, still clung to an outdated social system that had emerged in the Middle Ages. Under this ancien regime, or old order, everyone in France was divided into one of three classes, or estates. The First Estate was made up of the clergy; the Second Estate was made up of the nobility; and the Third Estate comprised the vast majority of the population. The Clergy Enjoy Wealth During the Middle Ages, the Church had exerted great influence throughout Christian Europe. In 1789, the French clergy still enjoyed enormous wealth and privilege. The Church owned about 10 percent of the land, collected tithes, and paid no direct taxes to the state. High Church leaders such as bishops and abbots were usually nobles who lived very well. Parish priests, however, often came from humble origins and might be as poor as their peasant congregations. 1  The First Estate did provide some social services. Nuns, monks, and priests ran schools, hospitals, and orphanages. But during the Enlightenment, philosophes targeted the Church for reform. They criticized the idleness of some clergy, Church interference in politics, and its intolerance of dissent. In response, many clergy condemned the Enlightenment for undermining religion and moral order. Nobles Hold Top Government Jobs The Second Estate was the titled nobility of French society. In the Middle Ages, noble knights had defended the land. In the 1600s, Richelieu and Louis XIV had crushed the nobles’ military power but given them other rights— under strict royal control. Those rights included top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church. At Versailles, ambitious nobles competed for royal appointments while idle courtiers enjoyed endless entertainments. Many nobles, however, lived far from Bread Riots in France The British embassy in Paris sent regular reports to London. The excerpts were from the center of power. Though they owned land, they had little money income. As a result, they felt the pinch of trying to maintain their status in a period of rising prices. Many nobles hated absolutism and resented the royal bureaucracy that employed middle-class men in positions that once had been reserved for the aristocracy. They feared losing their traditional privileges, especially their freedom from paying taxes. Third Estate Is Vastly Diverse The Third Estate was the most diverse social class. At the top set the bourgeoisie (boor zhwah ZEE), or middle class. The bourgeoisie included prosperous bankers, merchants, and manufacturers, as well as lawyers, doctors, journalists, and professors. The bulk of the Third Estate, however, consisted of rural peasants. Analyzing Political Cartoons The Old Regime This cartoon represents the social order in France before the French Revolution. While a member of the Third Estate is beginning to express anger and rise up, a nobleman representing the Second Estate and a priest, representing the First Estate, recoil in surprise and fear. 1. How does the cartoonist portray the Third Estate? Explain why. 2. What were the differences among the social classes in pre-revolutionary France? Some were prosperous landowners who hired laborers to work for them. Others were tenant farmers or day laborers. 2  Among the poorest members of the Third Estate were urban workers. They included apprentices, journeymen, and others who worked in industries such as printing or cloth making. Many women and men earned a meager living as servants, construction workers, or street sellers of everything from food to pots and pans. A large number of the urban poor were unemployed. To survive, some turned to begging or crime. From rich to poor, members of the Third Estate resented the privileges enjoyed by their social “betters.” Wealthy bourgeois families could buy political office and even titles, but the best jobs were still reserved for nobles. Urban workers earned miserable wages. Even the smallest rise in the price of bread, their main food, brought the threat of greater hunger or even starvation. Because of traditional privileges, the First and Second Estates paid almost no taxes. Peasants were burdened by taxes on everything from land to soap to salt. Though they were technically free, many owed fees and services that dated back to medieval times, such as the corvée (kawr vay), which was unpaid labor to repair roads and bridges. Peasants were also incensed when nobles, hurt by rising prices, tried to reimpose old manor dues. INFOGRAPHIC What Is the Third Estate? “1. What is the Third Estate? Everything. 2. What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing. 3. What does it want to be? Something” –Abbe’ Emmanuel Sieyes Sieyes, a clergyman before the revolution, captured the Ceramic bottle spirit of the Third Estate with these words in a pamphlet depicting dentist published in January 1789. The vast Third Estate– and patient peasants, dentists, laborers, and more – comprising more than 95 percent of France, was ready to fight for equality. Eighteen-century French street traders Woman of the French Revolution, painting of a peasant woman by Jacques-Louis David Thinking Critically 1. Identify Point of View According to the quote by Sieyes, why was the Third Estate ready to revolt? 2. Make Generalizations Why did Sieyes say the Third Estate was “nothing”? 3  In towns and cities, Enlightenment ideas led people to question the inequalities of the old regime. Why, people demanded, should the first two estates have such great privileges at the expense of the majority? Throughout France, the Third Estate called for the privileged classes to pay their share. Financial Troubles Economic woes in France added to the social unrest and heightened tensions. One of the causes of the economic trouble was a mushrooming financial crisis that was due in part to years of deficit spending. This occurs when a government spends more money than it takes in. The Burden of Debt Soar Louis XIV had left France deeply in debt. The Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution strained the treasury even further. Costs generally had risen in the 1700s, and the lavish court soaked up millions. To bridge the gap between income and expenses, the government Poorer peasants and city dwellers in France were faced borrowed more and more money. By 1789, half of with great hunger as bad harvests sent food prices the government’s income from taxes went to paying soaring. People began to riot to demand bread. In the countryside, peasants began to attack the manor the interest on this enormous debt. Also, in the late houses of the nobles. Arthur Young, an English visitor 1780s, bad harvests sent food prices soaring and to France, witnessed these riots and disturbances. Why did the poor attack the nobles’ homes? bought hunger to poorer peasants and city dwellers. Primary Source - “ “Everything conspires to render the To solve the financial crisis, the government present period in France critical: the [lack] of bread is terrible; accounts arrive every moment from the would have to increase taxes, reduce expenses, or provinces of riots and disturbances, and calling in the both. However, the nobles and clergy fiercely resisted military, to preserve the peace of the markets.”” __Arthur Young, Travels in France During the Year any attempt to end their exemption from taxes. 1787-1789) Economic Reform Fails The heirs of Louis XIV were not the right men to solve the economic crisis that afflicted France. Louis XV, who ruled from 1715 to 1774, pursued pleasure before serious business and ran up more debts. His grandson, Louis XVI, was well-meaning but weak and indecisive. He did, however, wisely chose Jacques Necker, a financial expart, as an adviser. Necker urged the king to reduce extravagant court spending, reform government, and abolish burdensome tariffs on internal trade. When Necker proposed taxing the First and Second estates, however, the nobles and high clergy forced the king to dismiss him. As the crisis deepened, the pressure for reform mounted. Wealthy and powerful classes demanded , however, that the king summoned the Estates General , the legislative body consisting of representatives of the three estates, before making any changes. French kings had not called the Estates General for 175 years, fearing that nobles would use it to recover the feudal powers that they had lost under absolute rule. To reform-minded nobles, the Estates General seemed to offer a chance to carry out changes like 4 those that had come with the Glorious Revolution in England. They hoped that they could bring the absolute monarch under the control of the nobles and guarantee their own privileges. Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General As 1788 came to a close, France tottered on the verge of bankruptcy. Bread riots were spreading, and nobles, fearful of taxes, were denouncing royal tyranny. A baffled Louis XVI finally summoned the Estates General to meet at Versailles the following year. Estates Prepare Grievance Notebooks In preparation, Louis had all three estates prepare cahiers(kah yayz), or notebooks, listing their grievances. Many cahiers called for reforms such as fairer taxes, freedom of the press, or regular meetings of the Estates General. In one town, shoemakers denounced regulations that made leather so expensive they could not afford to make shoes. Servant girls in the city of Toulouse demanded the right to leave service when they wanted and that “after a girl has served her master for many years, she should receive some reward for her service.” The cahiers testified to boiling class resentments. One called tax collectors “bloodsuckers of the nation who drink the tears of the unfortunate from goblets of gold.” Another one of the cahiers condemned the courts of nobles as “vampires pumping the last drop of blood” from the people. Another complained that “20 million must live on half the wealth of France while the clergy … devour the other half.” Delegates Take the Tennis Court Oath Delegates to the Estates General from the Third Estate were elected, though only propertied men could vote. Thus, they were mostly lawyers, middle-class officials, and writers. They were familiar with the writings of Voltaire, Rousseau, and other philosophes. They went to Versailles not only to solve the financial crisis but also to insist on reform. The Estates General convened in May 1789. From the start, the delegates were deadlocked over the issue of voting. Traditionally, each estate had met and voted separately. Each group had one vote. Under this system, the First and Second estates always outvoted the Third Estate two to one. This time, the Third Estate wanted all three estates to meet in a single body, with votes counted “by head.” After weeks of stalemate, delegates of the Third Estate took a daring step. In June 1789, claiming to represent the people of The Oath Is Taken France, they declared themselves to be the National Assembly. Delegates of the Third Estate declare They then invited delegates from the other estates to help them themselves to be the National write a constitution, a document that describes the basic rules Assembly, representing the peole and laws of government. A few days later, the National Assembly of France. They take the Tennis found its meeting hall locked and guarded. Fearing that the king Court Oath (bottom), vowing to create a constitution. The National planned to dismiss them, the delegates moved to a nearby indoor Assembly later issues the assignat tennis court. As curious spectators looked on, the delegates took (top) as currency to help pay the their famous Tennis Court Oath. They swore “never to separate government’s debts. When was the and to meet wherever the circumstances might require until we significance of the Tennis Court Oath? have established a sound and just constitution.” 5  When reform-minded clergy and nobles joined the Assembly, Louis XVI grudgingly accepted it. But royal troops gathered around Paris, and rumors spread that the king planned to dissolve the Assembly Parisians Storm the Bastille On July 14, 1789, Paris seized the spotlight from the National Assembly meeting in Versailles. The streets buzzed with rumors that royal troops were going to occupy the capital. More than 800 Parisians assembled outside the Bastille, a grim medieval fortress used as a prison for political and other prisoners. The crowd was demanding weapons and gunpowder believed to be stored there. The commander of the Bastille refused to open the gates and opened fire on the crowd. In the battle that followed, many people were killed. Finally, the enraged mob broke through the defenses. They killed the commander and five guards and released a handful of prisoners who were being held there, but found no weapons. Parisians storm the Bastille on July 14,1789. The Bastille was a symbol to the people of France representing years of abuse by the monarchy. The storming of and subsequent fall of the Bastille was a wake-up call to Louis XVI. Unlike any other riot or short-lived protest, this event posed a challenge to the sheer existence of the regime. Since 1880, the French have celebrated Bastille Day annually as their national independence day. 6  SECTION 2 Parisian Women Storm Versilles On October 5, 1789, anger turned to action as thousands of women marched from Paris to Versailles. They wanted the king to stop ignoring their suffering. They also wanted the queen. French women were particularly angry with the Austrian-born queen, Marie Antoinette. They could not feed their children, yet she lived extravagantly. The women yelled as they looked for her in the palace: “ Death to the Austrian! We’ll wring her neck! We’ll tear her heart out!” Focus Question What political and social reforms did the National Assembly institute in the first stage of the French Revolution? The French Revolution Unfolds Excitement, wonder, and fear engulfed France as the revolution unfolded at home and spread abroad. Today, historians divide this revolutionary era into four phases. The moderate phase of the National Assembly (1789– 1791) turned France into a constitutional monarchy. A radical phase (1792– 1794) of escalating violence led to the end of the monarchy and a Reign of Terror. There followed a period of reaction against extremism, known as the Directory (1795–1799). Finally, the Age of Napoleon (1799– 1815) consolidated many revolutionary changes. In this section, you will read about the moderate start of the French Revolution. Political Crisis Leads to Revolt The political crisis of 1789 coincided with the worst famine in memory. Starving peasants roamed the countryside or flocked to the towns, where they swelled the ranks of the unemployed. As grain prices soared, even people with jobs had to spend up to 80 percent of their income on bread. Rumors Create the “Great Fear” In such desperate times, rumors ran wild and set off what was later called the “Great Fear.” Tales of attacks on villages and towns spread panic. Other rumors asserted that government troops were seizing peasant crops. Inflamed by famine and fear, peasants unleashed their fury on nobles who were trying to reimpose medieval dues. Defiant peasants attacked the homes of nobles, set fire to old manor records, and stole grain from storehouses. The violent attacks died down after a period of time, but they clearly demonstrated peasants’ anger with an unjust regime. 7  Paris Commune Comes to Power Paris, too, was in turmoil. As the capital and chief city of France, it was the revolutionary center. A variety of factions, or small groups, competed to gain power. Moderates looked to the Marquis de Lafayette , the aristocratic “hero of two worlds” who had fought alongside George Washington in the American Revolution. Lafayette headed the National Guard, a largely middle-class militia organized in response to the arrival of royal troops in Paris. The Guard was the first group to don the tricolor—a red, white, and blue badge which was eventually adopted as the national flag of France. A more radical group, the Paris Commune, replaced the royalist government of the city. It could mobilize whole neighborhoods for protests or violent action to further the revolution. Newspapers and political clubs— many even more radical than the Commune—blossomed everywhere. Some demanded an end to the monarchy and spread scandalous stories about the royal family and members of the court. The National Assembly Acts Peasant uprisings and the storming of the Bastille stampeded the National Assembly into action. On French Reaction to the August 4, in a combative all-night meeting, nobles in the American Revolution National Assembly voted to end their own privileges. The Marquis de Lafayette They agreed to give up their old manorial dues, exclusive (honored on ribbon at right) and Thomas Paine hunting rights, special legal status, and exemption from were leading figures in both taxes. the American and French revolutions. Lafayette, a French nobleman and military Special Privilege Ends “Feudalism is abolished,” commander, helped the announced the proud and weary delegates at 2 a.m. As Americans defeat the British at Yorktown. He admired the president of the Assembly later observed, “We may the American Declaration of view this moment as the dawn of a new revolution, when Independence and American democratic ideals. With these all the burdens weighing on the people were abolished, in mind, Lafayette wrote and France was truly reborn.” the first draft of the French Declaration of the Rights of Were nobles sacrificing much with their votes on the Man and the Citizen. night of August 4? Both contemporary observers and Thomas Paine was a famous American patriot and writer whose ideas in Common Sense had a great modern historians noted that the nobles gave up nothing influence on the American Revolution. During the that they had not already lost. Nevertheless, in the months French Revolution, Paine moved to France. There, ahead, the National Assembly turned the reforms of he defended the ideals of the revolution and was August 4 into law, meeting a key Enlightenment goal— elected to serve in the revolutionary government. the equality of all citizens before the law. Identify Central Issues : How did the American Revolution influence the French Revolution? 8 Declaration of the Rights of Man In late August, as a first step toward writing a constitution, the Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The document was modeled in part on the American Declaration of Independence, written 13 years earlier. All men, the French declaration announced, were “born and remain free and equal in rights.” They enjoyed natural rights to “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” Like the writings of Locke and the philosophes, the constitution insisted that governments exist to protect the natural rights of citizens. The Declaration further proclaimed that all male citizens were equal before the law. Every Frenchman had an equal right to hold public office “with no distinction other than that of their virtues and talents.” In addition, the Declaration asserted freedom of religion and called for taxes to be levied according to ability to pay. Its principles were captured in the enduring slogan of the French Revolution, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” Many women were disappointed that the Declaration of the Rights of Man did not grant equal citizenship to them. In 1791, Olympe de Gouges (oh LAMP duh GOOZH), a journalist, demanded equal rights in her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen. “Woman is born free,” she proclaimed, “and her rights are the same as those of man.” Therefore, Gouges reasoned, “all citizens, be they men or women, being equal in the state’s eyes, must be equally eligible for all public offices, positions, and jobs.” Later in the revolution, women met resistance for expressing their views in public, and many, including Gouges, were imprisoned and executed. The Declaration of the Rights of Man met resistance as well. Uncertain and hesitant, Louis XVI was slow to accept the reforms of the National Assembly. Parisians grew suspicious as more royal troops arrived. Nobles continued to enjoy gala banquets while people were starving. By autumn, anger again turned to action. Women March on Versailles On October 5, thousands of women streamed down the road that led from Paris to Versailles. “Bread!” they shouted. They demanded to see the king. Much of the crowd’s anger was directed at the Austrian-born queen, Marie Antoinette. (daughter of Maria Theresa and brother of Joseph II). The queen lived a life of great pleasure and extravagance, and this led to further public unrest. Although compassionate to the poor, her small acts went largely unnoticed because her lifestyle overshadowed them. She was against reforms and bored with the French court. She often retreated to the Petit Trianon, a small chateau on the palace grounds at Versailles where she lived her own life of amusement. The women refused to leave Versailles until the king met their most important demand—to return to Paris. Not too happily, the king agreed. The next morning, the crowd, with the king in tow, set out for the city. At the head of the procession rode women perched on the barrels of seized cannons. 9  Playing Dress-Up Marie Antoinette spent millions on her clothing and jewels and set fashion trends throughout France and Europe. This painting (top) was painted by her friend and portraitist, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun. Queens traditionally did not own property, but Marie Antoinette had her own small royal mansion and amusement village, or hamlet (bottom), where she played as milkmaid and shepherdess. Why did the French common people resent Marie Antoinette? They told bewildered spectators that they were bringing Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their son back to Paris. “Now we won’t have to go so far when we want to see our king,” they sang. Crowds along the way cheered the king, who now wore the tricolor. In Paris, the royal family moved into the Tuileries (twee luh reez) palace. For the next three years, Louis was a virtual prisoner. 10 The National Assembly Presses Onward The National Assembly soon followed the king to Paris. Its largely bourgeois members worked to draft a constitution and to solve the continuing financial crisis. To pay off the huge government debt— much of it owed to the bourgeoisie—the Assembly voted to take over and sell Church lands. The Church Is Placed Under State Control Reorganizing the Church in an even more radical move, the National Assembly put the French Catholic Church under state control. Under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, issued in 1790, bishops and priests became elected, salaried officials. The Civil Constitution ended papal authority over the French Church and dissolved convents and monasteries. Reaction was swift and angry. Many bishops and priests refused to accept the Civil Constitution. The pope condemned it. Large numbers of French peasants, who were conservative concerning religion, also rejected the changes. When the government punished clergy who refused to support the Civil Constitution, a huge gulf opened between revolutionaries in Paris and the peasantry in the provinces. The Constitution of 1791 Establishes a New Government The National Assembly completed its main task by producing a constitution. The Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries. A new Legislative Assembly had the power to make laws, collect taxes, and decide on issues of war and peace. Lawmakers would be elected by tax-paying male citizens over age 25. To make government more efficient, the constitution replaced the old provinces with 83 departments of roughly equal size. It abolished the old provincial courts, and it reformed laws. To moderate reformers, the Constitution of 1791 seemed to complete the revolution. Reflecting Enlightenment goals, it ensured equality before the law for all male citizens and ended Church interference in government. At the same time, it put power in the hands of men with the means and leisure to serve in government. Analyzing Political Cartoons The French Plague European rulers, nobles, and clergy (such as, from left, Catherine the Great of Russia, the Pope, Emperor Leopold II of Prussia, and George III of England) feared the revolution in France would spread to their countries. Many e’migre’s fueled the flames with their tales of attacks by the revolutionary government. 1. Why were European rulers against revolutionary ideas coming into their countries? 2. How does the cortoonist portray the “plague”? 11 Louis’s Escape Fails Meanwhile, Marie Antoinette and others had been urging the king to escape their humiliating situation. Louis finally gave in. One night in June 1791, a coach rolled north from Paris toward the border. Inside, sat the king disguised as a servant, the queen dressed as a governess, and the royal children. The attempted escape failed. In a town along the way, Louis’s disguise was uncovered by someone who held up a piece of currency with the king’s face on it. A company of soldiers escorted the royal family back to Paris, as onlooking crowds hurled insults at the king. To many, Louis’s dash to the border showed that he was a traitor to the revolution. Radicals Take Over Events in France stirred debate all over Europe. Supporters of the Enlightenment applauded the reforms of the National Assembly. They saw the French experiment as the dawn of a new age for justice and equality. European rulers and nobles, however, denounced the French Revolution. Rulers’ Fear Spread of Revoluton European rulers increased border patrols to stop the spread of the “French plague.” Fueling those fears were the horror stories that were told by émigrés (ehm ih grayz)—nobles, clergy, and others who had fled France and its revolutionary forces. Émigrés reported attacks on their privileges, their property, their religion, and even their lives. “Enlightened” rulers turned against French ideas. Catherine the Great of Russia burned Voltaire’s letters and locked up her critics. Edmund Burke, a British writer and statesman who earlier had defended the American Revolution, bitterly condemned revolutionaries in Paris. He predicted all too accurately that the revolution would become more violent. “Plots and assassinations,” he wrote, “will be anticipated by preventive murder and preventive confiscation.” Burke warned: “When ancient opinions and rules of life are taken … we have no compass to govern us.” Threats Come From Abroad The failed escape of Louis XVI brought further hostile rumblings from abroad. In August 1791, the king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria—who was Marie Antoinette’s brother—issued the Declaration of Pilnitz. In this document, the two monarchs threatened to intervene to protect the French monarchy. The declaration may have been mostly bluff, but revolutionaries in France took the threat seriously and prepared for war. The revolution was about to enter a new, more radical phase of change and conflict. Radicals Fight for Power and Declare War In October 1791, the newly elected Legislative Assembly took office. Faced with crises at home and abroad, it would survive for less than a year. Economic problems fed renewed turmoil. Assignats (As ig nats), the revolutionary currency, dropped in value, which caused prices to rise rapidly. Uncertainty about prices led to hoarding and additional food shortages. In Paris and other cities, working-class men and women, called sans-culottes (sanz kyoo lahtz), pushed the revolution into more radical action. They were called sans-culottes, which means “without breeches,” because they wore long trousers instead of the fancy knee breeches that upper-class men wore. By 1791, many sans-culottes demanded a republic, or government ruled by elected representatives instead of a monarch. 12  Within the Legislative Assembly, several hostile factions competed for power. The sans-culottes found support among radicals in the Legislative Assembly, especially the Jacobins. A revolutionary political club, the Jacobins were mostly middle-class lawyers or intellectuals. They used pamphleteers and sympathetic newspaper editors to advance the republican cause. Opposing the radicals were moderate reformers and political officials who wanted no more reforms at all. The National Assembly Declares War on Tyranny The radicals soon held the upper hand in the Legislative Assembly. In April 1792, the war of words between French revolutionaries and European monarchs moved onto the battlefield. Eager to spread the revolution and destroy tyranny abroad, the Legislative Assembly declared war first on Austria, then on Prussia, Britain, and other states. The great powers expected to win an easy victory against France, a land divided by revolution. In fact, however, the fighting that began in 1792 lasted on and off until 1815. PRIMARY SOURCE Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen The National Assembly issued this document in 1789 after having overthrown the established government in the early stages of the French Revolution. The document was modeled in part on the English Bill of Rights and on the American Declaration of Independence. The basic principles of the French declaration were those that inspired the revolution, such as the freedom and equality of all male citizens before the law. The articles below indentify additional principles. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices1 of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and the citizen: 1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. 2. The aim of all political association in the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible­2 rights of man these are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.... 4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything Thinking Critically which injures no one else... 1. Summarize summarize article 6. Why is this article epecially significant? 5. Law can only prohibit such actions that are hurtful 2. Identify Central Issues What central idea does this declaration share with the American Declaration to society.... of Independence? 1. auspices (Aws puh siz)n. approval and support 2. imprescriptible (im prih SKRIP tuh bul) adj. that which cannot be rightfully taken away. 13 6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents. 7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law... 11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the right of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write and print with freedom... 13. A commom contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public [military] forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means. 14  SECTION 3 The Engine of Terror A new execution device called the guillotine was introduced during this phase of the revolution. With its large, diagonal blade that came crashing down from a great height, it cut off heads swiftly and accurately. Thousands of people were sent to the guillotine and executed without trial. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens describes daily life during the Reign of Terror: “ Along the Paris streets, the death- carts rumble, hollow and harsh. Six tumbrils [carts that carried condemned persons to the guillotine.]” Focus Question What events occurred during the radical phase of the French Revolution? Marie Antoinette transported by cart to the guillotine Radical Days of the Revolution In 1793, the revolution entered a radical phase. For a year, France experienced one of the bloodiest regimes in its long history as determined leaders sought to extend and preserve the revolution. The Monarchy Is Abolished As the revolution continued, dismal news about the war abroad heightened tensions. Well-trained Prussian forces were cutting down raw French recruits. In addition, royalist officers deserted the French army, joining émigrés and others hoping to restore the king’s power. Tensions Lead to Violence Battle disasters quickly inflamed revolutionaries who thought the king was in league with the enemies. On August 10, 1792, a crowd of Parisians stormed the royal palace of the Tuileries and slaughtered the king’s guards. The royal family fled to the Legislative Assembly, escaping before the mob arrived. A month later, citizens attacked prisons that held nobles and priests accused of political offenses. About 1,200 prisoners were killed; among them were many ordinary criminals. Historians disagreed about the people who carried out the “September massacres.” Some called them bloodthirsty mobs. Others describe them as patriots defending France from its enemies. In fact, most were ordinary citizens fired to fury by real and imagined grievances. Radicals Take Control and Execute the King Backed by Paris crowds, radicals took control of the Assembly. Radicals called for the election of a new legislative body called the National Convention. Suffrage, the right to vote, was to be extended to all male citizens, not just to property owners. The Convention that met in September 1792 was a more radical body than earlier assemblies. It voted to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic –the France republic. Deputies then drew up a 15 new constitution for France. The Jacobins, who controlled the Convention, set out to erase all traces of the old order. They seized lands of nobles and abolished titles of nobility. During the early months of the Republic, the Convention also put Louis XVI on trial as a traitor to France. The king was convicted by a single vote and sentenced to death. On a foggy morning in January 1793, Louis mounted a scaffold in a public square in Paris. He started to speak, “Frenchmen, I die innocent. I pardon the authors of my death. I pray God that the blood about to be spilt will never fall upon the head of France...” Then a roll of drums drowned out his words. Moments later, the king was beheaded. The executioner lifted the king’s head by its hair and held it before the crowd. In October, Marie Antoinette was also executed. The popular press celebrated her death. The queen, however, showed great dignity as she went to her death. COMPARING VIEWPOINTS On the Execution of a King On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed by order of the National Convention. Reaction to this event was both loud and varied throughout Europe. The excerpts below present two different views on this event. Critical Thinking Which of the two viewpoints makes a better case for or against the execution of King Louis XVI? Cite examples from both statements to support your argument. For The Execution Against the Execution The crimes of Louis XVI are unhappily all too real The Republican tyrants of France have now carried they are consistent they are notorious. Do we even their bloody purposes to the uttermost diabolical have to ask the question of whether a nation has stretch of savage curelty. They have murdered the right to judge and execute, its highest ranking their King without even the shadow of justice public official when to more securely plot against and of course they cannot expect friendship nor the nation, he concealed himself behind a mask of intercourse with any civilized part of the world. hypocrisy? Or when instead of using the authority The vengeance of Europe will now rapidly fall confided to him to protect his countrymen, he used on them; and in process of time make them the it to oppress them? Or when he turned the laws into veriest wretches on the face of the earth. The name an instrument of violence to crush the supporters of Frenchman will be considered as the appellation of the Revolution? Or when he robbed the citizens of savage and their presence shunned as a poison, of their gold in order to subsidize their foes, and deadly destructive to the peace and happiness of robbed them of their subsistence in order to feed Mankind. It appears evident that the mojority the barbarian hordes who came to slaughter them? of the National Convention and the Executive Or when he created monopolies in order to created Government of that truly despotic country, are famine by drying up the sources of abundance so comprised of the most execrable villains upon the that the people might die in misery and hunger? face of the earth. – Jean Paul Marat – London Times, January 25, 1793 16 Terror and Danger Grip France By early 1793, danger threatened France on all sides. The country was at war with much of Europe, including Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Prussia. In the Vendée (vahn day) region of France, royalists and priests led peasants in rebellion against the government. In Paris, the sans-culottes demanded relief from food shortages and inflation. The Convention itself was bitterly divided between Jacobins and a rival group, the Girondins. The Convention Creates a New Committee To deal with the threats to France, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety. The 12-member committee had almost absolute power as it battled to save the revolution. The Committee prepared France for all-out war, issuing a levée en masse, or mass levy (tax) that required all citizens to contribute to the war effort. In addition, the 12 members of the Committee were in charge of trials and executions. Spurred by revolutionary fervor, French recruits marched off to defend the republic. Young officers developed effective new tactics to win battles with masses of ill-trained but patriotic forces. Soon, French armies overran the Netherlands. They later invaded Italy. At home, they crushed peasant revolts. European monarchs shuddered as the revolutionaries carried “freedom fever” into conquered lands. Robespierre “The Incorruptible” At home, the government battled counterrevolutionaries under the guiding hand of Maximilien Robespierre (rohbz pyair). Robespierre, a shrewd lawyer and politician, quickly rose to the leadership of the Committee of Public Safety. Among Jacobins, his selfless dedication to the revolution earned him the nickname “the incorruptible.” The enemies of Robespierre called him a tyrant. Robespierre had embraced Rousseau’s idea of Robespierre the general will as the source of all legitimate law. Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) did not have He promoted religious toleration and wanted to an easy childhood. His mother died when he was only abolish slavery. Though cold and humorless, he 6 years old. Two years later, his father abandoned him and his three siblings. The children’s aunts was popular with the sans-culottes, who hated the and grandfather then raised them. Because of this, old regime as much as he did. He believed that Robespierre assumed responsibilities at an early age. Eventually, he went to study law at the University France could achieve a “republic of virtue” only of Paris. His performance was so noteworthy that through the use of terror, which he coolly defined he was chosen to deliver a speech to Louis XVI on the occasion of the king’s coronation. But young as nothing more than “prompt, severe, inflexible Robespierre was snubbed. After listening to the justice.” “Liberty cannot be secured,” Robespierre address in a pouring rainstorm, the king and queen quickly left without acknowledging Robespierre cried, “unless criminals lose their heads.” in any way. Years later, in 1789, Robespierre was elected to the Estates-General, where his carrer as a revolutionary began. How do you think Robespierre’s early life might have influenced his political ideas? 17 The Gullotine Defines the Reign of Terror Primary Source Robespierre was one of the chief architects of the Reign of Terror, which lasted from about July 1793 “It is necessary to stifle the domestic and foreign to July 1794. Revolutionary courts conducted hasty enemies of the Republic or perish with them... The first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people trials. Spectators greeted death sentences with cries by means of reason and the enemies of the people of “Hail the Republic!” or “Death to the traitors!” by terror... If the basis of popular government in time In a speech given on February 5, 1794, Robespierre of peace is virtue, the basis of pupular government in explained why the terror was necessary to achieve the time of revolution is both virtue and terror.” goals of the revolution: – Maximilien Robespierre, quoted in Pageant of Europe (Stearns) Suspect were those who resisted the revolution. About 300,000 were arrested during the Reign of Terror. Seventeen thousand were executed. Many were victims of mistaken identity or were falsely acccused by their neighbors. Many more were packed into hideous prisons, where deaths from disease were common. The engine of the Terror was the guillotine (GIL uh teen). Its fast-falling blade extinguished life instantly. A member of the legislature, Dr. Joseph Guillotin (gee oh TAN), had introduced it as a more humane method of beheading than the uncertain axe. But the guillotine quickly became a symbol of horror. Within a year, the Terror consumed those who initiated it. Weary of bloodshed and fearing for their own lives, members of the Convention turned on the Committee of Public Safety. On the night of July 27, 1794, Robespierre was arrested. The next day, he was executed. After the heads of Robespierre and other radicals fell, executions slowed down dramatically. The Revolution Enters Its Third Stage In reaction to the Terror, the revolution entered a third stage. Moving away from the excesses of the Convention, moderates produced another constitution, the third since 1789. The Constitution of 1795 set up a fiveman Directory and a two-house legislature elected by male citizens of property.The middle- class and professional people of the bourgeoisie were the dominant force during this stage of the French Revolution. The Directory held power from 1795 to 1799. Weak but dictatorial, the Directory faced growing discontent. Peace was made with Prussia and Spain, but war with Austria and Great Britain continued. Corrupt leaders lined their own pockets but failed to solve pressing problems. When rising bread prices stirred hungry sans-culottes to riot, the Directory quickly suppressed them. Another threat to the Directory was the revival of royalist feeling. Many émigrés were returning to France, and they were being welcomed by devout Catholics, who resented measures that had been taken against the Church. In the election of 1797, supporters of a constitutional monarchy won the majority of seats in the legislature. 18  THE REIGN OF TERROR From autumn 1793 to midsummer 1794, the revolution in France was overshadowed by a time of terror as the Committee of Public Safety rounded up “suspected persons” all over France. Only about 15 percent of those sentenced to death by guillotine(model at left) were of the nobility and clergy. Most were artisans and peasants of the Third Estate. Prisons in Paris–which included places such as former mansions and palaces, religious premises, and colleges – became more and more crowded as the number of suspects increased. Once sentenced to death, the condemned might travel an hour to the guillotine by cart as onlookers threw mud at them. Interrogation of aristocratic prisoners at L’Abbaye prison As chaos threatened, politicians turned to Napoleon Bonaparte, a popular military hero who had won a series of brilliant victories against the Austrians in Italy. The politicians planned to use him to advance their own goals—a bad miscalculation! Before long, Napoleon would outwit them all to become ruler of France. 19  People never knew if friends or family might appear on a list of guillotine victims. There is some debate on the humaneness of death by guillotine. Some authorities claim that even after the head has been severed, the victim could remain conscious for up to 30 seconds. George Danton, a Revolutionary leader, challenged the Terror and was guillotined. This engraving depicts Robespierre’s execution by guillotine. His was not the last. “Twenty minutes later, [those condemned for the day] were in front of the scaffold... Pale, tense, shivering... several of them lowered their heads or shut their eyes.... The third [victim] was... the Princess of Monaco... On the platform, her youthful beauty shone in the dazzling July light.” The executioners then tossed the bodies and heads into large baskets near the scaffold. Thinking Critically 1. Identify Point of View What were the goals of the Committee of Public Safety? 2. Predict Consequences How do you think life in France changed after the Terror came to an end? Revolution Brings Change By 1799, the 10-year-old French Revolution had dramatically changed France. It had dislodged the old social order, overthrown the monarchy, and brought the Church under state control. New symbols such as the red “liberty caps” and the tricolor confirmed the liberty and equality of all male citizens. The new title “citizen” applied to people of all social classes. All other titles were eliminated. Before he was executed, Louis XVI was called Citizen Capet, from the name of the dynasty that had ruled France in the Middle Ages. Elaborate fashions and powdered wigs gave way to the practical clothes and simple haircuts of the sans-culottes. 20  Nationalism Spreads Revolution and war gave the French people a strong sense of national identity. In earlier times, people had felt loyalty to local authorities. As monarchs centralized power, loyalty shifted to the king or queen. Now, the government rallied sons and daughters of the revolution to defend the nation itself. Nationalism, a strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one’s country, spread throughout France. The French people attended civic festivals that celebrated the nation and the revolution. A variety of dances and songs on themes of the revolution became immensely popular. By 1793, France was a nation in arms. From the port city of Marseilles (mahr say), troops marched to a rousing new song. It urged the “children of the fatherland” to march against the “bloody banner of tyranny.” This song, “La Marseillaise” (mahr say ehz), would later become the French national anthem. Revolutionaries pushed for social reform French Nationalism Revolutionaries pushed for social reform and religious toleration. They set up state schools to replace religious “La Marseillaise” (top) and a ones and organized systems to help the poor, old soldiers, revolutionalry-period drum (bottom)helped rally the French and war widows. With a major slave revolt raging in the people colony of St. Domingue (Haiti), the government also abolished slavery in their Caribbean colonies. 21  JUMANITIES ART Art of Revolution Revolutions have visual chronicles as well as written ones, and in the days before photography, these depictions were often rendered with paint. They were often rendered with paint. The French artist Jacques-Louis David (ZHAHK loo EE dah VEED) and the Spanish artist Francisco Goya both portrayed aspects of revolution on canvas, but they had differing viewpoints. David supported the early French Revolution and embraced the revolutionary spirit in his work. Goya, however, was a realist who showed human suffering and the horrors of war in his paintings. Napoleon Crossing Mont Saint Bernard, Jacques-Louis David, 1801 Imprisoned after moderates turned against the Reign of Terror, David barely escaped with his life. When Napoleon rose to power, David deftly switched his political allegiance to the new Emperor of France and became one of Bonaparte’s chief portraitists. Notice the names carved into the rocks. David included these names of great past rulers to show Napoleon’s level of greatness. David’s depictions of Napoleon helped cement him as a strong and heroic leader. The Third of May, 1808, Francisco Jose’ de Goya y Lucientes, 1814 One of the consequences of the French Revolution and Napoleon’s Thinking Critically rise was that France soon found itself at war with the rest of Europe. Francisco Goya saw firsthand the impact of these wars. 1. Compare Points of View What elements in each painting express the Born in northern Spain, he rose to become the official painter of viewpoint of the artist? How are the the Spanish court. When Napoleon invaded Spain and deposed elements different? its king, Goya chronicled the horrors of the resulting guerrilla 2. Recoginze Ideologies How do you think the ideology of the French Revolution warfare. led to the scene Goya portrays here? 22  SECTION 4 Enter Napoleon Bonaparte After the execution of King Louis XVI, France entered a state of confusion and chaos without a single leader. Meanwhile, Napoleon Bonaparte, a brilliant and ambitious captain in the French army, was rapidly rising in the military ranks. Soon enough, Napoleon would come to rule almost all of Europe. One of his earliest victories in Lodi, Italy, convinced him that he was only just beginning his successful rise to power: “ From that moment, I foresaw what I might be. Already I felt the earth flee from beneath me, as if I were being carried into the sky” –Napoleon Bonarparte Focus Question Explain Napoleon’s rise to power in Europe, his subsequent defeat, and how the outcome still affects Eruope today. Unfinished portrait of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David and Napoleon’s signature The Age of Napoleon From 1799 to 1815, Napoleon Bonarparte would dominate France and Europe. A hero to some, an evil force to others, he gave his name to the final phase of the revolution – the Age of Napoleon. Napoleon Rises to Power Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica, a French-ruled island in the Mediterranean. At age nine, he was sent to France to be trained for a military career. When the revolution broke out, he was an ambitious 20-year-old lieutenant, eager to make a name for himself. Napoleon favored the Jacobins and republican rule. However, he found the conflicting ideas and personalities of the French Revolution confusing. He wrote to his brother in 1793: “Since one must take sides, one might as well choose the side that is victorious, the side which devastates, loots, and burns.” Considering the alternative, it is better to eat than be eaten.” Victories Cloud Losses During the turmoil of the revolution, Napoleon rose quickly in the army. In December 1793, he drove British forces out of the French port of Toulon (too lohn). He then went on to win several dazzling victories against the Austrians, capturing most of northern Italy and forcing the Hapsburg emperor to make peace. Hoping to disrupt British trade with India, he led a colorful expedition to Egypt in 1798. The Egyptian campaign proved to be a disaster, but Napoleon managed to hide stories of the worst losses from his admirers in France. He did so by establishing a network of spies and censoring the press. 23  Success fueled his ambition. By 1799, he moved from victorious general to political leader. That year, he helped overthrow the weak Directory and set up a three-man governing board known as the Consulate. Another constitution was drawn up, but Napoleon soon took the title First Consul. In 1800, he forced Spain to return Louisiana Territory to France. In 1802, Napoleon had himself named consul for life. Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor Two years later, Napoleon had acquired enough power to assume the title Emperor of the French. He invited the pope to preside over his coronation in Paris. During the ceremony, however, Napoleon took the crown from the pope’s hands and placed it on his own head. By this action, Napoleon meant to show that he owed his throne to no one but himself. At each step on his rise to power, Napoleon had held a plebiscite (pleb uh syt), or ballot in which voters say yes or no. Each time, the French strongly supported him. As you will read, although the people theoretically had a say in government through their votes, Napoleon still held absolute power. This is sometimes called democratic despotism. To understand why, we must look at his policies. Napoleon Reforms France Napoleon consolidated his power by strengthening the central government. Order, security, and efficiency replaced liberty, equality, and fraternity as the slogans of the new regime. To restore economic prosperity, Napoleon controlled prices, encouraged new industry, and built roads and canals. He set up a system of public schools under strict government control to ensure well-trained officials and military officers,. At the same time, Napoleon backed off from some of the revolution’s social reforms. He made peace with the Catholic Church in the Concordat of 1801. The Concordat kept the Church under state control but recognized religious freedom for Catholics. Revolutionaries who opposed the Church denounced the agreement, but Catholics welcomed it. The Egyptian Campaign The Battle of the pyramids, july 21, 1798, painted by Louis-Francois Lejeune. How did Napoleon hide the fact that the Egyptian campaign was a disaster? 24  Napoleon won support across class lines. He encouraged émigrés to return, provided that they took an oath of loyalty. Peasants were relieved when he recognized their right to lands they had bought from the Church and nobles during the revolution. The middle class, who had benefited most from the revolution, approved of Napoleon’s economic reforms and the restoration of order after years of chaos. Napoleon also opened jobs to all talent,” a popular policy among those who remembered the old aristocratic monopoly of power. Among Napoleon’s most lasting reforms was a new law code, popularly called the Napoleonic Code. It embodied Enlightenment principles such as the equality of all citizens before the law, religious toleration, and the abolition of feudalism. But the Napoleonic Code undid some reforms of the French Revolution. Women, for example, lost most of their newly gained rights and could not exercise the rights of citizenship. Male heads of households regained complete authority over their wives and children. Again, Napoleon valued order and authority over individual rights. Napoleon Builds an Empire From 1804 to 1812, Napoleon furthered his reputation on the battlefield. He successfully faced down the combined forces of the greatest European powers. He took great risks and even suffered huge losses. “I grew up on the field of battle,” he once said, “and a man such as I am cares little for the life of a million men.” By 1812, his Grand Empire reached its greatest extent. As a military leader, Napoleon valued rapid movements and made effective use of his large armies. He developed a new plan for each battle, so opposing generals could never anticipate what he would do next. His enemies paid tribute to his leadership. Napoleon’s presence on the battlefield, said one, was “worth 40,000 troops.” The Map of Europe is Redrawn As Napoleon created a vast French empire, he redrew the map of Europe. He annexed, or added outright, some areas to France, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Italy and Germany. He also abolished the tottering Holy Roman Empire and created a 38-member Confederation of the Rhine under French protection. He cut Prussian territory in half, turning part of old Poland into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Napoleon controlled much of Europe through forceful diplomacy. One tactic was to put friends and relatives on the thrones of Europe. For example, after unseating the king of Spain, he placed his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the throne. He also forced alliances on European powers from Madrid to Moscow. At various times, the rulers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia reluctantly signed treaties with the “Corsican ogre,” as the monarchs he overthrew called him. In France, Napoleon’s successes boosted the spirit of nationalism. Great victory parades filled the streets of Paris with cheering crowds. The people celebrated the glory and grandeur that Napoleon had won for France. Napoleon Strikes Britain Britain alone remained outside Napoleon’s European empire. With only a small army, Britain relied on its sea power to stop Napoleon’s drive to rule the continent. In 1805, 25 Napoleon’s Power in Europe, 1812 Europe Today Bust of Napoleon Bonaparte Map Skills Napoleon’s empire reached its greatest extent in 1812. Most of the countries in Europe today have different names and borders. 1. Locate : (a) French empire, (b) Russian empire, (c) Germany 2. Region Locate the Conederation of the Rhine. What is this area called today? 3. Make Comparisons Compare Europe of Napoleon’s empire to Europe of today on the maps above. How has Europe changed? 26 Napoleon prepared to invade England. But at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the southwest coast of Spain, British admiral Horatio Nelson smashed a French fleet. With an invasion ruled out, Napoleon struck at Britain’s lifeblood, its commerce. He waged economic warfare through the Continental System, which closed European ports to British goods. Britain responded with its own blockade of European ports. A blockade involves shutting off ports to keep people or supplies from moving in or out. During their long struggle, both Britain and France seized neutral ships suspected of trading with the other side. British attacks on American ships sparked anger in the United States and eventually triggered the War of 1812. In the end, Napoleon’s Continental System failed to bring Britain to its knees. Although British exports declined, its powerful navy kept open vital trade routes to the Americas and India. Meanwhile, trade restrictions created a scarcity of goods in Europe, sent prices soaring, and intensified resentment against French power. French armies under Napoleon spread ideas of the revolution across Europe. They backed liberal reforms in the lands they conquered. In some places, they helped install revolutionary governments that abolished titles of nobility, ended Church privileges, opened careers to men of talent, and ended serfdom and manorial dues. The Napoleonic Code, too, influenced countries in continental Europe and Latin America. Napoleon’s Empire Faces Challenges In 1812, Napoleon pursued his dream of empire by invading Russia. The campaign began a chain of events that eventually led to his downfall. Napoleon’s final defeat brought an end to the era of the French Revolution. Nationalism Works Against Napoleon Napoleon’s successes, however, contained the seeds of defeat. Although nationalism spurred French armies to success, it worked against them, too. Many Europeans who had welcomed the ideas of the French Revolution nevertheless saw Napoleon and his armies as foreign oppressors. They resented the Continental System and Napoleon’s effort to impose French culture. As shown in this painting, the Russian winter took its toll on Napoleon’s army. Philippe Paul de Se’gur, an aide to Napoleon, describes the grim scene as the remnants of the Grand Army returned home. What were the effects of this disaster in Russia? Primary Source “In Napoleon’s wake [was] a mob of tattered ghosts draped in … odd pieces of carpet, or greatcoats burned full of holes, their feet wrapped in all sorts of rags…. [We] stared in horror as those skeletons of soldiers went by, their gaunt, gray faces covered with disfiguring beards, without weapons … with lowered heads, eyes on the ground, in absolute silence.” —Memoirs of Philippe Paul de Ségur 27  From Rome to Madrid to the Netherlands, nationalism unleashed revolts against France. In the German states, leaders encouraged national loyalty among German-speaking people to counter French influence. Spain and Austria Battle the French Resistance to foreign rule bled French occupying forces in Spain. Napoleon introduced reforms that sought to undermine the Spanish Catholic Church. But many Spaniards remained loyal to their former king and devoted to the Church. When the Spanish resisted the invaders, well-armed French forces responded with brutal repression. Far from crushing resistance, however, the French reaction further inflamed Spanish nationalism. Efforts to drive out the French intensified. Spanish patriots conducted a campaign of guerrilla warfare, or hit-and-run raids, against the French. (In Spanish, guerrilla means “little war.”) Small bands of guerrillas ambushed French supply trains or troops before melting into the countryside. These attacks kept large numbers of French soldiers tied down in Spain, when Napoleon needed them elsewhere. Spanish resistance encouraged Austria to resume hostilities against the French. In 1805, at the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon had won a crushing victory against an Austro-Russian army of superior numbers. Now, in 1809, the Austrians sought revenge. But once again, Napoleon triumphed—this time at the battle of Wagram. By the peace agreement that Napoleon Falls From Power followed, Austria surrendered lands populated A defeated Napoleon after his abdication on April 6, 1814 in a painting by Paul Delaroche by more than three million subjects. The Russian Winter Stops the Grand Army Tsar Alexander I of Russia was once an ally of Napoleon. The tsar and Napoleon planned to divide Europe if Alexander helped Napoleon in his Continental System. Many countries objected to this system, and Russia became unhappy with the economic effects of the system as well. Yet another cause for concern was that Napoleon had enlarged the Grand Duchy of Warsaw that bordered Russia on the west. These and other issues led the tsar to withdraw Russia from the Continental System. Napoleon responded to the tsar’s action by assembling an army with soldiers from 20 nations, known as the Grand Army. In 1812, with about 600,000 soldiers and 50,000 horses, Napoleon invaded Russia. To avoid battles with Napoleon, the Russians retreated eastward, burning crops and villages as they went. This “scorched earth” policy left the French hungry and cold as winter came. Napoleon entered Moscow in September. He realized, though, that he would not be able to feed and supply his army through the long Russian winter. In October, he turned homeward. 28  The 1,000-mile retreat from Moscow turned into a desperate battle for survival. Russian attacks and the brutal Russian winter took a terrible toll. Fewer than 20,000 soldiers of the once-proud Grand Army survived. Many died. Others deserted. French general Michel Ney sadly concluded: “General Famine and General Winter, rather than Russian bullets, have conquered the Grand Army.” Napoleon rushed to Paris to raise a new force to defend France. His reputation for success had been shattered. Napoleon Falls From Power The disaster in Russia brought a new alliance of Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia against a weakened France. In 1813, they defeated Napoleon in the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig. Napoleon Abdicates Briefly The next year, Napoleon abdicated, or stepped down from power. The victors exiled him to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean. They then recognized Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, as king of France. The restoration of Louis XVIII did not go smoothly. He agreed to accept the Napoleonic Code and honor the land settlements made during the revolution. However, many émigrés rushed back to France bent on revenge. An economic depression and the fear of a return to the old regime helped rekindle loyalty to Napoleon. As the victorious allies gathered in Vienna for a general peace conference, Napoleon escaped from his island exile and returned to France. Soldiers flocked to his banner. As citizens cheered Napoleon’s advance, Louis XVIII fled. In March 1815, the emperor of the French entered Paris in triumph. Crushed at the Battle of Waterloo Napoleon’s triumph was short-lived. His star soared for only 100 days, while the allies reassembled their forces. On June 18, 1815, the opposing armies met near the town of Waterloo in Belgium. British forces under the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army commanded by General Blücher crushed the French in an agonizing day-long battle. Once again, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and to go into exile on St. Helena, a lonely island in the South Atlantic. This time, he would not return. Napoleon’s Legacy Napoleon died in 1821, but his legend lived on in France and Prince Clemens Von Metternich around the world. His contemporaries as well As Austria’s foreign minister, as historians have long debated his legacy. Metternich used a variety of means to achieve his Was he “the revolution on horseback,” as he goals. In 1809, when Napoleon seemed vulnerable, claimed? Or was he a traitor to the revolution? Metternich favored war against France. In 1810, after No one, however, questions Napoleon’s France had crushed Austria, he supported alliance with France. When the French army was in desperate retreat impact on France and on Europe. The from Russia, Metternich became the “prime minister of Napoleonic Code consolidated many changes the coalition” that defeated Napoleon. At the Congress of of the revolution. The France of Napoleon Vienna, Metternich helped create a new European order and made sure that Austria had a key role in it. He would was a centralized state with a constitution. skillfully defend that new order for more than 30 years. Elections were held with expanded, though Why did Metternich’s policies toward France change? limited, suffrage. Many more citizens had rights 29  to property and access to education than under the old regime. Still, French citizens lost many rights promised so fervently by republicans during the Convention. On the world stage, Napoleon’s conquests spread the ideas of the revolution. He failed to make Europe into a French empire. Instead, he sparked nationalist feeling across Europe. The abolition of the Holy Roman Empire would eventually help in creating a new Germany. Napoleon also had a dramatic impact across the Atlantic. In 1803, his decision to sell France’s vast Louisiana Territory to the American government doubled the size of the United States and ushered in an age of American expansion. Leaders Meet at the Congress of Vienna After Waterloo, diplomats and heads of state again sat down at the Congress of Vienna. They faced the monumental task of restoring stability and order in Europe after years of war. The Congress met for 10 months, from September 1814 to June 1815. It was a brilliant gathering of European leaders. Diplomats and royalty dined and danced, attended concerts and ballets, and enjoyed parties arranged by their host, Emperor Francis I of Austria. The work fell to Prince Clemens von Metternich of Austria, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and Lord Robert Castlereagh of Britain. Defeated France was represented by Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. 30  Congress Strives for Peace The chief goal of the Vienna decision makers was to create a lasting peace by establishing a balance of power and protecting the system of monarchy. Each of the leaders also pursued his own goals. Metternich, the dominant figure at the Congress, wanted to restore the status quo (Latin for “the way things are”) of 1792. Alexander I urged a “holy alliance” of Christian monarchs to suppress future revolutions. Lord Castlereagh was determined to prevent a revival of French military power. The aged diplomat Talleyrand shrewdly played the other leaders against one another to get defeated France accepted as an equal partner. The peacemakers also redrew the map of Europe. To contain French ambitions, they ringed France with strong countries. In the north, they added Belgium and Luxembourg to Holland to create the kingdom of the Netherlands. To Portait of Louis XVIII prevent French expansion eastward, they gave Prussia lands along the Rhine River. They also allowed Austria to reassert control over northern Italy. To turn back the clock to 1792, the architects of the peace promoted the principle of legitimacy, restoring hereditary monarchies that the French Revolution or Napoleon had unseated. Even before the Congress began, they had put Louis XVIII on the French throne. Later, they restored “legitimate” monarchs in Portugal, Spain, and the Italian states. Congress Fails to See Traps Ahead To protect the new order, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain extended their wartime alliance into the postwar era. In the Quadruple Alliance, the four nations pledged to act together to maintain the balance of power and to suppress revolutionary uprisings. especially in France. Another result of the Congress was a system known as the Concert of Europe, in which the powers met periodically to discuss any problems affecting the peace of Europe. The Vienna statesmen achieved their immediate goals in creating a lasting peace. Their decisions influenced European politics for the next 100 years. Europe would not see war on a Napoleonic scale until 1914. They failed, however, to foresee how powerful new forces such as nationalism would shake the foundations of Europe and Latin America in the next decades. 31