Glossary of the French Revolution
Encyclopedia
This is a glossary of the French Revolution. It generally does not explicate names of individual people or their political associations; those can be found in List of people associated with the French Revolution.
The terminology routinely used in discussing the French Revolution
can be confusing, even daunting. The same political faction may be referred to by different historians (or by the same historian in different contexts) by different names. During much of the revolutionary period, the French used a newly invented calendar that fell into complete disuse after the revolutionary era. Different legislative bodies had rather similar names, not always translated uniformly into English
. This article is intended as a central place to clarify these issues.
in ancien régime France were:
See also: Fourth Estate
, a term with two relevant meanings: on the one hand, the generally unrepresented poor, nominally part of the Third Estate; on the other, the press, as a fourth powerful entity in addition to the three estates of the realm.
Under this calendar, the Year I
or "Year 1" began September 22, 1792 (the date of the official abolition of the monarchy and the nobility).
.
Other countries and armies at this time typically had their own cockades.
The terminology routinely used in discussing the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
can be confusing, even daunting. The same political faction may be referred to by different historians (or by the same historian in different contexts) by different names. During much of the revolutionary period, the French used a newly invented calendar that fell into complete disuse after the revolutionary era. Different legislative bodies had rather similar names, not always translated uniformly into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. This article is intended as a central place to clarify these issues.
The three estates
The estates of the realmEstates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
in ancien régime France were:
- First Estate (Fr. Premier État , le clergé ) - The clergy, both high (generally siding with the nobility, and it often was recruited amongst its younger sons) and low.
- Second Estate (Fr. Second État , la noblesse ) - The nobility. Technically, but not usually of much relevance, the Second Estate also included the Royal Family.
- Third Estate (Fr. Tiers État) - Everyone not included in the First or Second Estate. At times this term refers specifically to the bourgeoisieBourgeoisieIn sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
, the middle class, but the Third Estate also included the sans-culottesSans-culottesIn the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
, the laboring class. Also included in the Third Estate were lawyers, merchants, and government officials.
See also: Fourth Estate
Fourth Estate
The concept of the Fourth Estate is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. The Fourth Estate now most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism, referred to hereon as "The Press"...
, a term with two relevant meanings: on the one hand, the generally unrepresented poor, nominally part of the Third Estate; on the other, the press, as a fourth powerful entity in addition to the three estates of the realm.
Social classes
- RoyaltyRoyal familyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
- House of BourbonHouse of BourbonThe House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, After the EmpireFirst French EmpireThe First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
was established. - NobilityFrench nobilityThe French nobility was the privileged order of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods.In the political system of the Estates General, the nobility made up the Second Estate...
(Fr. noblesse) - Those with explicit noble title. These are traditionally divided into- "noblesse d'épée" ("nobility of the sword")
- and "noblesse de robe" ("nobility of the gown"), the magisterial class that administered royal justice and civil government, often referring to those who bought a title of nobility (rich merchants).
- Ci-devantCi-devantCi-devant nobility was generally a derogatory revolutionary term used to describe members of the French nobility who refused to be reconstructed into the post-Revolutionary world or to accept any of the political, cultural and social changes brought about in France by the French Revolution...
nobility - Literally "from before": nobility of the ancien régime (the Bourbon kingdom) after it had lost its titles and privileges. - BourgeoisieBourgeoisieIn sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
- Roughly, the non-noble wealthy, typically merchants, investors, and professionals such as lawyers. - Active and passive citizensActive and passive citizens-Citizenship during the French Revolution:During the French Revolution, a distinction was made for a time between active and passive citizens. In 1791, the Legislative Assembly was chosen by a process of indirect election; the Electors of the Assembly were themselves elected by "active" citizens,...
- During the period of the Legislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly (France)During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.The Legislative...
, approximately half of the men of France were disfranchised as "passive citizens". Only "active citizens", a category based on taxes paid, could vote; they also formed the basis of the National GuardNational Guard (France)The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
. - Sans-culottesSans-culottesIn the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
- literally "those without breeches", the masses of ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. - Peasants, who represent 90% of the French nation's population.
Constitutions
- Liberal monarchical constitutionConstitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
- Adopted October 6, 1789, accepted by the King July 14, 1790. - The Constitution of 1791French Constitution of 1791The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution of France. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing popular sovereignty, following the steps of the United States of America...
or Constitution of September 3, 1791 - Establishes a limited monarchy and the Legislative AssemblyLegislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
. - The Constitution of 1793French Constitution of 1793The Constitution of 24 June 1793 , also known as the Constitution of the Year I, or the The Montagnard Constitution , was the constitution instated by the Montagnards and by popular referendum under the First Republic during the French Revolution...
, Constitution of June 24, 1793 (Fr. Acte constitutionnel du 24 juin 1793, or MontagnardThe MountainThe Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
Constitution (Fr. Constitution montagnarde) - Ratified, but never applied, due to the suspension of all ordinary legality October 10, 1793. - The Constitution of 1795French Constitution of 1795The Constitution of 22 August 1795 was a national constitution of France ratified by the National Convention on 22 August 1795 during the French Revolution...
, Constitution of August 22, 1795, Constitution of the Year III, or Constitution of 5 Fructidor - Establishes the DirectoryFrench DirectoryThe Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
. - The Constitution of the Year VIIIConstitution of the Year VIIIThe Constitution of the Year VIII was a national constitution of France, adopted December 24, 1799 , which established the form of government known as the Consulate...
- Adopted December 24, 1799, establishes the ConsulateFrench ConsulateThe Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
. - The Constitution of the Year XConstitution of the Year XThe Constitution of the Year X was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year X of the French Revolutionary Calendar...
- Establishes a revised Consulate, with Napoleon as First Consul for Life. - The Constitution of the Year XIIConstitution of the Year XIIThe Constitution of the Year XII was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year XII of the French Revolutionary Calendar ....
- Establishes Bonaparte's First Empire.
Governmental structures
In roughly chronological order:- The ancien régime - The absolute monarchy under the Bourbon kings, generally considered to end some time between the meeting of the Estates-GeneralEstates-General of 1789The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
on May 5, 1789 and the liberal monarchical constitution of October 6, 1789. - ParlementParlementParlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
s - Royal Law courts in Paris and most provinces under the ancien régime. - The Estates-GeneralFrench States-GeneralIn France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
, also known as StatesThe StatesThe States or the Estates signifies the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, called together for purposes of legislation or deliberation...
-General (Fr. Etats-Généraux) - The traditional tricameral legislature of the ancien régime, which had fallen into disuse since 1614. The convention of the Estates-General of 1789Estates-General of 1789The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
is one of the events that led to the French Revolution. The Estates General, as such, met May 5–6 , 1789, but reached an impasse because the Third Estate refused to continue to participate in this structure. The other two estates continued to meet in this form for several more weeks. - The Communes - The body formed May 11, 1789 by the Third Estate after seceding from the Estates General. On June 12, 1789 the Communes invited the other orders to join them: some clergy did so the following day.
- The National AssemblyNational Assembly (French Revolution)During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
(Fr. Assemblée Nationale) - Declared June 17, 1789 by the Communes. The clergy joined them June 19. This was soon reconstituted as... - The National Constituent AssemblyNational Constituent AssemblyThe National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
(Fr. Assemblée nationale constituante); also loosely referred to as the National Assembly - From July 9, 1789 to September 30, 1791 this was both the governing and the constitution-drafting body of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It dissolved itself in favor of… - The Legislative Assembly (Fr. Assemblée Legislative) - From October 1, 1791 to September 1792, the Legislative Assembly, elected by voters with property qualifications, governed France under a constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, but with the removal of the king's veto power on July 11, 1792, was a republic in all but name, and became even more so after the subsequent arrest of the Royal Family. - The Paris CommuneParis Commune (French Revolution)The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1789 until 1795. Established in the Hôtel de Ville just after the storming of the Bastille, the Commune became insurrectionary in the summer of 1792, essentially refusing to take orders from the central French...
- During the waning days of the Legislative Assembly and the fall of the Monarchy, the municipal government of Paris functioned, at times, in the capacity of a national government, as a rival, a goad, or a bully to the Legislative Assembly.- Further, the Sections were directly democratic mass assemblies in Paris during the first four years of the Revolution.
- The Provisional Executive Committee - Headed by Georges DantonGeorges DantonGeorges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
, this also functioned in August–September 1792 as a rival claimant to national power. - The National ConventionNational ConventionDuring the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, or simply The Convention - First met September 20, 1792; two days later, declared a republic. The National Convention after the fall of the MontagnardsThe MountainThe Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
(July 27, 1794) is sometimes referred to as the "ThermidorThermidorThermidor was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word thermal which comes from the Greek word "thermos" which means heat....
ian Convention". Three committees of the National Convention are particularly worthy of note:- The Committee of Public SafetyCommittee of Public SafetyThe Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
(Fr. Comité de salut public) - During the Reign of TerrorReign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, this committee was effectively the government of France. After the fall of the Montagnards, the committee continued, but with reduced powers. - The Committee of General SecurityCommittee of General SecurityThe Committee of General Security was a French parliamentary committee which acted as police agency during the French Revolution that, along with the Committee of Public Safety, oversaw the Reign of Terror....
(Fr. Comité de sûreté générale) - Coordinated the War effort. - The Committee of Education (Fr. Comité de l'instruction)
- The Revolutionary TribunalRevolutionary TribunalThe Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
(Fr. Tribunal révolutionaire) instituted in March–October 1793 to prosecute all threats to the revolutionary republic, was the effective agent of the Comité de Salut Public's reign of terror in Paris until its dissolution on May 31, 1795.
- The Committee of Public Safety
- The DirectoryFrench DirectoryThe Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
(Fr. Directoire) - From August 22, 1795, the Convention was replaced by the Directory, a bicameral legislature that more or less institutionalized the dominance of the bourgeosie while also enacting a major land reformLand reform[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
that was henceforward to place the peasants firmly on the political rightRight-wing politicsIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
. The rightward move was so strong that monarchistMonarchismMonarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
s actually won the election of 1797 but were stopped from taking power by the coupCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 18 Fructidor (September 4, 1797), the first time Napoleon played a direct role in government. The Directory continued (politically quite far to the leftLeft-wing politicsIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
of its earlier self) until Napoleon took power in his own right, November 9, 1799 (or 18 Brumaire18 BrumaireThe coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
), the date that is generally counted as the end of the French Revolution. The Directory itself was the highest executive organ, comprising five Directors, chosen by the Ancients out of a list elected by the Five Hundred; its legislative was bicameral, consisting of:- The Council of Five HundredCouncil of Five HundredThe Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
(Fr. Conseil des Cinq-Cents), or simply the Five Hundred. - The Council of AncientsCouncil of AncientsThe Council of Ancients or Council of Elders was the upper house of the Directory , the legislature of France from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the French Revolution.The Council of Ancients was the senior of the two halves of...
(Fr. Conseil des Anciens), or simply the Ancients or the Senate.
- The Council of Five Hundred
- The ConsulateFrench ConsulateThe Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
(Fr. Consulat) - The period of the Consulate (December 1799 - December 1804) is only ambiguously part of the revolutionary era. The government was led by three indiviuduals known as Consuls. From the start, Napoleon Bonaparte served as First Consul (Fr. Premier Consul) of the Republic. In May 1802, a plebiscite made Bonaparte First Consul for Life. In May 1804 the EmpireFirst French EmpireThe First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
was declared, bringing the Revolutionary era to a yet more definitive end. - The tribunatTribunatThe Tribunat was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII . It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the...
was one of the legislative chambers instituted by the Constitution of year VIII, composed of 100 members nominated by the Senate to discuss the legislative initiatives defended by the government's Orateurs in the presence of the Corps législatifCorps législatifThe Corps législatif was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body.-History:The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a corps législatif...
; abolished in 1807
Political groupings
- Royalists or Monarchists - Generally refers specifically to supporters of the Bourbon monarchy and can include both supporters of absoluteAbsolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
and constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
. See ReactionaryReactionaryThe term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
. - Jacobins - strictly, a member of the Jacobin clubJacobin ClubThe Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
, but more broadly any revolutionary, particularly the more radical bourgeois elements. - FeuillantFeuillant (political group)The Feuillants were a political grouping that emerged during the French Revolution. It came into existence from a split within the Jacobins from those opposing the overthrow of the king and proposing a constitutional monarchy. The deputies publicly split with the Jacobins when they published a...
s - Members of the Club des Feuillants, result of a split within the Jacobins, who favored a constitutional monarchy over a republicRepublicA republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
. - Republicans - Advocates of a system without a monarch.
- The GirondeGirondistThe Girondists were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution...
- Technically, a group of twelve republican deputies more moderate in their tactics than the Montagnards, though arguably many were no less radical in their beliefs; the term is often applied more broadly to others of similar politics. Members and adherents of the Gironde are variously referred to as "Girondists" (Fr. "Girondins") or "BrissotinsJacques Pierre BrissotJacques Pierre Brissot , who assumed the name of de Warville, was a leading member of the Girondist movement during the French Revolution. Some sources give his name as Jean Pierre Brissot.-Biography:...
" - The MountainThe MountainThe Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
(Fr. Montagne) - The radical republican grouping in power during the Reign of TerrorReign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
; its adherents are typically referred to as "Montagnards". - Septembriseurs — The Mountain and others (such as Georges DantonGeorges DantonGeorges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
) who were on the rise in the period of the September MassacresSeptember MassacresThe September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys... - ThermidorThermidorThermidor was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word thermal which comes from the Greek word "thermos" which means heat....
ians or Thermidoreans- The more moderate (some would say reactionary) grouping that came to power after the fall of the Mountain. - Society of the Panthéon, also known as Conspiracy of the Equals, and as the Secret Directory - faction centered around François-Noël BabeufFrançois-Noël BabeufFrançois-Noël Babeuf , known as Gracchus Babeuf , was a French political agitator and journalist of the Revolutionary period...
, who continued to hold up a radical Jacobin viewpoint during the period of the Thermidorian reaction. - Bonapartists - Supporters of Napoleon Bonaparte, especially those who supported his taking on the role of Emperor.
- ÉmigréÉmigréÉmigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s - This term usually refers to those conservatives and members of the elite who left France in the period of increasingly radical revolutionary ascendancy, usually under implied or explicit threat from the Terror. (Generically, it can refer to those who left at other times or for other reasons.) Besides the émigrés having their property taken by the State, relatives of émigrés were also persecuted.
Ancien régime taxes
- CorvéeCorvéeCorvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
- A royal or seigneurial tax, taken in the form of forced labor. It came in many forms, including compulsory military service and compulsory tillage of fields. Most commonly, the term refers to a royal corvée requiring peasants to maintain the king's roads. - GabelleGabelleThe gabelle was a very unpopular tax on salt in France before 1790. The term gabelle derives from the Italian gabella , itself from the Arabic qabala....
- A tax on salt. - TailleTailleThe taille was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien Régime France. The tax was imposed on each household and based on how much land it held.-History:Originally only an "exceptional" tax The taille was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien...
- A royal tax, in principle pro capita, whose amount was fixed before collecting. - TitheTitheA tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
- A tax to church. - Aide - A tax on wine.
- VingtièmeVingtièmeThe vingtième was an income tax of the ancien régime in France. It was abolished during the French Revolution.-First Proposition:It was first proposed by the minister of finance, Jean-Baptiste de Machault, comte d'Arnouville, in 1749. The War of the Austrian Succession had just ended, with the...
– 5% direct tax levied on income. - Capitation – A poll tax.
Months of the French Revolutionary Calendar
- VendémiaireVendémiaireVendémiaire was the first month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word vendange .Vendémiaire was the first month of the autumn quarter . It started on the day of the autumnal equinox, which fell between 22 September and 24 September, inclusive. It thus ended...
- BrumaireBrumaireBrumaire was the second month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word brume which occurs frequently in France at that time of the year....
- FrimaireFrimaireFrimaire was the third month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word frimas, which means frost.Frimaire was the third month of the autumn quarter . It started between November 21 and November 23. It ended between December 20 and December 22...
- NivôseNivôseFor the frigate of the French Navy, see Nivôse Nivôse was the fourth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word nivosus, which means snow....
- PluviôsePluviôsePluviôse was the fifth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word pluviosus, which means rainy....
- VentôseVentôseVentôse was the sixth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word ventosus, which means windy.Ventôse was the third month of the winter quarter . It started between 19 February and 21 February. It ended between 20 March and 21 March...
- GerminalGerminal (French Republican Calendar)Germinal was the seventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word germen, which means germination...
- FloréalFloréalFor the ship class, see Floréal class frigateFloréal was the eighth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word flos, which means flowering....
- PrairialPrairialPrairial was the ninth month in the French Republican Calendar. This month was named after the French word prairie, which means meadow. It was the name given to several ships....
- MessidorMessidorMessidor was the tenth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word messis, which means harvest....
- ThermidorThermidorThermidor was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word thermal which comes from the Greek word "thermos" which means heat....
- FructidorFructidorFructidor is the twelfth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word fructus, which means "fruit".Fructidor is the third month of the summer quarter . By the Gregorian calendar, Fructidor starts on either August 18 or August 19 and ends exactly thirty days...
Under this calendar, the Year I
Year One
The term "Year One" in political history usually refers to the institution of radical, revolutionary change. This usage dates from the time of the French Revolution: after the abolition of the French monarchy , the National Convention instituted the new French Revolutionary Calendar, declaring that...
or "Year 1" began September 22, 1792 (the date of the official abolition of the monarchy and the nobility).
Events commonly known by their Gregorian dates
- The 14th of July—The storming of the BastilleStorming of the BastilleThe storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
, July 14, 1789. The flashpointFlashpoint (politics)In international relations, a flashpoint is an area or dispute that has a strong possibility of developing into a war.-Current flashpoints:* the Taiwan straits* Korea peninsula* the Golan heights* Israeli-Lebanon border* Kashmir* the Spratly Islands...
of the revolution. - The 4th of August: The National Constituent AssemblyNational Constituent AssemblyThe National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
voted to abolish feudalismFeudalismFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
August 4, 1789. - The 10th of August10th of August (French Revolution)On 10 August 1792, during the French Revolution, revolutionary Fédéré militias — with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune and ultimately supported by the National Guard — besieged the Tuileries palace. King Louis XVI and...
-- The storming of the Tuileries Palace, August 10, 1792. The effective end of the French monarchy.
Events commonly known by their Revolutionary dates
- 22 PrairialLaw of 22 PrairialThe Law of 22 Prairial, also known as the loi de la Grande Terreur, the law of the Reign of Terror, was enacted on June 10, 1794 . It was proposed by Georges Auguste Couthon and lent support by Robespierre...
Year II - Passage of a law greatly expanding the power of the Revolutionary TribunalRevolutionary TribunalThe Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
s. - 9 Thermidor Year II - The fall of the MountainThe MountainThe Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
and the execution of Robespierre and others, July 27, 1794. - 13 Vendémiaire13 Vendémiaire13 Vendémiaire Year 4 is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris...
Year IV - Failed coup and incidence of Napoleon's "whiff of grapeshot", October 5, 1795 - 18 Fructidor Year V - The coup against the monarchist restorationists, September 4, 1797.
- 22 Floréal Year VI - Coup in which 106 left-wing deputies were deprived of their seats, (May 11, 1798).
- 30 Prairial Year VII - Coup backed militarily by General JoubertBarthélemy Catherine JoubertBarthélemy Catherine Joubert was a French general. He joined the royal French army in 1784 and rose rapidly in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. Napoleon Bonaparte recognized his talents and gave him increased responsibilities...
, under which four directors were forced to resign (June 18, 1799). - 18 Brumaire18 BrumaireThe coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
Year VIII - The coup that brought Napoleon to power, establishing the ConsulateFrench ConsulateThe Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
(November 9, 1799).
War
See also main article French Revolutionary WarsFrench Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
.
- The First CoalitionFirst CoalitionThe War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
- the opponents of France 1793 - 1797: AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. - The Second Coalition - the opponents of France 1798 - 1800: AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. - The VendéeVendéeThe Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
- Province where peasants revoltedRevolt in the VendéeThe War in the Vendée was a Royalist rebellion and counterrevolution in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the Loire River in western France. The uprising was closely tied to the Chouannerie, which took place in...
against the Revolutionary government in 1793. Fighting continued until 1796.
Symbols
- Tricolor – the flag of the Republic, consisting of three vertical stripes, blue, white, and red.
- Fleur-de-lisFleur-de-lisThe fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
– the lily, emblem of the Bourbon monarchy. - Phrygian capPhrygian capThe Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
– symbol of liberty and citizenhood - The "Marseillaise" – the republican anthem.
- The "Ça iraAh! ça ira"Ah ! ça ira" is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.-Original version:...
" – the militant sans-culottes anthem
Cockades
Cockades (Fr: cocardes) were rosettes or ribbons worn as a badge, typically on a hat.- Tricolor cockade - The symbol of the Revolution (from shortly after the Bastille fell) and later of the republicFrench First RepublicThe French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
. Originally formed as a combination of blue and red—the colors of Paris—with the royal white. - Green cockade - As the "color of hope", the symbol of the Revolution in its early days, before the adoption of the tricolor.
- White cockade - Bourbon monarchy and French army.
- Black cockade - Primarily, the cockade of the anti-revolutionary aristocracy. Also, earlier, the cockade of the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Other countries and armies at this time typically had their own cockades.
Religion
- Civil Constitution of the ClergyCivil Constitution of the ClergyThe Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government....
(Fr. Constitution civile du clergé) - 1790, confiscated Church lands and turned the Catholic clergy into state employees; those who refused out of loyalty to Rome and tradition were persecuted; those who obeyed were excommunicated; partially reversed by Napoleon's Concordat of 1801Concordat of 1801The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801. It solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and brought back most of its civil status....
. - Cult of ReasonCult of ReasonThe Cult of Reason was an atheistic belief system established in France and intended as a replacement for Christianity during the French Revolution.-Origins:...
, La Culte de la raison - Official religion at the height of radical Jacobinism in 1793-4. - "Juror" ("jureur"), Constitutional priest ("constitutionnel") - a priest or other member of the clergy who took the oath required under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
- "Non-jurorNon-jurorA non-juror is a person who refuses to swear a particular oath.* In British history, non-jurors refused to swear allegiance to William and Mary; see Nonjuring schism...
", "refractory priest" ("réfractaire"), "insermenté" - a priest or other member of the clergy who refused to take the oath.
Other terms
- AssignatAssignatAssignat was the type of a monetary instrument used during the time of the French Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars.- France :...
s - notes, bills, and bonds issued as currency 1790-1796, based on the and noble lands appropriated by the state. - Cahier - petition, especially Cahier de Doléance, petition of grievances (literally "of sorrow").
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenThe Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
(Fr. Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen - 1789; in summary, defined these rights as "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression." - Flight to VarennesFlight to VarennesThe Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
- The Royal Family's attempt to flee France June 20–21, 1791. - The "Great FearGreat FearThe "Great Fear" occurred from 20 July to 5 August 1789 in France at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring, and the grain supplies were now guarded by local militias as rumors that bands of armed men were...
" - Refers to the period of July and August 1789, when peasants sacked the castles of the nobles and burned the documents that recorded their feudal obligations. - Lettre de cachetLettre de cachetLettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal, or cachet...
- Under the ancien régime, a private, sealed royal document that could imprison or exile an individual without recourse to courts of law. - "LeftLeft-wing politicsIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
" and rightRight-wing politicsIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
" - These political terms originated in this era and derived from the seating arrangements in the legislative bodies. The use of the terms is loose and inconsistent, but in this period "right" tends to mean support for monarchical and aristocratic interests and the ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
order and religion, or (at the height of revolutionary fervor) for the interests of the bourgeousie against the masses, while "left" tends to imply opposition to the same, proto-laissez faire free marketeers and proto-communists. - TerrorFearFear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
- in this period, "terror" usually (but not always) refers to State violence, especially the so-called Reign of TerrorReign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. - ReactionaryReactionaryThe term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
- coined during the revolutionary era to refer to those who opposed the revolution and its principles and sought a Restoration of the monarchy. - September MassacresSeptember MassacresThe September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
- the September 1792 massacres of prisoners perceived to be counter-revolutionary, a disorderly precursor of the Reign of Terror.