A few days ago, I talked about some views on the movie "Napoleon", and I was a little unsatisfied, and today I will talk about the French Revolution with the fate of the Bourbon dynasty as the main line. I still remember the bloody scene of the execution of Queen Antoinette of France at the beginning of the movie, but in fact, the French Revolution was not a spontaneous rebellion of the oppressed poor masses against the monarchy, but a typical bourgeois revolution, that is, the struggle of the emerging forces to seize state power.
At that time, the total population of France was about 23 million. Among them, there are 120,000 first-class clergy (all high-ranking clergy are from noble backgrounds) and 400,000 second-class nobles, which form a privileged class, exempt from direct taxes, and occupy status and reputation. The rest are all of the third class. But the big bourgeoisie in the third estate, from which Louis XV's Madame Pompidou was born, had already acquired great wealth and power in finance and commerce, and a certain kulak class had developed in the rural areas.
The deficit left by his predecessor, combined with aid to the American Revolutionary War, left Louis XVI with a difficult cash turnover. His attempt to tax the privileged classes was thwarted by the stubborn opposition of the aristocracy. Not only that, but they also began to fight back, demanding the convening of a council to limit the king's power and forcing Louis XVI to agree. However, unexpectedly, the dominance of the aristocracy was taken away by the bourgeoisie.
In this way, the small snowball that began with the revolt of the aristocracy was swallowed up by the big bourgeoisie as it rolled down the hillside, and the petty bourgeoisie, such as lawyers, merchants, and free traders, joined in, and finally even the commoners and peasants who suffered from famine mixed together, and turned into an avalanche that buried the monarchy.
Neighboring countries were shocked. If it's just the heir of the Bourbon family, it's just a change of dynasty, and you don't need to care, but if it's the collapse of the monarch itself, it's another matter. Tomorrow it will be your turn. The monarchs of all countries felt the crisis, and they had to deal with this grave state of affairs anyway, trying to uproot the revolutionary army.
Let's take a brief look at the movements before and after the revolution in chronological terms.
Year 1780.
Antoinette's mother, Empress Maria Theresa, died. The Austrian Habsburgs lost their pillars.
Year 1785.
There was a "necklace door incident" (an incident of deception in the name of Antoinette, a very interesting story, which will have a chance to tell in the future). Although it turned out that he had nothing to do with the queen, the anti-establishment faction made the most of it. This doomed Antoinette to be a scapegoat.
Year 1786.
King Frederick the Great of Prussia died. Europe has one less heavyweight monarch.
Year 1787.
France and ** signed a treaty of commerce.
Year 1788.
Because of the unusually cold wave of hail falling from the sky in the summer, the people are suffering from hunger. The British agronomist Younger examined the French countryside and pointed out the premodernity of agriculture and the abandonment of agricultural land. Frequent peasant uprisings seemed to endorse his words.
Carlos IV of the House of Bourbon of Spain ascends the throne. Real power was held by Queen Maria Luisa and her mistress Godoy.
George III of England had a psychotic episode. In addition to hereditary diseases, the stress of international turmoil such as the independence of the United States is also thought to be one of the causes of the disease.
Year 1789.
Storming of the Bastille. The famous dialogue between Louis XVI and the Chancellor was circulated: "The commander of the Bastille was killed, and his head was paraded through Paris with the head of a gun on his gun." "Is this a rebellion?"No, Your Majesty, it's a revolution!”
Stimulated by France, rebellions broke out in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Italy and other places, all of which were suppressed.
Year 1790.
Empress Antoinette's last dependence, her brother Joseph II, died. Younger brother Leopold II ascends the throne. Empress Catherine saw the need to strengthen royal power and exiled Radishev, an ideologue critical of serfdom, to Siberia.
Year 1791.
The Louis XVI family failed to flee at Varennes. At that time, it was Sweden's Fersen (Antoinette's underground lover) who directly helped, but he forged the identity of "** noble Baron Kolff and his party" for them, which shows that he received **'s assistance.
Soon after, Empress Catherine issued a statement on the arrest of the royal family, saying: "This is a great insult to the monarchs of all Europe. ”
Pope Pius VI condemned France's Declaration of the Rights of Man.
Leopold II and King Frederick Wilhelm II of Prussia issued a joint statement, the Declaration of Pillnitz, calling on countries to support the crown and intervene by force. ** and Spain for military spending. ** The UK is also asked to remain neutral in good faith.
Spain secretly bought off the revolutionaries.
Year 1792.
Leopold II died suddenly. Because of the sensitive period, there is a suspicion of assassination. His son, Franz II, ascended the throne. For him, Antoinette was just an aunt he had never met.
King Gustav III of Sweden, who has always supported the French royal family, was killed from behind at a ball.
The people of Paris attacked the Tuileries Palace, where the royal family lived. The parliament deposed the king and established a republic. The king's family was imprisoned in the temple tower.
Year 1793.
Hugo's famous book "93 Years" is the story of this year. The Revolutionary Court sentenced Louis X to **, which was executed in January. The guillotine king seemed to want to say something to the gathered crowd, but his voice was drowned out by the continuous beating of the snare drums by the soldiers in the procession.
It is said that Empress Catherine cried when she learned of the execution. But at the same time, she took advantage of Austria's busy affairs for France, and joined forces with Prussia to carry out the "Second Partition of Poland", showing her cunning side. She restricted coverage from France and tore up trade treaties.
Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Prussia and other countries formed an anti-French alliance. The first ** George Washington of the United States declared neutrality in the war against France. Antoinette was separated from the children and sent to the Conciergerie of Paris. After a trial, she was sentenced to death, which was carried out in October. Compared to when the king was executed, there was not much reaction from the countries.
Summer 1795.
10-year-old Louis Charles (Louis XVII) died in the Temple Tower. Since then, some people have been advocating that it was a double who died, and in 2000, it was proved that it was indeed a French prince through DNA identification. Louis Charles's sister, Marie Tyrese, returned to her mother Antoinette's native Austria through a hostage exchange. It is said that it was only then that she was first informed of her parents' death and fainted on the spot.
At this time, after the hard work of the French soldiers, Prussia and Spain were finally forced to withdraw from the anti-French alliance, and the Treaty of Basel was signed with France, and then the Netherlands also concluded the Treaty of The Hague with France. Surrounded by powerful enemies, the young French Republic stood firm, and Napoleon, who was also young and ambitious, was ready to lead his troops to the fertile northern Italy to achieve his hegemony. The old times are over.
French Revolution