HOW FAR WAS DISCONTENT AMONG THE PEASANTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTBREAK OF REVOLUTION IN FRANCE? The peasants’ discontent was not as significant a factor as the bourgeoisie’s anger over political participation at the Estates-General. The revolution was started by bourgeoisie who were exasperated by royal decisions regarding the procedure of the Estates-General. For a long time the bourgeoisie had been crying out for the removal of restrictions that resulted in their exclusion from political office and participation. The convening of the estates-General raised their hopes that their chance had finally arrived and they would now be accorded the political opportunities they felt their wealth and education entitled them to. Their expectations were quickly dashed when Louis XVI chose separate sitting and voting by bloc as the procedure that should be adopted by the Estates-General. The alternative would have been a scenario where the estates sat together and voted as individuals. The bourgeoisie preferred this scenario for the obvious reason that their numerical advantage would enable them to out-vote the other estates and ensure the fulfilment of their political, economic and social programme. They expressed their anger at the king’s decision by breaking away from the Estates-General and forming the National Assembly. With this action the bourgeoisie grabbed political power and participation for themselves and so began the French Revolution. The peasants were discontented by the land and food shortages but those grievances only fuelled the intensity and character of the revolution rather than start it. As shown above, the revolution began as the bourgeoisie rebelled against the king for continuing to marginalise them in politics. While it is true that the peasants harboured serious grievances over land and food which led them to revolt, it must be appreciated that they only did so when the revolution had already been started by the bourgeoisie. They simply took advantage of an already revolutionary situation to press their claims for more land, lower food prices and removal of feudal restrictions. Their campaign of burning and looting from their noble landlords only took off after the bourgeoisie had already challenged the king and formed the National Assembly. The French Revolution was started by urban-dwellers and as result the discontent of the peasants no matter how important could not have been the major reason. By definition, the term peasant applies to rural people but as already seen above the bourgeoisie are the class that started the revolution. These were urban people who revolted out of dissatisfaction with the political system that discriminated against them. It was the bourgeoisie and some nobles who sat at the Estates-General at Versailles as representatives of the Third Estate who started the revolution by rejected the royal decision on procedure as already discussed. From Versailles the revolution moved to Paris where other urban dwellers like the women took their dissatisfaction with the government’s slow response to their demands for food assistance to Versailles. That famous march was a significant event in the revolution not just because normally domestic and docile women articulated public concerns. It was also significant as an assertion of the Rousseau’s theory that governments and rulers are accountable to their people. Women therefore rejected the centuries-old doctrine of the “divine right of kings” which held that kings could be challenged by their subjects. The working class people of Paris then stormed the Bastille prison in one of the most memorable events of the Revolution. They did not do so out of any sympathy for discontented peasants but they were moved by their own desire to assert their own political and social rights that had been suppressed for so long under successive Bourbon dynasties. Clearly Louis XVI was powerless as evidenced by his failure to stop all these urban challenges to his authority. It was only then that the peasants took advantage of the already revolutionary situation and began to press their own claims for the abolition of privileges and more land. The Revolution had leaders who pursued essentially bourgeois ideologies and consequently peasant discontent was an insignificant issue. Some of the leading figures at the beginning of the revolution included Lafayette, Mirabeau and Bailly. None of these were peasants; they were either bourgeoisie or nobles who were guided by bourgeois ideas. Their main priorities included administrative reorganisation, constitutionalism and economic liberalism. On the other hand, peasants were mainly concerned with bread and butter issues. Thus the revolution in 1789 mainly centred on establishing constitutional limitations to monarchical authority, achieving political participation for the bourgeoisie and creating a system of civil rights for all. The peasants did not share such concerns. apart from desiring more land, lowering of taxes and the removal of other feudal restrictions remained loyal to monarchy and Catholic to the core. In any case, feudal inequalities and tax issues they were so concerned about were also bourgeoisie concerns and would have been addressed as the bourgeoisie moved to implement their liberal agenda of social equality. In the end the character of king was more crucial to the outbreak of revolution than peasant discontent. His apparent bias in favour of the clergy and nobility on the procedure of Estates – General angered the bourgeoisie rather than peasants. His procrastination in dealing with financial crisis and calls for all-inclusive politics also angered the bourgeoisie rather than the peasants. Some have viewed Louis XVI as a kindly king who did not wish to spill the blood of his subjects and others thought he was simply a coward. Either way, he refrained from using force to crush the revolt of the (bourgeois-led) Third Estate which opened the floodgates of revolution. The American war of independence and teachings of philosophers had greater impact on bourgeoisie and urban poor rather than peasants. These two factors inspired the bourgeoisie to demand democracy and civil rights. It is important to note that the revolution began as a protest over procedural issues at the Estates-General. The king`s decision on procedure of Estates-General was in line with the exercise of his authority as a divinely ordained ruler but that was no longer acceptable to the bourgeoisie`s democratic sensibilities that had been stirred by American independence ideals and philosophers like Rousseau and Montesquieu. In the final analysis the peasant grievances for more land, greater food security and the removal of punishing feudal restrictions were not as important for the outbreak of the revolution as those of the Bourgeoisie and other urban-dwellers. In any event the character of Louis XVI proved the most decisive factor. The revolution may have been avoided f France had had a different ruler capable of using force to crush dissent.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 08:37:59 +0000
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