Assenheim is one of the two former municipalities that were combined to form the municipality of Hochdorf-Assenheim in Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany. It is located in the north-eastern part of the municipality, with the Marlach river flowing through it.
134-936: Until the French Revolution , Assenheim belonged to the House of Leiningen-Dagsburg . From 1798 to 1814, when the Palatinate was part of the French Republic (which became the Napoleonic Empire in 1804), Assenheim was in the Canton of Mutterstadt [ de ] . After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Assenheim initially belonged to the Austrian Empire and then moved to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1816. From 1818 to 1862, it belonged to
268-560: A counter-revolution . In response, the Assembly published the August Decrees which abolished feudalism . Over 25% of French farmland was subject to feudal dues , providing the nobility with most of their income; these were now cancelled, along with church tithes. While their former tenants were supposed to pay them compensation, collecting it proved impossible, and the obligation was annulled in 1793. Other decrees included equality before
402-649: A "correspondence office" to be set up in the Hôtel de Ville . Not all sections opposed the King, but passive citizens joined them, and on the 30th the section of the Théâtre Français gave all its members the right to vote. At the section meetings, Jacobins and sans-culottes clashed with moderates and gradually gained the upper hand. On 30 July a decree admitted passive citizens to the National Guard. On 1 August came news of
536-491: A "people's court", while a new comité de surveillance hunted down counter-revolutionaries . For the Parisian nobility, it was 10 August 1792 rather than 14 July 1789 that marked the end of the ancien régime. The victors of 10 August were concerned with establishing their dictatorship. The Commune silenced the opposition press, closed the toll gates, and seized a number of refractory priests and aristocratic notables. On 11 August
670-467: A Parisian mob, and neither Bailly nor Lafayette could prevent it. In rural areas, wild rumours and paranoia resulted in the formation of militia and an agrarian insurrection known as la Grande Peur . The breakdown of law and order and frequent attacks on aristocratic property led much of the nobility to flee abroad. These émigrés funded reactionary forces within France and urged foreign monarchs to back
804-672: A body with instructions "to recommend immediate steps to save the state" ( sauver la chose publique ). During the night 28 sections answered this invitation. Their representatives constituted the Insurrectional Commune. Carra [ fr ] and Chaumette went to the barracks of the Marseilles fédérés in the section of the Cordeliers, while Santerre roused the Faubourg Saint-Antoine , and Alexandre [ fr ]
938-439: A campaign for war against Austria and Prussia, often interpreted as a mixture of calculation and idealism. While exploiting popular anti-Austrianism, it reflected a genuine belief in exporting the values of political liberty and popular sovereignty. Simultaneously, conservatives headed by Marie Antoinette also favoured war, seeing it as a way to regain control of the military, and restore royal authority. In December 1791, Louis made
1072-660: A distinction opposed by a significant minority, including the Jacobin clubs . By mid-1790, the main elements of a constitutional monarchy were in place, although the constitution was not accepted by Louis until 1791. Food shortages and the worsening economy caused frustration at the lack of progress, and led to popular unrest in Paris. This came to a head in late September 1789, when the Flanders Regiment arrived in Versailles to reinforce
1206-572: A few days before 10 August and escaped the massacre. The commander of all Swiss mercenaries in French service, Louis-Auguste-Augustin d'Affry , who had been absent on 10 August due to illness, reported on 12 November that about 300 Swiss guardsmen had been killed at the Tuileries. On the side of the insurgents, three hundred and seventy-six were either killed or wounded. Eighty-three of these were fédérés , and two hundred and eighty-five members of these were
1340-458: A less friendly group of Swiss defenders of the palace, commanded by officers of the Court. The two bodies of troops remained facing each other on the staircase for forty-five minutes. A barrier separated them, and there the combat began; it is unknown which side took the initiative. The Swiss, firing from above, cleaned out the vestibule and the courts, rushed down into the square and seized the cannon;
1474-485: A list of grievances, known as Cahiers de doléances . Tax inequality and seigneurial dues (feudal payments owed to landowners) headed the grievances in the cahiers de doleances for the estate. On 5 May 1789, the Estates-General convened at Versailles . Necker outlined the state budget and reiterated the king's decision that each estate should decide on which matters it would agree to meet and vote in common with
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#17331045451681608-488: A majority by forging consensus with monarchiens like Mounier, and independents including Adrien Duport , Barnave and Alexandre Lameth . At one end of the political spectrum, reactionaries like Cazalès and Maury denounced the Revolution in all its forms, with radicals like Maximilien Robespierre at the other. He and Jean-Paul Marat opposed the criteria for "active citizens", gaining them substantial support among
1742-488: A manifesto signed by the Duke of Brunswick , threatening as it did summary justice on the people of Paris if Louis and his family were harmed: "they will wreak an exemplary and forever memorable vengeance, by giving up the city of Paris to a military execution, and total destruction, and the rebels guilty of assassinations, to the execution that they have merited." This Brunswick Manifesto became known in Paris on 1 August and heated
1876-476: A movement that shook France . They met at Maurice Duplay 's house in the Rue Saint-Honoré , where Robespierre had his lodgings, in a room occupied by their fifth member, Antoine, the mayor of Metz. They conferred with a group of section leaders hardly better known than themselves—the journalists Carra [ fr ] and Gorsas , Alexandre [ fr ] and Lazowski [ fr ] of
2010-403: A new independent judiciary, with jury trials for criminal cases. However, moderate deputies were uneasy at popular demands for universal suffrage, labour unions and cheap bread, and over the winter of 1790 and 1791, they passed a series of measures intended to disarm popular radicalism. These included exclusion of poorer citizens from the National Guard, limits on use of petitions and posters, and
2144-555: A philosophical founder of the revolution, wrote it was "manifestly contrary to the law of nature ... that a handful of people should gorge themselves with superfluities, while the hungry multitude goes in want of necessities." The Revolution caused a massive shift of power from the Catholic Church to the state; although the extent of religious belief has been questioned, elimination of tolerance for religious minorities meant by 1789 being French also meant being Catholic. The church
2278-538: A representative body that had last met in 1614. The conflict between the Crown and the parlements became a national political crisis. Both sides issued a series of public statements, the government arguing that it was combating privilege and the parlement defending the ancient rights of the nation. Public opinion was firmly on the side of the parlements , and riots broke out in several towns. Brienne's attempts to raise new loans failed, and on 8 August 1788, he announced that
2412-560: A result, the clergy and nobility could combine to outvote the Third Estate despite representing less than 5% of the population. Following the relaxation of censorship and laws against political clubs, a group of liberal nobles and middle class activists, known as the Society of Thirty, launched a campaign for the doubling of Third Estate representation and individual voting. The public debate saw an average of 25 new political pamphlets published
2546-406: A secret directory that included some of the Parisian leaders and to assure direct contact with the sections. A coordinating committee had been formed of one federal from each department. Within this body soon appeared a secret committee of five members. Vaugeois of Blois, Debesse of The Drome, Guillaume of Caen, and Simon of Strasbourg were names nearly unknown to history: but they were the creators of
2680-555: A series of disastrous defeats . In an effort to mobilise popular support, the government ordered non-juring priests to swear the oath or be deported, dissolved the Constitutional Guard and replaced it with 20,000 fédérés ; Louis agreed to disband the Guard, but vetoed the other two proposals, while Lafayette called on the Assembly to suppress the clubs. Insurrection of 10 August 1792 The insurrection of 10 August 1792
2814-550: A significant proportion of the 6 million Frenchmen over 25, while only 10% of those able to vote actually did so. Finally, poor harvests and rising food prices led to unrest among the urban class known as Sans-culottes , who saw the new regime as failing to meet their demands for bread and work. This meant the new constitution was opposed by significant elements inside and outside the Assembly, itself split into three main groups. 264 members were affiliated with Barnave's Feuillants , constitutional monarchists who considered
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#17331045451682948-445: A single body, and the following day approved a " suspensive veto " for the king, meaning Louis could delay implementation of a law, but not block it indefinitely. In October, the Assembly voted to restrict political rights, including voting rights, to "active citizens", defined as French males over the age of 25 who paid direct taxes equal to three days' labour. The remainder were designated "passive citizens", restricted to "civil rights",
3082-530: A speech in the Assembly giving foreign powers a month to disband the émigrés or face war, an act greeted with enthusiasm by supporters, but suspicion from opponents. Barnave's inability to build a consensus in the Assembly resulted in the appointment of a new government, chiefly composed of Brissotins . On 20 April 1792, the French Revolutionary Wars began when French armies attacked Austrian and Prussian forces along their borders, before suffering
3216-442: A state of insurrection, it withdraws all powers and takes it to itself." The King had failed to buy off the popular leaders. According to Malouet , 37,000 livres had been paid to Pétion and Santerre for worthless promises to stop the insurrection. He rejected the last-minute advice, not only of Vergniaud and Guadet , now alarmed by a turn of affairs they brought about and also of his loyal old minister Malesherbes , to abdicate
3350-410: A week from 25 September 1788. The Abbé Sieyès issued influential pamphlets denouncing the privilege of the clergy and nobility, and arguing the Third Estate represented the nation and should sit alone as a National Assembly. Activists such as Mounier , Barnave and Robespierre organised regional meetings, petitions and literature in support of these demands. In December, the king agreed to double
3484-473: A wider scope to the debate by uttering a threat against the King's person: "It is in the King's name that the French princes have tried to rouse all the courts of Europe against the nation, it is to avenge the dignity of the King that the treaty of Pillnitz was concluded and the monstrous alliance formed between the Courts of Vienna and Berlin; it is to defend the King that we have seen what were formerly companies of
3618-789: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . French Revolution The French Revolution ( French : Révolution française [ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 , and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in November 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate . Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy , while its values and institutions remain central to modern French political discourse. The causes of
3752-434: Is in danger). Banners were placed in the public squares, with the words: Would you allow foreign hordes to spread like a destroying torrent over your countryside! That they ravage our harvest! That they devastate our fatherland through fire and murder! In a word, that they overcome you with chains dyed with the blood of those whom you hold the most dear... Citizens, the country is in danger! On 3 July Pierre Vergniaud gave
3886-531: The Faubourg Saint-Marceau , Fournier "the American" , Westermann (the only soldier among them), the baker Garin, Anaxagore Chaumette and Antoine Santerre of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine . Daily meetings were held by the individual sections, and on 25 July the assembly authorized continuous sessions for them. On the 27th Pétion, who had been reinstated as Paris mayor by the Assembly on 13 July, permitted
4020-521: The Champ de Mars to sign. Led by Lafayette, the National Guard was ordered to "preserve public order" and responded to a barrage of stones by firing into the crowd , killing between 13 and 50 people. The massacre badly damaged Lafayette's reputation: the authorities responded by closing radical clubs and newspapers, while their leaders went into exile or hiding, including Marat. On 27 August, Emperor Leopold II and King Frederick William II of Prussia issued
4154-640: The Declaration of Pillnitz declaring their support for Louis and hinting at an invasion of France on his behalf. In reality, the meeting between Leopold and Frederick was primarily to discuss the Partitions of Poland ; the Declaration was intended to satisfy Comte d'Artois and other French émigrés but the threat rallied popular support behind the regime. Based on a motion proposed by Robespierre, existing deputies were barred from elections held in early September for
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4288-548: The Faubourg Saint-Marceau . The municipality was already in session. From midnight until three o'clock the next morning the old and new, the legal and the insurrectional communes, sat in adjoining rooms at the Town Hall ( Hôtel de Ville ). The illegal body organized the attack on Tuileries. The legal body, by recalling the officer in charge of the troops at the Tuileries, disorganized its defense. Between six and seven in
4422-646: The Faubourg Saint-Marcel , the Bretons, and the Marseilles fédérés , marched forth as freely as if going to parade. At many places that had been ordered guarded, no resistance was put up at all, like at the Arcade Saint-Jean, the passages of the bridges, alongside the quays, and in the court of the Louvre . An advance guard consisting of men, women, and children, all armed with cutters, cudgels, and pikes, spread over
4556-559: The French Legislative Assembly . Although Robespierre himself was one of those excluded, his support in the clubs gave him a political power base not available to Lafayette and Bailly, who resigned respectively as head of the National Guard and the Paris Commune. The new laws were gathered together in the 1791 Constitution , and submitted to Louis XVI, who pledged to defend it "from enemies at home and abroad". On 30 September,
4690-474: The Hôtel de Ville, some 7,000 of them marched on Versailles , where they entered the Assembly to present their demands. They were followed to Versailles by 15,000 members of the National Guard under Lafayette, who was virtually "a prisoner of his own troops". When the National Guard arrived later that evening, Lafayette persuaded Louis the safety of his family required their relocation to Paris. Next morning, some of
4824-724: The Landkommissariat Speyer [ de ] . From 1886, Assenheim was part of the newly created Bezirksamts Ludwigshafen . In 1928, Assenheim had 524 inhabitants, who lived in 109 households. At the time, the Catholics belonged to the parish of Hochdorf , while the Protestants belonged to that of Dannstadt [ de ] . Since 1938 the village has been part of the Ludwigshafen district ( Landkreis Ludwigshafen ), which has been called Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis since 2004. After
4958-575: The Second World War , Assenheim was part of the then newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate within the French occupation zone . On June 7, 1969, during the course of the first regional reorganization in Rhineland-Palatinate [ de ] Assenheim was merged with the neighboring municipality of Hochdorf to form Hochdorf-Assenheim . This Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis location article
5092-553: The Storming of the Bastille , the cry of "Treachery!" went up. The attackers assumed that they had been drawn into a deliberate ambush and henceforth the Swiss were the subject of violent hatred on the part of sans-culottes . At that moment the battalions of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine arrived, and the reinforced insurgents pushed the Swiss back into the palace. Louis, hearing from the manége
5226-467: The Swiss Guards brought in from their barracks on the outskirts of Paris during the night of 9–10 August. The Swiss were backed by 930 gendarmes , 2,000 national guards, and 200–300 Chevaliers de Saint Louis , and other royalist volunteers . Five thousand men should have been an ample defense; though it appears that, by some oversight, they were seriously short of ammunition. Police spies reported to
5360-467: The Vendée , where only a few priests took the oath and the civilian population turned against the revolution. The result was state-led persecution of " Refractory clergy ", many of whom were forced into exile, deported, or executed. The period from October 1789 to spring 1791 is usually seen as one of relative tranquility, when some of the most important legislative reforms were enacted. However, conflict over
5494-568: The barristers of 1789. Moreover, the Commune itself was little more than "a sort of federal parliament in a federal republic of 48 states". It had only a tenuous control over the Sections, which began practicing the direct democracy of Rousseau . "Passive" citizens were admitted to meetings, justices of the peace and police officers dismissed and the assemblée générale of the Section became, in some cases,
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5628-422: The fédérés were petitioning the Assembly to dethrone the king. The fédérés were reluctant to leave Paris before a decisive blow had been struck, and the arrival on 25 July of 300 from Brest and five days later of 500 Marseillais , who made the streets of Paris echo with the song to which they gave their name, provided the revolutionaries with a formidable force. The fédérés set up a central committee and
5762-458: The parlements , the nobility, and those subject to new taxes. France primarily funded the Anglo-French War of 1778–1783 through loans. Following the peace, the monarchy borrowed heavily, culminating in a debt crisis. By 1788, half of state revenue was required to service its debt. In 1786, the French finance minister, Calonne , proposed a package of reforms including a universal land tax,
5896-417: The Assembly and published on 26 August as a statement of principle. The Assembly now concentrated on the constitution itself. Mounier and his monarchist supporters advocated a bicameral system, with an upper house appointed by the king, who would also have the right to appoint ministers and veto legislation. On 10 September, the majority of the Assembly, led by Sieyès and Talleyrand , voted in favour of
6030-492: The Assembly that Louis XVI came within the scope of this article of the Constitution. By this means he put the idea of deposing the King into the minds of the public. His speech was circulated by the Assembly through all the departments. Evading the royal veto on an armed camp, the Assembly had invited National Guards from the provinces, on their way to the front, to come to Paris, ostensibly for 14 July celebrations. By mid-July
6164-493: The Assembly was increasingly divided, while external players like the Paris Commune and National Guard competed for power. One of the most significant was the Jacobin club; originally a forum for general debate, by August 1790 it had over 150 members, split into different factions. The Assembly continued to develop new institutions; in September 1790, the regional Parlements were abolished and their legal functions replaced by
6298-558: The Assembly went into a non-stop session after rumours circulated he was planning to use the Swiss Guards to force it to close. The news brought crowds of protestors into the streets, and soldiers of the elite Gardes Françaises regiment refused to disperse them. On the 14th, many of these soldiers joined the mob in attacking the Bastille , a royal fortress with large stores of arms and ammunition. Its governor, Bernard-René de Launay , surrendered after several hours of fighting that cost
6432-592: The Assembly. Tensions accelerated dramatically on 1 August when news reached Paris that the commander of the allied Prussian and Austrian armies had issued the Brunswick Manifesto , threatening "unforgettable vengeance" on Paris should harm be done to the French royal family. On 10 August, the National Guard of the Paris Commune and fédérés from Marseille and Brittany stormed the King's residence in
6566-583: The Bastille in Paris on 14 July was followed by a series of radical measures by the Assembly, among them the abolition of feudalism , state control over the Catholic Church , and a declaration of rights . The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, and military defeats following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792 led to an insurrection on 10 August . The monarchy
6700-520: The Civil Constitution led to a state of near civil war in southern France, which Barnave tried to defuse by relaxing the more punitive provisions. On 29 November, the Assembly approved a decree giving refractory clergy eight days to comply, or face charges of 'conspiracy against the nation', an act opposed even by Robespierre. When Louis vetoed both, his opponents were able to portray him as opposed to reform in general. Brissot accompanied this with
6834-547: The Constituent Assembly was dissolved, and the Legislative Assembly convened the next day. The Legislative Assembly is often dismissed by historians as an ineffective body, compromised by divisions over the role of the monarchy, an issue exacerbated when Louis attempted to prevent or reverse limitations on his powers. At the same time, restricting the vote to those who paid a minimal amount of tax disenfranchised
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#17331045451686968-534: The Crown. The royal family left the palace in disguise on the night of 20 June 1791; late the next day, Louis was recognised as he passed through Varennes , arrested and taken back to Paris. The attempted escape had a profound impact on public opinion; since it was clear Louis had been seeking refuge in Austria, the Assembly now demanded oaths of loyalty to the regime, and began preparing for war, while fear of 'spies and traitors' became pervasive. Despite calls to replace
7102-402: The Estates-General. However, he stated that the three estates were sacrosanct and it was up to each estate to agree to end their privileges and decide on which matters they would vote in common with the other estates. At the end of the session the Third Estate refused to leave the hall and reiterated their oath not to disperse until a constitution had been agreed. Over the next days more members of
7236-606: The European revolts of the 1780s inspired public debate on issues such as patriotism, liberty, equality, and democracy. These shaped the response of the educated public to the crisis, while scandals such as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace fuelled widespread anger at the court, nobility, and church officials. France faced a series of budgetary crises during the 18th century, as revenues failed to keep pace with expenditure. Although
7370-469: The French'. Historian John McManners argues "in eighteenth-century France, throne and altar were commonly spoken of as in close alliance; their simultaneous collapse ... would one day provide the final proof of their interdependence." One suggestion is that after a century of persecution, some French Protestants actively supported an anti-Catholic regime, a resentment fuelled by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire . Jean-Jacques Rousseau , considered
7504-563: The Gardes du Corps hurrying to join the standard of rebellion in Germany; it is to come to the assistance of the King that the émigrés are soliciting and obtaining employment in the Austrian army and preparing to stab their fatherland to the heart... it is in the name of the King that liberty is being attacked... yet I read in the Constitution, chapter II, section i, article 6: If the king place himself at
7638-465: The Hôtel de Ville, and put to death by the crowd there, beneath the statue of Louis XIV. The victims of the massacre also included some of the male courtiers and members of the palace staff, although being less conspicuous than the red-coated Swiss Guards others were able to escape. No female members of the court seem to have been killed during the massacre. According to Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan , after
7772-447: The June 1791 Le Chapelier Law suppressing trade guilds and any form of worker organisation. The traditional force for preserving law and order was the army, which was increasingly divided between officers, who largely came from the nobility, and ordinary soldiers. In August 1790, the loyalist General Bouillé suppressed a serious mutiny at Nancy ; although congratulated by the Assembly, he
7906-477: The King's departure. The means of defense had been diminished by the departure of a detachment of National Guardsmen who escorted the royal family to the National Assembly. The gendarmerie left their posts, crying "Vive la nation!", and the National Guard's inclination began to move towards the insurgents. On the right bank of the river, the battalions of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine , and, on the left, those of
8040-426: The Legislative Assembly gave municipalities the authority to arrest suspects. The volunteers were preparing to leave to the front and the rumours spread rapidly that their departure was to be the signal for prisoners to stage an uprising. The wave of executions in prisons followed, what later was known as The September Massacres . To convince the revolutionaries that the insurrection of 10 August had decided nothing,
8174-469: The National Guard: common citizens from every branch of the trading and working classes of Paris, including hair-dressers, harness-makers, carpenters, joiners, house-painters, tailors, hatters, boot-makers, locksmiths, laundry-men, and domestic servants. Two female combatants were among the wounded. The crisis of the summer of 1792 was a major turning-point of the Revolution. By overthrowing the monarchy,
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#17331045451688308-409: The Parisian proletariat, many of whom had been disenfranchised by the measure. On 14 July 1790, celebrations were held throughout France commemorating the fall of the Bastille, with participants swearing an oath of fidelity to "the nation, the law and the king." The Fête de la Fédération in Paris was attended by the royal family, with Talleyrand performing a mass . Despite this show of unity,
8442-537: The Parliament-house, reported that all precautions had been taken to keep the peace, and retired to the Mairie , where he was confined on the orders of the Insurrectional Commune. Roederer's first act was to assure the royal family that there would be no attack. His second act, when a series of bulletins from Blondel, the secretary of the department, made it clear that an attack was imminent, was to persuade Louis to abandon
8576-436: The Prussian army crossed the French frontier on the 16th. A week later the powerful fortress of Longwy fell so quickly that Vergniaud declared it to "have been handed over to the enemy." By the end of the month the Prussians were at Verdun , the last fortress barring the road to Paris. In the capital, there was a well-justified belief that Verdun would offer no more than a token resistance. The war, which had appeared to bring
8710-458: The Prussians time to finish their preparations and concentrate upon the Rhine undisturbed. A decree of 2 July authorized National Guards, many of whom were already on their way to Paris, to come for the Federation ceremony. A decree of 5 July declared that in the event of danger to the nation all able-bodied men could be called to service and necessary arms requisitioned. Six days later the Assembly declared la patrie est en danger (the homeland
8844-454: The Republic was replaced in 1795 by the Directory , and four years later, in 1799, the Consulate seized power in a military coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte on 9 November. This event is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period. The Revolution resulted from multiple long-term and short-term factors, culminating in a social, economic, financial and political crisis in the late 1780s. Combined with resistance to reform by
8978-429: The Revolution had gone far enough, while another 136 were Jacobin leftists who supported a republic, led by Brissot and usually referred to as Brissotins . The remaining 345 belonged to La Plaine , a centrist faction who switched votes depending on the issue, but many of whom shared doubts as to whether Louis was committed to the Revolution. After he officially accepted the new Constitution, one recorded response
9112-553: The Revolution simply as "the 10 August"; other common designations include "the day of the 10 August" ( French : journée du 10 août ) or "the Second Revolution". On 20 April 1792, France declared war against the King of Bohemia and Hungary ( Austria ). The initial battles were a disaster for a French army partially disorganised by mutinies, emigration of officers and political change. Prussia then joined Austria in active alliance against France , eventually declaring war on France on 13 June. The blame for these opening setbacks
9246-434: The Revolution was mired in compromise. The Assembly remained for the time being but recognized the Commune, increased through elections to 288 members. The Assembly appointed a provisional Executive Council and put Gaspard Monge and Pierre Henri Hélène Marie Lebrun-Tondu on it, along with several former Girondin ministers. The Assembly voted that the Convention should be summoned and elected by universal suffrage to decide on
9380-399: The Swiss Guards who survived the insurrection, up to 350 later enlisted in the Revolutionary Army of the First French Republic , while others joined the counter-revolutionaries in the War in the Vendée . In 1817, the Swiss Federal Diet awarded 389 of the survivors the commemorative medal Treue und Ehre (Loyalty and Honor). Over half of the Legislative Assembly's members fled and on
9514-402: The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly of France and that all existing taxes were illegal. Within two days, more than 100 members of the clergy had joined them. Shaken by this challenge to his authority, the king agreed to a reform package that he would announce at a Royal Session of the Estates-General. The Salle des États was closed to prepare for the joint session, but
9648-556: The Third despite representing less than 5% of the population. Although the Catholic Church in France owned nearly 10% of all land, as well as receiving annual tithes paid by peasants, three-quarters of the 303 clergy elected were parish priests, many of whom earned less than unskilled labourers and had more in common with their poor parishioners than with the bishops of the first estate. The Second Estate elected 322 deputies, representing about 400,000 men and women, who owned about 25% of
9782-549: The Tuileries Palace in Paris, which was defended by the Swiss Guards . Hundreds of Swiss guardsmen and 400 revolutionaries were killed in the battle, and Louis and the royal family took shelter with the Legislative Assembly. The formal end of the monarchy occurred six weeks later on 21 September as one of the first acts of the new National Convention , which established a republic on the next day. The insurrection and its outcomes are most commonly referred to by historians of
9916-410: The Tuileries. Behind him, quarrels were breaking out in the ranks. The gunners declared they would not fire on their brethren. Hating violence, and dreading bloodshed, Louis listened willingly to Roederer's suggestion that he should abandon the defense of the palace. The Queen urged in vain that they should stay and fight. Before even a single shot had been fired, the royal family were in retreat across
10050-457: The abandoned Carrousel, and around eight o'clock the advance column, led by Westermann, was in front of the palace. The assault on the palace began at eight o'clock in the morning. As per the King's orders, the regulars of the Swiss Guard had retired into the interior of the building, and the defense of the courtyard had been left to the National Guard. The Marseillais rushed in, fraternized with
10184-399: The abolition of grain controls and internal tariffs, and new provincial assemblies appointed by the king. The new taxes, however, were rejected, first by a hand-picked Assembly of Notables dominated by the nobility, then by the parlements when submitted by Calonne's successor Brienne . The notables and parlements argued that the proposed taxes could only be approved by an Estates-General,
10318-508: The assembly could not deliberate in the presence of the King, and Louis retired with his family and ministers into the reporter's box behind the president. There, the King was given a seat and he listened, with his customary air of bland indifference, whilst the deputies discussed his fate. The Queen sat at the bar of the House, with the Dauphin on her knees. The incentive for resistance fell away with
10452-562: The authority of the Pope over the French Church. In October, thirty bishops wrote a declaration denouncing the law, further fuelling opposition. When clergy were required to swear loyalty to the Civil Constitution in November 1790, it split the church between the 24% who complied, and the majority who refused. This stiffened popular resistance against state interference, especially in traditionally Catholic areas such as Normandy , Brittany and
10586-474: The calling of the Estates General of 1789 , which became radicalised by the struggle for control of public finances. Louis XVI was willing to consider reforms, but often backed down when faced with opposition from conservative elements within the nobility. Enlightenment critiques of social institutions were widely discussed among the educated French elite. At the same time, the American Revolution and
10720-496: The capital. The King's veto of the Legislative Assembly's decrees was published on 19 June, one day before the third anniversary of the Tennis Court Oath , which had inaugurated the Revolution. The popular journée of 20 June 1792 was organized to put pressure on the King. Appearing before the crowd, the King put on the bonnet rouge of liberty and drank to the health of the nation, but refused to ratify decrees or to recall
10854-517: The clergy joined the National Assembly. On 27 June, faced with popular demonstrations and mutinies in his French Guards , Louis XVI capitulated. He commanded the members of the first and second estates to join the third in the National Assembly. Even the limited reforms the king had announced went too far for Marie Antoinette and Louis' younger brother the Comte d'Artois . On their advice, Louis dismissed Necker again as chief minister on 11 July. On 12 July,
10988-466: The commune that underground passages had been constructed by which additional troops could be secretly introduced from their barracks. Mandat , the commander of the National Guard, was not very sure of his forces, but the tone of his orders was so resolute that it seemed to steady the troops. He had stationed some troops on the Pont Neuf so as to prevent a junction between the insurgents on the two sides of
11122-450: The decrees and dismissed Girondists from the Ministry. When the King formed a new cabinet mostly of constitutional monarchists ( Feuillants ), this widened the breach between the King and the Assembly and the majority of the common people of Paris. These events happened on 16 June when Lafayette sent a letter to the Assembly, recommending suppression of "anarchists" and political clubs in
11256-442: The defense of the palace and to put himself under the protection of the assembly. Mandat, after seeing to the defense of the palace, was persuaded by Roederer (in the third and fatal mistake of the Tuileries defense) to obey a treacherous summons from the Town Hall. Mandat knew nothing of the formation of the Insurrectional Commune, and thus he departed without any escort. He was put under arrest, and shortly after murdered. His command
11390-497: The economy grew solidly, the increase was not reflected in a proportional growth in taxes, their collection being contracted to tax farmers who kept much of it as personal profit. As the nobility and Church benefited from many exemptions, the tax burden fell mainly on peasants. Reform was difficult because new tax laws had to be registered with regional judicial bodies or parlements that were able to block them. The king could impose laws by decree, but this risked open conflict with
11524-481: The evening 10 August only 284 deputies were in their seats. The Assembly looked on anxiously at the vicissitudes of the struggle. So long as the issue was doubtful, Louis XVI was treated like a king. As soon as the insurrection was definitely victorious, the Assembly announced the suspension of the King. The King was placed under a strong guard. The Assembly would have liked to assign him the Luxembourg Palace , but
11658-538: The forty-eight sections of Paris, all but one concurred. Pétion informed the Legislative Assembly that the sections had "resumed their sovereignty" and that he had no power over the people other than that of persuasion. On 9 August the Assembly refused to indict Lafayette. That night the tocsin rang. Throughout the night of 9 August, the sections sat in consultation. At 11 o'clock the Quinze-Vingts section proposed that each section should appoint three of its members onto
11792-482: The future organization of the State. One of its first acts was to abolish the monarchy. With the fall of the Tuileries, the face of Parisian society underwent an abrupt change. The August insurrection greatly increased sans-culotte influence in Paris. Whereas the old Commune had been predominantly middle class, the new one contained twice as many artisans as lawyers—and the latter were often obscure men, very different from
11926-450: The gardens to the door of the Assembly. "Gentlemen," said the King, "I come here to avoid a great crime; I think I cannot be safer than with you." "Sire," replied Vergniaud , who filled the chair, "you may rely on the firmness of the national assembly. Its members have sworn to die in maintaining the rights of the people, and the constituted authorities." The King then took his seat next to the president. But François Chabot reminded him that
12060-585: The general for deserting his command. The King rejected all suggestions of escape from Lafayette, the man who had long presided over his imprisonment. The crowd burnt him in effigy at the Palais-Royal . There was no place for Lafayette beside the republican emblem, nor in the country which had adopted it. Within six weeks he was arrested whilst fleeing to England and placed in an Austrian prison. Lafayette failed because his views clashed with French national sentiment, and his passive leadership of French armies had given
12194-627: The gunners of the National Guard, reached the vestibule, ascended the grand staircase, and called on the Swiss Guard to surrender. "Surrender to the Nation!", shouted Westermann in German. "We should think ourselves dishonored!" was the reply. "We are Swiss, the Swiss do not part with their arms but with their lives. We think that we do not merit such an insult. If the regiment is no longer wanted, let it be legally discharged. But we will not leave our post, nor will we let our arms be taken from us." The Swiss filled
12328-401: The head of an army and turn its forces against the nation, or if he do not explicitly manifest his opposition to any such enterprise carried out in his name, he shall be considered to have abdicated his royal office. " Vergniaud recalled the royal veto, the disorders it had caused in the provinces, and the deliberate inaction of the generals who had opened the way to invasion; and he implied it to
12462-655: The insurgent Commune demanded that he should be taken to the Temple , a smaller prison, which would be easier to guard. 14 July had saved the Constitutional Assembly, 10 August passed sentence on the Legislative Assembly: the day's victors intended to dissolve the Assembly and keep power in their own hands. But because the new Commune, composed of unknowns, hesitated to alarm the provinces, the Girondins were kept and
12596-509: The insurgents scattered out of range. The Marseillais, nevertheless, rallied behind the entrances of the houses on the Carrousel, threw cartridges into the courts of the small buildings and set them on fire. Then the Swiss attacked, stepped over the corpses, seized the cannon, recovered possession of the royal entrance, crossed the Place du Carrousel , and even carried off the guns drawn up there. As at
12730-459: The king would summon an Estates-General to convene the following May. Brienne resigned and was replaced by Necker . In September 1788, the Parlement of Paris ruled that the Estates-General should convene in the same form as in 1614, meaning that the three estates (the clergy, nobility, and Third Estate or "commons") would meet and vote separately, with votes counted by estate rather than by head. As
12864-564: The land and collected seigneurial dues and rents from their tenants. Most delegates were town-dwelling members of the noblesse d'épée , or traditional aristocracy. Courtiers and representatives of the noblesse de robe (those who derived rank from judicial or administrative posts) were underrepresented. Of the 610 deputies of the Third Estate, about two-thirds held legal qualifications and almost half were venal office holders. Less than 100 were in trade or industry and none were peasants or artisans. To assist delegates, each region completed
12998-403: The law, opening public office to all, freedom of worship, and cancellation of special privileges held by provinces and towns. With the suspension of the 13 regional parlements in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. From its early stages, the Revolution therefore displayed signs of its radical nature; what remained unclear
13132-508: The lives of 83 attackers. Taken to the Hôtel de Ville , he was executed, his head placed on a pike and paraded around the city; the fortress was then torn down in a remarkably short time. Although rumoured to hold many prisoners, the Bastille held only seven: four forgers, a lunatic, a failed assassin, and a deviant nobleman. Nevertheless, as a potent symbol of the Ancien Régime , its destruction
13266-468: The members of the Estates-General were not informed in advance. On 20 June, when the members of the Third Estate found their meeting place closed, they moved to a nearby tennis court and swore not to disperse until a new constitution had been agreed. At the Royal Session the king announced a series of tax and other reforms and stated that no new taxes or loans would be implemented without the consent of
13400-656: The ministers. The republican mayor of Paris , Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve , was suspended by the Directory of the Seine département for having neglected to protect the Tuileries Palace on 20 June. On 28 June, General Lafayette left his post with the army and appeared before the Assembly to call on the deputies to dissolve the Jacobin Club and punish those who were responsible for the demonstration of 20 June. The deputies indicted
13534-442: The monarchy with a republic, Louis retained his position but was generally regarded with acute suspicion and forced to swear allegiance to the constitution. A new decree stated retracting this oath, making war upon the nation, or permitting anyone to do so in his name would be considered abdication. However, radicals led by Jacques Pierre Brissot prepared a petition demanding his deposition, and on 17 July, an immense crowd gathered in
13668-461: The morning this farcical situation was brought to an end. The Insurrectional Commune informed the municipal body, in a formally worded resolution, that they had decided upon its suspension; but they would retain the mayor ( Pétion ), the prosecutor ( Manuel ), the deputy-prosecutor ( Danton ), and the administrators in their executive functions. The resolution stated that "When the People puts itself into
13802-422: The other estates. On the following day, each estate was to separately verify the credentials of their representatives. The Third Estate, however, voted to invite the other estates to join them in verifying all the representatives of the Estates-General in common and to agree that votes should be counted by head. Fruitless negotiations lasted to 12 June when the Third Estate began verifying its own members. On 17 June,
13936-400: The popular movement had effectively issued a challenge to the whole of Europe; internally, the declaration of war and overthrow of the monarchy radicalized the Revolution. If the Revolution was to survive it would have to call on all of the nation's reserves. A second revolution had, indeed, occurred, ushering in universal suffrage for men and, in effect, a republic. However, it did not have
14070-457: The protestors broke into the royal apartments, searching for Marie Antoinette, who escaped. They ransacked the palace, killing several guards. Order was eventually restored, and the royal family and Assembly left for Paris, escorted by the National Guard. Louis had announced his acceptance of the August Decrees and the Declaration, and his official title changed from 'King of France' to 'King of
14204-430: The rentier and mercantile classes, while the living standards fell for wage labourers and peasant farmers who rented their land. Economic recession from 1785, combined with bad harvests in 1787 and 1788, led to high unemployment and food prices, causing a financial and political crisis. While the state also experienced a debt crisis, the level of debt itself was not high compared with Britain's. A significant problem
14338-598: The representation of the Third Estate, but left the question of counting votes for the Estates-General to decide. The Estates-General contained three separate bodies, the First Estate representing 100,000 clergy, the Second the nobility, and the Third the "commons". Since each met separately, and any proposals had to be approved by at least two, the First and Second Estates could outvote
14472-582: The republican spirit to revolutionary fury. Insurrection threatened to break out on the 26 July, again on the 30 July. It was postponed both times through the efforts of Pétion, who was to present the section petitions to the Assembly on 3 August. On 4 August, the section of the Quinze-Vingts, the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, gave the Legislative assembly an ultimatum: until 9 August to prove itself. Of
14606-548: The rest of the ladies-in-waiting departed the palace in about the same way, and all passed safely out. The total losses on the King's side were perhaps eight hundred. Out of the nine hundred Swiss on duty at the palace only about three hundred survived the fighting, and of these an estimated two hundred either died of their wounds in prison or during the September Massacres that followed. A further three hundred Swiss Guards had been sent to Normandy to escort grain convoys
14740-577: The revolution were a combination of social, political, and economic factors which the ancien régime ("old regime") proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and widespread social distress led to the convocation of the Estates General in May 1789, its first meeting since 1614. The representatives of the Third Estate broke away, and re-constituted themselves as a National Assembly in June. The Storming of
14874-447: The river, which could prevent any combined movement on their part. Pétion, the mayor of Paris, Roederer the prosecutor of the Paris department, and Mandat, the commander of the National Guard and the officer in charge of the troops detailed for the defense of the Tuileries. Pétion professed that he had to come to defend the royal family; but at about 2 a.m., hearing himself threatened by a group of royalist gunners, he obeyed summons to
15008-469: The royal bodyguard, and were welcomed with a formal banquet as was common practice. The radical press described this as a 'gluttonous orgy', and claimed the tricolour cockade had been abused, while the Assembly viewed their arrival as an attempt to intimidate them. On 5 October, crowds of women assembled outside the Hôtel de Ville , agitating against high food prices and shortages. These protests quickly turned political, and after seizing weapons stored at
15142-514: The royal family left the palace only in the company of Princess de Lamballe and Madame de Tourzel , the remaining ladies-in-waiting were gathered in a room in the queen's apartment, and when they were spotted, a man prevented an attack upon them by exclaiming, in the name of Pétion: "Spare the women! Don't disgrace the nation!" As the queen's entire household was gathered in her apartment, this may also have included female servants. Campan also mentioned two maids outside of this room, neither of whom
15276-496: The ruling elite , and indecisive policy by Louis XVI and his ministers, the result was a crisis the state was unable to manage. Between 1715 and 1789, the French population grew from 21 to 28 million, 20% of whom lived in towns or cities, Paris alone having over 600,000 inhabitants. This was accompanied by a tripling in the size of the middle class, which comprised almost 10% of the population by 1789. Despite increases in overall prosperity, its benefits were largely restricted to
15410-415: The sound of firing, wrote on a scrap of paper: "The King orders the Swiss to lay down their arms at once, and to retire to their barracks." To obey this order in the midst of heavy fighting meant almost certain death and the Swiss officers in command did not immediately act upon it. However, the position of the Swiss Guard soon became untenable as their ammunition ran low and casualties mounted. The King's note
15544-514: The source of legitimate authority was more apparent in the provinces, where officers of the Ancien Régime had been swept away, but not yet replaced by new structures. This was less obvious in Paris, since the National Guard made it the best policed city in Europe, but disorder in the provinces inevitably affected members of the Assembly. Centrists led by Sieyès, Lafayette, Mirabeau and Bailly created
15678-552: The state assumed responsibilities such as paying the clergy and caring for the poor, the sick and the orphaned. On 13 February 1790, religious orders and monasteries were dissolved, while monks and nuns were encouraged to return to private life. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 12 July 1790 made them employees of the state, as well as establishing rates of pay and a system for electing priests and bishops. Pope Pius VI and many French Catholics objected to this since it denied
15812-518: The throne. He was determined to defend the Tuileries. His supporters had anticipated and prepared for the attack long beforehand, and were confident of success. A plan of defense, drawn up by a professional soldier, had been adopted by the Paris department on 25 June: for it was their official duty to safeguard the Executive Power. The palace was easy to defend. It was garrisoned by the only regular troops on either side—950 veteran Swiss mercenaries of
15946-590: The triumph of the Revolution, now seemed likely to lead it to disaster. On 2 September the alarm gun was fired and drums beat the citizens to their Sections again. The City walls of Paris were plastered with recruiting posters whose opening sentence, "To arms, citizens, the enemy is at our gates!" was taken literally by many readers. In the Assembly, Danton concluded the most famous of all his speeches: "De l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace, et la France est sauvée!" ("Audacity, and yet more audacity, and always audacity, and France will be saved!") Once more
16080-460: The warm and virtually unanimous support that the nation had offered the first. Events since 1789 had brought difference and divisions: many had followed the refractory priests ; of those who remained loyal to the revolution some criticized 10 August while others stood by, fearing the day's aftermath. Those who had participated in the insurrection or who approved it were few in number, a minority resolved to crush counter-revolution by any means. Among
16214-424: The windows of the château and stood motionless. The two bodies confronted each other for some time, without either of them making a definitive move. A few of the assailants advanced amicably, and, in what was taken by the revolutionaries to be a gesture of encouragement, some of the Swiss threw some cartridges from the windows as a token of peace. The insurgents penetrated as far as the vestibule, where they were met by
16348-463: Was " Vive le roi, s'il est de bon foi! ", or "Long live the king – if he keeps his word". Although a minority in the Assembly, control of key committees allowed the Brissotins to provoke Louis into using his veto. They first managed to pass decrees confiscating émigré property and threatening them with the death penalty. This was followed by measures against non-juring priests, whose opposition to
16482-440: Was a defining event of the French Revolution , when armed revolutionaries in Paris , increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy , stormed the Tuileries Palace . The conflict led France to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic . Conflict between King Louis XVI and the country's new revolutionary Legislative Assembly increased through the spring and summer of 1792 as Louis vetoed radical measures voted upon by
16616-423: Was criticised by Jacobin radicals for the severity of his actions. Growing disorder meant many professional officers either left or became émigrés, further destabilising the institution. Held in the Tuileries Palace under virtual house arrest, Louis XVI was urged by his brother and wife to re-assert his independence by taking refuge with Bouillé, who was based at Montmédy with 10,000 soldiers considered loyal to
16750-467: Was greeted by Bailly and accepted a tricolore cockade to loud cheers. However, it was clear power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people.' The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. Deputies argued over constitutional forms, while civil authority rapidly deteriorated. On 22 July, former Finance Minister Joseph Foullon and his son were lynched by
16884-620: Was killed despite a male member of the staff being murdered beside them. The ladies-in-waiting were, according to Campan, "escorted to prison." This is more or less confirmed in the memoirs of Pauline de Tourzel , who states that when the mob entered the chamber where the ladies-in-waiting were gathered, the Princesse de Tarente approached one of the rebels and asked for his protection for her colleagues Madame de Ginestous and Pauline de Tourzel, upon which he replied: "We do not fight with women; go, all of you, if you choose". Following this example,
17018-556: Was put upon the King and his ministers (the Austrian Committee), and after upon the Girondin party. The Legislative Assembly passed decrees sentencing any priest denounced by twenty citizens to immediate deportation (27 May), dissolving the King's Constitutional Guard , incorrectly alleging that it was manned by aristocrats (29 May), and establishing in the vicinity of Paris a camp of 20,000 fédérés (8 June). The King vetoed
17152-792: Was replaced by the French First Republic in September, and Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. After another revolt in June 1793 , the constitution was suspended, and adequate political power passed from the National Convention to the Committee of Public Safety , led by the Jacobins . About 16,000 people were executed in what was later referred to as Reign of Terror , which ended in July 1794 . Weakened by external threats and internal opposition,
17286-400: Was that tax rates varied widely from one region to another, were often different from the official amounts, and collected inconsistently. Its complexity meant uncertainty over the amount contributed by any authorised tax caused resentment among all taxpayers. Attempts to simplify the system were blocked by the regional Parlements which approved financial policy. The resulting impasse led to
17420-505: Was the constitutional mechanism for turning intentions into practical applications. On 9 July, the National Assembly appointed a committee to draft a constitution and statement of rights. Twenty drafts were submitted, which were used by a sub-committee to create a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , with Mirabeau being the most prominent member. The Declaration was approved by
17554-449: Was the largest individual landowner in France, controlling nearly 10% of all estates and levied tithes , effectively a 10% tax on income, collected from peasant farmers in the form of crops. In return, it provided a minimal level of social support. The August decrees abolished tithes, and on 2 November the Assembly confiscated all church property, the value of which was used to back a new paper currency known as assignats . In return,
17688-523: Was then produced and the defenders were ordered to disengage. The main body of Swiss Guards fell back through the palace and retreated under fire through the Tuileries Garden at the rear of the building. They were brought to a halt near the central Round Pond, broken into smaller groups and slaughtered. Some sought sanctuary in the Parliament House: about sixty were surrounded, taken as prisoners to
17822-487: Was transferred to Santerre. At about 7 a.m. the head of the federal column was seen debouching on the back of the palace, there was no one to order the defense. Louis, sleepily reviewing his garrison, "in full dress, with his sword at his side, but with the powder falling out his hair," was greeted by some of the National Guards with cries of " Vive la nation! " and " A bas le véto! ". Louis made no reply and went back to
17956-593: Was viewed as a triumph and Bastille Day is still celebrated every year. In French culture, some see its fall as the start of the Revolution. Alarmed by the prospect of losing control of the capital, Louis appointed the Marquis de Lafayette commander of the National Guard , with Jean-Sylvain Bailly as head of a new administrative structure known as the Commune . On 17 July, Louis visited Paris accompanied by 100 deputies, where he
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