After 1778, prices fell by 10 years due to the end of the American War of Independence. This was originally a good thing for ordinary people, but the prices of industrial and agricultural raw materials also fell with the decline in prices. In order to reduce this loss, big landlords increased feudal taxes and passed them on to small farmers. Farmers' net income lost from land is far greater than their gains from falling prices. Therefore, since the 1970s and 1980s of 18, there have been many "bread wars" in France to rob the bakery. It just disappears every time because the price drops slightly. Poor civilians don't have much sense to think about how to express their dissatisfaction in a reasonable way. They often take the most direct way to satisfy their desire for bread by robbing the bakery. During the continuous poor harvest from 1787 to 1789, the prices of wheat and bread soared. 1788, the bread per pound in Paris changed from 10/65438+3 sous in October to 3.5 sous in 1789. Although necker, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has imported a lot of grain and sold it at a loss. According to the wage level in Paris at that time, the price of bread as a staple food should not exceed 2 sous per pound. Therefore, this is the source of hostility of low-income people who are barely making ends meet to the government. No wonder, after the revolution broke out, instead of pursuing freedom and democracy, they kept shouting for bread (1789, 10 The women's movement on June 5th, that is, a group of housewives who were in charge of household income and expenditure walked from Paris to Versailles to ask for bread).
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The first issue of the Forum of Historical Outlook Society ―― Lecture notes on some viewpoints of the French Revolution
We generally think that the French Revolution was a bourgeois revolution initiated by the bourgeoisie. There is no doubt that the Great Revolution was indeed a bourgeois revolution, but the outbreak of the revolution had nothing to do with the bourgeoisie, and it began with "aristocratic rebellion". This view may be heard less, but it is not new. Robespierre proposed it as early as 200 years ago. Chateaubriand once said: "The nobles launched the revolution and the civilians won the revolution."
The so-called "aristocratic rebellion" refers to the oligarchy dominated by the judiciary, which used the power of the High Court to defend the orders issued by the king's government and struggled around the rationality of the government's tax expansion policy.
Similar to Britain, when Charles I tried to raise taxes, he had to convene parliament in the hope of getting permission. In France, from 65438 to 0789, due to years of military operations (North American War of Independence), France was in debt of 4 billion lithium. Calona, the king's finance minister, tried to ensure the country's fiscal revenue by expanding stamp duty and generally collecting land tax according to the annual land output. But these must be submitted to the Paris High Court.
Except for a few princes, dukes and bishops, the aristocratic court is the main deliberative body of the High Court, and most of them are young judges (mostly under the age of 35). Some of these young aristocratic judges tried to defend their ancient power against the government; Some of them were inspired by the Enlightenment and post-revolutionary constitutionalism in North America, and they also hoped to implement constitutional reform in France. Therefore, faced with the policy of Carona and his successor Burian, the young aristocratic judge only agreed to relax the restrictions on grain sales and exports and set up a provincial council, but opposed the key stamp duty and flatly refused the land tax, so the first fierce competition between the aristocratic court and the king's government was launched. As a result of the competition, the king was forced to withdraw the laws on stamp duty and land tax, and the court won. Young judges lit bonfires in the city to celebrate, boasting that they were defenders of traditional freedom. Lovely people soon became the supporters of the judges and participated in their celebration, so the celebration quickly turned into a commotion. When it rose, it burned the simulated image of Carona. The riot lasted for a week under the arrest of the government, which was the first large-scale mass riot in the capital since the 1775 food riots. In this turmoil, which can be called the prelude to the Great Revolution, except lawyers, there is still no bourgeois participation, only our nobles and urban civilians.
Another great achievement of aristocratic rebellion was the convening of the third-level meeting and the coming to power of necker, a supporter of reform, which was precisely the fuse of the following turbulent revolution.
Perhaps here, we should stop and think about why the bourgeoisie was not the first to launch a struggle against the old system in France at that time, but aristocratic judges and ordinary people enjoyed various privileges. This doesn't seem to fit the image of bourgeois revolution in our impression.
In fact, during most of the18th century, France's economic development was very prosperous. Mercantilism began in the17th century and was promoted by Li Sailiu, korbel and others, which promoted the remarkable development of French commerce. Especially shipbuilding, overseas trade, textile and other industries. When analyzing why the industrial revolution first occurred in Britain, it was also pointed out that "in terms of business, during the period of 1763 (Britain and France), the two countries were roughly equal, or if there were differences, France was slightly ahead." While the industrial revolution was in full swing in Britain, it also began to affect France sporadically. From 1733 to 1778, industrial and agricultural products gradually increased, and prices also rose steadily. These economic developments ultimately benefited the bourgeoisie the most. At the same time, wealthy families in France spent a lot of energy and money in exchange for the name of "noblesse de robe", so the bourgeoisie at this time did not have much complaints and dissatisfaction except for a few radical factions. Dissatisfied only with the buyers of wheat and bread, and young aristocrats who are interested in reforming France.
After 1778, prices fell by 10 years due to the end of the American War of Independence. This was originally a good thing for ordinary people, but the prices of industrial and agricultural raw materials also fell with the decline in prices. In order to reduce this loss, big landlords increased feudal taxes and passed them on to small farmers. Farmers' net income lost from land is far greater than their gains from falling prices. Therefore, since the 1970s and 1980s of 18, there have been many "bread wars" in France to rob the bakery. It just disappears every time because the price drops slightly. Poor civilians don't have much sense to think about how to express their dissatisfaction in a reasonable way. They often take the most direct way to satisfy their desire for bread by robbing the bakery. During the continuous poor harvest from 1787 to 1789, the prices of wheat and bread soared. 1788, the bread per pound in Paris changed from 10/65438+3 sous in October to 3.5 sous in 1789. Although necker, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has imported a lot of grain and sold it at a loss. According to the wage level in Paris at that time, the price of bread as a staple food should not exceed 2 sous per pound. Therefore, this is the source of hostility of low-income people who are barely making ends meet to the government. No wonder, after the revolution broke out, instead of pursuing freedom and democracy, they kept shouting for bread (1789, 10 The women's movement on June 5th, that is, a group of housewives who were in charge of household income and expenditure walked from Paris to Versailles to ask for bread).
As for the judicial-led aristocratic rebellion, it has already been mentioned. One is that from the sun king Louis XIV, the French monarch reached the peak of autocracy, and the phrase "I am a country" is enough to express everything. Because of this, the high court, which has always been in the position of having the right to consider the king, has naturally been greatly suppressed. Fortunately, under the active reform of Mokpo and others (Mokpo judicial reform in 1960s and 1970s), some rights were restored. The Grand Court was reserved as a special court to hear royal cases, and the aristocratic court (which was later called "Mokpo Supreme Court") also played the role of the national law registration agency, and was given the right to defend the law, that is, to defend the king's legislative model rather than the substance. The aristocratic judges of the court naturally did not want their hard-won rights to fail again, so they actively intervened in the king's legislation, especially a series of sensitive fiscal policies before the revolution. The other is that most of our young judges are inspired by the Enlightenment, and they also hope that they can contribute to the country's constitutionalism. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the king proposed to abolish the privilege of nobles not paying land tax and generally levy land tax according to the annual output of land, which is also one of the reasons for the dissatisfaction of nobles. So the judges questioned the way the king convened the powerful meeting, demanding that the law must be formulated by the three-level meeting, and the struggle began.
At this point, we can probably understand that, from a microscopic point of view, the winner of the French Revolution was dissatisfied with the low-income people because of the great changes in prices, and then evolved into turmoil and revolution, as well as aristocratic rebellion caused by the aristocratic court's resistance to the king's tax expansion policy. The simple people became active together with the encouragement of the nobles and began to launch a strong resistance against the old system. Out of control.
Next, let's learn about the experience of this magnificent revolution itself. After reading a few books, the biggest impression of the whole revolutionary process is that it gives people a feeling of one after another, ebbing and flowing, and endless. One class takes over another class, and one faction takes over another. The revolutionary enthusiasm of the people in Paris is even higher than one wave after another. If you put yourself in the revolutionary life, all kinds of people and things in the revolution can easily make you fall into an embarrassing state of being fascinated by the authorities. Therefore, we should stand outside the chess game and observe the situation. We don't understand why the Great Revolution lasted for so long on such a large scale, and why French society had such a fierce social upheaval at this time. Social unrest naturally has factors that lead to anxiety. A large-scale and long-term turmoil like the Great Revolution cannot be caused by only one factor. It must be a mixture of many factors, just like a pile of complex chemicals piled up together. I can't figure out who told whom. All I know is that there must be a series of chain reactions at the dinner, so intense.
Next, I will explain the grandeur of the Great Revolution by discussing the social instability at that time.
The first is the serious escape of the nobility.
In the two months after the revolution, the government issued 200,000 passports. A large number of celebrities have taken refuge in other countries. It is difficult for us to know whether these fleeing nobles will counterattack abroad (in fact, some kings' younger brothers, Count artois and 179 1, held talks with the Austrian emperor in mantua on May 20th, and planned that the European monarchies would intervene in the French Revolution), but the escape itself has brought a depressing and chilly atmosphere to the revolution. The root of anxiety and the liquidation of nobles by civilians after the revolution began. While shouting "bread", farmers rushed into the houses of local nobles and burned the feudal obligation contracts that exploited them for thousands of years with the owners of the houses. In this way, the local nobles in rural areas were drowned in the passion and romance of the people. Although some of them really deserve to die, innocent people are not spared. When the countryside was in trouble, the nobles in the city naturally rushed to complain, so in order to protect themselves, the nobles could only choose to flee, whether they were the object of liquidation or not. So the rural cities fell into a state of chaos.
The second is the emotional change of the army.
In the great changes of society, only those officers who have mastered the army can turn the tide. However, in 1792, two-thirds of the officers in the French regular army had left their posts. The disappearance of these military leaders disoriented the army. Just like a temporarily unattended machine gun, anyone can mobilize its muzzle to aim at his enemy. This is undoubtedly dangerous. You never know which side this army is on. The situation is full of unknowns. They either continued to be loyal to the king, or "abandoned the darkness and turned to the light" to support the third level, and even became collaborators of domestic rebels and foreign intervention armed forces-during the third level meeting, the king tried to change the situation through the power of the army. So he mobilized a large number of troops from other provinces to surround Versailles and put pressure on the delegates. Regrettably, Princes Of Conti's army refused to shoot at Parisians protesting the expulsion of necker. Even the Royal Guard shouted the slogan "Long live the third grade-"on the streets of Paris.
The third is the activities of political clubs.
The main difference between political clubs and traditional aristocratic salons is that clubs are popular salons. Maybe we can call it the embryonic form of a political party. However, if the "political party" organization is not good, once lovely people join the terrible political struggle, they are likely to be used by politicians with ulterior motives through community organizations. The confused people have become the trump cards in the hands of cunning politicians, and everyone represents the voice of the people. Once people are used by organizations, their power is immeasurable.
The fourth is the liberalization of books, newspapers and periodicals publishing industry.
Obviously, the censorship system under the old system is necessary to some extent. It is precisely because of the complete abolition of the original censorship system that France suddenly entered the state of publishing liberalization. Hundreds of newspapers and magazines appeared in front of everyone at one time. The immature publishing writers and editors are either confused by their own talents or hired by money, and always promote violent and radical revolutionary colors to the people irresponsibly. Once a politician buys out a newspaper, a highly inflammatory propaganda means is opened. Good people gradually develop revolutionary interest in this kind of propaganda and agitation every day, and the revolutionary passion of the masses is also ignited.
The fifth is the state of local autonomy. The outbreak of 1789 summer and the national urban revolution have made all parts of the country temporarily autonomous. A complete France is divided into scattered 83 provinces and more than 40,000 towns, and the administrative agencies of the towns are directly placed at the bottom and among the people. On the surface, this is the ultimate expression of democracy, but if the so-called democracy is built on a fanatical revolutionary atmosphere, it will easily lead to grandstanding by revolutionary speculators, and democracy will become chaotic, thus hollowing out and overthrowing the foundation of the entire national structure. The rulers of the old society were driven away, and the people, led by their elected leaders, attacked the aristocratic residential fortresses and robbed and killed people at will. While releasing the revolutionary passion, the people stopped the whole moderate and orderly reform process and replaced it with a crazy revolution like a storm.
The sixth is the issue of social order.
This problem is difficult to explain. It is both a turbulent factor and a turbulent performance. It should be said that this is under the interaction of these two identities, and the result is fierce. Due to the constant depreciation of the index paper issued during the transformation of religious property, as well as the tense situation, hoarding of merchants and rising food prices, people's dissatisfaction is naturally rising. The social problems caused by this are wanton robbery and wanton murder, especially for nobles and bakery owners. It is often heard through various channels that so-and-so nobles were killed and shops were robbed there. Although some of them are hearsay, they are not credible, but they also reflect from the side that the social order of that day has disappeared. Teacher Huang Renyu commented that "at this time, France was close to Hobbes' primitive state, that is, the war between people".
Seventh, religious issues.
One of the most serious problems directly faced by the constitutional monarchy after it came to power is the fiscal deficit. The original tax system was almost abolished under the attack of ourselves and the people, but the new tax and financial system of our regime has not yet been established. So the new regime faced a huge financial crisis, and the national debt rose from 3 billion lithium to 4 billion lithium in 1789. So the thirsty new regime took a fancy to the church property under the old system 1789, 1 1 In June, the Constituent Assembly announced that all church property would be turned over to the state. 1790 in June ordered the auction of church property, and also ordered the cancellation of church tithes. This would have been meaningful to the new regime and people. But just as the Constitutionalists are complacent about their great achievements, an unexpected or unexpected consequence is about to be borne by them. After losing their property, pious and stubborn priests disdained to accept the "favor" of secular regime-1790 The Law of the People's Organization for Clerics promulgated by the government stipulates that the government should be responsible for all activities of the church; At the same time, the government pays teachers' salaries. Because the priests are unwilling to give up the wealth that originally belonged to them, which was given to them by God, they are also unwilling to accept the food of the secular regime. 1790165438+10. In October, the government issued a priest's order, requiring faculty and staff to swear allegiance to the national and state laws and fully safeguard the constitution promulgated by the National Assembly. This is tantamount to asking priests to change jobs from gods to secular regimes. Such a request was an insult to the priest, but it was strongly protested, and the Pope also protested. Pastors in China are also unwilling to be sworn in as "civil servants" of the country. /kloc-only 7 out of 0/60 bishops have taken an oath, and there are even fewer junior priests below. For those who refuse to take the oath, the constitutionalists are even more ridiculous. According to the regulations, you can stay or not, but you don't get paid. Pastors are even more humiliated by this indifferent attitude and the practice of "doing things without pay". As a result, a large number of priests fled because they could not stand the religious policy at home, and Christian members outside the country United against the French government. The priests who stayed in China wandered around the country, publicizing and encouraging people not to be misled by this blasphemous government. They even advocated not buying or selling church real estate or paying taxes to the government. At this point, a Catholic country split. A modern writer believes that this action "interrupted the unity of the whole country and the civil war began." Even after the revolution 19 and the 20th century, it was still one of the important sources of social and political unrest.
I would like to emphasize here that the key to religious issues is that religion has been a sensitive topic in the political situation all over the world until modern times. Religion did not disappear in the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the scientific and technological revolution as we imagined. On the contrary, it is still an important spiritual bond to maintain a nation and a country.
The above is what we are reading, or simply recording the words of our predecessors. The great revolution was magnificent, and its scope was beyond the energy of my poor life. The analysis of it is naturally a loophole. But what is certain is that it was the mixture of these unstable factors that led to the Great Revolution.
After watching the revolution, we should make an overall evaluation of the revolution. The French Revolution is an important page in the modern history of the world. The majestic momentum is even more awesome. It is not enough to describe it simply, and it is even more difficult to summarize and evaluate the myriad things in it. So, we can only stop here. Dare not be comprehensive and objective.
The Great Revolution swept the whole old society with its stormy revolutionary process, and its new national system was born again naturally. After reading several books by Mr. Huang Lao, I am used to imitating the old people and comparing the whole national system to the word "Li". The one-point horizontal line above naturally represents high-level institutions, the lower horizontal line is the grass-roots institutions of the country, and the two points in the middle represent the connection between the upper and lower legal systems (not only the legal system but also various ideological things such as customs and habits, etc.). ).
Now that Louis XVI was killed, it declared that the French monarchy was gone forever (of course, Napoleon's empire and later empires could not be included in the real monarchy empire), and it was replaced by a new political system, which we can call representative system or parliamentary system. It is characterized by representing the will of all the people and implementing a democratic government. Let's not talk about its actual situation, just say that it is completely different from the old system. At least there is no so-called "I am the country", no so-called aristocratic privilege, and everyone is equal in form. Legislation has also been standardized, and the parliament can basically handle state affairs correctly after the revolution. The tax system and the organization of the army were gradually established with the revolution and opposition to foreign armed intervention. These can be said to have a far-reaching impact on France in the future. In any case, no one can abandon this high-level state institution now.
Followed by subordinate institutions. Feudal contracts were also reduced to ashes in people's anger, that is, the public land was evenly distributed to farmers, feudal obligations were abolished, and equal and free social grassroots were established. During the reign of jacobins, thousands of Jacobin clubs were distributed all over the country, and the "street faction" from jacobins acted as the manager of the central government at the local level, which enabled various policies and affairs in the revolutionary period to be implemented at the local level. In the countryside after the revolution, all kinds of affairs can be carried out smoothly. In the words of Mr. Huang Lao, it is "creating the principle that all economic elements in the bottom organizations can be exchanged fairly and freely, laying the foundation for future digital management."
As for the intermediate links, they were established during or after the revolution. The most important achievement of constitutional monarchy is that it began to improve the legislative system. The promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has put all people on an equal footing, and the promulgation of the Constitution has put France on the road of constitutionalism, which is also a great contribution. From then on to the promulgation of Napoleon's civil code, it was a perfect process of contact between institutions and legal system in French society.
The whole reconstruction process was completed in just a few years, which is a remarkable thing. So in this process, we have to take some extreme measures. According to the extreme thinking of that day, if we don't kill all the nobles, we can't cut off the feudal tail, and if we don't include all the people, it can't be regarded as the Great Revolution ―― so the National Assembly executed Louis XVI with 366 votes to 36 1. In September, 792, the mob in Paris directly went to the prison and killed more than 1000 people. This may be a bloody ceremony to welcome the emergence of a new "child prodigy" ―― we have no right to ask whether it is worth it, but in short, the predecessors have paid for the future generations, so the future generations should also pay tribute to their ancestors in form, without mentioning come to a bad end. It seems that our predecessors are destined to make all sacrifices for their happiness, and future generations can accept their sacrifices without apologizing.
When we say "revolution", we originally wanted to "revolution" some people's lives, but when a "revolution" turned into "indifference to people's lives", as future generations, we had to re-evaluate the value of the "revolution" itself.