The French Revolution -simplified

OP, there's literally a video ....

I team-teach an undergraduate course on modern European humanities where we spend a few weeks on the French Revolution. This is what we teach it to our students. it's brief and very clear.

OP, I've felt the same way.

Crash Course

There are 55 episodes (about 30-minute each) of Revolutions Podcast covering this particular revolution, if you're into that medium. Also available on YouTube. From the guy who created the famous The History of Rome podcast and kinda kicked off the whole historical podcasting movement.

There's also The Rest Is History podcast from two British historians. They did a single episode on it back in 2021, then decided to take a deep plunge last year and have released 17 episodes covering it so far, with long breaks in between. They're up to the execution of the king so far. Extremely informative and HIGHLY entertaining.

Man, those revolutionaries went all in, didn’t they?

I’ve read a couple of pieces on it. Some historians classify what happened in America as more of a rebellion as the way of life day to day did not drastically change but the French truly had a revolution as the order if the day, entire ways of life, even the calendar - were upended , some disappearing forever.

The French had the right idea.

The French did not have the right idea. The rich and powerful just came back. You can’t get rid of them, you can only replace them with new ones, and the odds that you are going to wind up on top are slim.

It was all fun and games, until the revolution began eating itself and suddenly the guillotine started falling on the revolutionaries themselves. I don't know how there was anyone still left in Paris by that point. And then the one-two punch with Napoleon right after...

R6, I don't think a Reign of Terror is ever a good thing. It wasn't a revolution, it was a mindless bloodbath. Weren't 16 cloistered nuns executed, one by one? That is fucked up beyond words.

Oh, shit:

"The Law of Suspects, passed in September 1793, allowed for the arrest and execution of anyone suspected of opposing the revolution."

"16,594 of these 'suspects' were formally executed after a trial, while around 10,000 died in prison, and thousands more were killed in various massacres staged across France. It is estimated that the total death toll during the ten-month Reign of Terror rests anywhere between 30-50,000."

Francis Poulenc | Dialogue des Carmélites | Finale & Salve Regina

The American Revolution significantly influenced the French Revolution by demonstrating that a revolt against a powerful monarchy could be successful, inspiring French reformers with ideas like popular sovereignty and constitutionalism.

And the American Revolution in turn was significantly influenced by French ideas of Enlightenment philosophy (originally British, but with added contributions of their own).

And of course Britain being in massive debt after the Seven Years' War, which led to higher taxes in the colonies, and Americans not returning the favour when France was on the brink of bankruptcy due to – among other things – giving out massive loans to the Americans for their revolution.

Indeed, r13! That is how history works

Yep. And it wasn't meant to be bitchy, I just love all these connections throughout history.

OP, read Simon Schama’s “Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution”. I couldn’t finish the first chapter, or maybe it was even the foreword, but you might be more successful.

[quote] The American Revolution significantly influenced the French Revolution by demonstrating that a revolt against a powerful monarchy could be successful

Where the French revolutionaries fucked up is not realizing that revolting against the king in your own country, which eradicates the national government in the process, is not the same as becoming independent from a king in a distant country.

Let them eat cake.

[quote]r18 = Let them eat cake.

Mais non, Toni, not even cake.

If you have the time and interest, I highly recommend season three of Mike Duncan's "Revolutions" podcast which is all about the French Revolution. I found it completely engrossing

R16, the Schama book is good but so padded like everything else he does. No complaints from me but he's a hard read for some people.

[quote]the French truly had a revolution as the order if the day, entire ways of life, even the calendar - were upended , some disappearing forever.

Yeah, their new calendar had 10-day weeks. How is that striking a blow for the little guy?

Vendémiaire - From September 22/23/24 to October 21/22/23. Its name evokes the grape harvest. The nickname "General Vendémiaire" will, for a time, be given to Napoleon Bonaparte who led the repression of the royalist uprising on the 13th of this month, in the year IV.

Brumaire - From October 22/23/24 to November 20/21/22. Its name evokes fogs. A famous date is 18 Brumaire Year VIII, the first day of Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, which continued into the next day.

Frimaire - From November 21/22/23 to December 20/21/22. Its name evokes cold.

Nivôse - From December 21/22/23 to January 19/20/21. Its name refers to snow.

Pluviôse - From January 20/21/22 to February 18/19/20. Its name evokes rain.

Ventôse - From February 19/20/21 to March 20/21. Its name evokes the wind.

Germinal - From March 21/22 to April 19/20. Its name evokes the development of sap. This month is the title of one of the most famous novels by french writer Émile Zola, published in 1885.

Floréal - From April 20/21 to May 19/20. Its name is related to flowering.

Prairial - From May 20/21 to June 18/19. Its name evokes the harvest of the meadows.

Messidor - From June 19/20 to July 18/19. Its name recalls the wheat harvest.

Thermidor - From July 19/20 to August 17/18. Its name evokes heat. A historic date is 9 Thermidor year II, the day of the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, who will be guillotined the next day.

Fructidor - From August 18/19 to September 16/17. Its name evokes fruits.

It’s good for British people to be reminded what happens when you overthrow the monarchy, looking at the examples of Russia and France (in addition to their own history). It’s better to avoid a Reign of Terror by retaining the monarchy.

r24 Dumbest argument ever against abolishing the monarchy, especially in modern times. The Reign of Terror was an anomaly, not the rule. Also, Nicholas II was a truly terrible monarch, regardless of the shit that went down afterwards.

And lastly, modern British rulers (say, post-William IV) are mere tourist attractions, they have zero bearing on anything and aren't really comparable to monarchs of the 18th and even 19th century.

I was always somewhat hazy about the French Revolution. I knew the general outline but wasn’t clear on what exactly caused it. This book, which is incredibly readable, explained it very well.

At the "far from simplified" end of the scale: This one is detailed and perhaps difficult, but is a classic of English literature and a very memorable and emotional reading experience. I read it earlier this year, and found it gave me insights about our current political situation.