法国大革命英文翻译

French Revolution

The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period of radical social and political upheaval in

French and European history. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed

in three years. French society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic and

religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from liberal political groups and the

masses on the streets. Old ideas about hierarchy and tradition succumbed to new Enlightenment

principles of citizenship and inalienable rights.

The French Revolution began in 1789 with the convocation of the Estates-General in May.

The first year of the Revolution witnessed members of the Third Estate proclaiming the Tennis

Court Oath in June, the assault on the Bastille in July, the passage of the Declaration of the Rights

of Man and of the Citizen in August, and an epic march on Versailles that forced the royal court

back to Paris in October. The next few years were dominated by tensions between various liberal

assemblies and a conservative monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms. A republic was

proclaimed in September 1792 and King Louis XVI was executed the next year. External threats

also played a dominant role in the development of the Revolution. The French Revolutionary Wars

started in 1792 and ultimately featured spectacular French victories that facilitated the conquest of

the Italian peninsula, the Low Countries and most territories west of the Rhine—achievements that

had defied previous French governments for centuries. Internally, popular sentiments radicalized

the Revolution significantly, culminating in the Reign of Terror from 1793 until 1794 during

which between 16,000 and 40,000 people were the fall of Robespierre and the

Jacobins, the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795 and held power until 1799,

when it was replaced by the Consulate under Napoleon Bonaparte.

The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. The growth of

republics and liberal democracies, the spread of secularism, the development of modern ideologies

and the invention of total war[citation needed] all mark their birth during the Revolution.

Subsequent events that can be traced to the Revolution include the Napoleonic Wars, two separate

restorations of the monarchy and two additional revolutions as modern France took shape. In the

following century, France would be governed at one point or another as a republic, constitutional

monarchy and two different empires.

Causes

Adherents of most historical models identify many of the same features of the Ancien Régime as

being among the causes of the Revolution. Economic factors included hunger and malnutrition in

the most destitute segments of the population, due to rising bread prices (from a normal eight sous

for a four-pound loaf to 12 sous by the end of 1789),,after several years of poor grain harvests.

The combination of bad harvests (due to abnormal/severe weather fluctuations) and rising food

prices was further aggravated by an inadequate transportation system which hindered the shipment

of bulk foods from rural areas to large population centers, contributing greatly to the

destabilization of French society in the years leading up to the Revolution.

Another cause may have been France's near bankruptcy as a result of the many wars fought

by previous rulers, as well as the financial strain caused by French participation in the American

Revolutionary War. The national debt amounted to almost 2 billion livres. The social burdens

caused by war included the huge war debt, made worse by the loss of France's colonial

possessions in North America and the growing commercial dominance of Great Britain. France's

inefficient and antiquated financial system was unable to manage the national debt, something

which was both partially caused and exacerbated by the burden of an inadequate system of

taxation. To obtain new money to head off default on the government's loans, the king called an

Assembly of Notables in 1787.

Meanwhile the royal court at Versailles was perceived by many as being isolated from, and

indifferent to the hardships of the lower classes. While in theory King Louis XVI was an absolute

monarch, in practice he was often indecisive and known to back down when faced with strong

opposition. While he did reduce government expenditures, opponents in the parlements

successfully thwarted his attempts at enacting much needed reforms. Those who were opposed to

Louis' policies further undermined royal authority by distributing pamphlets (often reporting false

or exaggerated information) that criticized the government and its officials, stirring up public

opinion against the monarchy.

Many other factors involved resentments and aspirations given focus by the rise of

Enlightenment ideals. These included resentment of royal absolutism; resentment by peasants,

laborers and the bourgeoisie toward the traditional seigneurial privileges possessed by the nobility;

resentment of the Church's influence over public policy and institutions; aspirations for freedom of

religion; resentment of aristocratic bishops by the poorer rural clergy; aspirations for social,

political and economic equality, and (especially as the Revolution progressed) republicanism;

hatred of Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was (falsely) accused of being a spendthrift and an

Austrian spy; and anger toward the King for firing Jacques Necker, among others, who were

popularly seen as representatives of the people.

Pre-revolution

Financial crisis

Louis XVI ascended to the throne amidst a financial crisis; the nation was nearing bankruptcy and

outlays outpaced income. This was because of France’s financial obligations stemming from

involvement in the Seven Years War and its participation in the American Revolutionary War. In

May 1776, finance minister Turgot was dismissed, after he failed to enact much needed reforms.

The next year, Jacques Necker, a foreigner, was appointed Comptroller-General of Finance. He

could not be made an official minister because he was a Protestant. Necker realized that the

country's tax system, which was perceived as quite regressive, subjected the lower classes to a

heavy burden; while numerous exemptions existed for the nobility and clergy. He argued that the

country could not be taxed higher, that tax exemptions for the nobility and clergy must be reduced,

and proposed that borrowing more money would solve the country's fiscal shortages. Necker

published a report to support this claim that underestimated the deficit by roughly 36 million livres,

and proposed restricting the power of the parlements. This was not received well by the King's

ministers and Necker, hoping to bolster his position, argued to be made a minister. The King

refused, Necker was fired, and Charles Alexandre de Calonne was appointed to the

Comptrollership. Calonne initially spent liberally, but he quickly realized the critical financial

situation and proposed a new tax code. The proposal included a consistent land tax, which would

include taxation of the nobility and clergy. Faced with opposition from the parlements, Calonne

organised the summoning of the Assembly of Notables. But the Assembly failed to endorse

Calonne's proposals and instead weakened his position through its criticism. In response, the King

announced the calling of the Estates-General, for May 1789, the first time the body had been

summoned since 1614. This was a signal that the Bourbon monarchy was in a weakened state and

subject to the demands of its people.

Estates-General of 1789

The Estates-General was organized into three estates, respectively: the clergy, the nobility, and the

rest of France. On the last occasion that the Estates-General had met, in 1614, each estate held one

vote, and any two could override the third. The Parlement of Paris feared the government would

attempt to gerrymander an assembly to rig the results. Thus, they required that the Estates be

arranged as in 1614. The 1614 rules differed from practices of local assemblies, wherein each

member had one vote and third estate membership was doubled. For instance, in the province of

Dauphiné the provincial assembly agreed to double the number of members of the third estate,

hold membership elections, and allow one vote per member, rather than one vote per estate. The

"Committee of Thirty," a body of liberal Parisians, began to agitate against voting by estate. This

group, largely composed of the wealthy, argued for the Estates-General to assume the voting

mechanisms of Dauphiné. They argued that ancient precedent was not sufficient, because "the

people were sovereign." Necker convened a Second Assembly of the Notables, which rejected the

notion of double representation by a vote of 111 to 333. The King, however, agreed to the

proposition on 27 December; but he left discussion of the weight of each vote to the

Estates-General itself.

National Assembly (1789)

On 10 June 1789 Abbé Sieyès moved that the Third Estate, now meeting as the Communes

(English: "Commons"), proceed with verification of its own powers and invite the other two

estates to take part, but not to wait for them. They proceeded to do so two days later, completing

the process on 17 June. Then they voted a measure far more radical, declaring themselves the

National Assembly, an assembly not of the Estates but of "the People." They invited the other

orders to join them, but made it clear they intended to conduct the nation's affairs with or without

them.

In an attempt to keep control of the process and prevent the Assembly from convening, Louis

XVI ordered the closure of the Salle des États where the Assembly met, making an excuse that the

carpenters needed to prepare the hall for a royal speech in two days. Weather did not allow an

outdoor meeting, so the Assembly moved their deliberations to a nearby indoor real tennis court,

where they proceeded to swear the Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789), under which they agreed

not to separate until they had given France a constitution. A majority of the representatives of the

clergy soon joined them, as did 47 members of the nobility. By 27 June, the royal party had

overtly given in, although the military began to arrive in large numbers around Paris and Versailles.

Messages of support for the Assembly poured in from Paris and other French cities.

Storming of the Bastille

By this time, Necker had earned the enmity of many members of the French court for his overt

manipulation of public opinion. Marie Antoinette, the King's younger brother the Comte d'Artois,

and other conservative members of the King's privy council urged him to dismiss Necker as

financial advisor. On 11 July 1789, after Necker published an inaccurate account of the

government's debts and made it available to the public, the King fired him, and completely

restructured the finance ministry at the same time.

Many Parisians presumed Louis's actions to be the start of a royal action against the

Assembly and began open rebellion when they heard the news the next day. They were also afraid

that arriving soldiers—mostly foreign mercenaries—had been summoned to shut down the

National Constituent Assembly. The Assembly, meeting at Versailles, went into nonstop session to

prevent eviction from their meeting place once again. Paris was soon consumed by riots, chaos,

and widespread looting. The mobs soon had the support of some of the French Guard, who were

armed and trained soldiers.

On 14 July, the insurgents set their eyes on the large weapons and ammunition cache inside

the Bastille fortress, which was also perceived to be a symbol of royal power. After several hours

of combat, the prison fell that afternoon. Despite ordering a cease fire, which prevented a mutual

massacre, Governor Marquis Bernard de Launay was beaten, stabbed and decapitated; his head

was placed on a pike and paraded about the city. Although the fortress had held only seven

prisoners (four forgers, two noblemen kept for immoral behavior, and a murder suspect), the

Bastille served as a potent symbol of everything hated under the Ancien Régime. Returning to the

Hôtel de Ville (city hall), the mob accused the prévôt des marchands (roughly, mayor) Jacques de

Flesselles of treachery and he was butchered by the mob.

The King, alarmed by the violence, backed down, at least for the time being. La Fayette took

up command of the National Guard at Paris. Jean-Sylvain Bailly, president of the Assembly at the

time of the Tennis Court Oath, became the city's mayor under a new governmental structure

known as the commune. The King visited Paris, where, on 17 July he accepted a tricolore cockade,

to cries of Vive la Nation "Long live the Nation" and Vive le Roi "Long live the King". Necker

was recalled to power, but his triumph was short-lived. An astute financier but a less astute

politician, Necker overplayed his hand by demanding and obtaining a general amnesty, losing

much of the people's favour. He also felt he could save France all by himself, despite having few

new ideas.

As civil authority rapidly deteriorated, with random acts of violence and theft breaking out

across the country, the nobility began to leave France as émigrés, some of whom started plotting

civil war and agitating for a European alliance against the Revolution.

By late July, the spirit of popular sovereignty had spread throughout France. In rural areas,

many commoners began to form militias and arm themselves against a foreign invasion: some

attacked the châteaux of the nobility as part of a general agrarian insurrection known as "la

Grande Peur" (the Great Fear). In addition, wild rumours and paranoia caused widespread unrest

and civil disturbances that contributed to the collapse of law and order.