Question

Write a report on how french revolution influenced the other countries of the world in terms of ideology political sphere and ecnomic sphere

Answer 1

Hi,

Your answer :
I. $\underline{Revolutionary}$ contagion
• At the end of the 18th century, France is at the forefront in Europe: it is the most populous country, its army enjoys a very high reputation. This dominant position explains the strong diffusion of the French language and that of the ideas developed by the Enlightenment philosophers.
• The first days of the French Revolution are a real enthusiasm for democracy advocates in neighboring countries. For these members of the intellectual elite, 1789 marks the beginning of a new era for Europe. Uprisings inspired by the French experience take place in the Austrian Netherlands, the Rhineland, Savoy and even Hungary. In 1790, Avignon, territory controlled directly by the pope, asks for its attachment to France.
• At first, European monarchs pay little attention to these movements that are quickly and severely repressed. The French army is weakened by the exile of its noble officers (who choose emigration). On May 22, 1790, the National Constituent Assembly voted a "declaration of peace to the world" which reassured the European sovereigns. But on September 13, 1791, France decided to annex the territories of the pope: Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin.
II. The revolution at war
• France declared war on April 20, 1792. After some failures, the French army, reinforced by volunteers, managed to stop the Prussian army in Valmy, September 20, 1792. Much later, Goethe, witness to the battle , writes: "From this place and from this day is a new era in the history of the world". Indeed, the attitude of the French revolutionaries changes radically. In November 1792, the Convention declares that it will "give fraternity and help to all peoples who want to regain their freedom".
• The certainty of holding political truth and justice leads to revolutionary expansionism. The French Revolution is then a model for Europe. In contradiction with the principle according to which each people disposes of itself, the French armies leave to impose their reforms in the neighboring countries
• When they enter Belgium, the Rhineland or Savoy, the soldiers of the Revolution are first welcomed as liberators: they abolish the feudal levies.
• "Nobody likes armed missionaries," says Robespierre in 1792. Quickly the European patriots are disappointed. France is actually waging a conquest war to reach its "natural borders" (the ocean, the sea, the great mountain massifs and especially to the east, the Rhine, hence the annexation of Belgium and France). part of the Rhineland). In the Netherlands and Italy, she founded sister republics, who are in reality forced allies of France. The latter levies heavy taxes to finance its army. The liberator quickly becomes an oppressor, which encourages the formation of nationalist movements. Revolutionary expansionism unites the European states against France. The first coalition was formed in 1793.
III. Sustainable transformations
• In all states subject to French influence between 1789 and 1815, the Ancien Régime was abolished, totally or partially. The dissemination of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen ensures the equal rights of citizens. Very often constitutions inspired by the French model are put in place: these representative regimes, where the powers are separated, sometimes allow the emergence of a real political life.
• Administrative systems are streamlined, the state is secularized. This last measure permanently attracts the hostility of European Catholics against France. The most lasting contribution is the Civil Code, adopted by the French Empire in 1804 and distributed by Napoleon in all the annexed territories. Even today, vestiges of this "Napoleonic Code" remain in French law and in that of several European states.
• Despite obvious hostility against the French occupation, the French reforms remain in place after the Emperor's dismissal in 1815. In regions where the aristocracy is powerful, as in Eastern Europe, resistance to these reforms is more important; the changes are more real in the regions dominated by the bourgeoisie, in northern Italy or in the Rhineland.

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