The Beginning of The French Revolution and The Revolutionary Process

Abstract

The French Revolution laid the foundations of modern state-society and state-individual relations. Although the revolution started unplanned at first, the developing events eliminated the political-social remnants of the Middle Ages, the French monarchy, and the balance of political powers in pre-revolutionary Europe. Ideas such as nationalism, equality, freedom and human rights, which were brought by the French Revolution and influenced by the American Revolution of Independence, spread to Europe. The ideas in question were against the monarchy, which was the form of government of the period. For this reason, it caused the important monarchies of the period, Austria, Prussia, Russia and England, to ally against France and fight for years until 1815. The revolution, which started with the inequality in French society and the economic bankruptcy of the state, gave the bourgeoisie, who were engaged in trade and became rich, the opportunity to show their power. The reason why the bourgeois wanted to show power against the privileged class, the nobles and the clergy, was that they were deprived of privileges.

The driving force of the revolution was the financiers who always financed monarchies in the historical process, and the desire to get rid of monarchies with which they often had problems. Financiers were able to reach an agreement with the French state at the beginning of the revolution against the monarchy in France. However, when Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and strengthened the central monarchy again, financiers turned to another monarchy, England. Although England was a monarchy, it was a more liberal country than France, and it sought to make agreements with financiers to solve financing problems in the wars against its rival France. As a result of the wars of revolution, France was defeated and turned into a constitutional monarchy. England, on the other hand, was victorious in Continental Europe and became stronger on land in addition to its power at sea. In this study, the process of the French Revolution and the financing of the war, which is an important issue of wars in this period, and the attitude of the financiers are discussed.