French Revolution: A History from Beginning to End

by Hourly History, Hourly History

Discover the remarkable history of the French Revolution...Free BONUS Inside!During the late years of the eighteenth century, the spirit of Enlightenment thinking and revolution were in the air. The world was changing, moving away from ingrained beliefs about religion, reason, society, and the rights of the individual and turning more towards the laws of nature as interpreted by the scientific method. Nowhere was the influence of this radical new way of thinking more apparent than in France, and the upheaval this caused would come to bloody fruition in the form of revolution.Explore the triumph and terror that existed in France during the French Revolution. Review the causes and the lasting effects brought about during this tumultuous time period when the common people of France struggled to remake their world upon the cornerstone of liberty. Discover a plethora of topics such asAn Environment of RevolutionThe EstatesRise of the Third EstateThe Rights of ManWriters and ReformersCaptives in ParisVive la Revolution!And much more!So if you want a concise and informative book on the French Revolution, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, Ebooks, Historical

100 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 4, 2016

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Srikar · Rating 4 out of 5]

My previous knowledge of the French revolution comes from internet memes. A decent addition to that.

TL;DR:


(image credit: Starecat.com)

[Anil Swarup · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot has been written about the French Revolution, its causes and impact. However, what this book brings forth is a succinct factual details about the events that led to the French Revolution. It does not judge the events and leaves it to the reader to arrive at his own conclusions.

[Young Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief and clear in plain English, but not more than an old "textbook" history of the Revolution.

This review is working as the next sequence of my previous book review of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War), followed by the long Goodreads review of the Thirty Years’ War.

(Kindle Ed. pp. 3-4)
..."Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God," and "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety,"...Across the Atlantic, Enlightenment thinking had inspired the thirteen American colonies to revolt against British rule by refusing to abide by taxation passed without representation among other injustices...made him a popular figure in France when he visited as America's diplomatic representative to secure aid from the French government. The French monarchy contributed more than a billion livres, troops, and naval support to support the American Revolution...

These famous American dicta popular in France at the same time prove the American Revolution did influence the French Revolution. But I don't understand; why did the French monarch support the American Revolution? Because it wasn't about the ideas, but about the hegemonic struggle between the French and British. Like I said in the reviews of the History of Thirty Years' War, the ideas and cause were only to hook and win the people's support. It was the decision makers who actually initiated the war for power.

(Kindle Ed. p. 4)
...It is assumed that this generosity was based in large part on King Louis XVI's hatred for England after the English took over most of France's colonial territories, including Canada, France's foothold in the New World, in the Seven Years War. Another motivating factor was the possible recovery of those territories should the Americans prove successful. An army of French soldiers and a large French naval fleet would play deciding roles in the American struggle for independence, particularly the French naval blockade against the dominant British navy and the French forces that took part in the eventual British surrender at Yorktown...

And as always…not always, but many times, the exact lines that support my analysis follow right behind.

(Kindle Ed. p. 5)
...the example of successful revolution were well received by the French citizens who were struggling under the inept and extravagant rule of King Louis XVI.

So the loss of the global hegemony to Great Britain was the real cause of the downfall of French monarchy, like that of Habsburg-Spain was due to the rise of Bourbon-French monarchy.

(Kindle Ed. p. 6)
...Beyond the money and the expenses of providing personnel, military and naval support to support the American revolutionaries, the French treasury was severely strained by the losses sustained during the Seven Years War, as well as the exorbitant debt incurred by the monarchy during the reign of the king's father and his grandfather, who had spared no expense redesigning the royal hunting lodge in the forest around Versailles into one of the largest palaces in the world simply because he wanted to get away from the stress of life at the palace in Paris...

So this review is to see how the French global domination declined, while that of the Thirty Years’ War was to see her rise.

(Kindle Ed. p. 6)
The tense situation was only exacerbated when bad weather and poor harvests in the mid-1780s caused a food shortage. Most damaging was the shortage of bread, which was the main source of food for the poor peasants of France. It was the traditional responsibility of the king to make sure the peasants had an adequate supply...

It was clearly a form of a harsh economic recession to the people like the Great Depression between the First and Second World Wars. And like I pointed out in the long review of the Thirty Years’ War, the daring and risky uprisings happen when the situation is turbulent under the old master’s rule.

(Kindle Ed. p. 7)
...Food prices soared as supply was even scarcer and the overtaxed citizens of the Third Estate, which made up ninety-eight percent of the total population, were starving and angry. Change was inevitable, and when it came, it was terrifying.

(Ibid, p. 8)
The first estate consisted of the clergy, including all churches and all of the king's clerics. The clergy was exempt from paying any taxes due to their religious standing. Citizens were required to pay a tenth of their income to the church as tithes that maintained the lifestyle of the First Estate.

Yet France fought on the side of the Reformation in the early First Global War. That's why I say it wasn't really a religious war, but the most secular war in history. Look, until the era of Science really kicked off, the clergies were the people of knowledge due to their position as the mediators between the Heaven and Earth. Before the advent of Christianity it was the Shaman priests and priestesses called the wizards and witches.

Anyway the rule of these religious leaders in France too was about to end with the decline of the French hegemony.

(Kindle Ed. p. 9)
...The Second Estate consisted of France's aristocracy, those considered to be of noble birth. This group also did not pay taxes, except during wartime, and even then it was usually not enforced. As many in the aristocracy were also landlords and owners of mills, wine presses, and bakeries, the common people were required to pay rent on land they farmed and taxes on the equipment they used, and this money maintained the lifestyle of the members of the Second Estate.

What's so funny and sad about the reality, I’ve found reading these lines, is people do not underline the clergies’ corruptions, but only the noble aristocracies’. Religion still rules the world. It will never go away as long as we the Humans remain emotionally dependent.

(Kindle Ed. pp. 9-10)
The Third Estate included merchants, artisans, peasants, and all the rest of the working class. This group carried most of the tax burden of the nation. In difficult times when harvests were poor, the taxes were devastating and peasants would often starve to death during a harsh winter. The system set up rigid classes of people and allowed for very little mobility. Generally, a person was expected to live as a member of the class into which they were born. Members of the Third Estate were blocked from holding even the lowest position of power in government that would allow them to improve quality of life. It was also impossible for the Third Estate to make changes within the law to better their situation, because the first two Estates together held the power to overrule any changes that would negatively affect their wealth and power...

Sounds familiar? This is why the Protestants had to fight the old-established Catholic rules in the European wars of religion, a significant part of which is known to us as the Thirty Years’ War, so that they could have more lands under their new titles, which also led to more seats in Diet to give them more chance to make laws and rules.

(Kindle Ed. p. 11)
...All three pushed for reforms to economic and judicial policies, reflecting the general depression in the economy, but the Third Estate wanted major policy changes, including equal representation in government as opposed to the upper classes having all the power and none of the tax burden. Predictably, the three groups could not agree on reforms that would take power and privilege away from the clergy and aristocracy. Frustrated by the stalemate, the Third Estate met separately and formed the National Assembly to formulate their goals for the meeting of the Estates General. They took on the task of writing a new constitution for France...

Seriously what's the difference between the conflict of the Thirty Years' War and this one?

(Kindle Ed. pp. 11-12)
...the King, concerned by the direction the National Assembly was heading, especially with regard to taxes, ordered the building they had been using as a discussion space to be locked in an attempt to block the meeting. The group rightly feared that this was a precursor to ending the meeting of the Estates General without effecting any changes...

(Ibid, p. 12)
...what would become to be known as the "Tennis Court Oath," vowing not to disband, even if the King ended the formal assembly of the Estates General, until they had achieved the constitutional reform...

(Ibid, p. 12)
...Because many of the representatives of the clergy and the nobility joined the cause, King Louis was forced...

It was just like the Peace of Westphalia forced upon the German Emperor at the end of the European wars of religion (1524-1648) and the Dutch War of Independence (1568-1648).

(Kindle Ed. p. 10)
As a further step in the plan to deal with the worsening economic situation and public unrest...

French economy was really in a muddy pit at the time, and no one can deny that it was the ultimate cause of the Revolution.

Here’s a lesson for our time: You can’t say China can’t be a threat for global instability or possible future war because its growing economy is getting unstable. The unstable economy is the reason why the rising power, with a lot of expectations from the people and promises from the leaders, is the biggest potential initiator of the next global war.

The French Revolution was part of the Second Global War, where Great Britain toppled the old French global dominance with the new order called the Congress of Vienna, which would work as the base for the European Imperialism until the rising German unification and challenge whose consequence was the breakout of the Great War in the early-20th century.

In the 18th century the century-old global hegemon France’s army was the best in Europe at the time. It was like today's U.S. military in the world stage.

(Kindle Ed. p. 33)
Not long after, in September 1792, the French military at last achieved their first major victory and pushed back an invasion of allied Austrian and Prussian forces near the northern town of Valmy. After being cut off from their supply lines by some clever maneuvers on the part of the French army, the Prussian infantry forces found themselves in a battle with the canons of a well-placed French division...

Besides the advanced weapons, equipments, tactics and training the French army also found her new advantage in numbers thanks to the Revolution.

(Kindle Ed. p. 34)
In 1793, several more nations became involved in the war. Spain, the United Provinces, and Great Britain joined Austria and Prussia in the First Coalition against the French Revolutionary government. The Legislative Assembly responded to this by declaring a levy en masse, meaning all Frenchmen were to be at the disposal of the French army. This tactic allowed the French to raise large armies quickly in order to fight off the impressive group of powers arrayed against them. The armies that took the field were in fact, larger than those typically seen in Europe up to this point.

The biggest difference of the First Global War from the other global wars was its mercenary soldiers, and the concept of the massive “sovereign-citizen” forces emerged with the Revolutions in America and France in the late-18th century firmly settling through the following Napoleonic War in the early-19th century causing the unification of Italy and Germany in the mid-19th century.

(Kindle Ed. p. 32)
..."Chant de guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin," or, in English, "War Song for the Army of the Rhine". This song, with its stirring call to protect the homeland, soon became the anthem of the French Revolution. The name was changed after a group of volunteer citizen soldiers...

It was the era of contract-based loyalty under the old feudal order no more. Finally the era of modern nationalism and patriotism was born. Now not just the professional mercenaries fought the war, but all the citizens felt the duty to fight for their nation.

And as I expected the book loses one star here.

(Kindle Ed. pp. 33-34)
...Unexpectedly, and seemingly miraculously to the French, the Prussian army broke off the attack and left the field. The invading force managed a hasty circuitous retreat and was pushed back well beyond the border of Rhine river. The famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was with the Prussian army and witnessed the rout. Writing about the event, Goethe stated to his comrades, "From this place, and from this day forth begins a new era in the history of the world, and you can all say that you were present at its birth." Indeed, the French army did take full advantage of the change in the tide of war. The retreat of the Austrian and Prussian army allowed French forces to push into Germany and Belgium and capture important territories there.

Just like I pointed out in the previous review Samuel Gardiner’s “Thirty Years’ War”, people believe it was a miraculous victory because the “renowned” writer Goethe said so. He, like a good writer, was just being emotional watching that victorious “citizen” volunteers singing patriotic songs, and that was, yes, something no one at the time had ever seen before in the good, old European Continent.

However, he wasn't a military expert. The French military leaders and their equipment were still the French, the best in Europe at the time, and especially the French artillery was the best in the world.

The old "grand armée de la France" with a talented commander, Napoleon Bonaparte, was of course prevailing over all other armies of Europe. We often forget that it was Napoleon’s French Empire, not Great Britain, the newly-born United States purchased the massive land of Louisiana territory from. Despite the losses of her colonial territories to Great Britain during the Seven Years’ War, French Empire still had one of the biggest overseas territories among all the European powers.

(Kindle Ed. pp. 50-51)
...although the country continued to war with her neighbors, the French army now met with unprecedented success. By the spring of 1795, France had been victorious against the allied forces of the coalition on every front. The French army had pushed into territories around Amsterdam and the Rhine, and even into the Pyrenees. Prussia, one of the first nations to take up arms against France, had been forced to leave the coalition and already signed a separate peace treaty with France. With the French army threatening coalition positions in northern Italy, General Napoleon Bonaparte was given command. Napoleon was able to force Austrian and Sardinian forces in Italy to sign the treaty of Campo Formio ceding the Austrian Netherlands to France and creating the Cisalpine and Ligurian republics in Italy. This success was followed by the establishment of republican regimes in Rome, Switzerland, and the Italian Piedmont. Unfortunately for France, Napoleon’s string of successes would end when Admiral Nelson and the British fleet destroyed the French navy in Egypt at the Battle of the Nile.

You can find the detailed story of the Great Battle of Trafalgar (1805) in my book Admiral Lee and the First Global War.

(Kindle Ed. p. 55)
...Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Hobbes, "Men look not at the greatness of the evil past, but the greatness of the good to follow..."

So I wrote the books of new history to understand and prepare our future better and right.

Lastly there are some facts we learn from this significant history.

(Kindle Ed. p. 17)
...The commander was beheaded, possibly by a baker using a small bread knife, and his head was placed on a pike and paraded around the city as a symbol of the victory.

(Ibid, pp. 21-22)
...Previously, common people were often executed on the breaking wheel, which had originally been designed as a torture device, or they were hanged. Beheading via axe or sword was a method of execution reserved for condemned aristocrats as it was thought to be less painful and more dignified, even though it often required multiple strikes from the headsman before the head was removed and the execution complete. Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, himself an opponent of capital punishment, recommended several changes to the practice of execution, including that all condemned criminals, regardless of status or crime, would be executed humanely in the same manner...

This kind of brutality was still a norm, not only in France, but in the globe in the 18th century.

(Kindle Ed. p. 19)
...and the right to property.

So democracy does come with capitalism...inseparable.

(Kindle Ed. p. 25)
..."Man, are you capable of being fair? A woman is asking: at least you will allow her that right. Tell me? What gave you the sovereign right to oppress my sex?"...

She should have called for the very fairness not based on sex, but on intelligent, insightful capability of individuals who could pick the right leaders as their representatives not to ruin their own kids' future.

(Kindle Ed. p. 26)
...Olympe de Gouges also spoke out for all who had been left out of the promise of equality, including women and slaves. Her plays spread the ideas of women's rights and the rights of black slaves throughout Europe and even into the newly created United States of America. Because her writing was critical of the National Assembly, even though supportive of their ideas, she was accused of treason. She was convicted and executed along with many other so-called "enemies of the state" by guillotine during the period of the Reign of Terror.

What a great revolution...it was used for those who wanted to grab the power by hooking up the population using not their reason and conscience, but their agitated emotion. They were only the replacement of the old rulers, nothing more, nothing less. Seriously do we learn nothing from history?

I find this book cliché, blindly following the earlier opinions of the old historians.

(Kindle Ed. p. 41)
The execution of Louis XVI was the first time a monarch had been tried and executed by his own people. The King was dead; long live the Revolution. There was no turning back.

Then what was the English King Charles I's execution? And no turning back? Where did go Emperor Napoleon I, three following French monarchs and one more French Empire, which lasted until the country was beaten by a foreign power in 1870?

We tend to be excited and proud of Revolution as we’ve been taught that way, but I wouldn’t support the following events just because it was the people’s Revolution.

(Kindle Ed. p. 45)
The violence became extreme to the point that failing to wear tricolor ribbons showing support for the Revolution or even using the wrong form of address—the outdated Madame or Monsieur instead of the new title, "Citizen,"—when speaking was justification for immediate arrest and execution. The mob now saw popular violence as a political right and thus an immediate expression of patriotism. One of the worst moments of this violent expression was the prison massacre that occurred in September 1792. A mob of citizens dragged around two thousand prisoners, including priests and nuns, from their cells and summarily executed them...

What's the difference between this and life in North Korea?

(Kindle Ed. p. 46)
As the death toll rose, public executions became a popular event with the citizens of Paris. They were considered entertainment, attracting large crowds to the renamed Place Louis XV, now called the Place del la Revolution, where the guillotine held grim pride of place. Vendors in the crowds sold programs listing the schedule of executions taking place throughout the day. Many families brought children to witness the violent events...

This sounds just like the forced reforms in North Korea calling any resistance defending their possessions they had earned with honest, hard work “counter-revolutionary criminals.”

[Estifanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"𝘼𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙪𝙞𝙨 𝙓𝙑, 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙖 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.

𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨."

This book describes the French Revolution with great detail. I got to know a lot that I never knew beforehand.

4⭐

[Saurabh Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." —Napoleon Bonaparte
The revolution which gave us the term like a fraternity, equality and gave birth to the movement which ended the rule of colonialism. There was a divide in the class which consisted of the clergy as the first estate who was exempted from paying the taxes and were eligible for all the privileges. The second estate was aristocracy which gave taxes only during the wartime, last group which included merchants, artisans, peasants carried the most tax burden on their shoulders. these divide in the group was one of the reasons for resentment among the citizens.
As a result of the subsequent happenings, we came to know about ‘tennis court Oath’ which emphasized on the unity. The revolt by the citizens and aid which they received by the soldiers show us that if the policies of the state are not good then the state has to face repercussion from the soldiers also who are fighting for the state.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the citizens were adopted which made the situation even worse. After this history was created by the people of France where they executed the then King of the Nation Louis XVI.
This revolution changed the history of France and impacted the whole world in one or the other way.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

""History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."

"—Napoleon Bonaparte"
****

Mostly well written, mostly good.

But -


At one point author indulges in a false diatribe justifying terror by redefining the word and attaching virtues to it not only fraudulently, but quite unnecessarily.

"If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the patrie."

This is fraudulent argument.
***

"France, during this period and indeed for centuries past, was a society based on the feudal system and was organized into three estates. This division was set up along the ancient lines of "those who pray, those who fight, and those who work.""

And yet the fraudulent West equated caste system with India, pretending that such things existed nowhere else, while in fact caste was not only entrenched in social structure of European lands, it was across every profession, and there was no way someone born in poverty could rise to one's capabilities - until French Revolution brought Napoleon to top by churning the social structure and throwing away the concrete top layers to clear a flow.
***

"The first estate consisted of the clergy, including all churches and all of the king's clerics. The clergy was exempt from paying any taxes due to their religious standing. Citizens were required to pay a tenth of their income to the church as tithes that maintained the lifestyle of the First Estate. Local churches remained poor as funds were sent on to church leaders in Paris, so the people knew their money was not being used in their communities."

And yet, fraudulently, West heaped the accusations on India's men of religious and intellectual life, the Brahman community - despite the rule bring completely reverse in Indian culture, and no upper castes allowed to charge for services rendered, while only bring able to accept what anyone could afford to offer in gratitude of one's own will.
***

"The Second Estate consisted of France's aristocracy, those considered to be of noble birth. This group also did not pay taxes, except during wartime, and even then it was usually not enforced. As many in the aristocracy were also landlords and owners of mills, wine presses, and bakeries, the common people were required to pay rent on land they farmed and taxes on the equipment they used, and this money maintained the lifestyle of the members of the Second Estate."

Whereas royals and common soldiers are on par, as warriors, in caste system of India, without ownership of property and land as such inherent to caste and birth. They have a duty to protect all unarmed and civilians, but no right to levy charges for any services rendered, either.
***

"The Third Estate included merchants, artisans, peasants, and all the rest of the working class. This group carried most of the tax burden of the nation. In difficult times when harvests were poor, the taxes were devastating and peasants would often starve to death during a harsh winter. The system set up rigid classes of people and allowed for very little mobility. ... "

Very unlike the caste system of India, where the merchants again were expected and instructed only yo charge a minimal fair surcharge, but artists and artisans had no restrictions, and the "rigid classes of people and allowed for very little mobility" was not at all true of India- as evident in in not only the great epics of India but in the very stories of the lives of the great writers of those epics.
***

... Generally, a person was expected to live as a member of the class into which they were born. Members of the Third Estate were blocked from holding even the lowest position of power in government that would allow them to improve quality of life. It was also impossible for the Third Estate to make changes within the law to better their situation, because the first two Estates together held the power to overrule any changes that would negatively affect their wealth and power. ... "

Which was all in complete opposition of what was true of caste system, not only social culture of India but of the very Dharma, which was Law And more.

" ... With the guidance of Enlightenment thinking, the members of the Third Estate were beginning to realize the system needed to be changed in order for their lives to change."

Whereas in India, Enlightenment was prior to Vedas and encoded in scriptures then on, apart from spiritual Enlightenment.
***

""The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant."

"—Maximilien Robespierre"

And look at the very author of the most beloved and revered Raamaayana, whose author was a low born fisherman, turned thug and killer looting wayfarers, who was transformed into a sage who wrote of the great God descended as Ideal Ruler for people.
***

""Freedom is a gift from heaven, and every individual of the same species has the right to enjoy it as soon as he is in enjoyment of his reason."

"—Denis Diderot"
****

[Brian Bigelow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good short book that pulls in a lot of useful information on the French Revolution. I'll note I would have liked it expanded a bit more but it wouldn't be a one hour read then. Very well written and thoroughly readable.

I received a copy from the publisher.

[Thom Swennes · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is keeping them ignorant.”
Maximilien Robespierre
The Age of Enlightenment kick-started an age of individual thinking. Simply accepting the teachings of the church and the monarchical institutions that had held Europe in their iron grips of total power were slowly showing their inherent flaws. The American Revolution showed that even, arguably the most powerful nation in the world could be defied and wins their independence; and this by mere common citizens, working together for one widespread goal. Perhaps, greatly inspired by the North American success, spores of revolution began growing in France; the winds of change were blowing.
The Feudal system, that still remained ingrained in French life, recognized a society consisting of the Three Estates of the Realm. The First Estate was that of the clergy. Most Frenchmen were Roman Catholic and the church, under the guidance of the pope, held a unique position of power in France. The Second Estate consisted of the nobility, including royalty (except for the monarch, who held a lone position above the estates), and they enjoyed both the power and wealth enjoyed by most of their contemporaries throughout Europe. The Third Estate, divided into two groups and comprising 98% of the population consisted of everyone from soldiers, farmers, and bakers to merchants, cobblers, and candlestick makers. In 1789 an estimated 27,000,000 people comprised the Third Estate. In that pivotal year, the adoption of the Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen (based in part on the US Declaration of Independence) by the National Assembly, effectively ended the feudal system that had existed for centuries.

There is no denying that the French Revolution was a violent and bloody revolution of power. What had once started in 1776 with the colonies Declaration of Independence, continued with the 1789 French storming of the Bastille, continued (although much more subtly) in Great Britain. All too soon, with the help of the industrial revolution, the power, prestige, and significance of British nobility declined.

[Anirudh · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most iconic revolutions that has shaped the Modern World is the French Revolution. People keep talking about it all the time, references are made, but with all that said, how much do we actually know about the revolution? This is a short history about the 18th century event from Hourly History.

The book starts mentioning the class system in France and how it is designed in a manner in which the Clergy and Aristocracy would always be in a position to oppress the working class. Moreover, the lavish lifestyles of the royalty and their decision to live in the far off Versailles rather than the city kept them even further away from the reality of the lives of ordinary people. Added to that, with the renaissance in Europe augmented by philosophers such as Rousseau, Marat and Robespierre, a revolution to overthrow the regime was just beginning.

The book covered all the aspects that were necessary for the reader to understand a gist of the French Revolution – starting with the events leading to the revolution, the alienation of the king, the success of the revolutionaries, the brutalities of the succeeding government and the eventual takeover by Napoleon. This book also covered the reaction from the other kingdoms of Europe. I also liked it as to how the book did not try to absolutely glorify the revolution and brought out the misdeeds of the revolutionaries as well.

However, they could have been a little more elaborate about the philosophies that inspired the rebellion. This book was in fact a few pages shorter than the normal length of books that comes from Hourly History.

Overall, it is a good read for those who want a glimpse of the French Revolution and I award the book a four on five.

[Reid Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has an outlandish historical inaccuracy which needs to be corrected. The author erroneously states that the execution of Louis XVI is the first time a monarch was tried and executed by his own people. This is blatantly false, as Charles I of England was tried and executed during the Cromwellian depositions in 1649. I also believe at least one of the Plantagenets was tried and executed, perhaps it was John, but I may just be thinking of Edward II who was rumored to be gay and as a result was supposedly murdered in prison by having a red hot poker inserted in his rectum.

To place such a ridiculous inaccuracy in what purports to be a history book is unacceptable. I have no doubt there are examples of other emperors/kings. At least the following Roman emperors were executed: Macrinus, Diadumenian, Anthemius, Phocas, Leontis, Tiberius III, Justinian II.

[CRG · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”—Jean Jacques Rousseau

“Nature never deceived us; it is we who deceive ourselves.”

“I’m not made like any of those I have seen. I venture to believe that I am not made like any of those who are in existence. If I am not better, at least I’m different.” —Jean Jacques Rousseau

Jean Jaques Rousseau, was the man who lighted up most of the ideas that are today’s fundamentally in the USA 🇺🇸 many of Rousseau’s enlightenments are today practicing in our country. As the fundaments of the Declaration of Independence that our Founding Fathers recreated. His political philosophy has influenced the progress in our society and perhaps the world.

[Clyde Macalister · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an insatiable reader of history in all places and times, I should have read more about the French Revolution by this point in my life.

I have decided, before reading The French Revolution: From Enlightenment to Tyranny by Ian Davidson and Thomas Carlyle's 1837 history of that event, as I plan to do soon, I felt this mini-history would offer a great preparation for these books.

My assumption was justified. This book was not only concise but ideally "proportionate" in the sense of neither overemphasizing nor underemphasizing the various components of the subject matter.

My only read disappointment is its failure to even mention, let alone discuss, George-Jacques Danton.

[Patricia S Winchel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puts the French Revolution in Perspective

I found this very helpful in understanding how the financial state of France, after spending huge sums to support America in defeating their enemy, Great Britain, was bankrupt. The clergy and the royalty paid no taxes but lived well while the common people were starving, and the elite were not willing to bear any of the burden or help the people so why did they need a king! The rebellion led to the executions of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, the Reign of Terror and the Revolution.

[London Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to familiarize yourself with the very basic facts of the French Revolution, or if you need a little reminder, this short work does its job to competency. Considering its shortness, it's not the best on the subject and not the worst on the subject, which is to be expected. I got what I expected to get out of it, at the very least.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Outline Of One Of The Most Influential Times In History

I have just finished reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and I wanted to review just what had happened during the time the story was set. I haven’t reviewed the French Revolution since high school and this book gave an excellent synopsis of the time. It is clear, concise, and interesting .

[Trinia Dickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start on the subject.

Great overview of events. Provides for understanding of events that took place without all the fluff.
Well written, it ignites an interest in continued research on the subject.

[Ashwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good piece of history by hourly history.

Good book on French revolution. There was lot of blood shed during the reign of terror by the jacobins. The three estates were nullified and equality and freedom was restored. Good piece of history.

[Harry Trumfio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good quick overview of an absolutely world shaking event in history. Some insight provided to the characters who drove the revolution and the failure that happens when narcissism takes over the leadership.

[Miah Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hourly history are a head start.

You're going to get the important events, they're pointed out so you will know what or who to research more. This series is like Spark Notes (for those of us who remember them), but free.

[N.A.K. Baldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Mentioned Napoleon without getting off track like so many others. A perfect precursor to modern French history. A great read as usual from Hourly History.

[Rob Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice and interesting short read with useful facts and dates. I’ll be reading more hourly history books.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

For what this is, a one hour audiobook re:the French Revolution, it covered the highlights as well as can be expected, and fulfilled the purpose for which 9 was listening to it.

[Shaun Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction

The author does a magnificent job of filtering a very complex historical event into a concise, highly readable summary of the French Revolution.

[foghorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

Good basic and concise summary of the French Revolution. I recommend the book for anyone with limited knowledge of French history.

[Johnny Tyrrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. I really enjoyed this book

I really enjoy these books by hourly history. They are a easy read and full of information.
A great way to learn about history.

[Robert Kapitsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Understanding of the French Revolution

You will learn things about the French Revolution. It also happens to show what happens when one person is given absolute power.

[Jeff Sibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting quick read... helped better understand the revolution and the catalyst for it. Worth the time to read.

[Lyndon Hepner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always worth it

Very informative and I always find a bit of information that I didn’t already know. That, alone make the read worth the small amount of time invested.

[Thomas Mihalchick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and informative

As usual for a Charles River edition, this is s well documented and informative book. This isn't the complete story, but leave you wanting to more more.

[diane nwanna nkpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This is a good summary of the French revolution. We can only know about the present by looking into the past. Good read