Question
To what extent did social problems contribute to the outbreak of the French Revolution?
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates are required to consider how far social problems contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution. It is likely that they will consider other factors in their responses and gauge the significance of social problems in the wider context; however, there is no prescribed response.
Indicative content
• Social problems may be interpreted widely. They may include the divisions within French society into the three estates and the unequal treatment that these experienced, for example, in taxation. Alternatively they could be taken to mean the increasing wealth (without any accompanying political influence) of the bourgeoisie in the later 18th century.
• For balance, candidates could argue that political and/or economic problems were more important causes of the Revolution.
• For economic problems, they could highlight the poor harvests of the 1780s, although this had a social impact, for example the food riots in early 1789. The financial problems of the French state, aggravated by French intervention in the American War of Independence, could be seen as an additional economic problem.
• For political problems, candidates could draw upon the impact of ideas of the Enlightenment. They could also focus on the role of Louis XVI, the decision to summon the Estates General and the Tennis Court Oath of June 1789.
• Some candidates may note the interplay of different types of factors as a cause of the Revolution.
Question
Examine the reasons for the failure of the Constitution of 1791.
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates must demonstrate a clear understanding of why the Constitution failed to stabilize politics in France during this period, despite the king having accepted the Constitution that had been drawn up by the National Assembly between 1789 and 1791 and when some believed that the Revolution was over.
Indicative content
• The constitutional settlement collapsed on 10th August 1792 (the attack on the Tuileries). The Convention was elected and France was declared a Republic in September 1792.
• The role of the monarchy was significant; although the king had signed the new constitution, he appeared to want it to fail, hoping he could regain power. He failed to work consistently with “moderates” such as Lafayette.
• Royalist exiles (who advised the king) also had an important role; they were opposed to the concessions the king had made and did not want the constitutional monarchy to work.
• Within the Legislative Assembly there was a lack of political experience. None of the members of the National Assembly who had drawn up the Constitution were permitted to serve in the new Legislative Assembly (“self-denying ordinance”) and there were divisions within it between Feuillants, Brissotins and Jacobins.
• Outside the assembly, especially in Paris, there was a growing radicalization of politics (for example Marat in L’Ami du Peuple and Hébert in Le Père Duchesne) as a consequence of press freedom.
• The international situation could also be argued to have been significant: war with Austria was declared in April 1792; France was invaded in July 1792 and the Brunswick Manifesto was also issued that month. French military failures may also have featured, for example the fall of Longwy and Verdun led to a widespread belief that the French military effort was being sabotaged by a pro-Austrian committee linked to the Court.
• Economic problems also existed, with inflation and grain riots; the assignat fell to 47 per cent of its face value in March 1792.
Question
“Failure to solve the political challenges of the ancien régime caused the French Revolution.” Discuss.
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates are required to consider the merits or otherwise of the argument that the French Revolution was caused by the failure to resolve the political problems of the ancien régime. Other possible causes of the Revolution could also be discussed such as economic and social factors and the impact of new ideas from the Enlightenment.
Indicative content
- The political challenges of the ancien régime may be interpreted broadly. They could include the weakness of Louis XVI, the unpopularity of the queen, the division of French society into the three estates and the rising power of the bourgeoisie. They could also cover the various attempts at earlier reform, for example, by Turgot, as well as the events of 1789 such as the Tennis Court Oath and the fall of the Bastille.
- For balance, candidates could argue that economic problems were more important causes of the Revolution and/or that Enlightenment ideas played a key role.
- For economic problems, they could discuss the poor harvests of the 1780s and/or the food riots in early 1789. There were also the financial problems of the French state, aggravated by French intervention in the American War of Independence, although arguably this factor could also be tied to political challenges.
- Enlightenment ideas, again linked in some cases to French experience in the American War of Independence, could also be argued to have played a significant role in the genesis of the Revolution.
- Candidates may note the interrelated nature of various types of factors and argue that it was a combination of factors that caused the Revolution.
Question
“Napoleon’s domestic and foreign policies underwent major change after his coronation as Emperor in 1804.” Discuss.
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates will focus on Napoleon’s domestic and foreign policies before and after his coronation as Emperor and examine to what extent there was continuity and change in these policies before and after that event. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument. Candidates should be able to discuss continuity and change for both foreign and domestic policy and should not focus solely on one of these areas.
Indicative content
- Napoleon was crowned Emperor on 2 December 1804 in the presence of Pope Pius VII, famously taking the Crown from the hands of the Pope and crowning himself.
- Candidates could argue this question in several different ways. There are arguments that after 1804 Napoleon moved away definitively from being the inheritor of the Revolution, for example, the decision to re-establish an aristocracy and the growing opulence of the Imperial Court.
- In foreign policy, there are many instances of a more aggressive foreign policy after 1804. In 1805 the Italian Republic was replaced by the Kingdom of Italy, of which Napoleon made himself king, and Liguria and Parma were both annexed to France. In 1806, in the case of Germany, the Confederation of the Rhine was established under Napoleon’s leadership. In addition, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Kingdom of Holland with Napoleon’s brother Louis being made king. There was also the invasion of Spain in May 1808, with another of Napoleon’s brothers, Joseph, being made king of Spain.
- Another point of view could be to suggest that his coronation did not really make much difference in that he had already moved away from the Revolution. Domestically, he had already been named First Consul for life in 1802 and had the right to choose his successor.
- Foreign policy, it might be argued, was already expansionist and already did more than merely defend the Revolution. Examples to support this view could include the French annexation of Piedmont and the reoccupation of Switzerland (Act of Mediation), which both took place in 1802.
- Although candidates may focus their arguments in terms of the extent to which Napoleon moved away from the ideals of the Revolution, this is just one possible line of argument. Candidates could also focus on discussing foreign and domestic policies, before and after the coronation, without direct reference to the ideals of the Revolution.