EFFECTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Synopsis ; Causes for the French Revolution — happenings during the Revolution — effects of the Revolution — the National Debt _ adding to the problem of unemployment — passing of the Com Law _ ‘Anti Corn Law League — repeal of Corn Law — the Battle of Peterlog — Manchester massacre — Reform Bill of 1832 — Army and Navy becoming national institutions — how French Revolution influenced English literature. France was for years ruled by despots like Louis XIV. The kings ruled the country as, they. liked without caring for the good of the common people. As a result of this indifference of the autocratic monarchs there was famine and suffering all over the country. The popular upsurge against the tyranny of Kings culminated in the abolition of monarchy and the establishment of the French Republic. This great political event of far-reaching consequences is-.called the French Revolution. The French Revolution started with the breaking open of the State prison “Bastille” on 14th July 1789. The reign of terror that followed the beheading of King Louis XVI and his Queen ended only when Napoleon became Emperor in May 1804. In 1793 England was forced to declare war against the French Revolution because the French revolutionary rulers offered to help. all nations who wished to follow the example of the French and overthrow their Kings. The war continued: up to the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815 when Lord Wellington inflicted a crushing defeat on Napoleon. This prolonged war of twenty years had lasting effects on England. The most important and immediate effect was the huge National Debt. It has been estimated that the cost of the war from the beginning to the end was neal £ 1,000,000,000. The nation, which consisted of nineteen million people, had to-pay annually a large amount by way 6 interest. In 1815 the country had to raise £ 74,000,000 PY taxation alone, ¥ a fall the yf _ The peace that followed the war was the cause of | in the prices of coal and iron, Many men employed in a industry were thrown out of their jobs. After the signingthe peace treaty nearly half a million soldiers, sailors and others who had been engaged directly in the war were dismissed om active service. They added to the already swelling army of the unemployed. Thus the problem of unemployment became much more acute than before. During the twenty years of war there was no import of European corn into England and this caused the price of 4oorn to go high. But the agricultural lords stood to benefit by this. However, after the restoration of peace, the free flow of European corn was resumed which brought down the price of English corn. This was resented by the English agriculturists and so to protect their interest the Corn Law was passed in 1816 This had disastrous effects on the poor and especially in the time of famine. Their sufferings led to the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League, It was this association that was ultimately responsible for the repeal of the Corn Law in 1846 by the then Prime Minister Robert Peel. There was widespread discontent among poor people on account of various factors like low wages, high price of corn, and unemployment. There were fierce riots in many places and the Government authorities tried to put down these riots with an iron hand. In 1819 the magistrates of Manchester foolishly attempted to arrest a radical leader known as Orator Hunt at a large gathering in St. Peter’s Field. On meeting with resistance from the crowd the Government officer ordered a cavalry charge upon the unarmed mob. Eleven persons were killed and six hundred wounded. The event popularly called the Battle of Peterloo or the Manchester massacre was used by agitators to embarrass the Government. To get their grievances redressed the poor agitated for parliamentary reform and after much opposition from the lords the first Reform Bill was passed in 1832. Another effect of the French Revolution was that both Navy and Army were recognized as National institutions. The Battle of Trafalgar, won by Lord Nelson during the Revolutionary War (in 1805) highlighted the greatness of the English Navy. The victory was commemorated by renaming a part of London as Trafalgar Square where the statue of Nelson stands on a lofty column. Trafalgar Square, with its 51.5 metre column topped by the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson looking outto the River Thames, is one of the favourite tourist Spots in London. It is the traditional end of most protest marches and rallies in the capital. With the victories of Lord Wellington at Waterloo in 1815 on land the army became popular as it had never been before. Barracks were built to house the troops and the haphazard billeting of soldiers in public houses came to an end. This was done to the great relief of both the civilian population and the soldiers themselves. The French Revolution was a source of inspiration to many English writers for writing some of their best known works. Thus Edmund Burke was inspired to write his famous book “Reflections on the French Revolution’. Written in a style that is unique, Burke questions the propriety of the action of the revolutionaries in doing away with monarchy and making the National Assembly all powerful. He expresses the opinion that defective institutions of the old regime should have been reformed and not destroyed. In reply to this was written ‘Rights of Man’ in two volumes by Thomas Paine. In the first part of the book he upholds the idea that the Constitution of a country is an act of the people constituting the government and in the absence of such a written Constitution government is tyranny. Thus Paine takes pains to justify the French Revolution and traces the circumstances leading to the Declaration of the Rights of Man by the National Assembly. The second part of the book consists of proposals to improve the condition of Europe and England. These proposals, though considered to be too revolutionary in those days, were taken seriously and implemented by the democratic governments.in various countries of the world. Notable among these proposals are : a large reduction of administrative expenditure and taxation, provision for the aged poor, family allowances, allowances for the education of the poor, maternity grants, funeral grants, and limitation of armaments by treaty. _Another work of literary importance inspired by the same political event is the ‘French Revolution’ by Thomas Carlyle though considered by some as a very partial view of the Revolution, it is no doubt the poetic unrolling of a great historical melodrama illustrating the Nemesis that comes upon the oppression of the poor. The book also contains a gallery of magnificent Pen portraits of historical figures like Mirabeau,fayette, Danton, and Robespierre. ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ = Charles Dickens is yet another book which gives a true UF ae of Paris and London during the time of the French Revolution. The French Revolution ushered in a new era in the nistory of English literature. Coming when it did, English Romanticism should be considered as a by-product of the great political event. Romanticism or the Romantic movement started when Wordsworth and Coleridge together published the Lyrical Ballads in 1798. Wordsworth discarded the artificial style and showed by practice that beautiful poems could be written on ordinary subjects and in ordinary language. The see was completed by younger poets like Byron, Shelley and Keats.