We all know we judge fake fans from real fans by if they think that the rebellion in Les Mis is about the French Revolution. But, and hear me out here, the French Revolution has a lot to do with Les Mis.

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Inspired by the alleged success of the American Revolution, it was my favorite trope: people fighting for their rights. A successful revolution is normally a good thing, and normally used as a prior example when it comes to inciting another revolution. Although no events in the book take place during the French Revolution, knowing French political history is extremely important in order to understand the state of the State.

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WARNING: You are about to read the most brief, most surface-level, least prepared explanation of the French Revolution. If I were you, I would absolutely not read this measly paragraph alone. There are some great sources that can teach you about the Revolution (which I highly recommend learning about prior to reading Les Mis), such as Khan Academy, history.com, or even this Lady Gaga-inspired piece.

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With my amateurishness asserted and my warning stated, let us begin.

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According to Wikipedia (it's called research, look it up), "The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval... [it] overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, catalyzed violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon...". Thanks Wikipedia, couldn't have said it better myself! And yes, I will consider donating to you, but then realize it's too much work to go get my debit card.

 

Anyway!

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Picture this: France just finished helping out Americans in the American Revolution. The government is millions in debt, and decides to raise money the only way it knows how--taxes. Are we seeing a pattern here?

 

Pre-Revolution

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Enlightenment ideals contributed to the Revolution. If you don't totally remember 10th grade European history, like me, here's a little refresher:

• It began at the death of Louis XIV (1715) and lasted until the beginning of the French Revolution (1789)

• It arose from Renaissance humanism (the idea that citizens should be well-educated, and thereby capable of virtuous actions)

• It undercut the previously universally-accepted authority of the monarchy and church

• It introduced the ideas of "liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government and separation of church and state" (s/o Wikipedia)

• Notable philosophers include Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant, Denis Diderot, and <3 Mary Wollstonecraft <3 (she gets hearts because she's a woman)

 

Before the Revolution, the French people were divided into three groups:

• The First Estate - The Clergy. Enjoyed luxuries at the cost of the third estate. Exempt from most taxation.

• The Second Estate - The Nobility. Typically wanted greater political influence for themselves. Enjoyed luxuries at the cost of the third estate. Exempt from most taxation.

• The Third Estate - The Common People (bourgeoisie, peasants, and urban workers). 98% of the people. Bore nearly the entire tax burden.

 

Louis XVI, AKA "The Done King" as per my tour guide in Paris, probably gave monarchy his best shot. Unfortunately for him and Austrian wife Marie Antoinette, they loved living lavish and had no idea how to rule. While the third estate was starving, XVI moved his palace to Versailles and demanded that women never repeat an outfit.

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Mid-1789, Tennis Court by Lorde was released. The third estate, featuring the new name of "National Assembly," found themselves locked out of a meeting (the Estates General) by the first and second estates. They thought King Louis XVI was forcing them to disband, and so went to a nearby indoor tennis court and took a pledge not to separate until there was a written French Constitution. All but one of 578 delegates signed the agreement...he just had to be different.

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XVI relented and allowed the third estate to join. This was yuge news, as the Oath was the first time French citizens had stood up to Louis XVI and caught that dub (not sure if I am using that correctly).

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Okay, so all of this was before the Revolution was officially considered "started." Reminder that while all this was happening, there was horrible social and economic inequality, a severe economic depression, and poor harvests, all of which led to a subsistence crisis. The first two estates kept their wealth, while the majority population starved. Enlightenment ideas found their footing.

 

The Beginning of the Revolution

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On 11 July 1789, finance minister Jacques Necker (also considered a representative of the people) was dismissed by a pressured XVI on the grounds of releasing an inaccurate account of the government's debts to the public. Parisians saw this as action taken against the National Assembly, and, naturally, took to chaos.

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Three days later, the Bastille of the Storming... Borming of the Stastille...Storming of the Bastille occurred. Insurgents had their sights on the large stores of weapons inside the Bastille, which conveniently happened to be a Symbol of Royal Power™. The prison fell, a general's head was decapitated and paraded around, and a mayor was butchered. So, a pretty average Tuesday. Tacos, anyone?

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Within a few weeks, an idea, and not a king, was reigning supreme: popular sovereignty, which is the concept that the government is created by the people in order to serve the people.

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Later that year, feudalism was abolished, the Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the first constitution was drafted, and France descended further in debt.

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1789 was a packed year for France. On the fifth of October, over 5,000 armed women marched on Versailles, killing several guards in the process. Which wave of feminism do we consider that?

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Intermission: This is turning out a lot longer than I expected it to be, but I guess that's what happens when you try to cover a ten-year revolution with little-to-no prior knowledge and a free trial subscription to Britannica.

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Later in Les Mis, Hugo throws around a lot of vernacular for political leanings, so here's as simple a breakdown as I can provide:

• The Right Wing: oppose the Revolution

• Royalist Democrats: want France to copy the British constitutional model

• The National Party: represent the center of the assembly, with some members representing more extreme views

• Maximilien Robespierre: he deserves his own tab because of his pure radicalism. Guillotined in July 1794.

• if you want a much more detailed breakdown, check this out.

 

In 1791, Louis XVI tried to flee Paris, but was recognized and later reduced to little more than a figurehead.

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In 1792, elections were held for the new National Convention, where the majority of in-between members were torn between Robespierre/Danton/Marat (AKA "Montagnards" or "Jacobins" or the "left") and "Girondins" or the "right."

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On the 21st of September, the Convention abolished the monarchy and created the French First Republic. A new calendar was created, making 1792 the first year of the Republic. AKA me when I started intermittent fasting.

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Keep in mind that France was already at war with Prussia and Austria. Taking painstaking care not to interrupt their streak of war war war, they also declared war on the Britain and the Dutch Republic. In retaliation, and hopefully not to the surprise of France, Portugal, the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, and the Holy Roman Empire declared war against France.

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In early 1793, Louis XVI was condemned to the guillotine by the Jacobins for "conspiracy against the public liberty." Hence, the title of "The Done King." The constitutional monarchy put in place by moderate revolutionaries gave way to a radical republic. This led to even more monarchies declaring war on France. The Reign of Terror ensued, but we'll leave that to another post.

 

The End of The Revolution

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A lot happened over the next six years. Most notably, Napoleon became the hero of the Revolution after he and a couple others collapsed a corrupted Directory in a coup and became the First Consulate. Keep in mind that Napoleon was president of the Jacobin Club, which becomes important later in Les Mis.

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The Revolution didn't just affect France, but instead began a global reevaluation of the monarchies of which countries were so accustomed. More liberal republics and democracies devoured their distant cousins of totalitarianism, and, also according to Wikipedia, earned the French Revolution the award of One of the Most Important Events in Human History.

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Hopefully, I'll continue adding more to this as Hugo demands.

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TL;DR: French Revolution = big deal.