InNo+kathryn_chang+09.19.10

Ch. 5: The Legacy of the Revolutionary Era

Traces of the Revolutionary Era Images of Revolution Legends and Myths of Revolution
 * 1815- The era of the French Revolution and Napoleon ended
 * it did not stop being important
 * for many years, people all over Europe continued to feel its effects
 * in all sorts of ways, it helped to shape their lives, their beliefs and the societies in which they lived
 * one of the most obvious traces is the names of places that became famous was a result of the Napoleonic wars
 * if you visit any french town, you will almost always walk along streets named after famous generals and battles of the revolutionary era
 * other traces are the meter, kilogram, or liter
 * they were invented by the revolutionaries in 1795
 * a lot of flags of Europe are modeled on the tricolor flag of the revolutionaries of 1789
 * one of the most important traces of the era are the ones not easily seen
 * the ideas about how to organize societies are from the revolution that are passed on to future generations
 * liberalism
 * nationalism
 * Liberalism
 * Estates General of 1789 declared that it was a 'National Assembly' and set to work to write a constitution, a set of rules for how a country should be run
 * began by making a 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen', gave French citizens equal rights and liberties
 * giving people liberty and equality through a constitution was one of the important achievements of the revolution
 * when Napoleon conquered Europe in the 1800s, constitutions were introduced into the states that came under his control, so the ideas of liberty and equality therefore spread throughout Europe
 * when Napoleon was defeated, the old rulers of Europe took back their thrones and many got rid of his constitutions and went back to ruling their states, the old way
 * they could not wipe out people's memories of what it was like to be ruled with a constitution
 * Millions of Europeans became 'liberals', believing in the ideas of liberty an equality, and wanting a constitution giving them rights
 * Nationalism
 * France was a nation, not a kingdom
 * France was not the personal property of King Louis XVI, it was a union of all 28 million French-speaking people
 * the first act of the revolutionaries was to set up a National Assembly to speak fro these people
 * soon after, they adopted the tricolor flag to represent the nation
 * red and blue-colors of the people
 * white-color of king's traditional white
 * During Revolutionary wars, the French set up new nations in the lands they had conquered
 * Italian speaking people were brought together into nations such as the Roman Republic
 * Poles later gained their own nation when Napoleon created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw
 * Millions of Germans became citizens of new nations when Napoleon forced 300 German rulers to unite into just thirty states
 * many European people then found out what it was like to live in their own nation, and to be ruled according to a constitution
 * came to an end in 1815- politicians from the countries that defeated Napoleon met in Vienna, capital of Austria, to redraw the map of Europe.
 * called the Congress of Vienna, they re-created many of the old states that Napoleon had destroyed
 * old royal families took back their thrones in Spain and the Italian states
 * German Confederation of thirty-nine states replaced Napoleon's Rhine Confederation
 * Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg became a single Kingdom of the Netherlands
 * The new borders of Europe had nothing to do with people's nationality
 * Millions of Italians were under Austrian rule
 * Poles under Russian rule
 * throughout 1900s, people living under foreign rule, or living in separate states from their fellow countrymen, did what the French had done in 1789: they started revolutions to change the way they were ruled
 * Revolution
 * Liberals and nationalists started revolutions in 1820, 1830, and 1848
 * many were trying to achieve Germany to be considered one land and the German people to be one people
 * they wanted a constitution for the people that fits in with the spirit of the times
 * they wanted all princes to understand that they exist for the country and not the country for them
 * In the German states, many of the revolutionaries were students
 * 1830: revolutions broke out in six countries
 * In the Netherlands, the Belgian people rose in revolt against the Dutch King William
 * their country had been taken over by the Dutch in 1815 and they did not like the way he had governed them since
 * King William refused to listen to such complaints
 * dislike of his rule spread throughout the provinces and people armed themselves to fight the Dutch
 * after fights, the Belgians drove the Dutch out and proclaimed that Belgium was an independent country
 * 1848: the countries of Europe was shaken by revolutions again
 * In Austrian Empire, Hungarian people rebelled against the Austrian authorities in Budapest
 * The revolutionaries of the nineteenth century borrowed images as well as ideas from the French Revolution
 * the most famous of those images was that of 'Liberty'
 * 1792- the image of Liberty was created
 * The revolutionaries who overthrew the king took it as the symbol of the new Republic
 * Liberty was portrayed as a young woman, she holds a club with which she killed the many-headed monster of 'despotism', she also holds a 'liberty cap' which was originally worn by freed Roman slaves as a symbol of their freedom
 * 1792- liberty cap became fashionable among //sans culottes//
 * The figure of Liberty was named Marianne
 * she countlessly appeared in pictures, statues and models throughout the French Revolution, and the revolutions of 1830
 * One of the most famous image of Liberty is the Statue of Liberty in New York
 * 200 ton, 97m high copper statue was a gift to the US from the French to show the friendship between their two republics
 * was suggested by a French historian to commemorate the 100th anniversary of American independence
 * even after the revolutions of the 1900s were over, Marianne made appearances
 * The era of revolution created many myths and legends
 * the most lasting of them was the Napoleonic legend
 * before his death in exile on the lonely island of St. Helena, Napoleon dictated his memoirs and encouraged his friends to write down everything he said
 * in these writings he built up an account of his life and ideas which made him seem like a hero
 * these were published after his death and helped create a reputation for him as a great historical figure
 * 1840- twenty years after his death, the British government allowed his body to be taken from its grave in St. Helena for re-burial in France
 * 100,000 people lined the streets in freezing weather to pay their respects when Napoleon's coffin arrived in Paris
 * he was buried in the Invalids church and was later transferred to a massive tomb made of precious stone
 * Napoleon's legend spread in many ways
 * lullaby
 * portraits
 * brands of cigars
 * fine brandy
 * 20 franc coins had his portrait on it

Summary When Napoleon was defeated, the countries original ruler came back and ruled and most of them went back to the old way of ruling and got rid of most of Napoleon's changes. But the people remembered what it was like to be ruled with a constitution. Liberalism and nationalism was introduced by Napoleon and the people liked that way of ruling much better than being ruled in a monarchy. There were revolutions all over Europe. The image of the revolution is Liberty. There were also lots of legends and myths created from the era of revolution.

Question How did they decide that Marianne was going to be the figure of Liberty?

My Awesomeness

The woman named Marianne, was the figure of Liberty.