Chapter 2

External Factors That Shaped French Nationalism

The French Revolution was an interesting time in European history. This event changed the way the country was run, the people within the country, and would even abolish the monarchy. All of he events that happened, were partly, if not all due external factors which shaped the nationalism of the country. There were  main external factors which shaped French Nationalism. Historical, Social, Economic, Geographic, and Political factors were all involved in the French Revolution, and the shaping of the nationalism within the country.

Historical

Not one single event in French history was the cause of the French Revolution. It was a long process which dates back decades. However, one event can often inspire a collective to take action. In France this event was the Storming of the Bastille. The Bastille was a prison in Paris which was home to many political prisoners. On July 14, 1789 many angry people of France attacked and destroyed this building. This is said to be the beginning of the French Revolution, and is a celebrated holiday in France today.

Social

Social factors were one of the factors that directly affected the people of 18th century France. These relationships among the people is what lead to and influenced the revolution itself. There were many challenges for the people of France during this time. Before the revolution, French society was divided into social classes which were often determined at birth. There were three "estates" or classes. The first estate was made largely up of the monarchy, and those closely related to or involved in it. The second estate consisted of aristocrats, clergy and nobleman. These estates were greatly privileged over the third estate. The first and second classes owned land, were exempt from most taxes and often received special treatment from the law. The third estate however, was the unprivileged class. This estate bore almost the entire tax burden, had no say in the government, and were working class. Although the first two estates were those with the most money, the poorest of the estates were subject to the most taxes.

Economic

Due to wars which were largely unsuccessful, and other costly expenses France's economy was in ruins by the 1780's. The decades of war had drained the money, and the country was nearly bankrupt. To solve the problem, the king, Louis XVI decided that the people, including the aristocrats, should pay more taxes. Of course, the French aristocrats rejected this idea. In desperation, Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General, a parliament which rarely met. When Louis called the meeting, they had not met in over 175 years. When the members of the Estates General voted on the taxation, members of the third estate set out to create a constitution which made all men equal, and declared themselves the National Assembly. They swore the Tennis Court Oath, saying they were the only group which represented the nation, and would not rest until there was a constitution in place. A few days later was the Storming of the Bastille.News of this spread, and the people of France began to rise up. This is when the revolution began.

Geographic
As Louis XVI was attempting to raise the taxes, France was also experiencing severe weather. The winter the year before the revolution was cold, and piles of snow blocked roads making travel and trade impossible. When the snow melted, it caused flooding in some areas. In the spring, the country was then hit by drought. These conditions caused many grain crops to be destroyed, and created a shortage. Due to these events, the price of flour rose. As bread was a staple food for many during this time, many people could no longer afford to buy it, and went hungry. The king and queen however, were still living lavishly. Many people blamed the queen's spending habits for contributing to the financial crisis. This caused riots in the city, and ultimately, this was one of the main contributors to the revolution.

Political

Before the revolution, there was an absolute monarchy.The king made and enforced all of the laws. He dispensed all the justice and even was able to censor speech and the press. There was a social hierarchy, and this angered many people within the country. However, the revolution created a whole new set of government, law and even a constitution was created. The monarchy was destroyed, the social classes were abolished, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man was created.

Events that took place during the French Revolution helped to shape the France we know today. Many of the events such as the Storming of the Bastille became a symbol which helps to bring the country together. Shortly after, people started wearing red, white and blue to to identify themselves as revolutionaries. These colours would later become the French flag. These events have brought many people together over a sense of pride, and belonging of the things the people of their country have accomplished.

Chapter One

Understandings of a Nation.

What is a nation? It's kind of a difficult thing to understand. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word "nation" is the word "country". However, I've come to learn that a country is not always a nation. That's not to say that it can't be, but it's not always the case. There has been debate about what a nation actually is. That brings us to the term "nation-state". What is the difference between the two? Well, a nation-state is a country that has physical borders and a single government. Like I said, there are many different ways to understand a nation. So, what are some understandings of a nation? There are many different factors that attribute to what a nation is. There are cultural and ethnic understandings of a nation, religious, geographic, and even political.

One understanding of a nation is linguistic, or the language within a nation. Johann Gottlieb Fichte, a 19th century German philosipher explained that "a common language can create a feeling of belonging so powerful that it inspired a sense of nation". Some believe that language itself is what creates a nation. This is especially true for the people of Quebec. The feeling of belonging to a linguistic nation is very strong among francophones across the country. This is one powerful understanding of a nation.

Another understanding of a nation is ethnic and cultural. Many nations come into being because of shared racial, cultural or linguistic characteristics. For example, the Korean, Japanese and Norwegian nations are based largely on ethnicity, or ethnic nationalism. Ethnic nationalism which is founded on ethnicity, language and culture is how many nations come to be. As opposed to civic nationalism which is founded on the shared values and beliefs of the people within that nation. Many support the idea of basing a nation on common ethnicity because it helps to protect the nations common identity. In extreme cases however, it can lead to racism and intolerance. Culture, or the ways of life that people share can also inspire a sense of nation. Culture and ethnicity are closesly related in creating the feeling of a nation.

Religion and geography are some other understandings of a nation. Religion is a very important understanding of a nation. For example, the Jewish nation has existed for about 3000 years, and for most of this time, they did not have a geographic territory of their own. It wasn't until 1948 that the country of Isreal came into being. This is a prime example of how a shared belief such as religion can form a nation without a geographic territory connected to that religion. Similarly, not all geographic territories are nations. You may have an area in which there are people living, but they may not be part of a nation. The people in this area may create their own sense of culture, values and beliefs to become a nation, just because of the fact that they live in the same geographic area.

Lastly, there is political understanding of a nation. Many nations exist, even without geographic area as mentioned above, but they also exist without government also. Many believe that when deciding if a people are a nation, something to consider is their desire for self-determination, or the power to control one's own affairs. Some beleive that this consideration may even be more important than actual sovereignty, which is the political authority to control one's own affairs.

There are many different ways to understand a nation. Nations come to be in many different ways, this is just one way to try and understand them.