Revolutionary France: 1788-1880 (Short Oxford History of France)

263 Pages·2002·1.33 MB·English

by  Malcolm Crook

The Short Oxford History of France
Revolutionary France
The Short Oxford History of France
General Editor: William Doyle
available now
Old Regime France
edited by William Doyle
in preparation, volumes covering
France in the Central Middle Ages –
France in the Later Middle Ages –
Renaissance and Reformation France –
Modern France –
The Short Oxford History of France
General Editor: William Doyle
Revolutionary
France
1788–1880
Edited by Malcolm Crook
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp
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General Editor’s Preface
During the twentieth century, French historians revolutionized the
study of history itself, opening up countless new subjects, problems,
and approaches to the past. Much of this imaginative energy was
focused on the history of their own country – its economy, its society,
its culture, its memories. In the century’s later years this exciting
atmosphere inspired increasing numbers of outsiders to work on
French themes, so that, more than for any other country, writing the
history of France has become an international enterprise.
This series seeks to reflect these developments. Each volume is
co-ordinated by an editor widely recognised as a historian of France.
Each editor in turn has brought together a group of contributors to
present particular aspects of French history, identifying the major
themes and features in the light of the most recent scholarship. All
the teams are international, reflecting the fact that there are now
probably more university historians of France outside the country
than in it. Nor is the outside world neglected in the content of each
volume, where French activity abroad receives special coverage. Apart
from this, however, the team responsible for each volume has chosen
its own priorities, presenting what it sees as the salient characteristics
of its own period. Some have chosen to offer stimulating reinter-
pretations of established themes; others have referred to explore
long-neglected or entirely new topics which they believe now deserve
emphasis. All the volumes, however, have an introduction and
conclusion by their editor, and include an outline chronology,
plentiful maps, and a succinct guide to further reading in English.
Running from Clovis to Chirac, the seven volumes in the series
offer a lively, concise, and authoritative guide to the history of
a country and a culture which have been central to the whole
development of Europe, and often widely influential in the world
beyond.
William Doyle
University of Bristol

Contents
List of contributors x
Introduction 1
Malcolm Crook
Revolutionary France –: exemplar or exception? 1
1 The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1788–1814 8
Malcolm Crook
Introduction 8
The collapse of the Old Regime 9
The Revolution of  13
An impossible monarchy, –? 15
A democratic republic, –? 19
A liberal republic, –? 23
Bonaparte comes to power 28
A republican empire? 32
Conclusion 34
2 Upheaval and continuity, 1814–1880 36
Pamela Pilbeam
Introduction 36
The outbreak of revolution in  37
The political crisis of  41
Empire to Republic, – 43
Social factors in revolution 43
Urban geography and revolution 45
Monarchy 48
Republicanism 50
Bonapartism 52
Socialism 54
The durability of the French state 57
Conclusion 59
viii | contents
3 State and religion 63
Thomas Kselman
Introduction 63
The French Revolution as religious trauma 65
The Catholic Church in the nineteenth century 72
The cult of saints and shrines 78
The cult of the dead 81
Religion and radical reform 85
French civil religion 86
The culture wars of the Third Republic 89
Conclusion 91
4 Class and gender 93
Elinor Accampo
Introduction 93
Class and gender in the revolutionary era 96
The Napoleonic regime and its impact 101
Gender, class formation, and early industrialization 103
Aristocrats and peasants: persistence of tradition, or break with the
past? 106
Workers and the Revolution of  108
Economic growth, population decline, and the problem of female
labour after  114
The early Third Republic and the crisis in gender identity 118
Conclusion 120
5 Town and country 123
Peter McPhee
Introduction 123
Town and country under the Old Regime 124
The French Revolution 127
The impact of the Revolution 130
Changes in urban and rural France, – 134
The mid-century crisis, – 138
Change in town and country, – 139
The modernization of rural France? 143
Conclusion 149
contents | ix
6 Province and nation 151
Robert Gildea
Introduction 151
Nation or king? 151
Nation, province and pays 155
Language and assimilation 164
Nation and race 168
The patrie and the wider world 171
Conclusion 177
7 France and the wider world 178
Michael Heffernan
Introduction 178
France, the Caribbean, and slavery, – 179
France, Africa, and Islam, – 182
The Second Napoleonic Empire, – 192
Metropolitan imperialism, – 198
Conclusion 206
Conclusion
Malcolm Crook
: the advent of post-revolutionary France? 207
Further reading 
Chronology 
Maps 
France at the end of the Old Regime 230
The departments of France in the Revolution 231
Napoleonic France and Europe 232
Paris in the nineteenth century 234
Religious practice in nineteenth-century France 235
French speakers in the mid-nineteenth century 236
The French Empire in the nineteenth century 237
Index 