When Burke published his Reflections, then, France was still a constitutional monarchy and the threat of violence, while certainly present, was by no means seen as foreordained.ĭespite this, the events that had taken place were enough make Burke deeply alarmed about the possibility of a similar revolt taking place in Britain, particularly given the volatile social conditions of the time. Shortly thereafter, on July 14, 1789, the Paris populace "stormed the Bastille"-the prison that symbolized royal authority. Though the king objected to these events, he was eventually forced to acquiesce. In response, the Third Estate, whose representatives came from the bourgeoisie and constituted the overwhelming majority of the population, met alone and renamed themselves the National Assembly, with the goal of creating a French constitution. The meeting was ultimately unsuccessful, largely because of cumbersome protocols and the uncooperativeness of the Second Estate, or aristocratic class, which had a disproportionate amount of power, despite only representing two percent of the population. First, in May of 1789 the Estates General met to address the profound economic crisis France found itself in, which had been precipitated by its support of the American Revolution. Several important turning-points had already occurred.
To begin with the historical: in 1790 the outcome of the French Revolution was still in question and many of its key events, most significantly the execution of Louis XVI, were yet to come. Storming of the Bastille and Arrest of the Governor M.
Reflections on the Revolution in France should be understood as shaped by four main influences: the events in France leading up to its publication in 1790, the social situation of Britain during the Industrial Revolution, the Irish Enlightenment, specifically Berkeley’s rejection of abstract reasoning, and Burke’s place in an ongoing philosophical conversation about the role of the passions in political life.
0 kommentar(er)
