The Role of Extreme Weather in the French Revolution

Weather has played a key role in shaping the progress of the world and its societies. Here, Kayla Vickery looks at how weather conditions shaped the 1789 French Revolution. She considers the Little Ice Age, the Lake volcano eruption, the poor weather of 1788, and the Great Hailstorm of Paris.

The Storming of the Bastille by Jean-Baptiste Lallemand, 1790.

Introduction

Historians have long debated the causes of the French Revolution. There have been falsehoods about King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (“Let them eat cake,” anyone?), finger-pointing at various players, and many theories. But ultimately, they all want to know the same thing: how did the Bourbon dynasty fall? While many events over the eighteenth century created a domino effect against the monarchy, did you know that extreme weather contributed greatly to France’s economic struggles?  Over a few decades, several different weather events left the country in trouble and would eventually inspire the lower classes to rise up and overthrow the monarchy. From the Laki Volcano eruption to the drought/winter of 1788, these natural occurrences all had real consequences. While there were several ideological changes, the events of 1789 would not have been as severe were it not for the weather and the havoc it played on the 18th-century French economy. 

Little Ice Age

First was the Little Ice Age, a period of the Earth's cooling. Way less cool than the animated film Ice Age starring one of my favorite characters Sid the Sloth; it is generally accepted that it started during the Middle Ages and ended sometime in the mid-nineteenth century. Researchers have also observed three periods of freezing weather, one of which occurred in 1770, a mere twenty years before the beginning of the French Revolution. Temperatures dropped globally at this time by as much as 4 degrees, and Europe was significantly affected. Like my moods, the weather was unpredictable and often swung from one extreme to another. This began to affect the crop yield and livelihood of the people of France. The peasants of 18th century France depended highly on good crop output to, ya know, eat. In the late 1700s, the classes had a significant income disparity. As the crops began to fail, the price of food began to rise, leaving workers with extraordinarily little extra income. The Little Ice Age and its negative impact on crops began to cause hunger throughout the country. At this same time, there was a huge population boom across France. Growing from 22.5 million inhabitants in 1715 to 28.5 million in 1789 meant there was a growth of about 25 percent! History has shown that when people are cold, the need for warmth leads to a cuddle which leads to how babies are made. As the number of people grew, so did the demand for goods. A need that was often unable to be met because of the Little Ice Age. As the government became more entrenched in debt, it continued to raise the taxes paid by the lowers classes. Nobles and the clergy were excluded from paying taxes (eat the rich!), so the government's debt came to rest on the shoulders of the most abused from above. The social order of France made it so that even the tiniest shortcomings would be detrimental to the lives of much of the population. 

Laki Volcano Eruption

In 1775, after a poor grain harvest from northern France, people began to let their unhappiness show the only way they know how… with good ol' fashioned riots! The people's anger was directed at the wealthy landowners, and even managed to reach Versailles. This peasant uprising became known as the Flour War, a straightforward title because there was no time for cleverness when starting a Revolution! This uprising would be squashed in a few weeks, but the damage had been done. The peasants of France had seen the power behind a widespread protest and knew what kneaded (I know what I did) to be done.

The Little Ice Age and its powerful effect on the crops and, inherently, the people growing them would just be one of many weather occurrences that would ignite the people of France to revolt. From 1783 to 1784, the Laki Volcano continuously erupted in Iceland, sending ash across Europe. The ash would block the sun, darkening the skies, lowering the temperature, and thoroughly convincing people they were living in actual Hell. With ships unable to move because of the fog from the ash, and weather patterns disrupted, the food crisis became even more severe. To understand the impact of poor harvests, one must realize how little the Third Estate had in the 1700s. Even though they made up 98 percent of the population, they were people with limited economic means and struggled to reach survival levels. They were also forced to pay exorbitant taxes to the King and maintain their feudal obligations to their landlord. They also held no judicial power meaning they could do nothing about the unfair circumstances forced onto them by the King. With such a decrease in their livelihoods, peasants cut back on spending, which hurt the economy even more. I like to point to this moment when trying to prove that my shopping addiction is, in fact, good for the economy!

The Great Hailstorm of Paris

In the already broken economy struggling to recover after years of war and failing markets, the weather of 1788 would push the people of France over the edge. The spring of 1788 was a disaster for the planting season in France. After an abnormally dry spring that dramatically affected the crops of the already starving people, there was a summer of extreme temperatures and random downpours. The mass majority of the population was severely malnourished and was now pushed into yet another famine after a period of economic slump and hunger.

One such event, The Great Hailstorm of Paris, was a ferocious storm that ripped through the countryside, wreaking havoc on July 13, 1788. The destitution the storm caused would go on to infuriate the starving citizens of France, and the devastation of the crops would have dire consequences for the economy of France. Bread prices would continue to soar, and the citizens would find their incomes significantly lowered. As if they hadn't been through enough, the conditions of the lower classes after the Great Hailstorm of Paris would only worsen with the extreme winter ahead. The winter of 1788/1789 would be one of the coldest on record. During this harsh winter, Emmanuel Sieyes's published his political pamphlet What Is The Third Estate? An essay that would attack the privilege of the nobility and give words to the struggle of the lower classes. Think Hamilton but with less rapping. With the pamphlet What Is the Third Estate, the common people of France finally had a physical manifestation of their resentments against the other two estates. By April of 1789, the people of France were rioting regularly over the rising price of bread. The economy's downfall and the crops' failure for several years would push them over the edge and into Revolution. The mood in Paris before the fall of the Bastille was one of anger and desperation. There are many firsthand accounts of the rowdiness of the crowds in Paris who were rioting and demanding answers for the skyrocketing bread costs. Eventually, the hungry and abused crowds would march on the Bastille and overtake the prison, and the French government learned the very valuable lesson of never coming between the French population and a baguette. 

Conclusion

After decades of unheard-of weather patterns working against their livelihoods and without help from their King, the resentment of the poor in France would eventually rise and change the course of history. The Little Ice Age, the Laki Volcano, and the severe drought and winter of 1788 would lead to the uprising of the peasants, the fall of the Bastille, the abolishment of the feudalism system, and eventually, the heads of the French monarchy. 

 What role do you think that weather played in the French Revolution? Let us know below.

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References

Dispatches from Paris (April-July 1789)" in The Old Regime and the French Revolution, ed. Keith Michael Baker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987)

Jessene, Jean-Pierre. The Social and Economic Crisis in France at the End of the Ancien Régime, 1st ed., 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Lancaster, John. “How the Little Ice Age Changed History.” The New Yorker, March 2019,https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/01/how-the-little-ice-age-changed-history.

Loyseau, Charles "A Treatise on Orders," in The Old Regime and the French Revolution, ed. Keith Michael Baker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987)

McWillimas, Brendan, ‘The Fall of the Bastille', The Irish Times, Jul 13, 1998, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-fall-of-the-bastille-1.172547

 Neumann, J and Dettwiller, J. “Great Historical Events that were Significantly Affected by the Weather: Part 9, the Year Leading to the Revolution of 1789 in France (II).” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 

Popkin, Jeremy D, A New World Begins: The History of the French Revolution (New York: Basic Books, 2019)

Sieyes, Emmanuel-Joseph, "What is the Third Estate?" in The Old Regime and the French Revolution, ed. Keith Michael Baker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987)

Waldinger, Maria, Drought and the French Revolution: The effects of adverse weather conditions on peasant revolts in 1789, (2013)

Why did France Never have a Queen as Ruler?

France had a monarchy in some form for over 1,000-years - from the days of the Frankish dynasties to the 19th century. However, there was never a Queen monarch that ruled the country. Here, Melissa Barndon considers why France never had a Queen.

Marie Antoinette, Queen Consort of France from 1774 to 1792.

For as long as there have been queens in France, there has never been a female monarch. No daughters of the King, the princesses of royal blood, have succeeded to the French crown and ruled in their own right.

But wait, you say, what about Marie Antoinette? Wasn’t she a French queen?

Yes, but she was a Queen consort. Most French kings had wives, whose sole duty really was to produce an heir (and a spare if they were lucky).

In many European kingdoms, women could inherit power on the same terms as men. This was the case in England, the kingdom of Navarre, the kingdom of Naples, Hungary, Poland, and in Scandinavian countries.  Isabella I, Queen of Castille, and Ferdinand of Aragon governed Spain together from 1479-1504. So why could women not govern in France?

Salic Law

Many people would respond to that question with ‘Because of Salic Law’. Salic Law is a legal code from the sixth and seventh centuries in which laws regarding property and penalties were compiled for the first time as a written code. It is called Salic Law because many of the laws referred to the Salian Franks, a territory in what is today largely northern France, the Netherlands and Belgium. King Clovis, who is believed to have begun compiling the Salic Laws, was the first to unite all the Frankish tribes and is considered the first king of France. 

One article of Salic Law prohibited women from laying claim to ‘familial lands’, or terra salia. It did not restrict women from inheriting property; it only stopped them from inheriting Salic land which had usually been granted to men by Frankish kings or nobles in exchange for their servitude. Women could not provide the same service as men at the time, so they were not allowed to have control of these lands.

Crises of Succession

In 1316 there was a crisis of succession for the French throne. There had not been a crisis such as this before, as the French crown had always passed from father to son. Louis X, or Louis the Stubborn, died in that year leaving behind no male heir to take the crown. He had a daughter, Joan, from his first marriage, and his current wife, Clementia, was pregnant. The maternal uncle of the 4- year old Joan entered into negotiations with Philip, the brother of Louis X.

It was agreed that if the as yet unborn child was a boy, Philip would rule as the Regent. If the baby was a girl, Philip would act as Regent for Joan until she was 12 years old, after which she would renounce her right to the throne. This is important, as it recognizes that females had the right to rule France.    

The baby was a little boy. The jubilation did not last very long, however, as he died after only 5 days (thus becoming John the Posthumous). This particular outcome had not been considered, so Philip had himself crowned as king, Philip V. There was some opposition to his usurpation of the throne in place of the rightful heir, but an official declaration made clear that women were not permitted to inherit the kingdom of France. Significantly, there was no mention of Salic Law.  

Philip V, also known as Philip the Tall, died in 1322, leaving no sons. The crown passed to his brother, Charles IV, with little opposition.  

When Charles IV passed on very shortly afterwards, in 1328, it led to another crisis of succession. There were no sons and no brothers to inherit the throne. However, there was a sister.  

Isabella of France was the sister of Philip V and Charles IV, and the wife of Edward II, King of England. She claimed the French crown belonged to her son, Edward III, who was a direct grandson of Philip IV. However, the nobles declared that women could not pass on a right to rule they did not have, citing the two previous coronations. They declared the new king to be Philip of Valois, a first cousin and therefore the next indirect male heir, who was crowned Philip VI.  

The historical records of these events make no mention whatsoever of Salic Law.

The rediscovery of Salic Law

Salic Law was ‘rediscovered’ in 1358 by a monk in the library of the Monastery of Saint-Denis. One hundred years later a treatise called La loi Salique, première loi des Français, women and their descendants were officially excluded from inheriting the French crown because of their unstable nature and their inability to make war or to hold an office.  

Prior to this convenient discovery of Salic Law, the dismissal of female rights to the throne reflected the general situation of women in medieval Europe. Women were legally dependent on their fathers, husbands or brothers, and required to submit and obey. Theirs was the domestic sphere, where they were responsible for child-bearing and child-rearing. The public sphere belonged to men – justice, government and war was their domain. While in some regions they could inherit land and wield power in the absence of a male heir, generally women could not underwrite contracts, testaments or legal articles; they had to be drafted with their husband’s or father’s consent.  

Greek philosopher Aristotle had much to say on the natural weakness of women, and his ideas were also ‘rediscovered’ in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Aristotle believed women were born with a weaker body and little wisdom; while men were naturally the opposite with a strong physique and a developed intellect. According to the bible, women had been born of Adam to be his companion and to bear his children. Eve had given in to temptation when she took the apple in the Garden of Eden, and therefore all women were never to be trusted with matters of importance as they were too easily tempted. They must remain subjugated. A twelfth-century abbot warned men that a woman’s anger makes females “poisonous animals ... [T]he poison of asps and dragons is more curable and less dangerous to men than the familiarity of women.” A popular and common theme for church sermons was the sins of females – they were liars, temptresses, gossips, lustful, proud and backstabbing. A proverb of the time stated: “Woman is an evil that man cannot avoid”. 

Females were not without their virtues. A virtuous woman was kind, gentle and compassionate. She was dedicated to her children and to managing the household. It was these virtues which ‘allowed’ women to act as Regent for her son if he were to become the heir while still a minor. It was assumed the queen regent would always act out of love by keeping at heart the interests of her late husband and her child. Charles VI wrote in an ordonnance giving his wife Isabeau of Bavaria the duty of governing his heirs, with “written reason and natural instinct, a mother has the most tender love and the most gentle heart towards her children, and is more diligent in protecting and nourishing them affectionately than any other person, even those next of kin, and for this [the mother] must be preferred to any other.”

Women as Regents

Being a queen regent was one of few opportunities for the wife of a French king to gain power. From 1350 to 1500, we see some queens ruling in the place of their husbands who had become mentally ill or were absent at war. Philip VI, whom as we saw above had gained the French throne by usurping his cousin’s daughters, trusted his wife, Joan of Burgundy, more than he did his courtiers. In 1338, faced with war against England, Philip VI designated his wife as regent during his lifetime with full powers in government, public finance, and justice if he were occupied elsewhere. According to Philip VI, his wife “was raised with him and must fall with him; who better to entrust with the dynastic heritage?”

Isabeau of Bavaria held an unprecedented position for a queen of France because of the attacks of insanity suffered by Charles VI and his subsequent descent into mental illness. In 1402, Isabeau’s powers were extended to act in place of the king when he was unfit to do so. It was confirmed she held “power, authority and special instruction to appease all debates, discords, dissensions and divisions” that existed now or erupted in the future.

There have been many great French queens – Eleanor of Aquitaine, Anne of Bretagne, Catherine de’ Medici, to name just a few. All were raised in noble families, educated, more than capable of running their kingdoms as well as they ran their households, while producing heirs at the same time. But they were constrained by the same laws and restrictions placed on almost all women throughout history. However, they found their niche, whether it be a ceremonial role in the royal court, a nurturing role as Queen mother, or a political role as regent. In the early fourteenth century, chronicler Jean le Bel wrote “The kingdom of France is so noble that it must not go to a female by succession”. The French queens may not have been allowed to officially wear the crown, but they left their legacy in a myriad of other ways.  

What do you think of the roles of Queens in French history? Let us know below.

References

Gaude-Ferragu, Murielle, Queenship in Medieval France, 1300-1500, Palgrave Macmillan US, 2016.

Morrison, Susan Signe, A Medieval Woman's Companion : Women's Lives in the European Middle Ages, Oxbow Books, Limited, 2015. 

Queenship, Gender, and Reputation in the Medieval and Early Modern West, 1060-1600, edited by Zita Eva Rohr, and Lisa Benz, Springer International Publishing AG, 2016. 

A Brief History of Poitiers, France

Poitiers is a city of just shy of 100,000 people in center-west France, some 210 miles/340 kilometers south-west of Paris. The city is has a very long and rich history, and here, Konstant Teleshov provides an overview of that history and tells us about the key sites to explore should you visit the city.

Poitiers in the 16th century.

The city of Poitiers in France has a wide variety of sites to visit - many royal palaces, churches and castles, battlefields, and historical areas. It is one of the oldest cities in France and a prime example of how the history of France and Europe is centuries long and eventful. Poitiers is located in one of the western departments of the French Republic called Vienne. This historical area is called Poitou. Poitiers has been an ordinary provincial French city for many centuries. The economic rise of the city occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.

There were 3 important battles for France and Europe there. Every native of this city knows such historical personalities as Eleanor Aquitaine, Joan of Arc and Richard the Lionheart. Both ruled the city at different times.

Today Poitiers is the historical, cultural, economic and spiritual center of the western part of France.

What else is famous and wonderful in this city? Read on to find out. 

Foundation and Gallo - Roman period

The founding of Poitiers occurred in the second century BC. The city was named Piktaviy. It was founded by one of the Gallic tribes - the pictones. The location for the future city was chosen perfectly, on the Poitevinian Plateau, which is a natural corridor between the south and the north of the country.

The young settlement rapidly developed. In parallel with this, the power of the Roman Empire grew. The great Roman commander Julius Caesar captured Piktaviy In 51 BC. Gaul became a Roman province for several centuries.

The territory of Poitiers increased significantly during the time of Roman rule. Every tourist can feel the spirit of the Roman era if they visit a ruined aqueduct (an aqueduct is a Roman water conduit for supplying water to a settlement).

The active construction of churches began in the fourth century, and the city became the real spiritual center of Gaul. The most striking example is the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist. This is an old monument from the period of early Christianity.

The first church building was erected in the middle of the fourth century on the remains of Roman buildings, further changes in its image and structure were made in the era of the Merovingians. The initiator of the construction of the baptistery was the famous theologian and bishop Hilarius of Pictavi. Construction started in 360 AD. Later on, the Bishops Quarter grew around this building. Frescoes, which were painted in the Middle Ages, have been preserved on the walls of the former Baptistery. They depict the Ascension of the Lord, scenes from the life of John the Baptist, the evangelists Luke, Matthew, John and Mark, and the Byzantine emperor Constantine. The facade of the building is interesting as an example of the Merovingian style of art; marble, stucco and elements of ancient architecture that were used in its decoration.

Tourists can find some historical monuments of the Roman era in the museum of Saint - Croix. The museum contains works of art, the most ancient of which date back to Gallo - Roman times, and the latest ones were created in the 20th century.

Poitiers in the Dark Ages

Poitiers fell under the influence of the Visigoths after the fall of the Roman Empire. From this moment begins the most intense chapter in the history of Poitiers.

Due to the geographical location described above, many military campaigns were made through Poitiers. In 507, a battle took place near Poitiers between the Franks and the Visigoths as part of the West Gothic War. The Franks won a major victory and King Hlodvig I annexed the lands of southern Gaul for his state.

This stage of the history of the city is characterized by the first mention of the church of St. Radegund. Initially, the building served as the burial area for the nuns of the abbey. The construction of the modern church began in 1083 after a fire. The interior of the church has preserved original stained glass windows dating from the 13th century, but it has not been possible to preserve medieval wall frescoes.

The museum is located on the site of St. Croix Abbey in the 21st century. The remains of the celestial patroness of Poitiers and closest ally, St. Agnes, are stored in an underground crypt.

Two centuries later, the city became the center of another battle, which many historians consider the most important in the history of the Christendom. The Umayyad Caliphate troops did not stop after the conquest of Spain, they moved east to Aquitaine. Having ransacked the area, they moved to Gaul. They met at the Battle of Poitiers with an army of Franks under the leadership of Charles Martel on October 10, 732. The fate of Christendom depended on the result of this battle.

The Franks defeated the Arabs, who remained in Spain for several centuries, where they greatly influenced the development of the culture.

The city became the residence of the Counts of Poitiers at the beginning of a period of feudal fragmentation at the end of the 9th century. Then, Poitiers came into the Plantagenet's possessions after Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of the Plantagenet in 1152. The city received commune rights in 1199. In 1204 it was captured by the French king, Philip II. Poitiers officially became a part of the royal domain after the signing of a peace treaty between France and England in 1259.

It was only in the 8th century when the Palace of Justice was mentioned in historical sources for the first time. This palace was erected by Charlemagne for his son, Louis I the Pious, on the ruins of Roman buildings. The castle was owned by the Counts of Poitiers for several centuries after the death of Louis. There was a terrible fire in the palace In the 11th century that almost destroyed the building.

A new castle was built fairly quickly. It contained the largest dining room in Europe, which many people called "a quiet walk in the hall". The court began to hold all kinds of court sessions from the 15th century, especially during the French Revolution.

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages brought Poitiers many troubles. For example, one of the battles of the first stage of the Hundred Years War between England and France took place near the city on September 19, 1356.

French troops suffered a defeat at the hands of the English Army. Many prominent people were killed in this battle. The French king, John II the Good, and his youngest son, Philip the Brave, were captured. England and France signed a ceasefire for 2 years.

This defeat was the cause of a large peasant uprising - Jacquerie. It was in the early summer of 1358. This event affected Poitiers, where the aristocracy was forced to hide in churches from angry peasants.

During the Middle Ages many current day sites appeared in Poitiers. Here is a brief description of some of them:

1) Church of Notre Dame la Grand

The first evidence of the existence of the Church of Notre Dame la Grande dates back to the 10th century, but in one of its walls there are traces of ancient stone masonry. The church was called Saint Marie Major in the 10th century. In the next century, the church building was completely rebuilt in the Romanesque style and consecrated in 1086 by Urban II.

The features of the church include an ancient underground crypt and frescoes. The interior of the church is richly decorated with stone carvings, statues of saints, apostles and local bishops, woodcarvings and high reliefs. Many legends of the Hundred Years War are associated with this building.

2) Cathedral of Saint - Pierre

This cathedral was built near the baptistery of St. John and the church of Notre Dame la Grande. The initiator of the construction of the temple was Henry II Plantagenet. He also financed the work from his own funds.

The church is considered an example of a special architectural direction - the Angevin Gothic. The main feature of this style is high arches.

The apse of the cathedral is decorated with a 12th century stained glass window, which depicts a crucifix surrounded by saints and people. The interior of the temple preserves carved antique furniture and an altar of the Baroque era.

3) Church of St. Hilary

It is one of the oldest religious buildings in Poitiers. Construction was carried out in the 10th to 11th centuries in the tradition of the Romanesque style. The church is decorated with frescoes and carved capitals of the Romanesque period. In the Middle Ages, the church became one of the pilgrimage churches located on the path of St. James, ultimately leading to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. Currently, the church of Saint Hilaire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is the place where theologians were interrogated and Joan of Arc tortured by order of the dauphin Charles in 1429.

You should also see the following buildings of this era: the church of Saint Jean de Montierneuf, the Fume mansion, and the church of Saint Hiller le Grande.

In 1432, King Charles VII opened a university in Poitiers. It is one of the oldest in France.

Modern times and contemporary history

Poitiers was unsuccessfully besieged by the Huguenots during the Religious Wars in 1569. The city was part of the Catholic League and recognized the legitimate king as Henry IV in 1594.

In more modern times architectural structures continue to appear in Poitiers. These were mainly houses for the nobles and the new nobility.

Among them it is worth highlighting:

1) Church of Saint Jean de Montieren;

2) Church of Saint Porsche;

3) Museum of Reper de Chevre.

The city chapel, which was built in the 8th century, was significantly reconstructed during this period.

Poitiers survived the French Revolution relatively well as few symbols of the old monarchy in the city were destroyed.

In the 19th and 20th centuries these buildings were constructed:

1) Place Marechal Leclerc;

2) City Hall;

3) Prefecture building.

Art lovers would to visit the Chevre Museum, which is located on the street of Victor Hugo. There are paintings of Dutch and Flemish artists of the 16th to 18th centuries, as well as furniture of the period. Today the museum is a monument to the history and architecture of France.

Poitiers was occupied by German troops during the Second World War. The city was bombed by the Allies and liberated on September 5, 1944.

As described at the beginning of the article, Poitiers had been a small provincial town for many years. Several large companies set-up here in the 1970s and 1980s. This significantly revived the city's economic activity. Today it is the center of an agglomeration of 11 suburbs and the main city of the New Aquitaine region.

Finally, there are several parks and gardens to relax in:

1) Park Blok;

2) Botanical garden;

3) Flower garden.

With that in mind, I hope you make a tri[ to Poitiers – it will be worth it! 

What do you think of Poitiers’ history? Let us know below.

References

https://www.nouvelle-aquitaine-tourisme.com/en/poitiers-futuroscope/head-off-to-poitiers-and-follow-eleanor-of-aquitaines-footsteps;

https://skyticket.com/guide/3707;

http://www.arsbellica.it/pagine/medievale/Poitiers/poitiers_eng.html;

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187207-Activities-c49-Poitiers_Vienne_Nouvelle_Aquitaine.html;

http://uk.poitiers-tourism.com/home/discover/history.aspx;

https://www.britannica.com/place/Poitiers;

https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-poitiers-france/