Chapter 21The Revolution

in Politics, 1775–1815

In this painting by the female artist Nanine Vallain, the figure of Liberty bears a copy of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in one hand and a pike to defend them in the other. The painting hung in the Jacobin club until its fall from power.

In this painting by the female artist Nanine Vallain,

Musée de la Revolution Française, Vizille/The Bridgeman Art Library

In this political cartoon from 1789 a peasant of the third estate struggles under the crushing burden of a happy clergyman and a plumed nobleman. The caption—“ Let’s hope this game ends soon”—sets forth a program of reform that any peasant could understand.

The Three Estates

Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

On October 5, 1789, a large group of Parisian market women marched to Versailles to protest the price of bread. For the people of Paris, the king was the baker of last resort, responsible for feeding his people during times of scarcity. The crowd forced the royal family to return with them and to live in Paris, rather than remain isolated from their subjects at court.

The Women of Paris March to Versailles

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Starting in August 1791 the slaves of Saint-Domingue rose in revolt.

Slave Revolt on Saint-Domingue

Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

Neighbored by the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo, Saint- Domingue was the most profitable European colony in the Caribbean. In 1770 the French transferred the capital from Le Cap to Port-au-Prince, which became capital of the newly independent Haiti in 1804. Slave revolts erupted in the north, near Le Cap, in 1791.

The Haitian Revolution

The guillotine was painted red and was completely wooden except for the heavy iron blade. Large crowds witnessed the executions in a majestic public square in central Paris, then known as the Place de la Revolution and now called the Place de la Concorde (Harmony Square).

The Execution of Robespierre

Snark / Art Resources, NY

Equestrian portrait of Toussaint L’Ouverture.

Equestrian portrait of Toussaint L’Ouverture.

Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

OLYMPE DE GOUGES IN 1784; AQUIANT BY MADAME AUBRY (1748–1793).

OLYMPE DE GOUGES IN 1784

Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France/The Bridgeman Art Library