French Revolution

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Causes

See main article Causes of the French Revolution. Many factors led to the revolution; to some extent the old order succumbed to its own rigidity in the face of a changing world; to some extent, it fell to the ambitions of a rising bourgeoisie, allied with aggrieved peasants and wage-earners and with individuals of all classes who had come under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment. As the revolution proceeded and as power devolved from the monarchy to legislative bodies, the conflicting interests of these initially allied groups would become the source of conflict and bloodshed.

Certainly, causes of the revolution must include all of the following:

• Resentment of royal absolutism.
• Resentment of the seigneurial system by peasants, wage-earners, and a rising bourgeoisie.
• The rise of enlightenment ideals.
• An unmanageable national debt, both caused by and exacerbating the burden of a grossly inequitable system of taxation.
• Food scarcity in the years immediately before the revolution.

History

Prelude: Financial Crisis

1770s-1787 Proto-revolutionary activity started when the French king Louis XVI (reigned 1774 - 1792) faced a crisis in the royal finances. The French crown, which fiscally exactly equated to the French state, owed considerable debt. During the regimes of Louis XV (ruled 1715 - 1774) and Louis XVI several different ministers, most notably Turgot, unsuccessfully proposed to revise the French tax system to tax the nobles. Such measures encountered consistent resistance from the parlements (law courts), which the nobility dominated.

Because the need to raise taxes placed the king at odds with the established nobility, he typically appointed as his finance ministers (to use Francois Mignet's term), "rising men" [1] usually of non-noble origin. Turgot, Chretien de Malesherbes, and Jacques Necker successively attempted to revise the system of taxation and to make other reforms, such as Necker's attempts to reduce the lavishness of the king's court. Each failed in turn.

In contrast, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, appointed finance minister in 1783, restored lavish spending more reminiscent of the age of Louis XIV. By the time Calonne brought together an assembly of notables on February 22, 1787 to address the financial situation, France had reached a state of virtual bankruptcy: no one would lend the king funds sufficient to meet the expenses of government and court. According to Mignet, the loans amounted to "one thousand six hundred and forty-six millions... and... there was an annual deficit... of a hundred and forty millions [presumably of livres]." [1] Calonne was succeeded by his chief critic Etienne Charles de Lomenie de Brienne, archbishop of Sens, but the fundamental situation was unchanged: the government had no credit. To try to address this, the assembly "sanctioned the establishment of provincial assemblies, a regulation of the corn trade, the abolition of corvees, and a new stamp tax; it broke up on the 25th of May, 1787." [1] The subsequent struggle with the parlements in an unsuccessful attempt to enact these measures displayed the first overt signs of the disintegration of the ancien regime. In the ensuing struggle:

• Protestants regained their rights.
• Louis XVI promised an annual publication of the state of finances.
• Louis XVI promised to convoke the Estates-General within five years.

Despite ancien regime France being, in theory, an absolute monarchy, it became clear that the royal government could not successfully effect the changes it desired without the consent of the nobility. The financial crisis had become a political crisis as well.

Prelude: Louis XVI summons the Estates-General

1788 - May 1789 On July 13, 1787 parliament and the nobility had demanded that the king call the Estates-General; the Estates of Dauphine had seconded this in the assembly of Vizille; on December 18, 1787, the king promised to call the Estates-General within five years; after Brienne's resignation on August 25, 1788, and with Necker back in charge of the nation's finances, the king, on August 8, 1788, agreed to convene the Estates-General in May 1789, for the first time since 1614.

The prospect of an Estates-General highlighted the conflict of interest between the Second Estate (the nobility) and the Third Estate (in theory, all of the commoners; in practice the middle class or bourgeoisie). Society had changed since 1614. The First Estate (the clergy) and the Second Estate together represented only 2 percent of France's national population. The Third Estate, theoretically representing the other 98% of the French population, in practice represented an increasing proportion of the country's wealth. But the other two Estates, which historically had often voted with each other, could still outvote it. Many of this rising class nonetheless saw the calling of the Estates-General as a chance to gain power.

According to the model of 1614, the Estates-General would consist of equal numbers of representatives of each Estate. The Third Estate demanded double representation (which they already had in the provincial assemblies). This became a topic for pamphleteers, the most notable pamphlet "What is the Third Estate?" coming from the pen of Abbe Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes. Necker, hoping to avoid conflict, convened a second assembly of notables on November 6, 1788, but, to his chagrin, they rejected the notion of double representation. By calling the assembly, Necker had merely underlined the nobles' opposition to the inevitable policy.

A royal decree of November 27, 1788 announced that the Estates-General would amount to at least a thousand deputies; it also granted the double representation. Furthermore, mere priests (cures) could serve as deputies for the First Estate, and the Third Estate could elect Protestant deputies. According to Mignet, after reasonably honest elections, "The deputation of the nobility was comprised of two hundred and forty-two gentlemen, and twenty-eight members of the parliament; that of the clergy, of forty-eight archbishops or bishops, thirty-five abbes or deans, and two hundred and eight cures; and that of the communes, of two ecclesiastics, twelve noblemen, eighteen magistrates of towns, two hundred county members, two hundred and twelve barristers, sixteen physicians, and two hundred and sixteen merchants and agriculturists". Other sources give slightly different numbers, see French States-General.

From Estates-General to National Assembly

May 5, 1789 - June 17, 1789 When the Estates-General convened in Versailles on May 5, 1789 amidst general festivities, many in the Third Estate initially viewed the double representation as a revolution already peacefully accomplished. However, with the etiquette of 1614 strictly enforced, the clergy and nobility in their full regalia, and the physical locations of the deputies from the three estates dictated by the protocol of an earlier era, an immediate impression emerged that less had, in fact, been achieved.

When Louis XVI and Barentin (the Keeper of the Seals) addressed the deputies on May 6, the Third Estate discovered that royal decree granting double representation was something of a sham. Yes, they had as more representatives than the other two Estates combined, but voting would occur "by orders": the 578 representatives of the Third Estate, after deliberating, would have their collective vote weighted exactly as heavily as that of each of the other Estates. The apparent intent of the king and of Barentin was for everyone to get directly to the matter of taxes. The larger representation of the Third Estate remain merely a symbol, while giving them no extra power. Necker had more sympathy with the Third Estate, but on this occasion he spoke only about the fiscal situation, leaving it to Barentin to speak on how the Estates-General was to operate.

Trying to avoid the issue of representation and focus solely on taxes, the king and his ministers had gravely misjudged the situation. The Third Estate wanted the Estates to meet as one body and vote per deputy ("voting by poll" rather than "by orders"). The other two estates, while having their own grievances against royal absolutism, believed - correctly, as history was to prove - that they stood to lose more power to the Third Estate than they stood to gain from the king. The king's minister Necker sympathized with the Third Estate in this matter but the astute financier lacked equal astuteness as a politician. He decided to let the impasse play out to the point of stalemate before he would enter the fray. As a result, by the time the King yielded to the demand of the Third Estate, it seemed to all as a concession wrung from the monarchy, rather than a magnanimous gift that would have convinced the populace of the king's good will.

The Estates-General reached an impasse immediately. The first item on the agenda involved the verification of powers. Mirabeau, noble himself but elected to represent the Third Estate, tried but failed to keep the all three orders in a single room for this discussion. Instead of discussing the taxes of the king, the three estates began separately to discuss not taxes but the organization of the legislature. Shuttle diplomacy continued without success until May 27, 1789, when the nobles voted to stand firm for separate verification. The following day, Abbe Sieyes (a member of the clergy, but, like Mirabeau, elected to represent the Third Estate) moved that the Third Estate, which was now meeting as the Communes (English: "Commons"), proceed with verification and invite the other two estates to take part, but not to wait for them.

On June 17, 1789, and with the failure of efforts to reconcile the three Estates, the Communes completed their own process of verification, thereby becoming the only Estate whose powers had been appropriately legalized. The Communes almost immediately voted a measure far more radical: they declared themselves redefined as the National Assembly, an assembly not of the Estates but of the People. They invited the other orders to join them, but made it clear that they intended to conduct the nation's affairs with or without them.

The Constituent Assembly and Storming of the Bastille

June 17, 1789 - 1791

The "Estates" become the "Constituent Assembly"

This newly constituted assembly immediately linked itself to the capitalists -- the sources of the credit needed to fund the national debt -- and to the common people. They consolidated the public debt and declared all existing taxes to have been previously illegally imposed, but voted in these same taxes provisionally, only as long as the Assembly continued to sit. This restored the confidence of capital and gave it a strong interest in keeping the Assembly in session. As for the common people, the Assembly established a committee of subsistence to deal with the food shortages.

Initially, the Assembly announced (and for the most part probably believed) itself to be operating in the interests of the king as well as the people. In theory, royal authority still prevailed and the process of adopting new laws continued to require the king's consent.

Events had now bypassed Necker's previous plan of conciliation -- a complex scheme of giving in to the Communes on some points while holding firm on others. No longer interested in Necker's advice, Louis XVI, under the influence of the courtiers of his privy council, resolved to go in state to the Assembly, annul its decrees, command the separation of the orders, and dictate the reforms to be effected by the restored Estates-General.

One can (barely) imagine that if Louis had simply marched into the Salle des Etats where the National Assembly met, his plan might have succeeded. Instead, he remained at Marly and ordered the hall closed, expecting to prevent the Assembly from meeting for several days while he prepared. The Assembly simply moved their deliberations to the king's tennis court, where they proceeded to swear the Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789), under which they agreed not to separate until they had given France a constitution.

Two days later, deprived of use of the tennis court as well, the National Assembly met in the church of Saint Louis, where the majority of the representatives of the clergy joined them: efforts to restore the old order had served only to accelerate events. When, on June 23, 1789, in accord with his plan, the king finally addressed the representatives of all three estates, he encountered a stony silence. He concluded by ordering all to disperse. The nobles and clergy obeyed; the deputies of the common people remained seated in a silence finally broken by Mirabeau, whose short speech culminated, "A military force surrounds the assembly! Where are the enemies of the nation? Is Catiline at our gates? I demand, investing yourselves with your dignity, with your legislative power, you inclose yourselves within the religion of your oath. It does not permit you to separate till you have formed a constitution." [1] The deputies stood firm.

Necker, conspicuous by his absence from the royal party on that day, found himself in disgrace with Louis, but back in the good graces of the National Assembly. Those of the clergy who had joined the Assembly at the church of Saint Louis remained in the Assembly; forty-seven members of the nobility, including the duke of Orleans, soon joined them; by June 27, the royal party had overtly given in, although the likelihood of a military counter-coup remained in the air. The French military began to arrive in large numbers around Paris and Versailles.

Messages of support poured into the Assembly from Paris and other French cities. On July 9, 1789 the Assembly, reconstituting itself as the National Constituent Assembly, addressed the king in polite but firm terms, requesting the removal of the troops (which now included foreign regiments, who showed far greater obedience to the king than did his French troops), but Louis declared that he alone could judge the need for troops, and assured them that the troops had deployed strictly as a precautionary measure. Louis "offered" to move the assembly to Noyon or Soissons: that is to say, to place it between two armies and deprive it of the support of the Parisian people.

Necker's dismissal and the storming of the Bastille

Paris, close to insurrection, and, in Mignet's words, "intoxicated with liberty and enthusiasm", unanimously expressed its support for the Assembly [1]. The press published the Assembly's debates; political debate spread beyond the Assembly itself into the public squares and halls of the capital. The Palais Royal and its grounds became the site of a continuous meeting. The crowd, on the authority of the meeting at the Palais Royal, broke open the prisons of the Abbaye to release some grenadiers of the French guards, imprisoned for refusing to fire on the people. The Assembly recommended them to the clemency of the king; they returned to prison, and received pardon. Their regiment now leaned toward the popular cause.

On July 11, 1789, with troops at Versailles, Sevres, the Champ de Mars, and Saint-Denis, the king, acting under the influence of the conservative nobles of his privy council, banished Necker (who headed for Brussels), and completely reconstructed the ministry. The marshal Victor Francois, Duc de Broglie, la Galissonniere, the duke de la Vauguyon, the Baron Louis de Breteuil, and the intendant Foulon, took over the posts of Puysegur, Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin, La Luzerne, Saint Priest, and Necker.

News of Necker's dismissal reached Paris in the afternoon of Sunday, July 12, 1789. The Parisians generally presumed that the dismissal marked the start of a coup by conservative elements. Crowds gathered throughout the city, including more than ten thousand at the Palais Royal. Camille Desmoulins, according to Mignet, successfully rallied the crowd by "mount[ing] a table, pistol in hand, exclaiming: 'Citizens, there is no time to lose; the dismissal of Necker is the knell of a Saint Bartholomew for patriots! This very night all the Swiss and German battalions will leave the Champ de Mars to massacre us all; one resource is left; to take arms!'" [1] A growing crowd, brandishing busts of Necker and of the duke of Orleans, passed through the streets to the Place Vendome, where they put a detachment of the Royal-allemand (the king's German soldiers) to flight by a shower of stones. At the Place Louis XV, the dragoons of the prince de Lambesc shot the bearer of one of the busts; a soldier was also killed. Lambesc and his soldiers ran rampant, attacking not only the demonstrators but anyone in their path.

The regiment of the French guard favourably disposed towards the popular cause had remained confined to its barracks. With Paris becoming a general riot, de Lambesc, not trusting the regiment to obey this order, posted sixty dragoons to station themselves before its depot in the Chaussee-d'Antin. Once again, a measure intended to restrain only served to provoke. The French regiment routed their guard, killing two, wounding three, and putting the rest to flight. The rebellious citizenry had acquired a trained military contingent; as word of this spread, even the foreign troops refused to fight in what looked to be a civil war with a divided military.

The rebels gathered in and around the Hotel de Ville and sounded the tocsin. Distrust between the leading citizens gathered within the building and the masses outside was exacerbated by the failure or inability of the former to provide the latter with arms. Between political insurrection and opportunistic looting, Paris reeled in chaos. In Versailles, the Assembly stood firm, and went into continuous session so that it could not, once again, be stealthily deprived of its meeting space.

The French people to this day commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14th, 1789 on Bastille Day. The insurgents invaded the Hotel des Invalides to gather arms, and after four hours of combat, seized the Bastille, killing Marquis Bernard de Launay and several of his guard. Although the Parisians released only seven prisoners -- four forgers, two lunatics, and a dangerous sexual offender -- it became a potent symbol of everything hated under the ancien regime. Returning to the Hotel de Ville, the mob accused the prevot des marchands (roughly, mayor) Jacques de Flesselles of treachery; en route to an ostensible trial at the Palais Royal, he was assassinated.

The citizenry of Paris, expecting a counterattack, entrenched the streets, built barricades of paving stones, and armed themselves as well as they could, especially with improvised pikes. Meanwhile, at Versailles, the Assembly remained ignorant of most of the Paris events, but eminently aware that Marshal de Broglie stood on the brink of unleashing a pro-Royalist coup to force the Assembly to adopt the order of June 23 and then to dissolve. The Viscount de Noailles apparently first brought reasonably accurate news of the Paris events to Versailles. M. Ganilh and Bancal-des-Issarts, despatched to the Hotel de Ville, confirmed his report. By the morning of July 15 the outcome appeared clear to the king as well, and he and his military supporters backed down, at least for the time being. Lafeyette took up command of the National Guard at Paris; Jean-Sylvain Bailly -- leader of the Third Estate and instigator of the Tennis Court Oath -- became the city's mayor under a new governmental structure known as the commune. The king announced that he would recall Necker and return from Versailles to Paris; on July 27, in Paris, he accepted a tri-color cockade from Bailly and entered the Hotel de Ville, as cries of "Long live the Nation" changed to "Long live the King".

Nonetheless, after this violence, nobles -- little assured by the apparent and, as it was to prove, temporary reconciliation of king and people -- started to flee the country as emigres. Early emigres included the count d'Artois and his two sons, the prince de Conde, the prince de Conti, the Polignac family, and (slightly later) Calonne, the former finance minister. They settled at Turin, where Calonne, as agent for the count d'Artois and the prince de Conde, began plotting civil war within the kingdom and agitating for a European coalition against France.

Necker returned from Basel to Paris in triumph (which proved short-lived). He discovered upon his arrival that the mob had cruelly murdered Foulon and Foulon's nephew, Berthier, and that the baron de Besenval (commander under de Broglie) was held prisoner. Wishing to avoid further bloodshed, he overplayed his hand by demanding and obtaining a general amnesty, voted by the assembly of electors of Paris. In demanding amnesty rather than merely a just tribunal, Necker misjudged the weight of the political forces. He overestimated the power of the ad hoc assembly, which almost immediately revoked the amnesty to save their own role, and perhaps their own skins, instituting a trial court at Chatelet. Mignet counts this as the moment when the Revolution left Necker behind.

The successful insurrection at Paris spread throughout France. People organized themselves into municipalities for purposes of self-government, and into bodies of national guards for self-defense, in accord with principles of popular sovereignty and with complete disregard for claims of royal authority. In rural areas, many went beyond this: some burned title-deeds and no small number of chateaux.

August 4, 1789: Feudalism Abolished

After the events surrounding the storming of the Bastille, the next great landmark of the revolution occurred on August 4, 1789, when the National Assembly abolished feudalism, sweeping away both the seigneurial rights of the Second Estate and the tithes gathered by the First Estate.

While there is much room to question motivations (and while there were many later regrets and attempts at retreat), historians agree that the Viscount de Noailles and the Duke d'Aiguillon proposed the redemption and consequent abolition of feudal rights and the suppression of personal servitude, as well as of the various privileges of the nobility. Not to be outdone, the bishops of Nancy and of Chartres proposed, even demanded, the abolition of tithes. In the course of a few hours, France abolished game-laws, seigneurial courts, the purchase and sale of posts in the magistracy, of pecuniary immunities, favoritism in taxation, of surplice money, first-fruits, pluralities, and unmerited pensions. Towns, provinces, companies, and cities also sacrificed their special privileges. A medal was struck to commemorate the day, and the Assembly declared Louis XVI the "Restorer of French Liberty." Of course, this "Saint Bartholomew of abuses," as Mignet calls it, was a bit too good to be true. As the Russian anarchist Prince Peter Kropotkin would write, "The Assembly was carried away by its enthusiasm, and in this enthusiasm nobody remarked the clause for redeeming the feudal rights and tithes, which the two nobles and the two bishops had introduced into their speeches — a clause terrible even in its vagueness, since it might mean all or nothing, and did, in fact, postpone [...] the abolition of feudal rights for four years - until August 1793. But which of us in reading the beautiful story of that night, written by its contemporaries, has not been carried away by enthusiasm in his turn? And who has not passed over those traitorous words, 'racbat au denier 30' (redemption at a thirty-years' purchase), without understanding their terrible import? This is also what happened in France in 1789." [1]

Leading figures of the Assembly in summer 1789

Some of the leading figures of the Assembly at this time included:

• Among the foes of the revolution who would come to be known as the "Right":
  • Jacques Antoine Marie Cazales — a forthright spokesman for aristocracy
  • the abbe Jean-Siffrein Maury — a somewhat inflexible representative of the Church
• The "Royalist democrats" (later known as "Constitutionals" or "Monarchicals") allied with Necker, inclined toward arranging France along lines similar to the British Constitutional model with a House of Lords and a House of Commons:
  • Jean Joseph Mounier
  • the Comte de Lally-Tollendal
  • the Comte de Clermont-Tonnerre
  • Pierre Victor Malouet, Comte de Virieu
• The "National Party", at this time still relatively united in support of revolution and democratization, representing mainly the interests of the middle classes, but strongly sympathetic to the broader range of the common people. In this early period, its most notable leaders included Mirabeau, Lafayette, and Bailly (the first two coming from aristocratic backgrounds). Mignet also points to Adrien Duport, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave, and Alexander Lameth as leaders among the "most extreme of this party" in this period, leaders in taking "a more advanced position than that which the revolution had [at this time] attained." Lameth's brother Charles also belonged to this group.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man

On 26 August the Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Laws passed on November 2, 1789, February 13, 1790 and April 19, 1790 confiscated Church lands on behalf of the State. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, passed on July 12, 1790 and signed by the king on December 26, 1790, turned the remaining clergy into employees of the State and required that they take an oath of loyalty to the constitution.

Paper money and inflation

The Assembly introduced new paper money in that same year, causing high inflation.

The Legislative Assembly and the Fall of the Monarchy

1791-1792 The King tried to flee in June 1791 to join the nobles in exile, but his flight to Varennes did not succeed. He reluctantly accepted the new constitution in September 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. The king had to share power with the elected Legislative Assembly (successor to the National Assembly), but he still retained his royal veto and the ability to select ministers.

New factions emerged, such as the Feuillants (constitutional monarchists), Girondins (liberal republicans) and Jacobins (radical revolutionaries). The King, the Feuillants and the Girondins wanted to wage war. The King wanted war to become popular or be defeated: either would make him stronger. The Girondins wanted to export the Revolution through Europe. France declared war on Austria (April 20, 1792) and Prussia joined on the Austrian side a few weeks later. The French Revolutionary Wars had begun.

The first significant military engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars occurred with the Franco-Prussian Battle of Valmy (September 20, 1792). Although heavy rain prevented a conclusive resolution, the French artillery proved its superiority.

The Paris Commune

1792 Nonetheless, fighting soon went badly and prices rose sky-high. In August 1792 a mob assaulted the Royal Palace in Paris and arrested the King. On September 21, 1792 the Assembly abolished the monarchy and declared a republic. The French Revolutionary Calendar commenced.

The Convention

1792-September 26, 1795 The legislative power in the new republic fell to a National Convention, while the executive power came to rest in the Committee of Public Safety. The Girondins became the most influential party in the Convention and on the Committee.

January 21, 1793 saw King Louis condemned to death for "conspiracy against the public liberty and the general safety" by a 1-vote Convention majority of 361 to 360. The execution caused more wars with European countries.

When war went badly, prices rose and the sans-culottes (poor laborers and radical Jacobins) rioted; counter-revolutionary activities began in some regions. This caused the Jacobins to seize power through a parliamentary coup. The Committee of Public Safety came under the control of Maximilien Robespierre. The Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror (1793 - 1794). At least 1200 people met their deaths under the guillotine - or otherwise - after accusations of counter-revolutionary activities. The slightest hint of counter-revolutionary thoughts or activities (or, as in the case of Jacques Hébert, revolutionary zeal exceeding that of those in power) could place one under suspicion, and the trials did not proceed over-scrupulously. This series of events can reasonably compare with the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

In 1794 Robespierre had ultraradicals and moderate Jacobins executed, so eliminating his own popular support. On July 27, 1794, the French people revolted against the excesses of the Reign of Terror in what became known as the Thermidorian Reaction. It resulted in moderate Convention members deposing and executing Robespierre and several other leading members of the Committee of Public Safety. The Convention approved the new "Constitution of the Year III" on 17 August 1795; a plebiscite ratified it in September; and it took effect on September 26, 1795

The Directoire

September 26, 1795 - November 9, 1799 The new constitution installed the Directoire (English Directory) and created the first bicameral legislature in French history. The parliament consisted of 500 representatives (the Conseil des Cinq-Cent (Council of the Five Hundred)) and 250 senators (the Conseil des Anciens (Council of Seniors)). Executive power went to five "directors", named annually by the Conseil des Anciens from a list submitted by the Conseil des Cinq-Cent.

The new regime met with opposition from remaining Jacobins and royalists. The army suppressed riots and counter-revolutionary activities. In this way the army and its successful general, Napoleon Bonaparte gained much power.

On November 9, 1799 (18 Brumaire of the Year VIII) Napoleon staged the coup which installed the Consulate; this effectively led to his dictatorship and eventually (in 1804) to his proclamation as emperor, which brought to a close the specifically republican phase of the French Revolution.

See also

• French Revolutionary Calendar
• French Revolutionary Wars
• Glossary of the French Revolution
• List of people associated with the French Revolution
• Timeline of the French Revolution
• List of people granted honorary French citizenship during the French Revolution
• Reactionary

Further reading

• Chronicle of the French Revolution - (1989) By Jean Favier, Director of the French Archives in Paris, France with Anik Blaise, Serge Cosseron, and Jacques Legrand in cooperation with more than 35 historians/authors
• la revolution en debat - By Francois Furet: a short but important book with a series of articles by Francois Furet about the historiography of the revolution.

External links

• An online timeline of the French Revolution