The summer of 1789 was a deeply tumultuous time in France. Major cities like Paris witnessed mass riots and public protests (epitomized by the storming of the Bastille), as King Louis XVI and the National Constituent Assembly watched (rather helplessly) from the sidelines. A similar state of unrest pervaded the countryside as well, where it took the form of destructive and violent assaults carried out by peasants. Known as the “Great Fear,” this prolonged period of violence was first sparked by the rumored arrival of royal troops. For many peasants, this potential deployment was the final insult on a long list of injuries, which included food shortages, land confiscations, wage reductions, and hunting restrictions. In response, mobs of peasants joined together to launch attacks on local legal and clerical institutions and the homes of both wealthy landowners and aristocrats. Legal documents relating to land ownership, feudal dues, and taxes were especially targeted for destruction. Many members of the nobility fled their countryside chateaux in terror, leaving their homes and elegant possessions behind to fall prey to the peasant mobs and looters.

On August 4th, 1789, the aristocratic and clerical members of the French National Constituent Assembly passed what came to be known as the August Fourth Decree. Motivated by the spreading chaos and insistent demands then being revealed by the “Great Fear,” these legislators were determined to take a bold and decisive stand on the side of prevailing public opinion. The Decree officially revoked dozens of feudal rights, taxes, and privileges which the nobility, wealthy landowners, and high-ranking clergy members had traditionally enjoyed for centuries. These renunciations included territorial hunting rights, legal immunity from prosecution and imprisonment, and judicial dominance in court proceedings involving peasant-tenants. Furthermore, the Decree abolished the practice of giving out government positions based on bribery, financial exchanges, and social nepotism; from then on, all administrative jobs were to be awarded based on merit, hard work, and talent, regardless of the social class or economic status of the applicant. Most crucially, the Decree established universal civic equality throughout the entire nation – every citizen, regardless of social or financial rank, was to be held subject to the exact same set of legal rules, standards, and laws. No longer would exceptions be made for members of nobility, royal, clerical, and/or wealthiest social classes.

Beginning in 1787 and continuing on through the winter of 1789, urban and rural communities all across France endured frequent outbreaks of widespread rioting. These mass public protests (which almost always occurred spontaneously) were triggered by several national misfortunes, including abnormally cold winter temperatures and two consecutive annually deplorable food harvests. These two calamities, in turn, led to chronic food shortages – especially a severe scarcity of bread – thereby causing food prices to rapidly increase. Wage levels couldn’t keep up; in many cases, workers actually had their earnings decreased, which only exacerbated the overall economic downturn and civil unrest.

On August 27th, 1789, the French National Constituent Assembly passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. This document, which outlined the Assembly’s vision for France’s future, drew heavily on both general Enlightenment ideals and the principles expressed in the American Declaration of Independence (authored thirteen years before). The Declaration established and protected many rights, including freedom of religion, the protection of private property, liberty, security, fair taxation, and universal civic equality. It also upheld the notion of popular sovereignty: the belief that citizens should to be allowed to decide their own policies. However, in spite of its many progressive statements, the Declaration outright denied any of its rights and protections to women. According to prevailing wisdom, at the time, women were believed to be inherently unfit for political life and should concern themselves only with the goings-on in their own homes and domestic lives. Nevertheless, many French women hoped that the Declaration’s promises would one day, soon, be extended to them.

Jose de San Martin played a leading role in the southern Latin American war for independence from the Spanish Empire. His actions in the Battle of San Lorenzo contributed to Argentinian independence and his victories in the Battle of Chacabuco and the Battle of Maipu led to Peruvian and Chilean independence. Together with Simon Bolivar, Jose de San Martin is remembered as one of the two leading figures in the campaign for Latin American independence.

Simon Bolivar played a leading role in the independence of all of these countries except Mexico. Bolivar was the first and only President of an independent Gran Colombia during the 1820s.

The passage of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was greeted by widespread popular acclaim, except (most portentously) by King Louis XVI. In fact, the King’s conspicuous refusal to ratify the document directly resulted in the next urban riot to strike France. On October 5th, nearly seven thousand women left the city of Paris and marched on Versailles. Many of these women were armed with crude but potentially effective implements, ranging from pitchforks to knives and pikes. In addition to their outrage over the King’s political stalling on the Declaration, the women were also incensed by the ever-present bread shortages. When the mob arrived at the gates of Versailles, they demanded that the King ratify the Declaration and resolve the bread deficit, among many other things. Thoroughly frightened, the King sanctioned the Declaration the very next day.

On October 6th, 1789, King Louis XVI and the royal family were forced to abandon Versailles by an armed mob of Parisian women. These women had arrived at Versailles the day before and had been continually protesting the King’s refusal to ratify the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, as well as demanding an end to chronic bread shortages. Fearing for his safety, the King ratified the Declaration immediately, but the crowd refused to be placated – many viewed the King’s swift acquiescence as a sure sign of his untrustworthiness. The crowd began to demand that the King and his family return to Paris with them, so that the people could monitor their monarch more closely. By this point, the King, his family, and his courtiers were thoroughly petrified, especially when they recalled the recent fall of the Bastille and the violent chaos of the “Great Fear.” Believing he had no other choice, the King and his family packed up their belongings and abandoned Versailles for the Parisian palace of Tuileries.

Despite the many sociopolitical alterations set up by the National Constituent Assembly, the members of the Assembly were ill-equipped to resolve the nation’s deep economic woes. As the country’s financial conditions continued to dramatically worsen, the Assembly, faced with the recurring specter of mob violence, seized on a desperate (and rather ill-considered) plan. The legislators decided to use their governmental powers to forcibly seize all property (landholdings and buildings) owned by the Catholic Church within France’s borders; these lands and other belongings would then be sold off, with the proceedings going straight into the national coffers.

In July 1790, after confiscating all Catholic Church-owned property within the nation, the National Constituent Assembly took matters one step further. Now that the Church had been stripped of all its private holdings, some sort of reorganization was clearly needed if the Church was to continue to play a part in national life. So, the Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This new act placed the Church under direct governmental control – essentially, it made the Church a secular branch of the French government. Certain members of the clergy were no longer to be appointed by the Pope in Rome; instead, the French people would hold elections to choose their own bishops and other figures, who would then receive state salaries. Additionally, all religious orders (such as those run by both Catholic nuns and monks) were disbanded, unless they were directly responsible for hospitals or schools.