ABSTRACT
The French Revolution can be understood as a huge release of civic energy. The energy release began in 1787, reached a peak between 1789 and 1795, and then slowly ebbed. Only in a superficial sense is it accurate to describe this extraordinary phenomenon as a series of explosive events. In reality the revolution was a process that had at its core the growing realization among ordinary men and women that the human condition was not fixed until the end of time but could be altered. It could be altered if sufficient amounts of physical effort, human ingenuity and – yes – suffering were brought into play. The shock of this realization held French society in a collective trance and it mesmerized much of continental Europe as well. Even in 1814–15 when throne and altar partnerships were restored in many states, the effects were not entirely dissipated. Once the French Revolution had happened, no government could find safety merely in ‘the length of its continuance’ (Burke, 1790/1973: 149). The peoples of Europe were now poised to become the actors in their own historical drama. In this sense, the French Revolution marks out a dividing line between medieval and modern eras in the history of the western world. Along with the Industrial Revolution, it is associated indissolubly with the birth of modernity.
