The Revolution that Shook Europe. France 1789 - 1815
Tønnesson, Kåre: Revolusjonen som rystet Europa. Frankrike 1789 - 1815July 14, 1789: the Bastille falls. The Royal Fortress, the symbol of the old regime’s coercion and despotism is captured by the people in Paris.
August 26, 1789: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The old regime’s death certificate, but at the same time a universal and foresighted confirmation of humankind’s need for freedom, equality, and legal protection.
January 21, 1793: Louis XVI is guillotined and the Republic proclaimed. „The Reign of Terror”, led by the National Convention, becomes the first example of modern, systematic State terrorism.
June 18, 1815: Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. The final juncture of the French Revolution.
In The Revolution that Shook Europe, Kåre Tønnesson - Norway’s leading expert on the French Revolution - describes the huge watershed in European history beginning with the old regime that caused the revolution. The celebration of the 200 year Jubilee of the Revolution occasioned this publication in1989. The author has taken particular care, therefore, to draw lines all the way to our own times, and to show how the thinking and events from1789 are still relevant for and influence us today. Because of ideas, wars, and political developments, the events in France became decisive for the rest of Europe. The big „isms”, from liberalism to communism, may be traced back to the Revolution’s thinking - and the Norwegian Constitution, from 1814, is among the most evident and obvious results of the ideas of the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
Kåre Tønnesson has done research on the French Revolution for several years, and in this richly illustrated book sums up his knowledge about these dramatic years in European history in a well-written and easily accessible manner. The Revolution that Shook Europe, pertains , therefore, to readers far beyond professional circles.
Contents: Introduction/The Old Regime/Philosophy of Enlightenment/Why Revolution in France in 1789?/General Estates and Property Conflicts/The People’s Revolution/Drafting the Constitution 1789-91/Constitutional Monarchy, War, and the King’s Fall/The Convent, for Better and Worse/Reaction, Cessation and Continuation/The French Revolution and Europe/200 Years Later/Chronological table 1789-1815/Selected Bibliography/Register of People/Register of Places/Register of Cases/List of Illustrations
About the Author: Kåre Tønnesson is professor of history at the University of Oslo. His PhD thesis about the Sans-culottes during the French Revolution is published in French. Tønnesson is also member of the Norwegian Academy of Science.
Publisher: H. Aschehoug & Co. 1989
ISBN: 82-03-15964-8
224 pp, hardback
Translation rights sold: Swedish
