A revolution occurs when people overthrow the government of their country, usually with
violence, and completely change the society in which they live.
Revolutions such as the English Civil War in the 17th century and the French Revolution of the 18th century took place when a large number of people felt that they must change the way their country was run.
Revolutions often happen when a country is ruled by a bad government; when the ruling class is very rich and
most of the people are very poor. This was the main cause of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the
Chinese Revolution of 1949.
French Revolution
For centuries, the quality of life in Europe had been determined by the status that one held. This status
could not be attained, but was instead determined by the family to which someone was born. If you were born to a poor family, your life would be one of poverty. No matter how hard an individual worked, it was impossible to rise above this fate. The wealthy enjoyed a life of ease, comfort, and recreation. Day after day, they pursued the pleasures of European society, while 97% of Europe’s people struggled just to survive.
Nowhere was the divide between the wealthy and poor greater than in France. The French Aristocracy were
among the wealthiest individuals in all of Europe.They controlled vast tracts of land, huge amounts of money and had power that was unchecked by a parliament as in Great Britain.
The poor in France were suffering greatly. They had been abused, mistreated, and ignored. They had been
forced to work on the estates of the wealthy, with very little pay and in terrible conditions. They were starving,
sick, dirty, tired and growing more resentful with each passing year.
French society was divided into three separate castes known as estates. The first estate was made up of
priests, and religious leaders. Those belonging to this estate occupied the highest level in French society.
The second estate was made up of the nobility, while the third and lowest estate consisted of everyone else;
over 97% of the population of France.
In Paris, there is a busy area called Bastille Square. Two hundred years ago, a huge fortress stood there.
Many poor people lived in its shadow and were angry because bread was so expensive that they could scarcely afford enough to eat. The revolution began on July 14, 1789, when commoners and soldiers alike attacked the Bastille, the hated prison and symbol of the regime. It was a pivotal moment in European history as the French deposed and executed their monarch. After storming the Bastille, the people formed a
National Assembly (a parliament) to bring ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ to the poor. However, after the
king was executed, the members of the National Assembly quarrelled among themselves about how to
run the country. Many parties and leaders emerged, and in the chaos, extremists came to power. There followed the Reign of Terror, which lasted from 5th September 1793 until 27th July 1794, when thousands of people were guillotined.
Even so, the revolutionaries helped to improve the lives of ordinary people and their struggle is still
remembered in the words of the French National Anthem, the Marseillaise’.
Russian Revolution
Russia’s entry into World War I nine years later, increased the nation’s hardship. Two million men were
killed, two million wounded and four million were taken prisoner. Riots by starving people in
February 1917 quickly spread.
Tsar Nicholas II was so incompetent in running the war and dealing with problems at home that he
gradually lost all support. Forced to give up his throne, he and his family were shot the next year by
the Bolsheviks. For eight months, a temporary government ruled, but it was overthrown in October by the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin. Russia then became a republic inspired by the ideas of Karl Marx. The Communist Party ruled; everything was owned by the state and religion was outlawed. The hopes of peace were short lived. Civil war broke out and the new republic was invaded by foreign troops, including the British and Americans. Millions of people died. At the end of the civil war the communist government divided the territories of the old empire into republics. In 1922, the new nation was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). After 70 years of communist rule, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Boris Yeltsin became the first President of the new Russian Federation.
Chinese Revolution
In the words of its late ruler Mao Tse-Tung “China was a feudal society where a small elite lived well and millions barely survived. In the cities, opium addiction was widespread. In the countryside, feudal landlords
ruled like kings and extorted punitive taxes. There were frequent peasant rebellions which were bloodily
suppressed. Life was tough and brutal.”
The Chinese Revolution in 1949 refers to the final stage of military conflict (1948–1952) in the
Chinese Civil War. The Chinese Civil War (1927-1949/1950) was a civil war fought between the
Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party), the governing party of the Republic of China,
and the Communist Party of China (CPC), for the control of China, which eventually led to China’s division into two Chinas, Republic of China (now commonly known as Taiwan) and People’s Republic of China (Mainland China). The war represented an ideological split between the Nationalist KMT and the Communist
CPC. In mainland China today, the last three years of the war (1947–1949) are more commonly known as
the War of Liberation.
# Subscribe to Child Project Helper by Email
violence, and completely change the society in which they live.
Revolutions such as the English Civil War in the 17th century and the French Revolution of the 18th century took place when a large number of people felt that they must change the way their country was run.
Revolutions often happen when a country is ruled by a bad government; when the ruling class is very rich and
most of the people are very poor. This was the main cause of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the
Chinese Revolution of 1949.
French Revolution
For centuries, the quality of life in Europe had been determined by the status that one held. This status
could not be attained, but was instead determined by the family to which someone was born. If you were born to a poor family, your life would be one of poverty. No matter how hard an individual worked, it was impossible to rise above this fate. The wealthy enjoyed a life of ease, comfort, and recreation. Day after day, they pursued the pleasures of European society, while 97% of Europe’s people struggled just to survive.
Nowhere was the divide between the wealthy and poor greater than in France. The French Aristocracy were
among the wealthiest individuals in all of Europe.They controlled vast tracts of land, huge amounts of money and had power that was unchecked by a parliament as in Great Britain.
The poor in France were suffering greatly. They had been abused, mistreated, and ignored. They had been
forced to work on the estates of the wealthy, with very little pay and in terrible conditions. They were starving,
sick, dirty, tired and growing more resentful with each passing year.
French society was divided into three separate castes known as estates. The first estate was made up of
priests, and religious leaders. Those belonging to this estate occupied the highest level in French society.
The second estate was made up of the nobility, while the third and lowest estate consisted of everyone else;
over 97% of the population of France.
In Paris, there is a busy area called Bastille Square. Two hundred years ago, a huge fortress stood there.
Many poor people lived in its shadow and were angry because bread was so expensive that they could scarcely afford enough to eat. The revolution began on July 14, 1789, when commoners and soldiers alike attacked the Bastille, the hated prison and symbol of the regime. It was a pivotal moment in European history as the French deposed and executed their monarch. After storming the Bastille, the people formed a
National Assembly (a parliament) to bring ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ to the poor. However, after the
king was executed, the members of the National Assembly quarrelled among themselves about how to
run the country. Many parties and leaders emerged, and in the chaos, extremists came to power. There followed the Reign of Terror, which lasted from 5th September 1793 until 27th July 1794, when thousands of people were guillotined.
Even so, the revolutionaries helped to improve the lives of ordinary people and their struggle is still
remembered in the words of the French National Anthem, the Marseillaise’.
Russian Revolution
Russia’s entry into World War I nine years later, increased the nation’s hardship. Two million men were
killed, two million wounded and four million were taken prisoner. Riots by starving people in
February 1917 quickly spread.
Tsar Nicholas II was so incompetent in running the war and dealing with problems at home that he
gradually lost all support. Forced to give up his throne, he and his family were shot the next year by
the Bolsheviks. For eight months, a temporary government ruled, but it was overthrown in October by the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin. Russia then became a republic inspired by the ideas of Karl Marx. The Communist Party ruled; everything was owned by the state and religion was outlawed. The hopes of peace were short lived. Civil war broke out and the new republic was invaded by foreign troops, including the British and Americans. Millions of people died. At the end of the civil war the communist government divided the territories of the old empire into republics. In 1922, the new nation was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). After 70 years of communist rule, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Boris Yeltsin became the first President of the new Russian Federation.
Chinese Revolution
In the words of its late ruler Mao Tse-Tung “China was a feudal society where a small elite lived well and millions barely survived. In the cities, opium addiction was widespread. In the countryside, feudal landlords
ruled like kings and extorted punitive taxes. There were frequent peasant rebellions which were bloodily
suppressed. Life was tough and brutal.”
The Chinese Revolution in 1949 refers to the final stage of military conflict (1948–1952) in the
Chinese Civil War. The Chinese Civil War (1927-1949/1950) was a civil war fought between the
Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party), the governing party of the Republic of China,
and the Communist Party of China (CPC), for the control of China, which eventually led to China’s division into two Chinas, Republic of China (now commonly known as Taiwan) and People’s Republic of China (Mainland China). The war represented an ideological split between the Nationalist KMT and the Communist
CPC. In mainland China today, the last three years of the war (1947–1949) are more commonly known as
the War of Liberation.
# Subscribe to Child Project Helper by Email
