In 1789, under the combined influence of external and internal troubles, a fierce revolutionary movement broke out within France. In this movement, the French used the Example of England to establish a constitutional monarchy, limiting the king's power to the Constitution. The system was later overthrown, and a republican system was established.
Soon after the outbreak of the French Revolution, Britain, which had always maintained close ties with it, received the news and even suffered a more violent impact. So what was the British view of the French Revolution? What effect did the revolutionary movement in France have on England?
The rebels captured important military strongholds
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > British radicalism began to rise and fight conservatism</h1>
The year 1688 was an important year in British history. This year ushered in a new chapter in British history, namely the establishment of a constitutional monarchy after the Glorious Revolution. The British, who had completed the Glorious Revolution, took another step towards democratic politics.
Although the Glorious Revolution was the product of a compromise between the bourgeoisie, the new aristocratic clique and the feudal monarchy, it is undeniable that the Glorious Revolution did indeed allow Britain to make a smooth transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Over time, the British generally accepted the system and became part of the support of the constitutional monarchy in Britain until the outbreak of the French Revolution.
The Result of the Glorious Revolution Bill of Rights
After the outbreak of the French Revolution, radical forces in Britain began to rise. In the view of the radicalists, Britain should once again reform the political system: that is, to absorb the slogans and ideas of the French revolution, to completely remove the constitutional monarchy from Britain, and thus to establish a truly democratic politics. The main class of the radicalist faction, the working class of England. In this regard, Master Liu Ke of the School of Journalism and Communication of Tianjin Normal University once mentioned the demands of the radicals in the article "The Prosperity and Decline of British Radical Newspapers after 1830":
The British workers, deeply influenced by the thinker Paine's theory of natural human rights and tax poverty, aspire to political freedom from an economic motive, and from this point in turn, demand economic freedom commensurate with political freedom.
Paine's ideas directly influenced the thinking of radicals
The constitutional monarchy established in England since the Glorious Revolution, although more advanced than the absolute monarchy, is not a true democracy. Compared with the working class at the bottom of society, the emerging bourgeoisie and the new aristocratic groups clearly gained more benefits after the Glorious Revolution. The living conditions and political rights of the working class did not change with the changes in the political system.
After the outbreak of the French Revolution and the introduction of revolutionary ideas to Britain, the british working class's desire for freedom and democracy was encouraged and awakened. With the French Revolution as a lesson in the past, the British working class also began to try to fight against the bourgeoisie and aristocratic groups. The bourgeoisie and the aristocratic clique, in order to protect their own interests, have always opposed further reforms of the political system, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent intensification of contradictions between radicals and conservatives.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the dividing line between the two major factions is becoming increasingly apparent, and the United Kingdom is a great sign of division</h1>
At the same time that Britain was hit by the French Revolution, the position of British prime minister was William Pitt, known as "Little Pete". Pete jr. was an aristocratic man who had been educated in elite politics and was a staunch defender of the British constitutional monarchy. After the outbreak of the radical movement, Pete Jr. decisively adopted more radical means to suppress the activities of the radical faction, further intensifying the contradictions between radicals and conservatives.
William Pitt, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
At first, the radicals and conservatives engaged in a large debate only on the points of contradiction, and the dispute between the two sides was limited to words. But when both sides realized that the dispute could not solve the actual problem, the actual confrontation in various fields began. Concretely, the radical faction formed its own political organization and vigorously propagated the ideas of its own faction, and the political situation in Britain became turbulent.
The opposition between radicals and conservatives was extremely detrimental to British politics. Since the Glorious Revolution, the cabinet ministers who have been able to enter the British cabinet have been basically members of the bourgeoisie or the new aristocratic clique. This means that the British cabinet often implements decrees that favor the development of these two groups.
The radicals, on the other hand, saw it as a monopoly on British politics (and indeed did), and constantly stopped the implementation of the New Cabinet Deal, resulting in many of Britain's reform decrees being almost impossible to implement. The constraints of the radicals have made the conservatives more and more "manic", so they have adopted extreme measures such as repression and persecution to counter the radicals. However, this stimulated the development of radicals, and the signs of Britain's political division to division in various fields became more and more obvious.
The opposition also led to changes in britain's economy
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Change Britain's foreign policy</h1>
As time went on, the tensions between radicals and conservatives grew, and the political situation in Britain became increasingly tense. Because conservatives have a greater political advantage, they also have the initiative in the confrontation with the radicals. In order to further curb the influence of radicals in Britain, conservatives chose to make changes in the diplomatic field: that is, to unite with other European countries to suppress the French Revolution.
There is no doubt that the power and influence of British radicalism has expanded not only because of the large population base of the British working class. Whenever the French achieved a stage of achievement in the Revolution, it was an inspiration to the British radicals. In the conservative view, as long as the French Revolution was defeated by external forces, the radical movement in England would naturally cease, thus achieving the ultimate goal of the bourgeoisie and the new aristocratic group to continue to control British politics.
The expansion of the French Revolution deeply disturbed conservatives
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
In discussing and analyzing the radical movement in England, it is necessary to combine this event with the events of the Glorious Revolution in England in 1688 AD. Although the Glorious Revolution was a major step forward in British democratic politics, it also left many problems. Since the constitutional monarchy brought about by the Glorious Revolution played a role in promoting the development of Britain in the short term, these remaining problems have not surfaced for the time being.
When the French Revolution broke out, the resistance consciousness of the working class was awakened. The endless exploitation of the capitalists and the monopoly of politics by the bourgeoisie and the new aristocratic groups completely violate the democratic concept of the supremacy of human rights and the equality of all. The outbreak of the Radical Movement in England also meant that the British working class finally realized the true face of British politics, that is, only the bourgeoisie and the new aristocratic groups enjoyed the so-called "democracy".
However, due to the weak political strength of the radicals at that time, they did not gain a clear and lasting advantage in the confrontation with the conservatives. With the further escalation of the repressive measures adopted by conservatives, the space for radical activities has been shrinking, and the political influence in the short term has gradually weakened. But the movement of the English working class for its own interests did not cease, but continued to accumulate strength and, in the later Magna Carta movement, continued to attack the bourgeoisie and aristocratic groups.
bibliography:
[1] The Rise and Fall of British Radical Newspapers after 1830, by Liu Ke
[2] The Development of Party Ideology in Britain in the 18th Century, by Guo Qiongqiong
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