Prior to the revolution that would change the system of governance in France, the people had suffered under the mismanagement of King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, who, along with the aristocracy, refused to acknowledge the economic plight of the lower classes. 
Both political and socioeconomic factors contributed to the French Revolution as the ambitions of the rising bourgeoisie were allied with aggrieved peasants, wage-earners, and individuals of all classes. The influence of the ideas that rounded out the revolutionary movement, rooted in Enlightenment philosophies were also paramount to the desire for change in what was felt to be a stagnant system of government.
The King, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their children attempted to escape from Paris in 1791 after months of popular dissatisfaction and the increasing threat to the monarchy. The King and his family did not make it out of Paris and were instead captured and held in Paris and in 1792 the King was sent to the guillotine. For three years, between 1792 and 1795, a committee was established to rule the country headed by Georges-Jacques Denton, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre. They ruled in what became known as the Reign of Terror, sending thousands of Royalists to the guillotine including Marie Antoinette and other Royalists, dissidents of the Revolution, and even moderate thinkers who sought to mediate the excesses of the revolutionary movement. The Revolution succeeded in overturning generations of autocratic monarchic rule but became a symbol of excessive force and revolt without sufficient stabilizing elements to fundamentally change conditions for the French people. In 1799 a young General named Napoleon Bonaparte helped overthrow the government, called the Directory, and by 1804 had risen to such power that he etablished himself as “Napoleon I, Emperor of the French.”
By the end of the 18th century, the French Revolution had made representatives of the British Empire ill at ease. In 1798, English viceroy Marquess Cornwallis reported to the Duke of Portland of attempts “to revolutionize Ireland on the principles of France.” At the same time, Irish nationalist Theobald Wolfe Tone was making waves with his public proclamations of an oncoming rebellion against English rule – one that would be supported by French military forces.
According to Cornwallis, Tone and his ilk were turning “the passions and prejudices of the different sects to the advancement of their horrible plot for the introduction of that most dreadful of all evil, a Jacobin revolution.” In the view of the English overlords, the worst of those offenders was Lord Edward FitzGerald, the younger brother of Ireland’s only Duke. Oft described as a “mischief maker” with grand romantic ideals of bloodless revolution, he had spent time fighting for the British in the American War for Independence and, inspired by a reading of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions, set out for Paris at onset of the French Revolution.
Drunk on the notions becoming a populist renegade, he there married an illegitimate daughter of Phillipe Egalite, a former duc d’Orleans, and settled in to revolutionary circles - seemingly oblivious to the multitude of his fellow aristocrats being sacrificed to the guillotine daily. In 1792, FitzGerald was even said to have discussed the establishment of an independent Irish state with Common Sense pamphleteer and radical intellectual, Thomas Paine.
By 1798, he had returned to Ireland, the land of his birth, and, alongside Wolfe Tone, became one of the de facto heads of the Society of United Irishmen – a liberal political party that soon evolved into the guerilla-style revolutionary campaign that Cornallis had been anticipating. Standing 28,000 members strong, the United Irish, uprisings against the British soon spread from Dublin to far outlying counties – but FitzGerald was soon forced to the sidelines by a fever that left him bedridden and in hiding.
Despite his ambitions to go down in history as populist renegade – and a successful one at that – FitzGerald was discovered at his farmhouse hideout and transported to the prison at Newgate Gaol. There he would be fatally wounded after stabbing two of his captors – who had just offered him amnesty based on his aristocratic lineage. Fellow United Irishman Wolfe Tone would be less fortunate; following his capture month’s later, he cut his own his throat rather than meet the hangman’s noose.
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The latter’s prediction of French backup for the Irish insurgency came true – but far too late. Two months after the suppression of United Irish forces, 1,000 French solidiers landed on the beach at Kilcummin in the northwest of the island. Though joined by 5,000 supportive locals, the British soon laid waste to the French forces, with many choosing to surrender rather than continue the fight. The sole benefit of the failed Irish Rebellion of 1798? The French prisoners of wars were traded back to France for British prisoners of war. In the end, hundreds of supporters of the United Irish, mostly peasants, were hung for their involvement in the affair. | |||||||||||
Tags: 1792, 1798, Brown Bess Rifle with bayonet, Bunker Hill Sword, Common Sense, Confessions, Duke of Portland, French Revolution, French Revolution Sword, Irish Rebellion 1798, Jacobin revolution, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Marquess Cornwallis, Revolution in the British Empire, Society of United Irishmen, The French Revolution CD-ROM Lesson Plan Set with DVD, Theobald Wolfe Tone, Thomas Paine, United Irish Patriots
In Western Society, we have grown accustomed to democratic government models managed by common citizens and have bought into the premise that the power of the collective good governs wisely. To understand the western democratic model of today, it helps to examine how the Greek City States, and notably the Ancient Athenians first devised the notion of a democratic government in their time. The Ancient Greek Philosopher Plato first defined Democracy as a system of “rule by the governed”. The origins of democracy first developed in the form of an Assembly which entitled all Athenian citizens to attend and participate. The Reform of Solon in 594 BC permitted the Assembly to either approve or reject legislation introduced by the Council. But it was not until after 508 BC, that the Council was chosen in a democratic fashion.
Real power, however still remained with the Athenian nobility, who excercised their control in the Assembly through their council, known as the ‘Aeropagus’. Through this council, the nobles elected the Archons who would govern the city. By 488 BC, the Archons were also chosen in a democratic fashion, thereby eliminating a source of power from the nobility. Magistrates were elected by freemen, jurors in trials were paid fees. Though, Athenian democracy did not bring equality, it did provide for the right of all citizens to be involved in governing their city in some form. 
In 1788 with the signing of the United States Constitution, the founding fathers shared a commitment to the principle of natural freedom and equality and provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. Nevertheless, the United States Constitution only guaranteed these liberties and a vote for the adult white male property owners. During the French Revolution in 1789, the revolutionary government adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which resulted in a short-lived National Convention elected by all males.
The history of headwear in human culture is as remarkable for its diversity of display and function as is the history of clothing. Though it is of course difficult to discern when the use of hats or headcoverings originated because of a scattered archaelogical record, we may assume that humans have been devising ways to protect and adorn the head as long as they have been covering the body for the same purposes.
The god Mithra, derived from the Indo-European ‘mihr’ meaning friendship or contract, was the representative god of just contracts and solemn oaths. The significance of the god wearing the Phrygian cap would be met by an increasing symbolism invested in the cap at later points in history. For the ancient Greeks the Phrygian cap was associated with foreignness and non-Greek influence, while the ancient Romans gave the Phrygian cap further meaning by making it the headwear designated for freed slaves. It became a distinguishing mark of liberty for subsequent periods in history as well, during the American Revolution and more notably during the French Revolution.
During the French Revolution, the Phrygian cap was appropriated as a symbol of the movement for social and political revolt against the monarchy. The ‘bonnet rouge’ became a wide-spread symbol of Revolution, adorning sculptures and public spaces in France at the end of the 18th century and becoming part of the costume of those who identified with the movement. The Phrygian cap remains a symbol of the ideals of the Revolution and is worn by France’s emblem, the figure of Marianne.
The American Revolution also appropriated the Phrygian cap as a symbol of liberty although perhaps it does not remain as significant to our visual historical memory as it does to the French culture. Still, the Phrygian cap can be seen in the state seals of New York, West Virginia, and New Jersey, as well as in the official seal of the United States Senate and in the U.S. Army’s official War Office Seal.
