Abstract
This chapter analyses how the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars have modified the political constitution of the different German states that after 1806 became part of the Confederation of the Rhine. First, the main events and outcomes of the French Revolution as well as its perception by German political leaders and intellectuals are summarized. After this, the diffusion processes of revolutionary institutions (including democratic representation, the abolishment of feudal privileges, and conscription) are analysed. It will be shown that before 1792, the diffusion of revolutionary ideas and institutions was mainly promoted by German intellectuals and journalists. This communicative diffusion did not stimulate any major revolutionary movement. The expansionist turn of the French Revolution in 1792 led to an increasing sceptical view among German intellectuals, but stimulated also the proclamation of the Republic of Mainz, the first (temporarily) successful revolution in Germany. Only Napoleon’s arrival in German politics led to a more thorough diffusion of revolutionary institutions, but this remained limited mainly to conscription and administrative reform. Limiting his use of coercion to match recruitment quota for the Grande Armée, Napoleon relied on interest-based negotiation and role-model to promote the diffusion of other revolutionary institutions to the Confederation of the Rhine. This enabled German leaders to ‘filter’ the transfer of these institutions according to their needs in terms of consolidation of rule, thus excluding revolutionary achievements that had been originally been welcomed by many German intellectuals in the first place.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Source of translation: https://teachwar.wordpress.com/resources/war-justifications-archive/european-wars-of-the-french-revolution-1792/#fraternity (last accessed 28 March 2018).
- 2.
Source of translation: http://www.indiana.edu/~b356/texts/DecreeLiberty1792.html (last accessed 28 March 2018).
References
Blanning, T. C. W. (1989). The French Revolution and the Modernization of Germany. Central European History, 22(2), 109–129. https://doi.org/10.2307/4546142
Broers, M. (2015 (1996)). Europe under Napoleon. London and New York: I.B. Tauris.
Creasy, E. S. (1915). The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. London: Oxford University Press.
Delinière, J. (1994). Lumières allemandes et girondinisme. In J. Mondot & A. Ruiz (Eds.), Interférences franco-allemandes et Révolution française (pp. 93–118). Talence: Presses universitaires de Bordeaux.
Droz, J. (1983). Les Anti-Jacobins en Allemagne. In J. r. Voss (Ed.), Deutschland und die Französische Revolution (pp. 149–153). Munich: Artemis.
Dumont, F. (1983). Mainz und die Französische Revolution. In J. r. Voss (Ed.), Deutschland und die Französische Revolution (pp. 132–148). Artemis: Munich.
Dumont, F. (1993). Die Mainzer Republik von 1792/93: Studien zur Revolutionierung in Rheinhessen und der Pfalz (2nd ed.). Alzey: Verlag der Rheinhessischen Druckwerkstätte.
Ellis, G. (2014). The Nature of Napoleonic Imperialism. In P. G. Dwyer (Ed.), Napoleon and Europe (pp. 97–117). London and New York: Routledge.
Fahrmeir, A. (2003). Centralisation versus Particularism in the ‘Third Germany’. In M. Rowe (Ed.), Collaboration and resistance in Napoleonic Europe: state formation in an age of upheaval, c. 1800–1815 (pp. 107–120). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Fehrenbach, E. (1976). Deutschland und die Französische Revolution. Geschichte und Gesellschaft. Sonderheft, 2, 232–253.
Fehrenbach, E. (2008). Vom Ancien Régime zum Wiener Kongress (5th ed.). Munich and Vienna: R. Oldenbourg.
François, E. (1995). L’Allemagne et la Révolution française. In J. Morizet & H. Möller (Eds.), Allemagne-France: lieux et mémoire d’une histoire commune (pp. 97–108). Paris: Albin Michel.
Gantet, C., & Struck, B. (2013). Révolution, guerre, interférences 1789–1815. Villeneuve d’Ascq: Presses universitaires du septentrion.
Garner, G. (2008). Dimensions sociales, politiques et culturelles de la réception de la rupture révolutionnaire dans les États territoriaux du Saint-Empire. In F. Knopper & J. Mondot (Eds.), L’Allemagne face au modèle français de 1789 à 1815 (pp. 29–42). Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Mirail.
Gilli, M. (1990). La République de Mayence et les mouvements en Rhénanie à la suite de l’occupation française. In A. Dabezies (Ed.), La Révolution française vue des deux côtés du Rhin (pp. 9–37). Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence.
Hallihan, K. M. (2003). Following Bonaparte: Images of Napoleon in the Works of Bettina von Arnim. Colloquia Germanica, 36(2), 97–117.
Hamm, M., Brockhoff, E., Bräu, V., Buchhold, S., & Lerche, U. (2015). Napoleon und Bayern: Katalog zur Bayerischen Landesausstellung 2015. Augsburg: Konrad Theiss Verlag.
Hammer, K. (1983). Deutsche Revolutionsreisende in Paris. In J. r. Voss (Ed.), Deutschland und die Französische Revolution (pp. 26–42). Munich: Artemis.
Knopper, F. (2008). La Westphalie, un laboratoire des idées napoléoniennes. In F. Knopper & J. Mondot (Eds.), L’Allemagne face au modèle français de 1789 à 1815 (pp. 181–196). Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Mirail.
Lalevée, T. J. (2015). National Pride and Republican Grandezza: Brissot’s New Language for International Politics in the French Revolution. French History and Civilisation, 6, 66–82.
Larousse. (2005). Dictionnaire de l’histoire de France. Paris: Larousse.
Lefebvre, J. (1987). La Révolution française vue par les Allemands. Lyon: Presses universitaires de Lyon.
Lefebvre, J. (1990). Trois réactions allemandes devant la Révolution française: E. Kant, G. Forster, F. Schlegel. In A. Dabezies (Ed.), La Révolution française vue des deux côtés du Rhin (pp. 39–70). Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence.
Marx, R. (1983). Strasbourg, centre de la propagande revolutionnaire vers l’Allemagne. In J. r. Voss (Ed.), Deutschland und die Französische Revolution (pp. 16–25). Munich, Artemis.
Möller, H. (1983). Primat der Außenpolitik: Preußen und die Franzôsische Revolution 1789–1795. In J. r. Voss (Ed.), Deutschland und die Französische Revolution (pp. 65–81). Munich: Artemis.
Nipperdey, T. (1998 (1983)). Deutsche Geschichte 1800–1866: Bürgerwelt und starker Staat. Munich: C.H. Beck.
Planert, U. (2006). From Collaboration to Resistance: Politics, Experience, and Memory of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in Southern Germany. Central European History, 39(4), 676–705. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008938906000227
Planert, U. (2007). Der Mythos vom Befreiungskrieg: Frankreichs Kriege und der deutsche Süden: Alltag, Wahrnehmung, Deutung 1792–1841. Paderborn: Schöningh.
Rapport, M. (2013). The International Repercussions of the French Revolution. In P. McPhee (Ed.), A companion to the French Revolution (pp. 381–396). Chichester and Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Rowe, M. (1999). Between Empire and Home Town: Napoleonic Rule on the Rhine, 1799–1814. The Historical Journal, 42(3), 643–674. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X9900850X
Rowe, M. (2014). Napoleon and State Formation in Central Europe. In P. G. Dwyer (Ed.), Napoleon and Europe (pp. 204–224). London and New York: Routledge.
Ruiz, A. (1994). Le pèlerinage vers la “Terre bénie de la liberté”: La France et les Français vus par les voyageurs et émigrés politiques allemands de la révolution de 1789 au “Printemps des peuples” de 1848. In J. Mondot & A. Ruiz (Eds.), Interférences franco-allemandes et Révolution française (pp. 169–196). Talence: Presses universitaires de Bordeaux.
Ruiz, A. (2008). Napoléon vu par les Allemands de son temps. In F. Knopper & J. Mondot (Eds.), L’Allemagne face au modèle français de 1789 à 1815 (pp. 43–63). Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Mirail.
Seifert, H.-U. (1990). Die Französische Revolution im Spiegel der deutschen periodischen Zeitschriften (1789–1815). In A. Dabezies (Ed.), La Révolution française vue des deux côtés du Rhin (pp. 161–202). Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence.
Telesko, W. (1998). Napoleon Bonaparte: der “moderne Held” und die bildende Kunst 1799–1815. Wien: Böhlau.
Wegert, K. H. (1981). Patrimonial Rule, Popular Self-Interest, and Jacobinism in Germany, 1763–1800. The Journal of Modern History, 53(3), 440–467. https://doi.org/10.1086/242325
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sangar, E. (2020). Exporting Revolutionary Institutions Across the Rhine. In: Diffusion in Franco-German Relations. Studies in Diplomacy and International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36040-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36040-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36039-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36040-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)