Impact of the French Revolution on Global Change

The Age of Revolutions was roughly the time period from 1750 to 1850. During this time there were many changes in society. The biggest revolution in this time was the French Revolution. This revolution really sparked change across Europe, which then eventually spreads across the globe. The effects that the French Revolution had were very important, shaping politics, society, religion, mindset, and politics for more than a century. It brought liberalism and the end of many feudal or traditional laws and practices. Two of the most important transitions in this time were the loosening of religious authority and also a cultural infatuation with science and technology to ensure human progress. Revolutionaries didn’t like how Christianity made

For the revolutionaries it wasn’t enough to just make a new constitution, they wanted to re-constitute human nature. One of the biggest ways of changing human nature and society was to begin to throw out Judeo-Christianity. Catholicism was especially attacked during the revolution. It was part of the Second Estate in France and was very powerful and wealthy. The church pre dated the monarchy in France so it controlled lots of property and land in the country. Farmers would have to give some of their crops to the church as well. One of the first things done in the revolution was the nationalization of church lands. This was an economic boom for the revolutionaries and it gave them more power to do what they wanted. In this new secular society revolutionaries had to figure out how to instill moral behavior into the people without the church. This is apparent in Frankenstein because the monster never learns the morals and ethics of Christianity, but is still able to form its own good behaviors based on the positive examples of other humans. One example of this is when Shelley wrote, “My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment.” This was called “secular morality.” Shelley was alive during this time when only about 20% of Londoners went to church. In Frankenstein it is apparent that

Religion was losing its hold in society, and science was becoming much more important. Shelley took these ideas and incorporated them into Frankenstein. She had great respect for science but knew that you couldn’t have too much pride in your work. She also had no interest in Christianity but instead looked further back to the Greeks for inspiration. Marx had a great respect for technology and believed that it was needed in order for society to continue moving forward. He also believed that religion was just an institution that was used to control the working class. Religion and Science were very important factors in the Age of Revolutions and this is reflected in both Marx’s and Shelley’s