Charles Dickens opened his book, Tale of Two Cities, with this line “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. The setting was the French Revolution which spanned the time from 1789 to 1799 partially created by the huge debts taken on by France to support America’s effort to break free from Great Britain. The two cities were Paris in upheaval and London relatively calm. During the middle, 1793, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antonette were executed. She was mostly remembered telling starving people who had no bread to just eat cake.
Causes of the revolution were social inequality, economic hardship and the enlightenment idea of individual rights along with crushing government debt. As the masses began to get in control, intense political repression and executions became the norm.
Finally at the end of the 10 year cycle, Napolean Bonaparte seized power in a coup’ d etat and established the First French Empire. Then the next 15 years were consumed by the Napoleonic Wars ending at Waterloo. Napolean derided the British as a nation of shopkeepers but got his comeuppance on the plains of Belgium as the democratic system came out victorious. However, this was small solace to the millions who lost their lives during this quarter century.
