Analysis of French History - Essay Example

of the of the Analysis of French history The history of the world is full of events, wars and personalities which have made a marked impression on the minds of the people. The histories of the countries give us an insight into the problems and crisis which were faced during its development. The best country in this regard is France whose history is fraught with momentous events. The country witnessed multitude of historic events which started from the French Revolution and stretched to the year 1900. This is the main reason why the history of France has been of immense interest for the writers and many books have been written on it. This essay would analyze and compare different books written on this topic. These include ‘The Genesis of Napoleonic Propaganda, 1769 to 1799’ by Wayne Hanley, ‘the recollections of Alexis de Tocquille’, ‘Rebel daughters: Women and the French Revolution’, Malicious Memories: Restoration Politics and a Prosopography of Turncoats by Alan B.Spitzer. All the books are a fantastic reserve of historical facts and provide detailed information on the historical events of the France during this period. The books describe all those happenings in the French history which were a milestone in the development of the country. The similarities between these books could easily be seen as all the books thoroughly emphasize on the French revolution, Napoleon’s life and his era. It would not be wrong to say that the time during and following the Napoleon era could be seen as one of the most drastic moments of culmination in the French history. There have been stages in the French history when the severe transformations of domination during an individual lifetime required the necessity, or availed the opportunity, to swap loyalties, betrayals, all with an eye to endurance or success. In no age in modern French history, omitting the possibility of the post-Vichy era, have past biased obligations been summoned up with such vicious intensity as during the period which followed the crumple of Napoleon’s empire and the renaissance of the Bourbon dominion. (Justification of the Use of Terror) Out of all the readings the most useful and the most informative is the Hanley’s ‘Genesis of Napoleon Propaganda’ which could be called as the best read in this regard. The book is really good as it portrays both the sides of the French history that is unbiased information on the revolution of France, Napoleon’s life and action and on the overall history of the France. The book although does not delve into greater detail like its contemporaries but unlike the other books, it portrays a true and a fair picture of the crisis and events of that time. (French Colonial Expansion) Out of all the books the least useful according to me is the ‘Recollections of Alexis de Tocquille’. The book, as said by the name is actually a biography of the author. Therefore it not only lacks proper details and statistics but as it is a biography it is more dependent on the views of the author rather than the reality. Hence the book contains biased information. In addition to this, the book is fraught with minute details which becomes long and monotonous and does not appeal to the reader. (Research Subjects: Government and Politics) The ‘malicious memories’ and the ‘rebel daughters’ possess a striking similarity in the way that both have a say in the French revolution in great detail. However the ‘rebel daughters’ is a classic book as it enlightens the readers about the role women played in making the French revolution a milestone in the French history. The ‘rebel daughters’ makes a very good read as it is quite unique and different in nature among its fellow books. The ‘malicious memories’ also suns along a similar theme though not same. The ‘Malicious memories’ goes into greater detail when it comes to the constitutional history of the France. It thoroughly describes the legislative measures taken during this period and the impact they had on the people of the country. This book can therefore boast to be a book which actually catches the heart of the reader by allowing them to visualize the historic happenings during that time. (The Imperial Catechism, 1806) The ‘Modern European Social History’ is actually an analysis of the 18th-century historical roots of social policy in France and is therefore to be welcomed. Although social policy scholars in the English-speaking countries are aware of the importance of family allowances in the evolution of the French welfare system, the struggles to extend statutory involvement in social welfare at the time of the French Revolution and the subsequent results of these struggles on the development of country’s welfare system are not well known. Filling a major gap in the literature, the author provides an interesting account of the efforts of women campaigners to secularize social welfare and create a centralized, state managed welfare system. The book covers a wide variety of subjects and hence could not be named as specialized unlike the ‘Rebel daughters’ and the ‘Recollections of Alexis de Tocquille’ The book however fails to recognize the impacts mage by the policies of that time on the other countries present in the vicinity. (The Belleville Manifesto, 1869) Given the current emphasis on active labor market and welfare to work programs, the early French revolutionary experiments were of considerable interest for the people, however almost all the books fail to realize the economic and social effects of the events and specially the revolution into much greater detail. The books could therefore be termed as being generalized books which deal on the revolution and the French history leading to 1900. Hence all the books prove to be engaging and enlightening books for the reader. The subject of French history is vast and as mentioned above, the number of books written on this subject is too big. Thinkers and writers of every time put down their thoughts and ideas into writing about the revolution and even now the impacts of the revolution and the radical impact it made on the world is clearly etched in the writings of these books. And it would not come as a surprise if this subject is broached into greater detail by the works of the writers and thinkers of the current century. Works Cited French Colonial Expansion. 04 June 2009 . Justification of the Use of Terror. 04 June 2009 . Research Subjects: Government and Politics. 4 June 2009 . The Belleville Manifesto, 1869. 04 June 2009 . The Imperial Catechism, 1806. 04 June 2009 . Read More