During the late 18th century, France experienced a period of intense social and political unstability. This was because the existence of an aristocracy and monarchy which had plenty of privileges, a marked indifference toward lower classes and repressive tendencies, while there was extensive sectors of the population struggling to survive, and the huge majority of people in the country were politically underrepresented. On this context, a social-political revolution took place on 1789, marked by the siege and take of the prison of the Bastille by a revolutionary group. Some time after this, the recently formed National Constituent Assembly, adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" (DRM&C). This document was drafted by liberal and revolutionary thinkers, and stablished a series of rights for most of France's men, based on principles of equality and freedom.

The creation of this document, mostly like the revolution, caused all kinds of reactions across Europe, including Great Britain, where the document received support, opposition, destructive and constructive critics. Among the most important reactions on literature we have Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man", Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" and Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication on the Rights of Woman". Despite the mixed reactions, all of this led to changes on British society mentality, which then led to activism and eventually to actual political changes.

We can say that the DRM&C, was an important break point on how the individuals' value was perceived, as it gives most men the same rights and consolidate this idea of not looking just at the social position or property ownership of an individual to consider it relevant for society, at the same time that the revoultion showed the power, value and importance that collectives may have. Of course, the Declaration didn't include all men (slaves were a notorious exception to this) and it didn't include women at all, yet it opened doors that would led those excluded to eventually gain rights as well.

Sources:

Britannica. (2025). Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Encyclopaedia Britannica, website: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen | Summary | Britannica

Kopstein, K. (2000). Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge University Press. P.72.

Popkin, J. (2014). A Short History of the French Revolution (6th edition). Routledge. London & New York.

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