In the Epicentre of the Storm? The Effects of the Revolution and Warfare on the French Economy, 1789–1815

To assess the consequences of warfare and revolution on the French economy from 1792 to 1815, this chapter compares the dynamics of the French economy in the decades preceding 1789 and those following 1815. It discusses institutional changes, sectorial transformations, and the macroeconomic trends of the French economy. The institutional reforms implemented by the various governments during the period between 1789 and 1815 were wide ranging; however, their direct impact on the economy is difficult to measure. What seems clear is that, on the whole, they reinforced the authority of the central state and favoured the development of rural France. The period had a profound influence on the industrial structure of the French economy. External trade was shattered by more than two decades of war and blockades, and trade and export-led industrial sectors were badly hit. After 1815, the dynamism of the French economy was transferred from coastal ports and regions to the interior. These changes shaped the French economy of the nineteenth century which was dominated by agriculture and specialised in industrial sectors and techniques that used sparingly coal energy sparingly, and thus took an original path of development.