Beethoven lived in a world of social and political change. It was an age of revolution with major revolts in America and in France. In addition, new inventions were changing the way people lived, and artists and writers were expressing new ideas of freedom. Significant events which occurred during his lifetime are shown below. There are links to more details on some of the events listed.
1770: Beethoven is born. The "Boston Massacre"/ Marie Antoinette becomes Queen of France/ William Wordsworth is born/ Gainsborough paints "The Blue Boy".
1771-1707: First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica/ Samuel Adams forms Committees of Correspondence in Massachusetts/ Boston Tea Party/ Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia/ Paul Revere's ride/ Battle of Bunker Hill/ Declaration of Independence/ Inquisition abolished in France/ Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations/ James Cook's voyages/ Lavoisier proves air is mainly oxygen and nitrogen.
1778: Beethoven is presented by father as a "six-year old" prodigy. Rousseau and Voltaire die/ La Scala opera house opens/ Cook discovers Hawaii.
1779-82: Benedict Arnold's plot/ British surrender at Yorktown/ Joseph II succeeds the Empress Maria Theresa in Austria/ Mozart's Idomeneo/ James Watt's rotary steam engine.
1783: Beethoven's first printed works. Peace of Versailles ending the American Revolution/ Montgolfier brothers fire balloon.
1784-1788 United States Constitution signed/ Beaumarchais and Le mariage de Figaro/ The Parlement of Paris demands the summoning of the States-General and presents a list of grievances/ Bread riots in France/ Invention of the threshing machine/ English Channel crossed by balloon/ steam engine installed in spinning factory/ Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni/ Schiller's Don Carlos.
1789: In May the States-General meet at Versailles/ the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly and refuses to depart without a constitution. When the king suspends meetings for three days and closes the hall/ the members meet at a tennis court and take an oath not to leave until they have a constitution. In July a mob assaults the Bastille and Lafayette becomes commander of the National Guard. Royalists begin to leave Paris, Bouilly among them/ First United States Congress meets/ Mutineers of H.M.S. "Bounty"settle on Pitcairn Island.
1790: Benjamin Franklin dies/ Louis XVI accepts the French constitution/ First session of the United States Supreme Court/ Mozart's Così fan tutte.
1791: Royal family attempts to flee Paris/ Bill of Rights ratified/ First performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte/ Death of Mozart
1792: Beethoven moves to Vienna. French royal family is imprisoned/ the French Republic is proclaimed/ Danton comes to power/ use of the guillotine starts/ France declares war on Austria, Prussia and Sardinia/ Gustavus III of Sweden assassinated/ Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man/ Part I / Rossini is born/ Gas light is used in England for the first time.
1793-1794: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed/ Reign of Terror/ mass executions in France/ Danton, Robespierre and St. Just executed/ The Holy Roman Empire declares war on France/ the Electorate of Bonn is dissolved after the occupation of the city by French troops/ Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin/ Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, Part II.
1795-1803 Bouilly writes Léonore, ou l'amou conjugal, Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven works on first attempt at opera, Vestals Feuer, Bread riots in France/ Napoleon appointed commander-in-chief/ French capture Rome/ Napoleon becomes progressively: a Consul/ First Consul and First Consul for life/ George Washington dies/ Louisiana Purchase/ Robert Fulton's steamboat/ Jenner introduces smallpox vaccination/ John Dalton introduces atomic theory/ Darwin dies/ Coleridge's Kubla Khan/ Donizetti and Bellini are born/ Victor Hugo is born.
1804: Beethoven starts work on Fidelio. Napoleon declared emperor/ Alexander Hamilton killed in duel with Aaron Burr.
1805: First performance of Fidelio. French in Vienna/ Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.
1806-13: Second version of Fidelio, Letter to the 'Immortal Beloved', Incident at Teplitz. Official end of the Holy Roman Empire/ War of 1812, Napoleon's retreat from Moscow/ French conquer Vienna in 1809/ Mexico declares independence/ Grimms' Fairy Tales/ Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice/ Verdi and Wagner are born.
1814: Final version of Fidelio. Napoleon abdicates and is banished to Elba/ Congress of Vienna opens/ Francis Scott Key writes The Star-Spangled Banner.
1815-1821: Battle of Waterloo/ Death of Napoleon/ "Missouri Compromise".
1822-1826: Wilhelmine Schröder sings her first Leonore, Erie Canal finished/ Mexico becomes a Republic/ James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans.
1827: Death of Beethoven.
THE BASTILLE
The fall of the Bastille, on June 14, 1789, marked not only the start of the
French Revolution, it almost immediately became the symbol of the overthrow
of tyranny everywhere. Today France celebrates Bastille Day as the United States
celebrates the Fourth of July. It was probably on the mind of Bouillywhen he
wrote his libretto Léonore, ou l'amour conjugal.
The Bastille, constructed in the fourteenth century, was massive, 100' high, with 30' thick walls and a moat 75' wide. It was used for 'gentile confinement for the well-to-do'. Just before it was attacked, the Bastille housed only seven prisoners, and the conditions under which they lived were not particular stringent. True it was still a prison; the rooms were hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and activity was limited. Money was allotted to the governor for the upkeep of the prisoners according to their class. (Writers received the most.) In addition, prisoners could bring their own furnishings, receive gourmet food and wine from outside, and even keep cats and dogs. They could receive visitors and play cards among themselves. The exterior court of the prison was usually open to the public who could chat with the gatekeeper and admire the governor's vegetable garden. The rooms in the towers measured about 200 square feet. Cells on California's Death Row measure 40 square feet. While he was certainly an exception to the general rule of prisoners, the Marquis de Sade who had been released only a few days before the attack, brought an extensive wardrobe, furniture including portraits and tapestries, and a library of 133 volumes.
Still it was a symbol of oppression. The streets of Paris were filled with rioters and it soon became apparent that they could not longer be controlled by the regular troops. The royal troops retreated from the center of Paris. Those who remained were commoners, identified with the revolutionaries, and hesitated to fight against them. Seeking weapons, the mobs forced gunsmiths and armorers to turn over guns and powder. There were rumors of badly-needed gunpowder having been moved into the Bastille. Some 8,000 citizens invaded the Hôtel des Invalides and captured 32,000 muskets, some powder, and twelve piece of artillery. The someone called out, "To the Bastille!"
The prison was garrisoned with 82 French soldiers and 32 Swiss Guards. During four hours of fighting, 98 of the attackers and one defender were killed. Finally there was an unconditional surrender. The crowd rushed in and liberated the dazed and confused prisoners: two lunatics, four forgers and one aristocrat who had been locked up at the request of his family.
Demolition of the prison started immediately and by November most was gone. Then the symbolism grew. There were tales of the discovery of skeletons and torture instruments including the famous iron mask. Tourists were entertained with morbid descriptions of pre-Revolutionary conditions.
THE REIGN OF TERROR
Ironically, it was during the Reign of Terror (September 17, 1793 to July 28,
1794) that the prisons were really filled. Aristocrats were jailed for no valid
reason, death sentences were passed at the rate of about seven a day. Madame
Guillotine was kept very busy. When Robespierre fell in 1794, 10,000 detainees
in Paris were released within a few days. But it was the Bastille which remained
the symbol.
Conditions in the provinces were just as bad. In Nantes, on the river Loire, prisons were so crowded that barges, rafts, etc. were filled with 1,500 men, women and children and then scuttled in the river. Bouilly up river in Tours was certainly aware of these atrocities. In all, the Reign of Terror took 2,700 lives in Paris, and over 18,000 in all of France. (Some claim the numbers were much higher.) In addition, 300,000 were jailed. The property of those executed reverted to the state so harsh methods were very profitable.
Today, the new Paris Opera House is named the Bastille and is located on the Place where the notorious prison once stood.