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[[File:TriumphantReturnKingPrussia.jpg|thumb|Caricature mocking the King of Prussia and émigrés]]
'''French emigration''' from the years 1789 to 1815 refers to the mass movement of citizens from France to neighboring countries, in reaction to the instability and upheaval caused by the [[French Revolution]] and the succeeding [[Napoleonic]] rule. Although initiated in 1789 as a peaceful effort led by the [[Bourgeoisie]] to increase political equality for the [[Third Estate]] (the unprivileged majority of the French people), the Revolution soon turned into a violent, popular movement. To escape political tensions and, mainly during the [[Reign of Terror]], to save their lives, a number of individuals emigrated from France and settled in the neighboring countries (chiefly [[Great Britain]], [[Habsburg_Monarchy|Austria]], and [[Prussia]] or other German states), though a few also went to the Americas.
== Revolution begins ==
When the [[Estates-General of 1789|Estates General]] convened in May
=== The first émigrés ===
While [[Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès|Abbé Sièyes]] and several other men of the first and second estates supported the Third Estate's desire for equality, several members of the clergy and nobility were averse to it. Under the old regime, they were accustomed with a certain quality of living and with the right to pass this life to their children. The Revolution was looking to remove all privilege in an effort to make everyone politically equal, so the first [[émigré]]s, or emigrants, were proponents of the old order and chose to leave France although emigration abroad was not prohibited.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title = Jewish Emigrés during the French Revolution|jstor = 4465274|journal = Jewish Social Studies|date = 1954-10-01|pages = 319–334|volume = 16|issue = 4|first = Zosa|last = Szajkowski}}</ref>
The summer of
Upon settling in neighboring countries such as Great Britain, they were able to assimilate well and maintained a certain level of comfort in their new lifestyles. This was a significant emigration; it marked the presence of many royalists outside France where they could be safe, alive, and await their opportunity to reenter the French political climate. But events in France made the prospect of return to their former way of life uncertain. In November
<ref name="Popkin, Jeremy D 2016">Popkin, Jeremy D. A Short History of the French Revolution. London: Routledge, 2016. Print.</ref>
However, the majority of the émigrés left France not in
== Motivation to leave ==
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As the notions of political freedom and equality spread, people began developing different opinions on who should reap the benefits of active citizenship. The political unity of the revolutionaries had begun to fizzle out by 1791, although they had succeeded in establishing a [[Constitutional monarchy]].
Simultaneously, the Revolution was plagued with many problems. In addition to political divisions, they were dealing with the hyperinflation of the [[National Convention]]'s fiat paper currency, the ''[[assignat]]s,'' revolts against authority in the countryside, slave uprisings in colonial territories such as the [[Haitian Revolution]], and no peaceful end in sight. Someone had to be blamed for the failures of the revolution, and it certainly could not be the fault of the revolutionaries for they were on the side of liberty and justice. As Thomas E. Kaiser argues in his article "From the Austrian Committee to the Foreign Plot: Marie-Antoinette, Austrophobia, and the Terror", centuries of [[Austrophobia]] was reincarnated into a firm belief in an Austrian
<blockquote>consisted of a massive, multilayered conspiracy by counterrevolutionary agents abetted by the allies, who allegedly—and quite possibly in reality—sought to undermine the Republic through a coordinated effort to corrupt government officials associated with the more moderate wing of the Jacobin establishment and to defame the government by mobilizing elements on the extreme left."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>
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=== Jewish migration ===
The Jewish people were viewed with suspicion during this time. While a percentage of the Jewish people was politically aligned with the [[Royalists]], the distrust was unwarranted.<ref name=":0" /> A majority of Jews were not counterrevolutionaries and did not partake in crimes against the republic such as money crimes with the ''[[assignats]]'', although this was highly speculated.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> In [[Alsace]], minorities such as the Jews and Protestants were pro-revolution, while the Catholic majority was not.<ref name=":0" /> Despite these facts, as Zosa Szajkowski states in the text ''Jews and the French Revolutions of 1789, 1830, and 1848'' it was still a widely held belief that "the Jews wanted to bring about a counter-revolution with all its destruction and death".<ref name=":0" /> Thus, the Jews were continuously unfairly suspected of fraud, although rarely ever convicted for it.<ref name=":0" /> Also, their correspondence in Hebrew with those living outside France was restricted.<ref name=":0" /> August Mauger, the leader of the terror in Nancy, refused to give Jews passports.<ref name=":0" /> Those emigrating had to do so illegally, without proper documentation and thus without guarantee of success.
== Emigrant armies ==
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====United States====
Tens of thousands of émigrés saw America as a compelling destination for multiple reasons. Those who craved peace and stability were drawn to the neutral stance America had taken on the many wars France was engaged in with her neighbors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title = The "Non-Aligned Status" of French Emigrés and Refugees in Philadelphia, 1793-1798|url = https://transatlantica.revues.org/1147|journal = Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal|date = 2006-06-30|issn = 1765-2766|issue = 2|language = fr|first = Allan|last = Potofsky|doi = 10.4000/transatlantica.1147|doi-access = free}}</ref> The majority of emigrants were older and left France as individuals and sought out where to live in the United States based on what professional opportunities were available there.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title = The "Non-Aligned Status" of French Emigrés and Refugees in Philadelphia, 1793-1798|url = https://transatlantica.revues.org/1147|journal = Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal|date = 2006-06-30|issn = 1765-2766|issue = 2|language = fr|first = Allan|last = Potofsky|doi = 10.4000/transatlantica.1147|doi-access = free}}</ref> Leaving their homelands with nothing, these Frenchmen were set on finding a way to feed themselves and make a living. Although they appreciated being away from the Terror, the French felt distant from their American denizens and imposed a self-isolation from their community.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title = The "Non-Aligned Status" of French Emigrés and Refugees in Philadelphia, 1793-1798|url = https://transatlantica.revues.org/1147|journal = Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal|date = 2006-06-30|issn = 1765-2766|issue = 2|language = fr|first = Allan|last = Potofsky|doi = 10.4000/transatlantica.1147|doi-access = free}}</ref>
Along with the social changes that plagued the French nobility in their new transition to America, the émigrés now had to concern themselves with the issue of finances, as a result of the seizing of their assets during the Revolution.<ref name="scribd.com">{{cite journal|last1=Pasca Harsdnyi|first1=Doina|title=Lessons from America by Doina Pasca Harsanyi|date=2001|url=https://www.scribd.com/book/272861480/Lessons-from-America-Liberal-French-Nobles-in-Exile-1793-1798.}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> They now had to find a way to sustain themselves in a society that did not value them as they had been valued before.
Many noblemen found themselves conflicted with the idea of entering the business realm of the American society, as Enlightenment ideals discouraged business as a moral or noble activity. Nonetheless, the émigrés took up pursuits in Real Estate, finance, and smaller family owned businesses. These were all to be temporary endeavors, however, as the French nobility still aimed to leave the Americas at the most opportune moment.<ref name="scribd.com"/>
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Many more stayed in Europe, especially in Great Britain, France's neighbour to the north. The country appealed to people because it had a channel separating them from the revolutionaries and because it was known for being tolerant.<ref name=":4" /> Additionally, England, more than America, allowed for the maintenance of the French way of life for the elites because "the etiquette of European elites was as universal in the eighteenth century as it would ever become".<ref name="Macmillin">{{cite book|last1=Carpenter|first1=Kirsty|title=Refugees of the French Revolution: Emigres in London|date=1999|publisher=Macmillin|location=Houndmills, Hampshire}}</ref>
Emigrants primarily settled in London and [[Soho]], the latter had grown into a thriving French cultural district, complete with French hotels and cuisine, although it had long been a haven for French exiles, housing many thousands of Frenchmen from the last mass migration which occurred in reaction to the [[Edict of Nantes]].<ref name=":4" /> Here the French had a somewhat easier transition into English society, but to say emigrating to this district was easy is to dismiss how truly austere their circumstance; "money remained a chronic concern and hunger a constant companion" (Whittaker).<ref name=":4" /> Most people just picked back up the trades they had in France, and aristocrats found themselves having to seek employment for the first time in years.<ref name=":4" /> Those who were educated often offered their services as instructors in French, dancing, and fencing.<ref name="Macmillin"/> Those who had no knowledge of skills that would benefit them as laborers turned to crime.<ref name=":4" /> The truly elite émigrés settled in [[Marylebone]], [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], and [[Hampstead]]. The politics of these areas were extremely royalist. In contrast, émigrés from the lower classes of society often settled in St. Pancras and St. George's Fields. Both of these areas facilitated the ability of the émigrés to maintain their Catholic faith. In [[St Pancras, London|St. Pancras]], émigrés were allowed to use the Anglican church, and for occasions of particular significance, they were allowed to worship without any interference from the Anglican clergy. In [[Saint George's Fields|St. George's Fields]], the Chapel of Notre-Dame was opened in 1796. These poorer émigrés were an eclectic group. They included widows, men wounded in war, the elderly, the ecclesiastics, and some provincial nobility along with domestic servants. It has been noted that "there was little that these émigrés had in common besides their misfortunes and their stoic perseverance in the absence of any alternative"<ref name="Macmillin"/> Malnutrition and poor living conditions led to an onslaught of maladies, and death did not quite put an end to their suffering for even posthumously their families were beset with the financial burden of administering their funeral rites.<ref name=":4" />
The number of refugees fleeing into Britain reached its climax in autumn of 1792. In September alone, a total of nearly
==See also==
*[[White émigré|Russian emigration]]
==Further reading==
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[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[Category:Politically motivated migrations]]
[[Category:French emigrants during the French Revolution| ]]
[[Category:Monarchism in France]]
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