Human Rights: From Magna Carta to the French Revolution

In two previous articles, the historical roots of the modern phenomenon of human rights were examined. This section addresses the history of the growth of modern political philosophy of human rights in Europe. Throughout human history, individuals, representatives of a social class, or representatives of the people and nations of the world have risen up due to discrimination or exploitative relations in their countries, expressing their economic, political, and social demands, without being able to refer to rights that would grant them the right to defend the ideals of human life. For the first time in contemporary history, the Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Charter are recognized as documents that can serve as a legal basis for any citizen's claims and for defending the ideals of human life in today's world; but where should we search for the philosophical origins of human rights? The philosophical history of human rights is like a mosaic image, with its stones added over time and in various places throughout human history. Human rights in European history did not exist for everyone in the Middle Ages; rather, the ruling classes claimed rights and interests for themselves. In 1215, for the first time, English nobles were able to gain rights from the reigning king at the time, John Lackland, through their revolutionary struggles, which became known as the 'Magna Carta Libertatum' or 'Great Charter of Freedom.' Part of these historical achievements of social struggles relates to another agreement that dates back more than a hundred years before the Magna Carta, in 1100, when King Heinrich I granted new social rights to the nobles. The rights that the English nobles obtained from the reigning king in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries had no relation to today's understanding of democracy; rather, they reinforced the rights of the nobles to protect their interests as large landowners. However, in this agreement, the king also granted rights to peasants, which was novel for that time. This king concluded that every human is free and no one is allowed to arrest or imprison another person without reason or seize their property unless they have committed a crime according to the law. This was a novelty. The next significant step was taken in the seventeenth century, known as 'Habeas Corpus,' recorded in the history of law and philosophy in Europe. This slogan means 'You must have your own body.' According to this law, for the first time in European history, prisoners were granted the right to a fair trial. The content of this law was subsequently reflected in the 'Bill of Rights,' which was enacted on December 16, 1689, in the English Parliament and is considered the most important document in the history of parliamentarism. This law influenced both the Constitution of the United States and the current constitutions of Germany and other Western European countries. Today, Article 104 of the German Constitution establishes the freedom of every individual and their right to appeal to the highest judicial authorities. In the eighteenth century, the initiative for the struggle for individual freedoms was transferred to the thirteen English colonies in America. It may be a historical irony that the first human rights declaration arose from disputes between American residents of English colonies and the government officials of England: Americans demanded rights of freedom and individual rights from the English government. Americans were no longer willing to accept England's unjust trade and tax policies. It should be noted that the philosophy of the American Revolution against England is related to the philosophy of natural human rights. The philosophy of natural human rights is also intertwined with the philosophy of human rights of the United Nations. This is why the Declaration of Independence of America on June 4, 1776, speaks of the rights of the people. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Declaration of Rights was announced, which reflected human rights principles for the first time in a country's constitution, stating that all men are naturally free and independent. This declaration approved the separation of Virginia from England and emphasized that humans have inherent rights and are not allowed to deprive their children of those natural rights. The Virginia Declaration also established the right of citizens to property and the right to enjoy life and freedom. Of course, the right to judicial recourse for every citizen, including freedom of the press, was also explicitly mentioned. In 1789, the French bourgeoisie, known as the Third Estate, was unwilling to bear the costs of the country's economic bankruptcy. In the same year, individuals from the bourgeois class were able to initiate a revolutionary movement in the National Assembly of France, demanding participation in the American Revolution and the drafting of the French Declaration of Human Rights. At that time, Thomas Jefferson was the American ambassador in France. He was an advisor to Marquis de Lafayette regarding the draft of the French Declaration of Human Rights until Lafayette announced the draft on August 26, 1789. The values that European philosophers and politicians had fought for over the years thus influenced the French Revolution and the French Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration later affected the French Constitution two years later. The French Declaration of Human Rights, like the human rights declarations in America, was articulated based on the principles of natural human rights. The equality of human beings was the foundation of the political philosophy of all human rights declarations. However, it should be emphasized that the understanding of equality in 1789 was not the same as today. The French Assembly abolished the rights of feudal lords and guaranteed freedom as a natural right of humans in human history, but equality of rights was only for men, not for women and men; and of course, the French revolutionaries did not mean economic equality either. Despite all the existing violations, the foundation of individual freedoms was laid in the American and French Revolutions. It is only noted here that the French Constitution at that time was not immediately implemented, and instead, the Reign of Terror with the guillotine arose, which destroyed all the liberal human rights values. A female writer and revolutionary in France named Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) wrote that women gained nothing from the French Revolution and that men still wanted to dominate women. This revolutionary woman was executed on November 3, 1793. It was Napoleon who, in his wars, exploited the revolutionary slogans of 'Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity'; however, the core value of the philosophy of these slogans was later crystallized in the 'Civil Code,' which is the law book of France. The philosophical values of the French and American revolutions have influenced the constitutions of European countries to this day. The bourgeoisie fought and continues to fight for liberal values. From the perspective of political economy, even the liberation of peasants and the freedom of trade and the working class benefited the interests of the bourgeoisie. One of the results of the bourgeois revolution in its first phase was the prevention of state officials' interference in the economy. State officials only took on the duty of providing the economic framework of the country, such as building roads or schools and universities. The result of this policy was that blind exploitation developed. To the same extent, the exploitation of women and children was a result of the non-interference of government policies in economic matters. The question of whether the government should intervene in the country's economy or not remains a topic of discussion among parties with various political inclinations to this day. It is noted that social issues such as workers' rights are also part of the human rights demands of the United Nations. Therefore, it can be concluded that the modern principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not come down from the sky to the earth but were the result of centuries of intellectual and social struggle. Of course, the view of defending human rights is ancient, and its roots are also evident in the ancient culture of Iran. The Cylinder of Cyrus the Great should be recognized as the first charter of human rights. This charter was written in 538 BC in cuneiform script. A replica of this charter is kept at the United Nations.