Studied by 0 peopleHow was France prior to the revolution?
-feudal system
-hierarchical and mobility limited through money and status
What is the Feudal System?
-political, economic and social position- based on land ownership
What was the ancien regime?
-absolute monarchy
-sovereignty (supreme power) in the hands of the “sovereign”
-divine rights of kings
What is absolute monarchy?
-King or Queen has total control of government
What was the divine rights of kings?
-justified power by saying it was God’s will for them to rule
What was the enlightenment?
-the age of reason
-end of despotism, superstition, tradition, bigotry, intolerance
-humans are rational by nature, freedom maximized
-Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu
-social contact theory
What was the first estate?
-Clergy
-didn’t pay taxes
-only made up 1% of the population
-collected tithes
What was the second estate?
-Aristocrats and Nobility
-paid a small amount of taxes
-collected taxes
-made up 2-3% of population
What was the third estate?
-Commoners
-paid full taxes
-overworked and underpaid
-over 90% of the population
Who were the Bourgeoisie?
-met in cafes called salons to discuss ideas about rights and freedoms
-upset about not having a voice in government
-publishing ideas in books, pamphlets, newspapers-but were thrown in jail for doing so
What were the economic and financial causes of the french revolution?
-massive debt from wars (Louis XV & XVI)
-60% of budget went to debt
-maintain power andrebuildingg army/navy
What were the geographic/financial issues in France before the french revolution?
Food Crisis
-long winter, floods and droughts
-people had no money, and had to spend it all on food and prices of bread
Immediate Causes
-unfair tax structure
-extravagant spending of Royal family
What were the political/intellectual causes of the french revolution?
-the third estate felt excluded (us vs. them)
-King Louis XVI was an incompetent ruler
Estates General
majority vote for each estate was expressed as a signal vote
-lack representation for 95-98% of the population
-Enlightenment ideas
What was the estates general?
elected representatives one for each estate (social class)
What were the Enlightenment ideas?
philosophers start to question absolutism and the church
What was the Estates General (French Parliament) meeting in the french revolution?
-Louis XVI called a meeting on May 5, 1789 (he didn’t have enough money to run the country)
-last prior meeting was 1614
What was the National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath?
-June 20, 1789 third estate met to talk about taxes (after weeks of meeting)
-were locked out of the hall- so went to a tennis court on castle grounds
What was the forming of the National Assembly and signing the Tennis Court Oath?
-renamed the third estate: National assembly
-swore the Tennis Court Oath
Beliefs
-they are the only group who represent the nation of France
-a constitution (this is the hallmark of a civic nation)
What was the storming of the bastille?
-July 14, 1789 (now a national holiday)
-rumor that Louis would break up National Assembly with 20,000 troops
-600 Parisians stormed to arm themselves, selves, captured the prison and set all prisoners free
-collective consciousness developed
When did Feudalism die?
-August 4, 1789-noble stands up in National Assembly
-he will no longer collect feudal dues because of peasant uprising due to lack of food
What were the bread riots?
-Shortage meant high price for flour
-people spent 90% of their wages on bread-caused riots (1768,1775,1779)
-Oct 5, 1789 Parisian women walked 25km to Versailles to demand the king and his family return to Paris-he did and never went back to Versailles
-people in the group numbered 6,000
What were the key events during Legislative Assembly phase of the french revolution?
-July 1790-Civil Constitution of the Clergy
-All priests and bishops must be elected like other public officials
-Clergy take an oath to loyalty to France
-Over 50% refuses and Louis sided with them
-June 21, 1791- Royal family tries to leave Paris (they get caught)
-April 20, 1792- war with Austria threatens Parisians with punishment if Louis is harmed
-September 21, 1792- National Assembly declares France a republic
-Absolute monarchy abolished
-Louis de-throned
What were the events of the national convention?
-January 15, 1793-Louis guilty of treason
-January 21, 1793-Louis guillotined
-Marie Antoinette was executed in Oct 1793
Who were the key figures and what were the main events of the Reign of Terror?
-Maximilien Robespierre leads the “Committee of Public Safety” to save France
-Aug 1792 leave en masse (conscription)
-Sept 1793 Law of Suspects
-Sept 1793 Law of Maximum
How was life during the Reign of Terror?
-couldn’t speak out against the changes of the revolution
-guillotine was used to kill people who didn’t agree
-other changes: revolutionary tribunal, changed calendar, metric system, “citizens” replaced “madame and monsieur”
-July 28, 1794- Robespierre guillotined himself
What were the events of the directory phase of the revolution?
-corrupt dictatorship of 5 men who couldn’t rule France
-committee of public safety was reorganized, with term limits being placed on members and powers being removed from it one by one
-the national assembly assumed those powers and several years of relative calm forwarded
-although mass executions were not repeated, France was still threatened by war with Britain, Austria, and Russia and had a rather unstable economy
-the government was not nearly effective enough in meeting the needs of french citizens, and riots and mobs still formed
How did Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power?
-took over power in a coup d’etat- the overthrow of existing power-in 1799
-returned pride and stability to France
-a military general who conquered many other regions in Europe until 1815
What were Napoleon’s reforms?
-concordat
-education reform
-Napoleonic law code
-bank of France
-collected taxes more efficiently
-made France more beautiful by improving infrastructure
What was the concordat of Napoleon’s Reform?
-made peace with pope-Catholicism official religion in France
-all bishops and priests swear an oath to him
What were Napoleon's reforms for education?
-centralization
-University of France
-supervisory bureau
What was Napoleonic Law Code?
-centralized and reformed outdated laws included religious tolerance, jury trial, abolish serfdom, fair legal methods, individual rights, freedom of belief
What was the rule of Napoleon?
-1804 Napoleon declared himself Emperor of France
-returned rituals the revolution abolished (noble titles, ceremonies)
-British to openly name him a tyrant and threat to peace and the “free people” of Europe
-the French Republic had barely lived for 10 years before being replaced by a new “king” under a different title
How was Napoleon defeated?
-1805-coalition forming against Napoleon (Britain & Austria)
-war with Britain-Continental System failed (trade embargo)
-forced 300 German states to join into 30 states-Confederation of the Rhine
-1808-Spain rebelled, Portugal joined
-1810-Russia wanted to leave, but Napoleon said no and invaded in the summer of 1812
-Sept 1812-French entered Moscow but major defeat
-1813-new coalition against Napoleon-Britain, Russia, Sweden, Prussia, Austria and German states in 1814
-Napoleon abdicated the throne and was exiled to Elba
-Louis XVI exiled brother-Louis XVIII placed on the throne
-Napoleon spent a year in Elba and came sailing back when he heard that Louis XVIII unpopular
-Hundred Days Napoleon returns to Paris and takes over
-Leaders of other countries create an army of 1 million men & met Napoleon with 122,000 soldiers at Waterloo in Belgium and crushed the French
-Napoleon was finally defeated for good and exiled to St.Helena’s where he died in 1821
What were the political, social, and economic impacts of the French Revolution?
-sense of nationalism was born
-all citizens were equal before the law
-one person, one vote
-Constitution
-legal document
-sets up the laws for all citizens
-how the country will be run
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