Science & Enlightenment figures

Descartes

Father of modern philosophy; argued reason and doubt are paths to truth ("I think, therefore I am"); laid groundwork for rationalism and the Scientific Revolution

Copernicus

Proposed the heliocentric model (Earth orbits the Sun); his 1543 work launched the Scientific Revolution by challenging Church-backed astronomy

Galileo

Used the telescope to confirm heliocentrism; applied math to physics; was forced by the Inquisition to recant — symbolized conflict between Church and science

Newton

Laws of motion and universal gravitation; showed the universe runs on knowable mathematical laws; inspired Enlightenment thinkers to apply "natural law" to society

Voltaire

French satirist; championed free speech, religious tolerance, and separation of Church and state; famously criticized organized religion

Montesquieu

Proposed separation of powers (executive, legislative, judicial); hugely influenced the U.S. Constitution and French Revolutionary thought

Adam Smith

Father of modern economics; argued free markets and self-interest naturally regulate economies (the "invisible hand"); wrote The Wealth of Nations

Diderot

Compiled the Encyclopédie, a massive collection of Enlightenment knowledge meant to challenge superstition and spread rational thinking

Wollstonecraft

Early feminist philosopher; argued in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman that Enlightenment ideals of reason and rights must apply to women too

Rousseau

Believed humans are naturally good but corrupted by society; developed the "social contract" — legitimate government requires the consent of the governed; influenced the French Revolution

Major achievements of the Scientific Revolution

Heliocentric model (Copernicus), laws of motion and gravity (Newton), telescope observations (Galileo), development of the scientific method, mathematical description of the natural world

Rationalism

The belief that reason — not faith or tradition — is the primary source of knowledge; central to the Enlightenment because it led thinkers to question Church authority and apply logic to government, society, and law

How does the Enlightenment influence our world today?

Foundations of democracy, separation of powers, free speech, religious tolerance, human rights, free market economics, and the scientific method all trace back to Enlightenment ideas

The Old Regime / 3 Estates

Pre-Revolution French social structure: First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (nobility), Third Estate (everyone else — 97% of the population who paid most taxes and had little power)

Tennis Court Oath

June 1789 — members of the Third Estate locked out of their meeting hall, swore to stay assembled until France had a new constitution; a direct challenge to royal authority

National Assembly

Body formed by the Third Estate in 1789, declaring themselves the true representatives of France; first major act of the Revolution against the king's authority

Bastille

Medieval fortress and prison stormed by Parisian crowds on July 14, 1789; symbolic start of the Revolution — represented royal tyranny; Bastille Day is now France's national holiday

Declaration of the Rights of Man

August 1789 — proclaimed liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty; modeled partly on the American Declaration of Independence; applied only to men (Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges objected)

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

1790 law that made the Catholic Church subordinate to the French state; priests had to swear loyalty to France over the Pope; deeply divided the country and turned many Catholics against the Revolution

Legislative Assembly

Replaced the National Assembly in 1791; responsible for governing under the new constitutional monarchy; struggled with war, economic crisis, and radical pressure from below

Sans-culottes

Radical Parisian working-class revolutionaries (literally "without knee-breeches"); pushed the Revolution leftward through street protests and political pressure; key force behind the Reign of Terror

Guillotine

Device used for executions during the Revolution; symbol of the Reign of Terror; seen as an "equalizer" because it was used on nobles and commoners alike

Jacobins & Girondins

Two major Revolutionary factions; Girondins were moderate, favoring a republic with some limits; Jacobins were radical, centralized, and led the Terror; Jacobins under Robespierre eventually purged the Girondins

De-Christianization

Radical campaign (1793–94) to eliminate Catholic influence — churches closed, priests persecuted, new "rational" calendar introduced; part of the Jacobin effort to break the Old Regime's cultural hold

National Convention

The radical legislative body (1792–95) that abolished the monarchy, tried and executed Louis XVI, and oversaw the Reign of Terror

Committee of Public Safety

Powerful executive committee led by Robespierre; effectively governed France during the Terror; used emergency wartime powers to arrest, try, and execute enemies of the Revolution

Reign of Terror

1793–94 — Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety executed 17,000+ people accused of being enemies of the Revolution; ended when Robespierre himself was arrested and guillotined (Thermidorian Reaction)

The Directory

1795–99 — five-man executive body that governed after the Terror; weak, corrupt, and unpopular; overthrown by Napoleon in the coup of 18 Brumaire (1799)

Consulate

1799–1804 — Napoleon's transitional government after seizing power; three consuls ruled, but Napoleon as First Consul held real power; began centralizing and stabilizing France

Napoleonic Code

Napoleon's unified legal code; established equality before the law, property rights, and religious tolerance; abolished feudal privileges; spread across conquered Europe and still influences civil law worldwide

Continental System

Napoleon's economic blockade banning European trade with Britain; meant to cripple Britain economically; largely backfired — hurt French allies and contributed to Napoleon's downfall

Scorched Earth

Defensive military tactic used against Napoleon in Russia (1812) — retreating Russian forces burned crops and supplies so the French army had nothing to eat; devastated Napoleon's Grand Army

Hundred Days

Napoleon's brief return to power in 1815 after escaping Elba; lasted about 100 days before his final defeat at Waterloo

Waterloo

June 1815 — Napoleon's final defeat by British (Wellington) and Prussian (Blücher) forces in Belgium; he was exiled to St. Helena where he died in 1821

Louis XVI

King of France during the Revolution; weak and indecisive; failed to manage the financial crisis and political reform; tried for treason and guillotined in January 1793

Marie Antoinette

Austrian-born queen; seen as symbol of royal extravagance and foreign influence ("Madame Deficit"); guillotined in October 1793

Robespierre

Jacobin leader and ideological force behind the Reign of Terror; believed revolutionary virtue justified mass executions; arrested and guillotined in Thermidor 1794 by colleagues who feared him

Marat

Radical journalist ("Friend of the People") whose newspaper inflamed working-class anger; stabbed in his medicinal bath by Charlotte Corday in 1793; became a Revolutionary martyr

Danton

Early Revolutionary leader known for bold rhetoric; helped create the Committee of Public Safety but later called for moderation; executed by Robespierre in 1794

Napoleon

Military general who rose to power amid Revolutionary chaos; First Consul then Emperor; modernized France through the Napoleonic Code and education reforms but ultimately spread war across Europe and fell due to overextension

Long-range causes of the French Revolution

Enlightenment ideas questioning monarchy and privilege; resentment of the rigid Estates system; France's huge debt from wars (including supporting the American Revolution); ongoing food shortages and peasant poverty

Immediate causes of the French Revolution

Bread prices spiked in 1788–89 due to harvest failure; Louis XVI called the Estates-General to address the financial crisis, which gave the Third Estate a platform to demand reform

How did the Enlightenment influence the French Revolution?

Enlightenment ideas — natural rights (Locke), social contract (Rousseau), separation of powers (Montesquieu) — gave revolutionaries the vocabulary and ideology to challenge royal authority and demand a constitutional government based on reason

How did revolutionaries attempt to destroy the Old Regime's power?

Abolished feudal privileges (August Decrees), seized Church lands, passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, executed the king, introduced a new rational calendar, and launched de-Christianization campaigns

Major ideals at the start of the Revolution

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité — liberty from tyranny, equality before the law, and brotherhood/solidarity; also constitutional government, popular sovereignty, and natural rights

How did the Revolution betray its original ideals?

The Reign of Terror used violence and fear rather than liberty; Robespierre's government became as authoritarian as the monarchy it replaced; Napoleon then dismantled the republic entirely and crowned himself Emperor

Why is the French Revolution significant to Western history?

It was the first major modern revolution based on Enlightenment ideals; it destroyed the feudal order in France; it spread nationalism and the concept of popular sovereignty across Europe; it shaped the ideologies of liberalism, conservatism, and radicalism

Why was Napoleon able to take power?

The Directory was corrupt and unstable; France was exhausted by years of war and political chaos; Napoleon was a celebrated military hero who promised order and stability; he used the coup of 18 Brumaire to seize power with little resistance

Is Napoleon a friend or betrayer of the French Revolution?

Both — he preserved key reforms (Napoleonic Code, meritocracy, religious tolerance) but betrayed the Revolution's democratic ideals by becoming Emperor, censoring the press, and using war to build a personal empire

How did Napoleon interact with the rest of Europe?

He conquered most of continental Europe, spreading the Napoleonic Code and abolishing feudalism in occupied lands; he also triggered fierce nationalist resistance (Spain, Russia, Prussia); his overreach — especially the Russian campaign — led to his defeat and exile