French Revolution and Napoleonic Era - Key Terms

Question-and-answer flashcards covering key terms from the notes on the Ancien Régime through the Concert of Europe.

What term refers to the old order in France where society was divided into three classes?

Ancien Régime

What term describes a dissenting group that competed for power in Paris?

Faction

What term refers to the fast-falling blade used to execute people during the Revolution?

Guillotine

Which term denotes one of the three social classes in France?

Estate

Who was the moderate aristocratic leader of the National Guard?

Marquis de Lafayette

Who was the popular military leader who became ruler of France?

Napoleon

What term refers to the middle class in France (bankers, merchants, manufacturers)?

Bourgeoisie

Who was the journalist who demanded equal rights for women?

Olympe de Gouges

What term means strong pride in one's nation?

Nationalism

What term describes government spending more than it collects in taxes?

Deficit Spending

Who was the Queen of France and wife of Louis XVI?

Marie Antoinette

Which port city inspired the French national anthem and where troops marched?

Marseilles

Who was the King of France during the Revolution?

Louis XVI

What term describes nobles and clergy who fled France and spread anti-revolution stories?

Émigré

What term means a popular vote by ballot?

Plebiscite

Who was the financial expert to Louis XVI?

Jacques Necker

What term describes radical working-class revolutionaries; 'without breeches'?

Sans-culotte

What is the Napoleonic Code?

New law code that guaranteed equality, religious toleration, and ended feudalism

What is the Estates-General?

Legislative body representing the three estates

What type of government is a Republic?

Government ruled by elected representatives

What does Annex mean?

To take land by force and add it to an empire

What are Cahiers?

Notebooks of grievances written by each estate

Who were the Jacobins?

Radical political club of middle-class lawyers/intellectuals

What was Napoleon's economic blockade of Britain called?

Continental System

What is the Tennis Court Oath?

Oath by Third Estate delegates to not separate until a constitution was written

What is suffrage?

The right to vote

What term describes Spanish hit-and-run attacks against French forces?

Guerrilla Warfare

What fortress in Paris was stormed for weapons and became a symbol of the Revolution?

Bastille

What is the Reign of Terror?

Period of mass executions led by Robespierre (1793-1794)

What was the Congress of Vienna?

1814-1815 meeting of European leaders to restore order after Napoleon

What is the scorched-earth policy?

Russian tactic of burning villages/crops to starve the French army

What is abdication?

When a ruler gives up the throne

What is Legitimacy?

Principle of restoring hereditary monarchs after Napoleon

What is the Concert of Europe?

Alliance of European powers formed to preserve peace after 1815