Active Citizens
Citizens who, depending on the amount of taxes paid, could vote and stand as deputies
Agents nationaux
National agents appointed by, and responsible to, the central government. Their role was to monitor the enforcement of all revolutionary laws
Altar of the fatherland
A large memorial to commemorate the Revolution
Ancien Regime
French society and government before the Revolution of 1789
Annates
Payments made by the French Church to the Pope
Annex
To incorporate foreign territory into a state usually forcibly and against the will of the local people
Anti-clericalism
Opposition to the Catholic Church
Anti-republican opposition
Roces opposed to the Republic, mainly former members of the nobility, refractory priests and monarchists
Appel nominal
Each deputy was required to declare publicly his decision on the guilt or innocence of Louis XVI
Armee revolutionnaire
Sans-culottes sent to the provinces to confront counter-revolutionary forces and ensure the movement of food supplies
Armistice
An agreement between two countries to end hostilities. This would preceded a peace settlement that would formally mark the end of a war
Artisan
A skilled worker or craftsman
Assignat
Bonds backed up by the Church lan that circulated as a form of paper currency.
Austrian Committee
Influential politicians and close confidants of Marie Antionette who kept in close secret contract with Vienna, capital of the Habsburg Empire.
Avignon
Territory controlled by the Pope in southern France
Balance the budget
To create a situation in which the government’s expenditure is equal to its income
Bankruptcy of the two-thirds
The government wrote off two-thirds of the debt it owed its creditors
Biens nationaux
The nationalised property of the Church as ordered by the decree of 2 November 1789
Bourgeoisie
Middle-class urban dwellers who made a living through their intellectual skills or business practices
Brigandage
Outbreaks of lawlessness and violence by groups of bandits
Brissotins
Supporters of Jacques Brissot who later merged with the Girondins
Cahiers
Lists of grievances and suggestions for reform drawn up by representatives of each estate and each community and presented to the Estates-General for consideration.
Canton
An administrative subdivision of a department
Centralisation
Direct central control of the various parts of government, with less power to the regions.
Centre
Those who sat facing the speaker of the Legislative Assembly favouring neither left nor right.
Certificates of citizenship
Proof of good citizenship and support for the Republic, without which no one could be employed.
Checks and balances
Ensuring that the power given to the executive was balanced by the power granted to the legislature.
Chouan
Guerrilla groups operating in the Vendee between 1794 and 1769
Citizens’ militia
A bourgeois defence force set up to protect the interests of property owners in Paris. After the storming of the Bastille it become the National Guard
Collective bargaining
Where a trade union negotiates with employers on behalf of workers who are members
Comites de surveillance
Surveillance or watch committees, sometimes known simply as revolutionary committees.
Committee of General Security
Had overall responsibility for police security, surveillance and spying
Committee of Public Safety
Effectively, the government of France during 1793-4 and one of the twin pillars of the Terror along with the Committee of General Security.
Commune
The smallest administrative unit in France
Communist
A follower of the political belief that centres on social and economic equality as outlined by Karl Marx
Concordat
An agreement between Napoleon and the Pop to try and end the divisions between the Church and State.
Conscription
Compulsory military service
Conservatives
Those who did not want any reforms. They were deeply suspicious and sceptical of the need for any social or political change.
Conspiracy of Equals
Babeuf’s theory of how to organise a revolution, using a small group of committed revolutionaries rather than a mass movement
Constitution
A written document detailing how a country is to be governed, laws made, powers apportioned and elections conducted.
Constitutional monarchists
Supporters of Louis who welcomed the granting of limited democratic rights to the French people
Constitutional monarchy
Where the powers of the Crown are limited by a constitution. Also known as a limited monarchy
Consulate
The system of government that replaced the Directory. It took its name from the three consuls of whom Napoleon was the most important as first consul. They formed the executive in the new constitution of 1799
Continental System
The attempt by Napoleon to bring economic chaos to Britain by preventing its exports entering Europe
Conventionnels
Members of the Convention between 1792 and 1795
Corvee
Unpaid labour service to maintain roads. In many places money replaced service.
Cottage industry
Small-scale textile production (spinning, weaving and iron work) carried out in a peasant’s cottage or workshop and used to supplement income from farming.
Counter-revolutionaries
Groups and individuals hostile to the Revolution, who wished to reverse any changes it made at the earliest opportunity
Coup of Thermidor
The overthrow of Robespierre and his closest supporters, which marked the end of the Terror
Cult of the Supreme Being
Robespierre’s alternative civic religion to the Catholic faith
Decentralized
Decision-making devolved from the centre to the regions of a country
Dechristianisation
Ruthless anti-religious policies conducted by some Jacobin supporters against the Church, aimed at destroying its influence.
Decree of Fraternity
The Convention offered support to those in any state wishing to overthrow their rulers and establish democratic political systems
Deficit
When expenditure is greater than income it results in a deficit
Deflation
A fall in prices and in money value a demand for goods and services falls
Departments
On 26 February 1790, 83 new divisions for local administration in France were created to replace the old divisions of the ancien regime
Diocese
An area served by a bishop. It is made up of a large number of parishes
Disenfranchised
Stripped of the right to vote
Draft-dodgers
Men who avoided the call to serve in the army
Egalitarian society
Where citizens enjoy equal rights and are not discriminated against on the basis of gender or social class. This is neatly summed up by the phrase most frequently linked with the Revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity.
Egalitarianism
Derived from ‘equality’ - the aim to have all citizens equal, with no disparities in wealth, status or opportunity.
Elan
Patriotic enthusiasm, commitment and identity with the revolutionary cause within the army.
Emigres
People, mainly aristocrats, who fled France during the Revolution. Many emerges joined foreign opponents of the Revolution.
Enrages
An extreme revolutionary group led by Jacques Roux which had considerable influence on the Parisian sans-culottes
Entrepreneurs
Individuals prepared to take risks with their capital to support business schemes that will secure a profit
Estates-general
Elected representatives of all three estates of the realm. This body was only summoned in times of extreme national crisis, and had last met in 1614.
Executive power
The power to make decisions relating to the government of a country
Federalism
A rejection of the central authority of the State in favour of regional authority
Federes
National guardsmen from the provinces who arrived in Paris to display during the Fete de a Federation commemorating the fall of the Bastille, 14 July 1792.
Feudal dues
Financial or work obligations imposed on the peasantry by landowners
Feuillants
Constitutional monarchists, among them Lafayette, who split from the Jacobin Club following the flight to Varennes
First Coalition
A loose anti-French alliance created by Britain and consisting of the Netherlands, Spain, Piedmont, Naples, Prussia, Russia, Austria and Portugal. Russia refused to commit soldiers to the coalition when Britain did not send money to support Russia’s armies.
Forced loan
A measure compelling the wealthy to load money to the government
Francs
On 7 April 1795 the Convention introduced the silver franc as the official unit of currency replacing the livre
Free market
A trading system with no artificial price controls. Prices are determined solely by supply and demand
Free trade
Trade without the imposition of taxes and duties on the goods
Gardes-francaises
An elite royal infantry regiment, many of whom deserted to join opponents of the King in July 1789
Gendarmes
An organisation set up by the National Assembly in December 1790, which operated as an armed police force.
General Maximum
Tables that fix the prices of a wide range of foods and commodities
Generalites
The 34 areas into which France was divided for the purpose of collecting taxes and other administrative functions; each area was under the control of an intendant.
Germinal
Popular demonstration 1 April 1795 in Paris. Named after a month in the new revolutionary calendar.
Girondins
A small group of deputies from the Gironde and their associates, notably Brissot
Grande Armee
Napoleon’s renamed army after 1805. At it’s largest in 1812 it numbered over 600,000 men, among them Poles, Italians, Swiss, and Bavarians.
Great Powers
Countries that were more powerful than other on the basis of their military, economic and territorial strength - the major ones were Austria, France Prussia, Russia and Britain.
Gross domestic product
The total value of goods and services produced by an economy
Guerrilla warfare
Military action by irregular bands avoiding direct confrontation with the larger opposing forces. They did not wear uniforms in order to blend in with civilians.
Guild
An organisation that tightly controls entry into a trade
Guillotine
A machine introduced in 1792 for decapitating victims in a relatively painless way. It became synonymous with the Terror.
Habsburg Empire
Territory that roughly corresponds to modern-day Austria, HUngary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The empire also considered itself to be the leading German state.
Hoarders
Those who bought up supplies of food, keeping them until prices rose and then selling them at a large profit.
Iberian peninsula
Spain and Portugal combined
Indulgents
Supporters of Danton and Desmoulins who wished to see a relaxation of the Terror.
Industrial capitalism
An economic system where money (capital) is invested in industry for the purpose of making a profit
Inflation
A decline in the value of money, which leads to an increase in the price of goods
Insurrection
An uprising of ordinary people, predominantly sans-culottes
Intendants
Officials directly appointed by and answerable to the Crown who were mainly responsible for police, justice, finance, public works, and trade and industry.
Irish Nationalists
Irish who were staunchly anti-British and wished to be free from what they considered foreign rule. During the Revolution they approached the republicans for support.
Jeunesse doree
‘Gilded youth’: young men who dressed extravagantly as a reaction to the restrictions of the Terror. They were also known as Muscadins.
Journee
Day of popular action and disturbance linked to great political change
La Marseillaise
The rousing song composed by Rouget de I‘Isle in 1792 and adopted as the anthem of the Republic on 14 July 1795