AP Euro Unit 6 Vocabulary: French Revolution & Napoleon

This set of flashcards covers vocabulary and key figures of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era based on the provided lecture notes.

Lom nie de Brienne (1727–1794)

A French minister and archbishop who attempted to push financial reforms through the Parlements.

Louis XV (1715–1774)

The King of France whose reign saw the decline of royal authority and the growth of national debt.

Louis XVI (1774–1792)

The last King of France before the fall of the monarchy; he was executed during the Revolution.

Ancien R gime

The ‘Old Regime’ or the social and political system of France before the Revolution of 1789.

Parlements

Provincial appellate courts in France that often challenged royal authority and tax reforms.

Jacques Necker (1732–1804)

A popular finance minister to Louis XVI whose dismissal helped spark the storming of the Bastille.

Jacques Turgot (1727–1781)

An early finance minister to Louis XVI who advocated for physiocratic economic reforms.

Estates-General

A legislative assembly of the three estates called in 1789 to address the national financial crisis.

Cahiers de dol ances

‘Notebooks of grievances’ compiled by each of the three estates to be presented to the Estates-General.

Third Estate

The commoners of France, representing 98% of the population, who bore the primary tax burden.

Second Estate

The French nobility, who held high government offices and enjoyed numerous tax exemptions.

First Estate

The clergy of the Catholic Church in France, who possessed significant land and wealth.

French Revolution (1789–1799)

A period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that fundamentally changed modern history.

Emmanuel Joseph Siey s (1748–1836)

A clergyman whose pamphlet What is the Third Estate? argued that the commoners were the true nation.

Old Regime

A synonym for the Ancien R gime; the social and political structure of pre-revolutionary France.

Bastille

A royal fortress and prison in Paris; its storming on July 14, 1789, served as a flashpoint for the Revolution.

Oath of the Tennis Court (1789)

A pledge by the National Assembly to remain in session until they had drafted a constitution.

Departments

The 83 administrative districts created by the National Assembly to replace old provinces.

National Guard

A citizen militia formed in Paris to maintain order and protect the gains of the Revolution.

Assignats

Paper currency issued by the National Assembly, originally backed by confiscated church lands.

National Assembly

The revolutionary body formed by the Third Estate after breaking away from the Estates-General.

Jacobins

The most influential radical political club during the Revolution.

Constitution of 1791

The document that established a limited constitutional monarchy in France.

Sans-culottes

The radical urban working class of Paris, known for wearing long trousers instead of aristocratic knee-breeches.

Convention

The governing body that abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic in 1792.

The Mountain

The most radical faction of the Jacobin club, led by Robespierre.

Girondins

A more moderate faction of the Jacobins that eventually lost power to the Mountain.

Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834)

A French military officer and hero of the American Revolution who led the National Guard.

Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794)

A radical Jacobin leader who headed the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror.

Committee of Public Safety

A small executive body granted dictatorial powers to protect the Revolution from its enemies.

Cult of the Supreme Being

A deistic religion established by Robespierre to replace traditional Catholicism.

Reign of Terror (1793–1794)

A period of mass executions and state-sanctioned violence against perceived enemies of the Revolution.

Thermidorian Reaction (1794)

The coup that overthrew Robespierre and ended the most radical phase of the Revolution.

Directory (1795–1799)

The five-member executive body that ruled France between the Convention and Napoleon.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790)

A law that subordinated the Catholic Church to the French state.

Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734–1802)

A finance minister who proposed a universal land tax to address France’s debt.

Honor Gabriel Victor de Mirabeau (1749–1791)

A leader of the early Revolution who advocated for a constitutional monarchy.

Battle of Nations (1813)

Also known as the Battle of Leipzig, where a coalition of European powers defeated Napoleon.

First Consul

The title held by Napoleon after the 1799 coup, granting him supreme authority.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)

The military general who rose to power during the Revolution and became Emperor of the French.

Conscription

The compulsory enlistment of citizens into military service, used to build Napoleon’s massive armies.

Continental System

Napoleon’s economic blockade intended to ruin Great Britain by barring its trade with Europe.

Peninsular War (1807–1814)

A conflict in Spain and Portugal that drained Napoleon's military resources through guerrilla warfare.

Russian Campaign of 1812

A disastrous invasion of Russia that led to the decimation of Napoleon’s Grande Arm e.

Napoleonic Code (1804)

A comprehensive legal system that codified revolutionary civil rights while centralizing authority.

Waterloo (1815)

The site of Napoleon's final defeat by the Seventh Coalition in Belgium.