Lecture 16: Two Revolution and Louis XVI No Longer Needs A Hat - The Age of the Second and Third World Wars (aka The American Rev and The French Rev/Napolenic Wars)

1763

French has lost the 7 years war (in American- the French and Indian in war

France had lost more than Canada (New France)

A. Influence on India

B. Islands in the Caribbean (sugar)

This British victory cost the British

Huge amounts of borrowed money, how are they going to pay it back

The govt thought

North American colonies, since we freed them from French attacks

From the 1650s

The London govt had taxed and tried to control trade in/with the colonies

What was the problem with this approach?

A. Colonies mostly rules themselves

B. But big tax issues came from parliament at which colonies had no representation

Govt in 1760

Began to produce a series of acts (laws) taxing various colonial commodities

Govt expected colonies to also pay for

Garrisons

Before the state police

The government used the army → so colonies saw soldiers saw govt enforcers

Colonies resisted

A. Refusing to buy taxed goods

B. Smuggling

In response the govt

Dropped some taxes, tried others (showed inconsistency and weakness)

1768

Govt sent troops to Boston (what they believed to be a trouble center)

March 1770

Trouble in Boston w soldiers

A. “Massacre”

The govt still persists in taxation but

Now its tea

Dec 1773 the “Boston tea party”

Response to Boston tea part:

A. The govt closed the port of Boston

B. Abolished local govt - sent in a military governor

Locals had been reading French govt Philosophy

A. People should govern themselves

B. They should be able to change govt

Govt tried military pressure which lead to

Open conflict in April 1775 (Brit defeat)

Brit besieged in Boston from

April ‘75 - march ‘76 (when they left)

They would rest to NY in

July ‘76

America fled to Pennsylvania but had 2 little victories

Trenton and Princeton (showed that the cause was not dead)

The capture of a British army at Saratoga in late 1777 which brought

The possibility of American victory to minds of the FRENCH

The French had made a treaty with

Americans - and provided ships and soldiers

The British (out the war)

Abandons the colonies in 1783

That victory had brought French closer to bankruptcy

Debts from Louis XIV who died in 1718

French tax structure based upon

Social structure - 3 estates system

3 estates system

1st estate church 1%

2nd estate nobles 2%

3rd estate everyone 97%

Another problem with the french, no legislature

They had a king = the govt

Summer 1789

The estates general called - supposedly to advise the king (which failed)

Because of this Paris

Revolted, capturing the kinds fort (the bastille)

3rd estate formed its own

Govt - the National Assembly - to give France a constitution

Louis XVI became “citizen king” until

He tried to run away, then was caught and gradually stripped of his power

After he was Louis XVI was caught

Put on trial and execute in Jan 1793 (executed as a traitor)

France moved towards

A. A war w/ Europe

B. Internal struggles leading to the committee of public safety - which arrested and killed at least 40,000 people

Until committee overthrow in July 1794

And thing calm down - although war w Europe countries