history french revolution napoleon

causes french revolution

Inequality, debt, famine, Enlightenment ideas, and royal abuse.

Long-term causes french revolution

Social inequality (Estates system)

Absolute monarchy

Enlightenment ideas

Economic hardship and rising taxes

Inefficient government

Immediate causes french revolution

Financial crisis from war debt (especially American Revolution)

Food shortages and high bread prices

Failure of reforms

Calling of the Estates-General (1789)

Storming of the Bastille

1: Why did the Third Estate bear most of the burden from the various crises?

Paid most taxes, had least privilege.

2: What was the role of philosophers and the Enlightenment in shaping the revolution?

Inspired equality, liberty, and criticism of monarchy.

3: What events or factors contributed to the financial crisis of the state?

War debt, lavish spending, tax system failure.

4: Why did other solutions fail to resolve the financial crisis, leading to the assembly of the Estates-General?

Nobles resisted reforms, king lacked authority.

5: Why did the judges' revolution fail, and what was its main objective?

Aimed to limit royal power; crushed by king.

6: Why did the king's attempt to raise defensive measures backfire?

Seen as tyranny, increased public anger.

7: How did the centralization of power under absolutism lead to unintended consequences during this period?

No shared power led to resistance, revolt.

8: What role did the peasants and the upper members of the Third Estate play in the early phase of the revolution?

Peasants revolted; bourgeoisie led reforms.

Estates-General date

5.5.1789

Tennis Court Oath date

20.6.1789

Bastille: Attack date

14.7.1789

Decalration of Human Rights date

26.8.1789

Women's march to Versailles to get the royal family back to Paris date

5.10.1789

Constitutional Monarchy date

3.9.1791

Start of Revolutionary Wars date

20.4.1792

Attack on the Tuileries date

10.8.1792

King's dismissal France becomes a republic date

21.9.1792

Exectuion of Louis XVI. date

21.1.1793

Republican Constitution date

Juni 1793

A nation in arms date

Juli 1793

Terror by the Jacobins date

As of September 1793

Robespierre's execution, End of Terror date

28.7.1794

Directory date

Sept.1795

Napoleon's Coup date

9.11.1799

1st Revolution

• Abolishment of the feudal system • Constitution and human rights • Nationalization of Church property • Constituational monarchy

2nd Revolution start 10.8.1792

• Abolishment of the monarchy, execution of the King • War and Terror • republican constitution: all have one vote In fact: dictatorship of the Commitee of Public Safety

3rd Revolution start 28.7.1794

• Calming down • Directory

4th Revolution

• Napoleon's coup ➔ Empire

napoleon step 1

- Born in 1769 in Icoriska, he's called bonapart which is the french name,

- 2y b4 he was born the island changed possesion (italian, he was actually called bonaparte),

- born into a noble family of many kids (7 siblings),

- his father was a lawyer,

- the cartoon shows little napoleon with a cannon and drums: the message is that alr at his childhood he is strong to the military, to the drums and cannon, he's playing around with military stuff;

- interested in weapons

- Le rouge (the military) le noir (the church) either the boys go to the military or become priests

napoleon step 2

- Military school at Brienne

- École militaire takes 6 years

- In picture, upward movement; aims to reach higher, the french colors,

napoleon step 3

- 1785: officer of the french army

- has a military career

- You can become a officer because of your skills on the battlefield

- Picture: he looks calm bc he's leaning on a table, looking upwards, on the table there are maps, self-confident

napoleon step 4

- 1796

- Argola (italy, export of the revolution)

- On the flag is the republic, bonnet rouge worn by slaves, the fasces,

- Hands in, elbows out -> he's da boss, still looks up

- On his head is the tricolor

- In the military + civil administration of italy (at that time French dependent territory)

napoleon step 5

- He's looking down, looking back on his success on his way to power

- 1799-1802

- First consul (single ruler)

- End of the terror

- He is the one to complete the revolution

napoleon step 6

- 1804: Emperor of the french

- Here he's at the highest moment

napoleon step 7

- He says goodbye to spain; loss of spain in 1807

- He's on a horse, the other guy is throwing him off his horse

- Spanish resistance -> the french have to give up spain

napoleon step 8

- Leaving russia in 1812

- Winter (look at spielvogel map)

- Swiss mercinaries (they had to give soldiers to napoleon, didn't have a choice)

napoleon step 9

- Flees germany

- Battle is leipzig in 1813

- Napoleon looses again

- Russian soldier (with beard), german soldier etc.

napoleon step 10

- Plays into 9

- Falls into the boat

- He is exiled to elba (humiliation for him) -> emperor of elba (island in italy), "napoleon is still one of us, we can't leave an emperor without a terretory"

napoleon step 11

- Soap bubbles that say spain, italy, holland, the great empire

- All the bubbles; his dreams will pop

- On the scrips next to him it says: sic transit gloria mundi a.k.a. this is how fame dissapears, you rise, get fame and dissapear

- The tree is a willow tree = Trauerweide, bc napoleon is so sad

NOT ON THE CARTOON steps:

- in 1815 napoleon returns for his last battle in waterloo (belgium)

- looses against england/austria/russia -> exiled to St. Helena and dies in 1821 (historians are not sure but maybe bc of stomach cancer)

French Revolution date

May 5 1789 - Nov 9 1799

What was the name of the prison stormed on July 14, 1789?

The Bastille

What were the three estates in pre-revolutionary France?

Clergy (First Estate), Nobility (Second Estate), Commoners (Third Estate)

What was the name of the document adopted in 1789 that declared equal rights for all men?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Who was the king of France at the start of the French Revolution?

Louis XVI

What was the name of the financial crisis that partly caused the revolution?

The fiscal crisis (France's debt from wars and lavish royal spending)

What was the name of the radical political group led by Robespierre?

The Jacobins

What period is known for mass executions by guillotine?

The Reign of Terror (1793-1794)

Who was executed alongside Louis XVI in 1793?

Marie Antoinette

What governing body replaced the monarchy after Louis XVI was overthrown?

The National Convention

In what year did Napoleon take power in France?

1799

What was the name of the event in which Napoleon took control of the French government?

The Coup of 18 Brumaire

What title did Napoleon take in 1804?

Emperor of the French

What was the Napoleonic Code?

A unified legal system established by Napoleon

Which famous battle in 1815 marked Napoleon's final defeat?

The Battle of Waterloo

What island was Napoleon first exiled to in 1814?

Elba

What was the name of the war campaign where Napoleon invaded Russia and suffered massive losses?

The Russian Campaign (1812)

What was the "Continental System"?

Napoleon's economic blockade against Britain

Where was Napoleon finally exiled after Waterloo?

Saint Helena

How did Napoleon's rule help spread the ideas of the French Revolution across Europe?

By exporting legal reforms, promoting meritocracy, and challenging monarchies

How did the American Revolution influence the French Revolution?

It inspired the French to fight for liberty and showed that a revolution against a monarchy could succeed.

Which Enlightenment philosopher argued for the separation of powers, influencing both revolutions?

Montesquieu

What Enlightenment idea did both the American and French Revolutions emphasize?

Natural rights (life, liberty, property/freedom)

Which French Enlightenment thinker criticized absolute monarchy and supported freedom of speech and religion?

Voltaire

What role did France play in the American Revolution?

France supported the American colonies with money, troops, and ships against Britain.

How did Enlightenment ideas challenge the Ancien Régime in France?

They questioned the divine right of kings and promoted reason, equality, and democratic principles.

What was Rousseau's main idea that influenced revolutionary thinking in France?

The social contract — government must serve the general will of the people.

Which document from the French Revolution was heavily inspired by Enlightenment and American ideals?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

How did Napoleon both support and limit Enlightenment ideas?

He upheld legal equality and meritocracy but limited freedoms and ruled as an autocrat.

What Enlightenment principle is reflected in Napoleon's promotion of education and science?

Belief in progress and rational thought as paths to improving society