1.12 French Revolution and Napoleon

25 question-and-answer flashcards covering the major causes, events, social structure, reforms, and outcomes of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era.

Which event on July 14, 1789, is considered France’s equivalent of the Fourth of July?

The fall of the Bastille.

Who rose to power in France during the post-revolutionary unrest?

Napoleon Bonaparte

What was the immediate cause of the French Revolution?

The bankruptcy of the French treasury

What was the basic, underlying cause of the French Revolution?

An inequitable class structure in French society

Which document expressed Enlightenment ideas of natural law and popular sovereignty during the Revolution?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Which social group made up the First Estate in pre-revolutionary France?

The clergy

What assembly did Louis XVI convene on May 5, 1789, to approve new taxes?

The Estates-General

What pledge did representatives of the Third Estate make after being locked out of their meeting room?

The Tennis Court Oath

What period of rural panic led peasants to destroy records of their feudal obligations?

The Great Fear

On what date did the National Assembly abolish the legal privileges of the nobility and clergy?

August 4, 1789

What is the Code of Napoleon?

Legal code introduced by Napoleon which asserted equality before the law

What was Napoleon’s economic strategy to cripple Britain by closing European ports to its trade?

The Continental System

Which battle decisively ended Napoleon’s rule?

The Battle of Waterloo (1815)

Under Napoleon, what happened to tax privileges based on birth or lineage?

They were abolished; no tax exemptions for lineage.

On what basis were government promotions awarded in Napoleon’s France?

Ability/merit rather than birth

Which large North American territory did Spain cede to France under Napoleon?

The Louisiana Territory

From which European empire did Napoleon win significant territory early in his reign?

The Holy Roman Empire