Edexcel A Level History - French Revolution Units 1 - 4

Bourbons

Rulers of France before 1789 in 'absolute' monarchy

when were the estates generals last summoned before 1789

1614

when and what was the seven years war

1756-63 Seven Years War between Britain and France. Fought in Europe, America and India.

what was the impact of the seven years war

-Louis inherited a lot of crown debt from this war

-exacerbated the financial turmoil when combined with bad harvests

Marie Antoinette (1755-93)

Daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, she married Louis in 1770. Suspected of exerting undue influence on her indecisive husband. Nicknamed 'Madame Deficit' because of her extravagant tastes. Also called the 'Austrian wh*re'

1774

Accession of Louis XVI

- inherited debt from 7 years war

-shy and introverted

- devout catholic

-ruled as an absolute monarch

-divine right of Kings

-married Austrian Marie Antoinette from the powerful Habsburg family

controller general in 1774

August 1774: Louis appoints Turgot as Controller general of finances

what and when were the Flour Wars

1774-5

- 300 riots across 180 towns and 17 days were sparked

why were the flour wars sparked

- sparked when Turgot attempted to introduce free trade on grain but bad harvests meant that bread prices simply sky rocketed

what were Turgot's six edicts

aimed to suppress the control of guilds and abolish the Corvee

this faced a lot of opposition

turgot 6 edicts

March 1776

Turgot dismissed in May 1776

Although Louis registered the 6 edicts with the Lit de Justice, lots of opposition to Turgot's reforms from nobility as well as Antoinette and the unrest he caused in flour wars = forcibly dismissed in may 1776

bad harvests

1778 - 89

bread prices rise by 1788 summer

had increased by 50% in Paris

average parisian spend on bread by 1789

80% of average Parisian income

2nd controller general 1777

Necker is appointed as Controller general in

Necker's reforms

-Removed the unpopular Vingtieme

-reduced royal household expenses

- reduced the tax farmers 60 to 40

- appointed salaried officials to run tax collection rather than tax farmers = opposition

-managed to involve France in War w/o raising taxes

Feb 1781

Publication of Compte Rendu au Roi

- Necker

-concealed the deficit of 46 million and instead falsely claimed they were in 10 million surplus

- this convinced financiers to loan to the state

- Necker dismissed after attempting to abolish venal titles

1778

France entered the American War of Independence

-1.3 billion livres

-public pissed off because of the war

war end 1783

September: American Revolutionary war ends - treaty of Paris

- the war was between France and England over America

- France defending America from Britain colonialism and funded the war

- the Public still have to pay taille which was increased for the war but then maintained high after war

1783 -87

Calonne controller general

what was signed in 1786

Eden Treaty

- france and Britiain end economic war

-calonne contributed to the signing of this treaty

1786 Calonnes reforms

Calonne proposed reforms for French finances

-financiers were atp reluctant to loan money

-proposed to increase state income through sale of church land and universal land tax since people were unwilling to loan

when did Calonne call the assembly of notables and why

Feb 1787

- because Calonne's reforms were too radical of a change to the ancien regime so needed the approval of an external body

what happened in the AoN

- Calonne hand picked 140 nobles, members of royal family, archbishops etc ( only 1st and 2nd estate), in hope that they would vote on his referendum

-persuaded Louis to call them since Parliament had vetoed the universal land tax

- assembly rejects his reforms based on the compte rendu which had convinced them that France were financially stable

when was Calonne dismissed

May 1787

Assembly of Notables dismissed along with Calonne

1787 July

Archbishop Brienne appointed as controller-general

Brienne's reforms ( 1787-88)

- successfully got internal free trade sanctioned by parliament

-however, parliament refuses to sanction Universal land tax

- The parliament instead requests the calling of esatates general to vote on something so radical

when and why was parlement exiled

August 1778

Parliament is instead exiled to town of Troyes which is 160km away from Paris after Louis supports Brienne

June 1788

Aristocratic revolts

- nobility revolted (pro-parliament revolts) after Louis tried to go further and dissolve parlements

when was the day of tiles

most famous day of revolt was on 7th of june - Day of tiles- Grenoble after Louis sent royal soldiers to forcibly dissolve the parlement

how did Louis react to the aristocratic revolts on Jul 1788

Louis agreed to call the Estates-General to win back the support of the nobility ( they would meet may 1789)

what were the prices of wheat and rye in July 1788

prices went up by 150% for wheat and 165% for rye

- wages only gone up by 5% since 1770

Aug 1788

Declaration of bankruptcy in France

- Louis recalls parlement

- Brienne resigned and Necker recalled

what did Louis' council change for the third estate to make affairs fairer in December 1788

king council allowed for the number of deputies in the 3rd estate to double so that it would be equal say compared to 1st and 2nd estate when the estates general meeting took place later on

what did Louis fail to address before the Estates General

- failed to address the issue of voting head vs state, which would prove to be a problem later on...

what and when were the Cahier de doleances

early 1789

- list of grievances from the people of France

- demanded for a new consitution rather than just a reduction in taxes which is what Louis had been planning to address

-estates general was highly anticipated

- also wanted an abolishment of venal titles, indirect taxes and the lettre de cachet through the creation of a new body that would keep the kings powers in check

- 89% of the nobility were willing to sacrifice their financial privileges and 39% supported voting by head

1789, 5th May

Louis opens the Estates-General at Versailles

- debate of voting by head or state emerges

- voting by head = would be most beneficial for 1st estate and most democratic since they were the largest population in France

-voting by state would mean 1st and 2nd could team up against 3rd

- no program put in place to address all the grievances- no direction

- this greatly disappointed the public

June 10th 1789

The debate dragged on and Louis failed to exert influence

-sieyes proposed that the 1st and 2nd estate join the 3rd and create an assembly

- 3rd estate begins talks of an assembly, undermining the power of Louis

when did the third estate declare themselves national assembly

17th June 1789

3rd estate declares themselves the national assembly with the votes of 490-90

threatened to proceed without the other estates

-members of the 1st and 2nd estate had already started to join them

when did the first estate join the national assembly

19th June 1789

how did Louis react to the first estate joining the NA

-Louis in panic proposes a Seance royale ( royal session)

to readdress the problems that were not solved in estates general meeting

20th June 1789

- 3rd estate arrive for the Seance Royale

- find doors locked

- interpret this as being rejected from the session and Louis undermining them

- so, lead by Mirabeau, assemble in the Tennis court

- Swear the tennis court Oath: will not seperate until a new written constitution was put in place

- confirmed that a new constitution would be formed with or without the king

when does the seance royale happen and what happens

-Seance royale finally happens on 23rd June 1789

- Louis accepts some restrictions to his prerogative: abolition of lettre de Cachet, freedom of the press and the representative body to approve new taxation

-HOWEVER, he rejects most of the 3rd estate reforms and reinstates the priveleges of the 1st and 2nd

- 3rd estate, in defiance, refuse to leave the hall

how many clergymen and nobles joined the third estate between 24th-25th June 1789

141 clergyman and 47 nobles join the 3rd estate in their act of defiance

- shows the decline in Louis' authority and support

27th June 1789

Louis ordered remaining deputies to join the 3rd estate and this legitimises the National Assembly

- huge indication of the collapse of the absolute monarchy

how many troops does Louis call into Paris in 1789

July: Louis calls 20,000 troops into Paris and Versailles which worries the NA as they believe that Louis is trying to reinstate his control through military force

July 9th 1789 - what did the National Assembly turn into and why

NA to Constituent Assembly as they start the draft of a new constitution

- Lafayette proposed a new constitution based on American Declaration of Independence

when and why was Necker dismissed

11th July 1789

Necker dismissed for having 3rd estate sympathies

who was Necker replaced with

- replaced by Breteuil, an absolute monarchist and conservative monarchist

what was formed on 13th July 1789

National Guard formed to protect bourgeoisie

- they were loyal to the Constituent assembly

Paris commune also formed as Louis failed to subdue the unrest in Paris

14th July 1789

Storming of the Bastille

-the Bastille was seen as a symbol of despotism since victims of the lettre de cachet were imprisoned there e.g. voltaire

- 633 Angry French Citizens stormed it

- Governor of the bastille, De Launay refused to allow entry and ordered troops to fire at the crowd

- he was beheaded along with many other royal guards

15th July 1789

Lafayette appointed commander of the National Guard

what and when was the Great Fear

August 1789

- aristocratic conspiracy

- peasants believed that the nobles were planning on suppressing them with militia forces and restore nobles power

- this sparked violence

what and when were the August Decrees

4th-11th August 1789

- the august decrees were more of a statement of intent rather than a practical change to carry out these reforms

- venality and tithes abolished as part of the decrees and equal taxation established but not implemented

what were the August Decrees a result of

- due to the unrest, the CA wanted to please the peasants by abolishing feudalism

how did Louis respond to the August decrees

5th August he refused to sanction them

26th August 1789

- Lafayette along with Jefferson wrote the Declaration of the Rights oF MAn

- many parallels with the american declaration

- was a list of core principles that would underpin the new constitution

- inspired by ideas of sieyes and voltaire etc

- death warrant of the ancien regime

- demonstrated sovereignty lied with the people rather than the King

how does Louis respond to the DOROM

Louis refuses to sanction

what three things triggered the October Days

- Louis' refusal to sanction

- bread prices sky rocketing

- Radical pamphleteering done by figures such as Sieyes and Desmoulins

- - a rumour was going around that Louis had trampled a revolutionary cockade during a royal banquet

what were the October Days

- 6000-7000 people crowd, mostly women, marched to Versailles and broke into palace

-20,000 national guard joined them

impact of October Days

- this forced Louis and the fam out of the Versailles to Paris, Tuilleries

-along with Louis, moved the constituent assembly to Paris

- they were now at the heart of the revolution and subject to abuse

- it brought a century of royal government at Versailles to an end and in turn, an end to the absolutist reign

- most royalists in CA fled due to fear of violent parisian mobs in Paris = became emigres

what two laws were passed on 2nd Nov 1789

-Law to sell Church and emigre land is approved by CA

- boosts state economy by 400 million livres

- As a result, the facilities that the Church had funded were lost e.g. education, healthcare, welfare, shelter etc

- abolishment of tithes and dues raises the wealth of peasants

- Another law passed distinguishing between active and passive citizenship

- this gave the right to vote to all males over the age of 25 who paid equal to 3 days unskilled labour in taxes

- this meant that although 70% men had right to vote, only 50% were able to afford vote

-the idea of universal suffrage was thus dismissed - this was since deputies of CA didnt want those involved in popular protest, namely the sans-culottes to have direct involvement in politics

-but passive citizens were exempt from certain land taxes to protect the poorer classes

political reforms 1789-91

- Louis' legislative power severely limited

- left powerless in terms of initiating and sanctioning taxes

- however, given the royal veto - had the right to supsend or delay laws by CA for up to 4 years

- this would cause issues later on

- paris was organised into 48 sections

- this established paris commune as main government of Paris

economic reforms 1789-91

- release of assignats - currency

- new taxation system ( most unpopular indirect taxes removed e.g. gabelle and tabac)

- introduction of a UNIVERSAL land tax

-abolition of guilds and monopolies

Religious reforms 1789-91

- as well as nationalisation of church land.

- civil const of clergy formed in 1790

- this subordinated the church to government

- undermined the authority of pope

- clergyman had to swear an oath to the state

- 7 of 83 bishops only swore

- over 1/2 priests refused to swear

- these were known as refractory priests

- became emigres

- led to a growth of anti-revolutionary sentiment

- as the CCOC legitimised dissent

Jacobins

- established late 1789

- founded by Robespierre

- aimed to preserve gains of rev

- intiially were not too radical

- wanted const monarchy

- radicalised after FTV

- notable members: Rob, Sieyes, Mirabeau

Feuillants

moderate deputies who split from Jacobins

poorer class; although highest in number, lost influence due to their lack of oratory skills and illiteracy

(paris commune)

not a political club

-but a administrative body responsible for governing paris

-initially bourgeoisie

- evicted in 1792 and replaced by more revolutionary and radical commune

Cordeliers

key members; danton, Desmoulins, Marat, Brissot

for the poorer people of paris, believed it was thier duty to stand up for the oppressedterm-148

wanted universal suffrage

Girondins

key members; Brissot

sympathetic to working class

famous slogan ' liberty, fraternity, equality'

anti-clericalism

pro-republican

2nd April 1791

Mirabeau dies

he had fought to uphold the balance of const monarchy

and had opposed august decrees + DOROM because they were too radical

continuously had tried to reach a compromise with the royal family

his death was one fo the reasons why Louis had fled to varennes as he had felt like he had officially lost all support

1791, 20-21 June

Flight to Varennes - Louis attempted to escape from Paris

- tried to flee to Belgium border to find protection, fuelled by his anger towards the CCOC and death of mirabeau

- arrested and sent back to Paris

what was the impact of FTV

24th June 1791

-30,000 march on the Tuileries: Demand Louis' abdication

- as most people did not buy the story of the CA that Louis had been kidnapped since he had left a declaration before his departure saying he was angry at CCOC

- there was a major breakdown of trust for royal family

- political clubs became more radical as a result: specifically cordeliers demanded abdication of King

what impact did the march of 24th June have on Louis

- it was decided Louis could stay in 'power' if he pledged support to the new constitution

- as a result of the FTV, the assembly suspended his royal veto

17th July 1791

Champ de Mars Massacre

-50,000 people gathered to demand abdication, led by the cordeliers

-20-50 people killed while signing a petition for the king to abdicate

impact of the Champs de Mars massacre

the commune declared martial law suspending all parisian civil liberties and shutting down of press

- radicals fled

27th August 1791

Declaration of Pillnitz

- austria and prussia threatened to send forces, if monarchial order was not restored

what and when was the constitutional reform

September 1791: New constitution forms

- CA becomes legislative assembly

- Robespierre proposes a self-denying ordinance that stated that no one who held office in the CA, could hold office in the LA

- 136/745 deputies were jacobins and girondins

-264 were cordeliers/feuillants but the girondins and the Jacobins won over much of the unaligned deputies through their oratory skills

- girondins gained influence due to their success in the war ( girondins had been leading pro-war debates)

end of 1791

political clubs divided over war debates

-girondins pro war - believed neighbouring countries were also waiting to be freed from despotism

- and the war would crush those who were disloyal to the state

- Louis was pro-war for his own personal motives ( believed that France would lose and people would want him)

- Lafayette was pro-war as he believed it would restore his rep after the events at Champs de Mars

- Robespierre/jacobins = anti-war as they believed that France didnt have the resources/troops to fight

(most of the military fled when they were forced to swear an oath to CA)

April 1792

France declares war on Austria

- french army numbered less than 140,000

-within a month, french officers were already arguing for peace

27th April 1792

Law decreed that all refractory priests must be deported

another sought to disband the King's royal guards as they were deemed too loyal to Louis

19th June 1792

Louis refused to sanction both these

the assembly went ahead with them anyway later on = undermining his power

this fuelled suspicion that he was a counterrevolutionary and led to the journee of 20th june

20th june 1792

journee

- 8000 sans culottes demanded that louis reverse his veto but he refuses

11th July 1792

LA declares a National Assembly so that they can ignore Louis' vetoes

25th July 1792

Brunswick Manifesto from Prussia

- commander prussian army promised freedom to those who didnt oppose his army

- and those who didnt threaten Louis

- this was a tempting offer because France was losing the war at this stage

-However, it backfired; simply increased demands for abolition

August 9th-10th 1792

-Sans culottes, Danton and Hebert take over Hotel deville

after the Assembly refuses to depose Louis

- they forcibly expel the bourgeoise commune to replace it with a more revolutionary body

- there is a journee on the 10th; 30,000 people storm the tuilleries and kill 600 royal guards and arrest Louis when he tried to flee

- mobs of paris rejected the authority now of both king and assembly

20th Sep 1792

Battle of Valmy = success for French and therefore Girondins

21st september 1792

LA dissolved as rioters demand new assembly

-national convention is formed

- const monarchists fled

- radical body left behind

- they placed the royal family in the temple prison and authorised the arrest of all refractory priests and highlighted heightened fear of counter-revolutionary mvnt

-4 deputies for Paris included many of the most militant Jacobins and Cordeliers ( all tend to be Jacobins after this point)

-Also, a far wdier range of classes were represented- one peasant, and the former prince Philippe Egalite

Two principal factions emerged: Jacobins led by Robespierre (300/749 deputies)

And Girondins led by Brissot (150/749)

Rest were know as La Plaine (e.g. Abbe sieyes)

september 1792

September Massacres; National Convention abolishes monarchy and declares France a republic

-fall of verdun to Austria - important french town - sparks panic

- sans culottes hunt down anyone they deem a threat

refractory priests, thieves, prostitutes, fallen aristocrats,

Robespierre supported SCs as he believed they were the revolution

- so did Danton and Marat

1792 October

creation of CGS

police commitee consisting of 12 people responsible for seeing revolutionary justice within power

10 dec 1792

Louis put on trial

Marat insisted all deputies publicly DECLARED VERDICT, ADDING PRESSURE

693/721 declared him guilty

1793, 21 January

Louis XVI executed

361 - 319 voted on death penalty

- jacobins especially pro-death, their dominance in Convention allowed them to easily pass it

taille

land tax. direct - the main direct. Third estate, though some had been granted exemptions, so it was mainly the peasants who were taxed

vingtième

5% tax on income. direct. third estate

capitation

tax on people - frequently called the poll tax. direct. in theory, the second and third estates

gabelle

salt tax. indirect. everyone. the much hated salt tax, which was assessed according to an individual's presumed rather then actual consumption

aidas

tax on food and drink. indirect. everyone

venality

The sale and purchase of certain jobs which could be inherited by descendants

guild

an organisation that tightly controls entry into a trade