The French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Congress of Vienna

Estate system or Ancien Regime

Three estates: 1st had clergy, 2nd had nobility, and 3rd had everyone else, 3rd estate had little to no power when it came to making decisions so they were really mad and they also had to pay a ton of taxes but 1st and 2nd didn’t, and this was a major contributing factor to the French Rev, this was a class structure left over from the Middle Ages

National Assembly

Formed when the Estates met at Versailles for the first time in 175 years and the three estates couldn’t agree on voting counting, so 3rd estate declared itself the National Assembly, they then went to a tennis court and refused to leave until a new constitution was created, this was called the Tennis Court Oath

Constitution of 1791

Written by the National Assembly and it established a constitutional monarchy, limited the King’s power, and granted sovereignty to the Legislative Assembly. It also abolished feudal privileges

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Written by the National Assembly, heavily inspired by the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, and was basically just a list of rights that every man had

Declaration of the Rights of Woman

Document written by Olympe de Gouges that reflected the lack of rights of females in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen written by the National Assembly, de Gouges tried to rally people for gender equality but was accused of treason and executed for it

March on Versailles

October of 1789 - there was a continuing shortage of bread, and in response, many women gathered in Paris to march to the royal palace at Versailles to demand an accounting from the king, and once the crowd became rowdy and began to break in, Louis agreed to move his family back to Paris

Declaration of Pillnitz

Declaration by the king of Austria that threatened military action to restore order in France and encouraged the radical revolutionaries who wanted to overthrow the monarchy in defiance of the declaration from foreign aristocrats

Bastille

Storming of the Bastille, marks the beginning of the French Rev, July 14, 1789, and it was when a crowd of Parisians who had heard rumors of royal troops surrounding the city and the abuse of power by the monarchy, stormed Bastille which was a prison that represented the authority of the monarchy

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Passed in 1790, aimed to control the Catholic Church, convents and monasteries were abolished, all clergymen were paid by the state and elected by all citizens, the Clergy was forbidden to accept the authority of the Pope

Liberal phase

The first phase of the French Rev, saw the National Assembly form, storming of the Bastille, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Great Fear, March on Versailles, Civil Constitution of the Clergy, Declaration of Pillnitz, Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, constitutional monarchy established

Radical phase

Second phase of the French Rev, Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria, Tuileries were stormed, France was proclaimed a Republic, National Convention, Marie Antoinette executed, Reign of Terror, Republic of Virtue

Code Napoleon

1804 - Napoleon replaced varied and inequitable medieval law with a uniform legal system, which became a model for codes of law in many European countries

Concordat of 1801

The papacy renounced claims over Church property seized during the French Revolution, Napoleon was also allowed to nominate bishops

Abolition of provinces and division of France into departments

During the French Revolution, the revolutionary government abolished the old provincial system, which had been in place for centuries, and replaced it with a new system of departments (départements) in 1790. This was part of a broader effort to create a more unified and centralized administrative structure across France. The goal was to break down the power of the existing aristocracy and promote greater national unity

Secret police

Created by Napoleon and were scattered everywhere, supposed to keep citizens in check and prevent dissent

Nepotism

Nepotism, which is the practice of granting positions or favors to relatives, was a significant issue in the French Revolution, particularly after the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. While the revolution initially aimed to establish a more meritocratic system, Napoleon and other figures like his brother Joseph, were accused of appointing family members to key positions, even if they were not qualified

Bourbons

Congress of Vienna

When representatives of the major powers of Europe, including France, met to figure out how to return to the political and social order that existed before the French Rev and Napoleon, one primary goal was the “rule of legitimacy” (to return the rightful rulers of Europe to their thrones)

Women’s role in the French Revolution

Women played a major role in the French Rev, March on Versailles, participated in meetings of political clubs, Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollstonecraft

Haitian Revolution

Enslaved people in Haiti had a revolt and took over their country, and this was a direct result of the French Rev because Haiti was a French colony whose citizens wanted the same freedoms as the French people

Robespierre

Leader of the Jacobins, spearheaded the Reign of Terror, pushed for execution of the king, key leader during the French Rev

Marat

Jean-Paul Marat was a radical French revolutionary journalist, politician, and physician. He was a leader of the Montagnard faction and a vocal advocate for the sans-culottes (radical revolutionaries). He gained prominence through his newspaper, "L'Ami du Peuple" (The Friend of the People), which criticized those in power and fueled the Reign of Terror. Marat was assassinated by Charlotte Corday, a Girondin supporter, in 1793

Danton

Georges Danton, a prominent figure in the French Revolution, was a lawyer, politician, and orator who rose to prominence through his fiery speeches and involvement in key revolutionary events, ultimately becoming a victim of the Reign of Terror

Jacobins

Members of the Jacobin Club, which was a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Rev, led by Robespierre

Girondins

The Girondins, also known as Brissotins, were a moderate republican faction during the French Revolution, initially part of the Jacobin movement, who advocated for a republic and supported the war against Austria but later faced opposition from the more radical Montagnards

Napoleon

Took over France and formed a new government, the Consulate, was committed to most French Rev ideals, his aim was to unite Europe under France’s leadership, he was able to convince people that their future lay in national unity, light artillery