French and Haitian Revolutions

Modern History 09/30/25

Who was Louis XIII and what role did he play in French monarchy?

King of France (1610–1643); with Cardinal Richelieu, centralized royal power and laid the foundation for absolutism.

What is absolutism?

A system where the king holds all power, justified by divine right (droit divin).

Who was Louis XIV and why is he called the “Sun King”?

King of France (1643–1715); epitome of absolutism, built Versailles, and claimed divine right.

What does Versailles symbolize?

The power, wealth, and control of the absolute monarchy.

Who was Jean-Baptiste Colbert?

Minister of Louis XIV; implemented mercantilism to enrich France through trade and colonies.

What is mercantilism?

Economic system where the state controls trade/colonies to maximize wealth.

What was the triangular trade?

Europe → Africa (manufactured goods) → Americas (enslaved people, plantations) → Europe (sugar, coffee, tobacco).

What were the three estates in pre-revolutionary France?

1st Estate: Clergy; 2nd Estate: Nobility; 3rd Estate: Everyone else (bourgeoisie, peasants, artisans).

Who were the bourgeoisie?

Middle-class professionals/merchants, educated and influenced by Enlightenment ideas.

Name three Enlightenment philosophes and their main ideas.

Montesquieu (separation of powers), Voltaire (freedom of speech/religion), Rousseau (social contract, popular sovereignty).

Who were Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette?

King and Queen of France during the Revolution; faced financial crisis, unpopular, executed.

What were the Cahiers de doléances?

Lists of grievances written by each estate before the Estates-General of 1789.

What was the Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume)?

Oath by the Third Estate to form the National Assembly and write a constitution.

Why is the storming of the Bastille significant?

Symbolic start of the Revolution, July 14, 1789

What is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen?

Document proclaiming liberty, equality, and fraternity (1789).

What was the Constitutional Monarchy (1791)?

A compromise where the king ruled under a constitution; collapsed after Louis XVI fled

What happened at Varennes?

Louis XVI tried to escape in 1791; destroyed his credibility.

What was the National Convention (1792)?

Revolutionary assembly that declared a republic and abolished the monarchy.

Who was Citizen Capet?

Louis XVI after monarchy abolished; executed by guillotine in 1793.

What was the guillotine?

Device for executions; symbol of revolutionary justice.

What were the September Massacres (1792)?

Mass killing of prisoners feared to be counter-revolutionaries.

Who was Maximilien Robespierre?

Jacobin leader, key figure of the Reign of Terror, executed in 1794.

What was the Reign of Terror?

Period (1793–1794) of mass executions to protect the Revolution.

What was the Republican Calendar?

A new calendar introduced during the Revolution to replace the Christian one.

What was the Directory (1795–1799)?

Weak, corrupt government after the Terror, overthrown by Napoleon.

Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?

General who seized power in 1799; stabilized France and spread revolutionary ideals across Europe.

What was the Middle Passage?

The horrific transport of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic

What were plantations in Saint-Domingue?

Large estates producing sugar/coffee using slave labor.

Who were the gens de couleur libres (free people of color)?

Mixed-race population in Saint-Domingue; some wealthy, but faced discrimination.

Who was Olaudah Equiano?

Former enslaved man whose writings exposed the horrors of slavery.

What was the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804)?

Slave revolt inspired by the French Revolution; led to Haiti’s independence.

Who was Toussaint Louverture?

Former enslaved man; brilliant general and leader of the Haitian Revolution.

Who was Jean-Jacques Dessalines?

Revolutionary leader who declared Haitian independence in 1804.

What are papal bulls (bulles papales)?

Official decrees from the Pope; symbolized Church authority, challenged by Enlightenment and Revolution.

What were the three causes of the French revolution?

Les causes sociales (tiers etats), les causes politiques (la monarchie n’etait pas populaire), et les cause economiques (crise financiere)

What were the social causes of the French revolution?

A large divide in the population (97% was tiers etat, led to siecle des lumieres where philosophers and the bourgeoisie was vocal about their ideas)

What were the political causes of the French revolution?

The monarchy was very disliked. They preferred luxury to leadership. The American revolution inspired French people to win their freedom.

What were the economic causes?

They participated in lots of wars that cost them a lot, so the king imposed large taxes, there were also bad crops during 1780 that increased the prices of essential food like bread.