APEH unit 9: French Revolution

Marquis de Lafayette

French noble that supported the US revolution

Louis XVI

Timid absolute monarch of France, easily pressured by the clergy and nobility

Marie Antoinette

“Queen of Deficit Spending” that loved spending France’s non existent money on trendy fashion dresses and hair

Old Order

France’s society divided into three estates: Clergy, Nobility, and Common people

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Charter written by National Assembly, advocating for freedom of speech, constitutional monarchy, and the diminish of first and second estates’ inherited privileges

Estates General

Representative body of all three estates that met to discuss and vote

The Bastille

The prison that was stormed by the Sans Culotte in 1789 as a revolt against Louis XVI

Jacobins

Faction of the National Assembly that wanted a more radical set of policies and advocated for a republic

Girondins

Moderate group in National Assembly that wished for a republic

Sans Culottes

Working class that wanted to get rid of the monarchy and establish a republic

The Mountain

Radical group within the National assembly that wanted a republic

Emigres

Nobility and clergy members that fled Paris because of the hostility and violence shown by the third estate

Guillotine

Execution machine that severed the heads of people in France

Georges Danton

French noble who fought with the third estate

Maximilien Robespierre

radical Jacobin leader that becomes a dictator during the Reign of Terror

Jean Paul Marat

Radical journalist that encouraged violence in the Friend of the People

Committee of Public Safety

An executive government created by Robespierre

Reign of Terror

People lived in absolute rule by a 12-person dictatorship, fear of being executed if they voiced their concerns

A Nation in Arms

Largest Army created through mass conscription to defend France and spread ideals of the revolution around Europe

de-Christianization

Robespierre’s movement to remove Christianity from France

The Festival of Supreme Being

Robespierre announces himself as the new Jesus and embodiment of God

Napoleon Bonaparte

Ruler that promises the French people stability after the Reign of Terror, crowns himself Emperor

Napoleonic Code

Civil laws created by Napoleon that included the principles of the Revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity

Prefects

Agents of the Central government that ran local administrations

Continental System

British ships could not dock at any port controlled by France, Napoleon’s attempt to weaken Britain because he couldn’t conquer them

Nationalism

Strong identification with one’s own people and their cultural heritage

Tennis Court Oath

Representatives of the third Estate draft a new constitution and promise to not leave until they finish writing it

The Liberal Phase

National Assembly creates the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and nationalizes Catholic Church

October March on Versailles

Thousands of women march to Versailles, demanding bread, killing many guards and marching with their heads on pikes

Olympe de Gouges

Author of The Declaration of Woman and of the Female Citizen, where he articulates the rights of women

The Radical Phase

National Assembly becomes the National Convention and divides into different parties

The Haitian Revolution

Saint-Domingue had a population of French officials, plantation owners, merchants, and enslaved African laborers that worked for coffee and sugar plantations. They were angered by the National Assembly’s isolation of the slaves from freedom and rose to rebellion. They destroy the plantations and diminish France’s profits. Spain and Britain get involved to further weaken France