The French Revolution Paper 2 booklet one- Edexcel Early Modern A-level history

when examining the french revolution which 6 areas need to be considered

1. democratic ideas
2. equality and human rights
3. absolute monarchy
4. the power of the church
5. other revolutionary movements
6. development of nationalism

what was the moto of the revolution

liberte, equalite, fraternite

when did king Louis XVI inherit the throne of France

1774

what was the name of the dynasty that Louis XVI was a part of

the bourbon dynasty

when Louis XVI first came to the throne by what system was the country run by

the ancein regime

when did englightened views start spreading

18th century

what was the nature of the political system based on within the ancien regime

the divine right of kings

what date was the storming of the bastille

July 14th 1789

what was the storming of the bastille a symbol of

the downfall of the absolute monarchy and the ancien regime

what were the 3 main features of the ancien regime

* divine right
* council of advisors and controller-general
* lettres de cahet

what did the political role of parlement consist of

the ability to refuse to register or implement laws created by the king, he could however overrule this, but support of the parlements was important

what was the name for the duties undertaken by the third estate members on aristocratic land

corvee

what privleges were ava

what was Rousseaus social contract

what was rou

what are three things that enlightened thinkers promoted

* reason
* logic
* evidence

what are three things enlightened thinkers opposed

* tradition
* religion
* superstition

* where were books and pamphlets with politically enlightened view points most easily spread and why

around urban centers such as Paris or Lyon due to very literate populations

what member of the royal family supported the enlightenment movement

Louis-Philippe Joseph, Duc d’Orleans

where did Du d’Orleans, hold intellectual gatherings where he would distribute radical pamphlets among nobility

Paris Royal

what are three things enshrined in the constitution

1. equality before the law
2. security of property
3. liberty of the citizen

who lead the secret supply of aid from France to America in early 1776

Pierre Beaumarchais

when did louis make a declaration for the French to fight with the colonists and why

1778, because the colonists appeared to have a good chance of winning

taking Jules Michelets seemingly accurate theory on the reaction of the poorest members of society to the enlightnment what arugment could a historian make about the start of the revolution

it wasnt so much a gradual spread of ideas on liberty and equality but more a spontaneous response to the poverty and hardship that people in France faced daily

what three things did rural inhabitants often rely on to survival and feed themselves

* pensions
* disability allowances
* charity from the church

what are three possible reasons for the economic decline in France which resulted in revolt in spring and summer of 1789

* taxation
* expensive wars
* corruption at court

what were the two types of taxes that impacted economic decline

direct and indirect

what were direct taxes

taxes that impacted individual property and land

what are indirect taxes

taxes that were added to the value of goods

what did the political role of parlinment consist of

the ability to refuse to register implement laws created by the king he could then overrule this but support of the parlments was important

what were privileges available for those in the third estate

if a member of the third estate was skilled in an area they could be organized into guild which could provide them signifcant local power

who was marie antoinette the daughter of

empress maria theresa of austria

what was marie antoinettes nickname

madame deficit

what is divine right

power given by god as a right to absolute monarchy going against this was treason

explain the system of the council of advisors and controller-general

a small group of courtiers who competed to serve the king and their lead who almost acted as a personal secretary

what was a lettre of cachet

a letter of arrest with a royal seal sent by the king

why did the lettres de cachet become the subject of criticism during the enlightenment

they were seen as a symbol of despotism

what is despotism

the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way

what were probably the biggest limits to the kings power in 1780s

parlements

what were parlements

local courts of councils made up of local nobles and high clergymen like bishops

how many parlements were there by 1780s

13

what function did parlement not perform

making laws

what two roles did parlements perform

legal role, and political role

what did the legal role of parlements consist of

ensuring the populace performed civic duties and prosecting those who did not as well as trialing those outside the kings law

what are the three estates system

a class system

what percentage of french citizens were catholic

97%

who made up the first estate

the catholic clergy

who made up the second estate

nobility- some ministers at the royal court, other military officers

who made up the third estate

everyone else- commoners, middle class, peasants

was each estate an indication of wealth

no the vast majority of the second estate was wealthier than the first estate some of the third estate like doctors and lawyers could be wealthier than those two estates above them

by definition, what was the system of estate concerned with

the system of estates was concerned with certain rights privileges and responsibilites

what are the groups of the third estate be split into

1. the bourgeoisie
2. the peasantry
3. the urban workers

who was the bourgeoisie

wealthier members of the third estate such as doctor lawyers and merchants

who were the third estate peasantry

rural farmers and laborers, some rich land owners though many of them were poor, they were the greatest proportion of the third estate

who were the urban workers

an increasing number of unskilled workers who were very poor and lived in slums, those who were more skilled in this group were wealthier

which two estates didn’t pay taxes

the first and second estates

which estate ran the military

the second state

what did the corvee include

jobs such as paving roads

what were the privleges of the first estate

* wealth
* minimal work
* no taxes
* lots of power
* censored press
* controlled education

why did the lettres de cachet become the subject of criticitism during the enlightment

they were seen as a symbol of despotism

what is despotism

the exercise of absolute power especially in a cruel and oppressive way

what were the privleges of the second estate

* wealthy
* held all military and state power
* no taxes
* granted access to hobbies and education

what were guilds

an organization of people in the same craft of trade

why were the first estate resented

they were out of touch with the people, especially the third estate and caused prominent attacks during the enlightenment

why were the second estate resented

they had complete control over small buisnesses

what was the enlightenment or the age of reason

an intellectual movement of enlightened thinkers who were mainly writers, politicians, philsophers and scientists who encourages the use of reason, logic and evidence instead of tradition religion and superstition

what was Montesquieus most famous idea

he identified three types of governmental power, legislative, excutive, and judicial. This allowed for the seperation of powers, and keeps individuals or groups from gaining total control

what were Voltaires key ideas

the idea of freedom of speech and religion, he criticized intolerance, prejucide, oppression and superstition

what was the collective name for all the people of all professions who influenced the enlightenment

philsphoes or humanists

where did intenllectual gatherings take place in paris

salons

where would philosophes gather to discuss and debate their theories and ideas

coffee houses of Paris and other middle class towns

who joined the philopophes to debate recent political ideas

educated bourgeois and nobility

what did the informal debates of the enlightened thinkers encourage

people to question the values of their society and the fairness of the ancien regime they lived under

during the ancien regime what was strictly controlled

the publication of literature

how was the publication controlled

printers had to be granted royal licenses to own the presses and all new publications had to be granted approval by the royal censor

how was the public of literature controlled by the catholic church and french government

they produced the list of banned books

what did the catholic church and french government ban

books by the philosophes

what was the reality of the apparent control of literature

many presses operated illegally and would spread books and pamphlets

what country did illegal books and pamphlets come from

Geneva

why is the enlightenment considered to be an underlying cause of the revolution but not an immediate trigger

it is hard for historians to measure common attitudes and the extent of exposure of French people to enlightened ideas

what were the problems about spreading these new ideas through written means

in rural populations there are limited literiate populations and bookshops

where did louis philippe joseph, duc dOrleans hold intellectual gatherings where he would distribute radical pamphlets among the nobility

paris royal

what was the city of intellectual debate in the US

philadelphia

what enlightened thinker played a big role in the american revolution

ben franklin

ben franklins enlightened thinking played a huge role in the american revolution and establishment of what

a democratic government

what was the document was done by jefferson in 1776

the declaration of independence

what two ideas inspired the DoI

1. the consent of the governed
2. the seperation of powers including checks and balances

what were the things enshrined in the US constitution

1. equality before the law
2. security of property
3. liberty of the citizen

what years did the american revoltion occur

1775-1783

what did the french secretly supply to the americans in 1776

aid

who led the aid mission of the US

pierre beaumarchais

how many livres of aid did the french send to american by 1777

5 million livres

why was Louis XVI intially reluctant to declare open war against the British

because of the potential costs

when did Louis make a declaration for the French to fight with the colonists

1778, because the colonists appeared to have a good chance of winning

what impact did the american revolution on the french state

despite celebrations from the enlightened French elite in 1783, the costs of the war and the boost given to enlightened thinking were damaging to the French state

what new ideas spread through France through the work of the Phiposophes

1. government
2. monarchy
3. freedom
4. religion

what group did the enlightenment cause the most and least political discontent

enlightment caused the most political discontent amongst the middle classed and didn’t particularly impact the nobles

The french historian Jules Michelet made an observation about the poorest members of society reaction to the enlightment

it wasn’t the ideas that mattered to the poor but their ability to feed their families and survive economic hardships

what three things did rural inhabitants often rely on to survive and feed themselves

* pensions
* disability allowances
* charity from the church

what happened to agriculture between 1730-1780

an increase in agriculture production