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Who were the First Estate of French Society?
The Clergy (religious leaders)
They made up 0.5% of population.
Owned 10% of the land.
They were exempt from taxes.
Who were the Second Estate of French Society?
They were the Nobles.
They made up 1.5% of population.
Owned 25% of the land.
They were exempt from taxes.
Who were the Third Estate of French Society?
They were the commoners.
90% peasants and 8% Bourgeoisie in total made up 98% of the population.
They owned 65% of the land.
Paid all the taxes.
When did the French Revolution begin?
1789
What were the economic crises in France?
The French treasury was bankrupt as a result of wasteful and unnecessary spending by the king and queen at the time.
They were also at war for more than a century.
They tried to get out of debt by taxing the first and second estates (this was what was being talking about during the Estates General), but they rejected the tax reform.
Peasantry
They were the most liberated on the continent.
They had increasing taxes. Their increasing population on rural land resulted in pressure.
They also had no political voice.
Tithe - one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy.
Why was the Estates General called?
Due to France helping the Americans during their revolution, France needed money. Louis XVI was forced to call an Estates Geneal for the first time in 175 years (since 1614).
Louis broadens franchise which means to increase the amount of people affected by tax. (maybe TBD) In other words he proposes a tax reform but it is rejected by the third estate.
Third Estate dominated by radical lawyers and professionals.
Third Estate demands equal representation.
What was the Estates General?
The Estates-General was a representative assembly of the Ancien RĂ©gime also known as the old order, the closest France had to a congress or parliament at the time. It was comprised of representatives from all Three Estates. The Estates-General would play a pivotal role in the revolutionary events of 1789.
What was the National Assembly?
Existed from 17 June 1789 to 29 September 1791.
Third Estate renames themself to National Assembly.
A revolutionary assembly of the Kingdom of France.
Formed by the representatives of the Third Estate (commoners) after the events of 1789.
Swore to never stop meeting until a new constitution for France was written (part of the Tennis Court Oath).
The Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate met at the Royal Tennis Court after finding the place where they planned to meet and enter into the Estates General tax reform meeting in 1789 with closed & locked doors and pledged an oath.
Promised to write a new constitution for France, and the king would be forced to comply with the new constitution (Declaration of the Rights of Man).
Louis capitulates (gives in) = new constitution.
Storming of the Bastille
Rumors start that the king prepares to use force against the National Assembly.
Due to this, a mob storms the Bastille (14 July 1789) wanting to free prisoners and attain gun powder.
Only 8 prisoners were freed showing this was not the true reason for the raid.
Sets off the French Revolution because the King did not do anything about the storming. Thus, making people feel as if they could do something like this again.
A Social Revolution
National Assembly establishes constiutional monarchy and drafts constitution (constitution of 1791).
Abolishes aristocratic financial privileges and landlords’ rights.
How do people refer to the French Revolution?
They refer to it as the beginning of the end for western civilization.
Which group truly led the French Revolution?
The Bourgeoise.
They were considered to be the educated middle class of French Society.
They read many philosopher’s theories and gained ideas from them which led to the French Revolution.
The heir of the French throne was about to take a bride to form an alliance with Austria, who was the bride?
Marie Antoinette who was married to King Louis XVI he was very unprepared to become king.
What was Marie’s nickname? Where was she from?
Madame Deficit; Austria
What is said to be the one role of the Queen?
To produce an heir.
What was at the heart of the French diet?
Bread
What was the cost of a loaf of bread?
About a month’s wages.
Who became the leading representative of the commoners?
Maximilien Robespierre known as the incorruptible.
What was the name of the declaration produced by the French people?
The declaration of the rights of Men (1789).
Main idea - “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”
What did King Louis XVI write in his journal during the day of the Storming of the Bastille?
Nothing
Fishwives Take Versailles
Women march on Versailles
Demand food, rights
Royal family forced to Paris - Guards on Pikes
Held virtual prisoners in Tuilleres
Constitution of 1791
Establishes moderate Constitutional monarchy.
Indirect elections: Franchise to 2/3 of males (property owners).
Legislature may override King’s Veto.
Administration rationalized: 83 departments.
Church Property confiscated, sold.
State control over Church.
“Sans-Coulettes”
New style of dress for the revolutionaries also what they were commonly refered to as.
The Terror Begins
Defeats in war and economic shortages = demonstrations
Jacobins form the Paris commune.
Capture king & demand a republic.
Minister of Justice Georges Danton hunts, kills opposition of the revolution.
When was King Louis XVI executed?
Louis is executed January of 1793
What is the Reign of Terror?
A period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervor, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety.
It was in 1793 and began as soon as King Louis XVI was executed.
Ended in 1794 when the radical/leader of the Reign of Terror Maximillien Robespierre was beheaded.
Who ruled France at the time during the French Revolution?
King Louis XVI
Two causes of the French Revolution
France as a country was broke. The people of France were also hungry and Starving. Due to people dying, they called for a time of change.
France was experiencing one of their coldest winters ever which caused people to become more desperate and unruly.
What were the two sides of the political spectrum during the French revolutions?
The left and the right.
The Jacobins being the most radical types of revolutionaries (Maximillien Robespierre).
The Girondins were to the right and more moderate.
What happened to Maximillien Robespierre after he was has arrested for creating a new list of enemies of the state?
He tried to commit suicide but failed.
He was eventually beheaded in 1794.
Who was Jean Paul Marat and who killed him?
He was a revolutionist who published the newspaper “The Friend of the People”, he was killed by Charlotte Cordae in his bathtub due to him having an open-door policy. She tricked him by saying that she had a list of names of people who were traitors, but in reality, she just wanted to kill him. She killed him in his bathtub. He also had a horrible skin disease due to living in the sewers.
The Great Fear
A time in which peasants rioted out of fear of the king overthrowing the Third Estate.
How many phases are there in the French Revolution?
There are 4
National Assembly/Moderate stage
Second Revolution/Radical Stage
Third Revolution/The Directory
Age of Napoleon
Why was the voting system unfair at the time in the Estates General?
Since there was only one vote per estate, the first and second would always outvote the third estate leading them to never have any say in decisions.
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