AP Euro - French Revolution ID Terms (part 1)

Louis XV

King of France from 1715 until his death in 1774, known for his long and often controversial reign

his rule saw the continuation of absolute monarchy and the rise of Enlightenment ideas, which contrasted with traditional royal authority, creating tension in French society

Parlement

A set of thirteen provincial judicial boards—one based in Paris and the other twelve in major provincial cities—that constituted the independent judiciary of France

provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France

Rene de Maupeou

financial minister of Louis XV who abolished the existing parlement, exiled the members of the parlement of Paris, and began to tax privileged groups; attempts at reform signalled the failure of enlightened despotism in France

chancellor of France who succeeded in temporarily depriving the Parlements of the political powers that had enabled them to block the reforms proposed by the ministers of King Louis XV

Louis XVI

The French king from 1774 to1792 who was deposed during the French Revolution and executed in 1793

Added to the crisis through heavy spending during France's involvement in the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783

The last king of France before the revolution

lost his opportunity to institute fundamental reforms that might have prevented the outbreak of the French Revolution by rescinding Maupeou’s measures

Marie Antoinette

Queen of France and wife of Louis XVI whose extravagance and opposition to reform contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy

Lettre de cachet

a letter signed by the king and countersigned by a secretary of state and used primarily to authorize someone's imprisonment

ancien regime (Old Regime)

Characterized by the rule of absolute monarchies w/bureaucracy & aristocratic army, scarcity of food, predominant agriculture, slow transport, competitive commercial overseas empires, unsophisticated financial institutions

Stuck to tradition, hierarchy, corporate feeling & noble privileges.

Jacques Necker

Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI; advocated for transparency in government spending and proposed taxing the privileged classes

advised Louis to reduce court spending, reform his government, and abolish tariffs on internal trade, but the First and Second Estates got him fired

Assembly of Notables

advisory body called upon intermittently, consisting of high-ranking nobles, ecclesiastics, and state functionaries, summoned by the King of France

part of an ancient practice in French monarchy intended to endorse the policies of the King

Estates General

legislative body in prerevolutionary France made up of representatives of each of the three classes, or estates

called into session in 1789 for the first time since 1614.

cahiers de doleances

intended to inform and instruct the deputies of local views and authorize reform; the general consensus among the three Estates was that the royal power had to be limited

lists of grievances submitted to the French crown when the Estates General met in 1789

Abbe Sieyes, What is the Third Estate?

political document published in 1789 that argued for the significance of the Third Estate in French society, which comprised the common people

“Age of Montesquieu”

First phase of the French Revolution, "liberal phase", the era of a constitutional monarchy

National Assembly

revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate in France from 1789 to 1791

Tennis Court Oath

pivotal event during the early stages of the French Revolution, where members of the Third Estate vowed not to disband until they had drafted a new constitution for France

the National Assembly swore not to stop meeting until France had a constitution, symbolizing the unity and determination of those who sought to challenge the existing order and establish a government that represented the people

storming of the Bastille

pivotal event in the French Revolution where revolutionaries attacked the fortress prison in Paris, symbolizing the uprising against the monarchy and tyranny

July 14, 1789 French peasants stormed the prison the Bastille, in an attempt to free prisoners, they believed, had been wrongly accused

“Great Fear”

period of panic and riot by peasants and others amid rumors of an aristocratic conspiracy by the king and the wealthier to overthrow the Third Estate; the troops around Paris rebelled

peasants rose against their lords, attacking châteaus and destroying feudal documents; to check the peasants, the National Constituent Assembly decreed the abolition of the feudal regime and introduced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

fundamental document of the French Revolution that outlines the individual and collective rights of all citizens

establishes principles such as liberty, equality, and fraternity, asserting that all men are born free and equal in rights

Olympe de Gouges, The Rights of Woman

argued that women are entitled to participate in political discussions and decisions, thus demanding a role in shaping laws and governance

includes various rights such as the right to education, work, and legal equality, all aimed at empowering women in society

encouraged women to fight for their rights

Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman

considered one of the first works of feminist philosophy, it argued that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear to be only because they lack education and emphasized that women are rational beings deserving of the same rights as men

Women’s march to Versailles

Concerned over the high price and scarcity of bread, women from the marketplaces of Paris led the March on Versailles on October 5, 1789; became one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, eventually forcing the royals to return to Paris

Jean-Paul Marat

prominent French revolutionary and radical journalist known for his fiery writings and advocacy for extreme measures against counter-revolutionaries

leader of the radical Montagnard faction during the French Revolution

Civil Constitution of the Clergy, 1790

law passed during the French Revolution that restructured the Roman Catholic Church in France, bringing it under state control

an attempt to reform the church in France by breaking from the Catholic Church

“refractory clergy”

Roman Catholic Clergy who, during the French Revolution, refused to swear allegiance to the new Civil Constitution

83 Departments

a uniform municipal organization in which all towns had the same form of government, varying only according to size

France became a centralized national gov't based in Paris once the feudal institutions, parlements, estates, provincial law codes, and tariff and tax bodies were replaced by them

assignats

paper money issued by the National Assembly in France from 1789 to 1796, during the French Revolution

issued after the confiscation of church properties in 1790 because the government was bankrupt

Flight to Varennes

significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfully attempted to escape from Paris to Montmédy, where the King wished to initiate a counter-revolution by joining up with royalist troops

Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

argued against the radical changes brought about by the French Revolution and warned about the potential consequences of such upheaval

argued that the French Revolution was misguided and dangerous due to its rejection of established social structures

dismissed comparisons between the French Revolution and the 1688 revolution in England

Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man

posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people

exemplified Enlightenment ideals by advocating for individual liberty, equality, and democratic governance

defended the French Revolution and argued against hereditary government, promoting ideas of equality and social justice

Legislative Assembly

governing body established in France during the French Revolution, functioning from 1791 to 1792

succeeded the National Constituent Assembly and played a crucial role in the revolutionary period by enacting laws and addressing issues such as war and social reforms

Jacobins

political club formed by the deputies of the third estate that advocated for a republic as opposed to the traditional monarchy and was influenced largely by the Enlightenment and the radical thinker, Rousseau

Girondins

political faction during the French Revolution that represented the interests of the bourgeoisie and advocated for a constitutional government

the radicals in the Legislative Assembly, but the conservatives in the Convention

opposed executing the King and were supporters of the disastrous war with Austria but lost power to the more radical faction of Jacobins

Montagnards

sympathized more readily with the sansculottes (the local activists) of the capital and proved temperamentally bolder in their response to economic, military, and political problems

rival faction of the Girondins that was lead by Robespierre and Jean-Paul Marat