FRN 525 Test 2

Who was the first king of the Burbon dynasty?

King Henri IV (distant cousin of Henri III)

What did Versailles symbolize?

Opulent power and wealth, center of Europe was Versailles and King Louis XIV

What was the town of Versailles like before the palace? After?

Before, Versailles was a small country town. The construction of the palace concentrated power and wealth here as nobility had mansions built to stay closer to the king.

What did King Louis XIV declare himself as?

Le Roi Soleil! (The sun king)

Describe the Golden Age of French Civilization

Artists, musicians, scientists, writers, astronomers, and philosophers were encouraged to push past their limits by King Louis XIV

He also establishes Acadamie Francais and Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Letters which was dedicated to literature, and Academie des Sciences

Plays during the Golden Age

Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine wrote classical tragedies that all of Europe watched

Moliere (maybe the most famous playwright) made comedies which included everyday speech (vernacular) and the king even performed!

What was the economic state of the rest of France?

King Louis XIV’s wealth had a price, including his military conquests (colonies in the Carribean, North Africa, Haiti, Guadelope, etc for slavery) brought massive debt

Louis spending was out of control, even under Colbert, so his death meant the spending had no cap

Economic disparity grew and peasents often went hungry (The country man- born for suffering/ L’homme du village: Ne pour la peine)

Who were the two richest groups in France? Did they pay taxes?

Aristocracy and clergy, they paid no taxes but enjoyed many privileges, tax burden was overwhelming and continued to increase

What groups of society paid taxes?

Bourgeoises and middle class farmers

Describe the Bourgeoisie during King Louis XIV’s rule?

They had become very wealthy as trade increased across Europe and the colonies, nobility were still the upper class but their wealth was nothing like that of this urban proffessional class’

Nobles were born into wealth, vs burgs worked for it

When did King Louis XIV die?

In 1715 when he was 76… leaving a massive debt

What happened to the Edict of Nantes under King Louis XIV?

He declared: One faith, one law, one king, which became the motto of the absolute monarchy, revoking the Edict of Nantes

What happened to the French language under King Louis XIV’s rule?

He also wanted to unify the French language! In the mid 1600s, France was full of dialects, such as Occitan in Southern France and Franco Provencal in Lyon

The Academie Francais kickstarted the unification of French which had Parisian French as the standard since most of the members were educated Parisiens

Schools had to teach this form of French and discourage local dialects which continued in the 1700s and 1800s

By 1900, local dialects mostly died out, which meant the systemic effort standardized the language and destroyed local cutures

Who was king after King Louis XIV died?

His great grandson, King Louis XV!

He inherited the throne at 5 and was also a big spender

Duc d’Orleans was named Regent and served as de facto king until he came of age

He was anointed at Reims

What was France like when Louis XV started ruling? How did he rule?

It was still the dominant power in Europe and the rest of the world, but the debt crisis was concerning

He was not really interested in governing, so that was left to his ministers

He married the Polish princess Marie Leczinska at 15 but was not a loyal husband and had many lovers like Marquise de Pompadour who was known for her intelligence and love of the arts

One of France’s worst kings, reigned for 59 years (second longest reign of a king after Louis XIV)

What was the 7 years war?

1756-1763

During King Louis XV’s reign, France fought a war with England over colonies in North America

New France was lost

The Enlightenment

During Louis XV’s reign, French philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu were contributing to The Enlightenment (The Age of Reason)

Philosophers encouraged readers to question old ways and embrace new ideas (human rights, freedom of speech and religion, democracy)

Middle and upper class (Bourgeoises were reading these ideas)

Who ruled after King Louis XV?

King Louis XVI (1754-1793)

Took the throne in 1774 at 20

Married Marie Antoinette of Austria, they were a popular couple for a while

France was in financial shambles, the people with money (Bourgeoisie) were sick of paying taxes and bailing out monarchy

Who was Lafayette?

French Marquis and military commander who visited a general in the British American colonies (George Washington) who asked France to join their fight against Britain! Lafayette agrees and France joins the US in their war for independence

Siege of Yorktown

More French troops than American ones facing the British at this battle in 1781

British surrendered, US was now an independent republic

French monarchy blew a crucial blow to their British rivals

The war gave French people ideas though

Benjamin Franklin

First US ambassador to France

Popular among Parisiens

His tales of America interested the Bourgeoisie in changing France

How was the debt crisis attacked?

Louis XVI needed revenue, so the Estates General convened at Versailles in June 1789, which included members of the clergy, aristocracy, and everyone else (burgeoisies, farmers, etc, except women and poor people)

L’Assemble Nationale

The third estate (Burgeoisie and wealthy farmers) decided tax reforms proposed by King were not sufficient

They decided they would form a new National Assembly and that any new taxes had to be approved by them

Tennis Court Oath

June 20th, 1789, King ordered the new National Assembly locked out of their chambers at Versailles

They moved to a tennis court and vowed not to disband until drafting a constitution that would limit the power of the King, nobility, and Church, and give new power to people (as in wealthy bourgeoisie mean)

THIS MOMENT MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION

Cocorades (Tricolore)

Symbols of the revolution- small circular badges that soldiers wore at the time to signal their allegiance

Word spread to Paris and across France of the revolt against the King’s authority

Camille Desmoulins (Parisien journalist) created the Cocorade Tricolore in July 1789 to represent the new revolt, which became their flag

Marianne

Another symbol of the revolution, she represented liberty, given the most common French name (Marie + Anne)

Lasting symbol of French Republic

Bastille

Parisiens enter into open revolt

Bastille (massive medieval fortress that became a symbol of royal oppression) fell to revolutionaries seeking gunpowder and weapons

July 14, 1789

France’s national holiday (La Fete Nationale) is celebrated on July 14th!

Ideals of French Revolution

Aug 4, 1789: National Assembly declares equality of all men before law, removing aristocratic privileges, king is no more special than any other citizen

Aug 20: Passes Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen- major document proclaiming ideas of Revolution (natural rights- liberty and equality)

Church holdings are nationalized and sold off

Aristocratic estates are seized and made public (Such as Chateau au Rochetaille)

Women’s March on Versailles

October 5 (PEYTYN’S BIRTHDAY!) 1789- women in Parisien markets begin to revolt over high price of bread

Organized and began march on Versailles (~23 miles)

Other revolutionaries joined, there were thousands, demanded for arrest of king

Queen responded: Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”

Assembly didn’t arrest Louis but did force him to move to Palace of Tuileries in Paris to be closer to people

Assembly leaves Versailles and moves the seat of its government to Paris

What did King Louis XVI do when he became worried that the Assembly would arrest him?

Attempts to escape in June 1791

Lived in a mix of anger and fear

He and his family attempt to escape to Austria

Was King Louis XVI’s escape successful?

No!

Caught by the revolutionary Garde Nationale (led by Lafayette) before crossing the border

National Assembly places him on de facto house arrest in the Palais de Tuileries

Name of the progressives in the National Assembly? What did they want?

Jacobins

Called for abolishment of monarchy

What did the Jacobins do to Louis?

Louis was officially arrested on September 13, 1792

Moved to a real prison (the Temple)

Assembly officially abolishes Monarchy

French Republic is declared

In his trial, he is known as Citoyen Louis Capet

What were the two subfactions of the Jacobins? What were they like?

Girondins: moderate

Montagnards: radical

Election of 1792 sees the Montagnards win the most seats in the Assembly

Who was the leader of the Montagnards?

Maximilien Robespierre

What did the Montagnards change in order to disassociate from the king?

The calendar!

Did not tolerate ANY references to kings

Instituted Republican calendar

12 months based on weather

Later abandonned in 1805

What was King Louis XVI convicted of?

Conspiracy against the liberty of people

January 1793: Republic led by Montagnards finds him guilty

Sentenced to death by guillotine (January 21, 1793)

Marie Antoinette suffers the same fate in October

La Vendee and Counter Revolution

European royals become nervous after hearing about Louis XVI’s death

They (England, Austria, Prussia) ban together and invade France to crush the French Republic

Government needs soldiers, starts conscripting

Unpopular in Western French region (Vendee), people start revolt against government

Republic faces internal and external threats

Lyon during the Revolution

People of Lyon supported Girondins (moderates)

Began revolt against Montagnard government in July 1793

Lyon was besieged, over 2k people died before it ended in October

City was briefly renamed Ville Affranchie (liberated city)

One of the Montagnards declared that Lyon declared war on liberty so Lyon was no more

Reign of Terror

Government declares state of emergency

Hands power over to small group of radical politicians (Comite de Salut Public- Committee of Public Safety) led by Robespierre

Committee hunts down anyone suspected of being counter revolutionary

Thousands are executed without trial from 1793-1794

Robespierre’s closest allies become concerned for their safety and plan to have him arrested

Robespierre is executed on July 28, 1794, Reign of Terror comes to an end

Committee disbands in 1795

Jean Baptiste Belley

Was sold into slavery on Saint Domingue (modern Haiti) as a baby

Bought his freedom as a young man

Elected as one of the Montagnard deputies in 1792 election (one of three from Caribbean colonies)

First black man elected to France’s government

Speech in Assembly inspired colleagues to abolish slavery in France and colonies on Feb 4, 1794

Unfortunately reinstated in 1802 and not re abolished until 1848

Directory

New elections held in 1795

Winners were Thermidorians (much more modern than Montagnards)

Established new executive- The Directory- council of 5 that lasted until 1799

Republic was still at war with European powers (England, Austria, Prussia)

Napolean Bonaparte in the 1790s

Very talented military commander

Whiz kid, became general in Republican army in 1795 at 26 years old

Astounding victories that excited the people, making him very popular

Carefully cultivated his image in campaigns

Napolean in Egypt

Britain established colonies in Asia by the end of the 18th century

France tasked Napolean with expanding the country’s colonial possessions in fear of Britain’s power

He leads an invasion of Egypt in 1798 which was under the Ottoman empire

Encountered and confiscated many artefacts and works of art

Rosetta Stone

Confiscated in Egypt by Napoleon

Bears inscriptions in Ancient Greek, Egyptian Demotic, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics

Deciphered by Jean Francois Champollion

Why did Napoleon decide to leave Egypt?

1799, Napoleon receives word that The Directory government was unpopular and would soon collapse

Decides to leave Egypt to return to France

Decided to act on ambitions as he knew he was popular

Understanding key features of Paris

Paris has more people than Belgium and Switzerland

1 out of 5 people in France live in Paris

Combining Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC to be able to say 1 in 5 Americans live in this region

¼ of French students study in Paris

70% of Parisiens were born outside of Paris but moved there for their career

France is an extremely centralized country

Where is Paris centered? What is it shaped like? What river is it on?

Ile de la Cite, a boat shaped island on the Seine

The Seine is >480 miles long and is the lifeblood of Paris

Fertile banks for hundreds of miles

Islands are easily defended (Largest islands is Ile de la Cite, the other is the Ile St Louis)

Notre Dame is at the Stern

Links the city to the sea (La Harve) and central France, as well as other rivers (Oise and Marne)

Easy travel and facilitated trade

Fluctuat nec Mergitur

Boat remains symbol of Paris, city crest reads:

“It is beaten by the waves, but it does not sink”

Cité

Center of civilization in France

As the city grew, settlements were established on opposite sides of the river

Island served as protection during conflict

South side of the river: left bank

Right side of the river: right bank

Cite and St Louis islands are sandwiched between the banks

How many arrondissements does Paris have? Which one are we staying in?

20 total

We are in the 3e

System of Arrondissements

First is at the center of Paris, others follow in a clockwise spiral

System was established during French Revolution with 12 arrondissements

Napoleon III established current system in 1860

All 20 have a town hall (mairie)

You can tell which arrondissement you’re in based on the street signs

What are people that live in l’Ile de France region? How many departments does it have?

Les Franciliens

8 departments

Paris is a department and a city

Mayors of Paris

Jaques Chirac

Jean Tiberi

Bertrand Delanoe

Anne Hildago

Emmanuel Gregoire

What were the Gauls residing around Paris called?

The Parisii

What was Lutetia?

Old name of Paris

Well organized Roman town

Paved roads and streets

Drainage system for sewage

Plumbing systems

Describe Genevieve, the Patron Saint of Paris?

Illiterate young shepherd girl

Early convert to Christianity

Urged Parisiens to stand their ground against Atilla the Hun

Stopped the panic and Parisiens prepped for the worst

Attilla struck Orleans to the south

What did King Clovis do?

First Christian king, made Paris the capital city of his kingdom

Where did Charlemagne move the capital to? Then where did Hugues Capet move it to?

Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen in Germany today)

Hugues Capet made Paris the capital again

Le Consulat

Napoleon worked with two others to establish the Consulate, ruled by three Consuls

The consul was established in the Tuleries Palace

Stability seems to be restored, the new regime is popular

Consultat drafted a constitution which was approved by vote overwhelmingly

Napoleon arranged matters to make himself most powerful, later having himself elected as First Consul, soon designated Premier Consul and he clearly has the power

Le Concordat

The Church had been banished during the revolution

Napoleon invited the Pope to restore the presence of the church (favored by many French)

Clergy had to take civil oath

Catholicism was not the official religion- freedom of cult was reestablished

This ensured the Church would not become a major political force

Consul for life

Napoleon has himself named Consul for life at 33 years old in 1802

Napoleonic Code

He sought change in French society

Established standardized set of laws using the Justinian code (Roman law) as a model

Base of French Jurisprudence today

Napoleon Emperor

1804: Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, snatching crown from the Pope

Crowned Josephine as Empress

Empire was born!

Was Napoleon a popular leader?

Yes! Supported by public

Began a number of major public work projects

Understood importance of full employment for public satisfaction

Began work on Ourcq Canal, built sewage systems, new roads, modern system for numbering houses

La Grande Armee

Military was the biggest employer during the Empire

Napoleon focused on public work projects and overhauled the legal system

Also worked on building large army and navy

Other European powers were concerned, especially fresh after dealing with French revolutionary government’s efforts at exporting Revolution

Napoleonic Wars

Imperial France was at war

Collapse of Amiens treaty in 1803 caused France and England to resume state of war

Why was the divorce of Josephine and Napoleon granted?

Empress Josephine was not bearing children

Caused fears of succession for Napoleon (Monarch-like thinking)

Napoleon was granted a divorce

Also motivated by her affair with one of her husband’s officers

Napoleon arranged a marriage with Archiduchesse Marie-Louise of Austria (eldest daughter of Habsburg Emperor Francis I of Austria)

King of Rome

Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte

Son of Napoleon and Marie-Louise

Moscow Campaign (1812)

Napoleon’s Grande Armee was seemingly unbeatable

Coalition armies could not push it back

Napoleon controlled much of Europe

Fatal mistake was invading Russia in 1812

Russia used the scorch earth tactic

French army lacked food

Napoleon was forced to withdraw after holding Moscow for a few weeks

Collapse of Empire

French were falling back across Europe after defeat in Russia

At Battle of the Nations (Leipzig) coalition armies handed France a defeat

What happened to Napoleon after defeat?

Allies exiled Napoleon to Elba Island in the Mediterranean

French were not forced to pay reparations, allies were generous with terms

He became bored and some supporters wanted him back

Restoration

Allies agreed to allow French to reestablish Bourbon Monarchy in France

Bourbon restoration

Crushing defeat for Republicans (Revolution) and Bonapartistes

Who was king after the Bourbon restoration?

Louis XVI’s sons were dead, so his brother was installed as Louis XVIII

Hundred Days

Napoleon escaped from Elba with outside help

He returned as Emperor from March 1 - June 22, 1815

Allies were peeved

What happened to King Louis XVIII?

Unreliable army, most joined Napoleon

King had little support against Emperor

Forced to make a humiliating retreat

Waterloo

Napoleon raced to prepare an army but didn’t have enough time

Moved to confront Allied forces in Belgium

Defeated at Waterloo

Exile II

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