Chapter 20: The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, 1789-1815

  • The French Revolution was a period of creation and discovery
  • The spread of the Enlightenment at the upper levels of French society created new expectations and possibilities
  • France was a nation of wealth and poverty existing at once   * Conflicts over taxes were common
  • France didn’t have the adequate bureaucratic infrastructure to apply royal policies   * The monarchy was constantly competing with the nobility for power   * Government authority was closely tied with medieval concepts
  • Conflict between the social classes was common
  • Growing urbanization and mercantilist behavior caused an expansion in literacy and publication of things such as newspapers and pamphlets
  • French Government   * Combination of centralized government and feudal system (under leadership of monarch)   * King was in theory absolute, but in reality was limited by the power of nobles and the feudal system   * Legislative Body consisted of the Estates Generals     * First Estate: Clergy     * Second Estate: Nobles     * Third Estate: everybody else     * In accordance with tradition, each estate normally received one vote
  • Parisian Parlement was prestigious and powerful
  • Regional government was guided by the feudal system and seen as repressive by peasants, and necessary by the nobles
  • Parlement of Paris was disbanded as it refused taxes and loans for the king, leading the king to call a meeting of the Estates Generals   * The three Estates and the king had different goals in mind   * The first meeting ended in a stalemate   * Third Estate met alone in response to the stalemate
  • National Assembly met in a Tennis Court   * Wanted to establish a representative government based on the constitution   * Louis XVI tried to reconcile, fearing popular support   * Louis XVI called the Swiss Guard which was seen as a step towards oppression   * People of Paris stormed Bastille on July 14, 1789   * Rioters formed National Guard
  • National Assembly responded to Peasant Revolt on August 4, 1789
  • National Assembly adopted Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens on August 27, 1789 which promised equal justice and freedom of speech and religion
  • Counter-revolutionary enthusiasm started to develop between 1789-1790
  • The Legislative Assembly was elected per the new Constitution in September 1791
  • France declared war on Austria in April, 1792
  • The National Convention met to plan a new course of action, eliminate the monarchy, and place Louis XVI on trial in September, 1792
  • The National Convention faced an economic crisis   * Food shortage   * Failures in war
  • The Committee of Public Safety (“Great Committee”) was given the power to govern while the National Convention focused on the new constitution
  • “Terror is the Order of the Day”   * Means for re-establishing stability when faced with counter-revolutionary forces a losing effort against Austria   * Saved France from foreign invasion while destroying the democracy
  • Napoleon inducted himself as “First Consul” in a coup in 1799   * Power was consolidated through reforms
  • Napoleon was declared “First Consul” for life in 1802
  • Fall of Napoleon   * Continental System     * Berlin Decree (1806)     * “Order in Council” (1806)     * Milan Decree (1807)   * Peninsula War (Spain: 1808-1814)   * Russian Campaign (1812)   * Grand Alliance     * Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, and Russia vs. France       * Battle of Nations at Leipzig (1813) the Great Alliance won       * First Treaty of Paris (1814)       * Second Treaty of Paris

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