Demand for rights expanded due to the Enlightenment.
Relationships between countries were based on the balance of power.
Britain was dominant and had the fewest problems during this time.
Rise of Global Markets
Spice Trade used land routes during the 1300s-1400s.
Portugal became dominant in the trade route around Africa in the 1400s.
Columbus explored the western route to spice countries in 1492.
Spain, Britain, and the Netherlands expanded navigation.
Mercantilism convinced countries to establish colonies.
Commercial Rivalries - 1700’s
Worldwide growth of trade and mercantilism occurred.
Europe possessed all the world’s industrialization.
Increased population led to a greater need for manufactured goods.
There was a reliance on Africa for trade and slaves.
British and French navies were built up.
Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands experienced declining naval dominance.
Britain's Ascendency
William and Mary took over during the Glorious Revolution.
They died childless; William died in 1702.
Queen Anne took over in 1702, never married, and died childless.
The Acts of Union created the United Kingdom, fearing France would help Catholic Ireland and Scotland take over.
King George I:
Anne’s death ended the Stuart line.
The Hanover line was created from family in Germany.
The Treaty of Utrecht made England dominant.
War of Austrian Succession
HRE Charles IV died in 1740 without a male heir.
His daughter Maria Theresa was eligible to rule.
Charles IV asked Prussian leaders not to invade.
Frederick II (Frederick the Great) of Prussia invaded, seeking the territory of Silesia.
The War of Austrian Succession took place from 1740-1748.
Other countries joined the war.
Parties Involved:
HRE (Austria) - Maria Theresa
Britain
Netherlands
Hanover (British cousins)
Prussia - Frederick II
France
Spain
Bavaria
The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Austria lost Silesia to Prussia.
Frederick II recognized Maria Theresa’s husband as the rightful ruler (Francis I).
The American phase of the war was King George’s War (1744-1748) over land in Canada and India.
Seven Years’ War
Took place from 1756-1763.
Austria wanted Silesia back.
New Sides:
HRE (Austria)
Russia
France
Netherlands
Prussia
Britain
Hanover
French and Indian War
American Version of the Seven Years' War.
Took place from 1754-1763.
Britain won, which led America to the War for Independence from 1775-1781.
Ended with the Treaty of Paris.
The French Revolution
Economic problems plagued France when Louis XVI took the throne.
Marie Antoinette:
Was an Austrian princess and daughter of Maria Theresa.
She liked to gamble, shop, and spend money.
Moved to France at age 14.
The Necklace Scandal:
The royals were seen as out of touch with issues facing the majority of France.
Cost: 1,600,000 livres (approximately 100 million today).
French Financial Crisis:
France was in debt as a result of the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution.
Louis XVI reinstated the French parlements to fix the problem; these had been abolished by Louis XV.
Parlements:
French royal courts, not legislative bodies.
Known for opposing the king; run by hereditary nobility.
The Three Estates:
First Estate: clergy, 1% of population, owned 10% of land.
Second Estate: nobility, 2% of population, owned 35% of land.
Third Estate: everyone else, including the middle class, 97% of population, owned 55% of land.
Each estate had one vote.
The Third Estate wanted more of a voice in the government and demanded that the vote be determined by the percentage of the population.
Convening the Estates General: May 1789.
The National Assembly:
The king locked the delegates out of the Estates General room, so members went to a hand ball court (tennis court) to make a new assembly
It was a combination of the Third and Second Estate, along with some liberal nobles.
Officially declared on June 17, 1789.
The Tennis Court Oath:
The newly created National Assembly gathered in an indoor tennis court to draft a new constitution.
King Louis XVI capitulated and ordered all representatives from the First and Second Estates to meet with the General Assembly.
The National Assembly renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly and was composed of members of all three estates who shared goals of administrative, constitutional, and economic reform for France.
The French Urban Poor:
Suffered greatly from high bread prices, shortages, and famine.
Percentage of income spent on bread:
1787: Approximately 50%
1788: Approximately 70%
Overthrow of the Bastille:
The winter and spring of 1788-1789 was a time of suffering for many as high bread prices cause shortages and famine loomed
July 11, 1789: Louis XVI dismissed his finance minister.
July 14, 1789: Large crowds went to the Bastille, a fortress and prison, to look for arms to form a militia; 98 Parisians, troops, and the governor of the Bastille were killed.
July 15, 1789: The National Guard, led by Marquis de Lafayette, officially took over the Bastille.
Rumor: The king was planning a military coup against the National Assembly, sparking the violence.
Spread of Enlightenment:
Coffeehouses and salons were popular before the war.
Enlightenment ideas spread through these meetings.
Phase One: The “Great Fear”:
Peasant revolts intensified in the countryside as they kicked aristocrats off of their land.
August 4, 1789: Several nobles and clergymen renounced their noble rights at the National Constituent Assembly to stop the riots.
The “Old Regime” was officially abolished.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen:
New constitution drafted on August 27, 1789.
Very similar to the Declaration of Independence in proclaiming liberty, freedom, and natural rights.
Advocated civic equality and popular sovereignty.
Women were not included.
The Women’s March on Versailles:
Women upset about bread prices gathered at Versailles on October 5, 1789.
They broke into Versailles and forced King Louis XVI and his family to come to Paris.
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy:
July 12, 1790.
The Catholic Church was made subordinate to the French Government.
Church members could not commit themselves to any entity outside of France; this included the Pope.
Priests had to take an obligatory oath or be sent to prison; many were sent to prison.
Women at the Center of this War:
Olympe de Gouges composed the Declaration of Rights of Women, using the men’s declaration to call for women to be treated as citizens.
It was not adopted.
Constitution of 1791:
Established an executive, legislature, and judiciary.
Guaranteed the rights of man and the citizen from August 26, 1789.
Phase Two: Reign of Terror:
June 1791: The King and family dressed up like servants and made a run for the northern border. When they recognized him, he showed that he was the king, thinking they would let him go. Instead he was taken as a prisoner back to Paris
The Jacobins:
Mainly filled with members of the Parisian middle class.
Became more and more radical.
Created a vast network of clubs throughout France.
Maximilien de Robespierre was a key figure.
The Girondins:
Mostly moderate rural members of the National Assembly.
Lost control of the National Assembly to the Jacobins.
The Sans-Culottes:
Mainly members of the Parisian working class, including shopkeepers, tradesmen, and artisans.
Radicals who instigated the violence in the Revolution.
Jean Paul Marat was a key figure.
The September Massacres:
Occurred in 1792.
False rumors spread that prisoners were going to break out and attack the troops from the rear.
Mobs ran to the prisons and killed over 1,000 people.
Priests and members of the church who did not take the oath were massacred.
Caused people abroad to move away from supporting the Revolution.
The National Convention:
September 1792.
The first act that formally abolished the monarchy.
Adoption of a new calendar, which would become Year I of the new French Republican Calendar.
Declared the Republic of France.
Engaged in the de-Christianization of France.
Louis XVI Executed:
Stated that he and Marie were talking to foreign powers (which would have been impossible under the circumstances)
387 voted to kill the king.
334 voted to let him live.
Louis was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793.
Marie on Trial:
Marie Antoinette was also put on trial.
She feared what would happen to her children; her son died as a result of his treatment during the Revolution.
Marie was found guilty and sent to the guillotine in October 1793.
Committee of Public Safety:
Led by Maximilien Robespierre & George Danton.
Jacobins turned on Girondins.
300,000 arrested.
16,000-50,000 executed.
Jean Paul Marat:
Jacobins wrote newspaper articles listing anti-revolutionaries.
Was murdered in a bathtub by Charlotte Corday (Girondins), who wanted the killing to end.
Turned into a martyr.
The Reign of Terror:
Real and imagined enemies of the revolution were arrested and executed, including peasants, nobles, clergy, business people, and ex-revolutionary leaders.
The highest number of executions were among the working class.
The Terror Continues:
The Jacobins and the followers of Danton began to clash.
Robespierre went after Danton and had him executed.
The End of Robespierre:
Robespierre stated that members of the Assembly were “enemies of the State” and they would be rounded up in the morning.
The Assembly, not knowing who was targeted, turned on him and had him arrested.
Robespierre tried to kill himself, but only shot off his jaw.
End of Robespierre
The power of the Committee for Public Safety’s power was reduced.
Jacobin Clubs were closed.
Churches were reopened.
Economic restrictions and price setting was lifted in favor of laissez-faire policies.
August 1795, a new Constitution is written and more conservative republicanism established.
Effects of the French Revolution
Haitian Independence:
Toussaint L'Ouverture, a slave from Haiti, learned to read and was freed in 1776, becoming a military leader.
Haitian Independence
Saint-Domingue (Haiti) was a wealthy sugar colony with 95% slaves.
In 1791, a slave rebellion started, led by L’Ouverture.
Haitian slaves were given their independence in 1794 because France needed them to fight in their military as Spain and Britain tried to take the colony.
After Napoleon came to power, L'Ouverture was imprisoned, but his followers fought back against the French.
Haitian independence was declared in 1804.
Napoleon
Napoleon Coup: November 9, 1799, Napoleon took over the government.
Directory out
A plebiscite confirmed his new position.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821):
Born of Italian nobles on the French island of Corsica.
Military genius; specialized in artillery.
Jacobin who advanced rapidly in the army.
Napoleon’s Rise to Power:
Success with his Italian Campaigns from 1796-1797.
Conquered most of northern Italy for France, saved a port city, and started to get into politics.
French Expansion: 1791-1799
Phase Three: Napoleonic Era:
The Consulate was seen as the end to the Revolution.
Napoleon acted more as an absolute ruler than an elected politician.
Third Estate members and peasants supported the Consulate as they had finally achieved their goals they sought to attain at the beginning of the Revolution.
Concordat of 1801:
Napoleon formally re-established Christianity in 1801 with an agreement with Pope Pius VII that the Pope reluctantly accepted.
Napoleon wanted to use the church and the clergy help his regime. • Napoleon nominated Bishops. Bishops appointed priests. Both Catholic and Protestant clergy allowed.
Catholicism was declared the religion of the majority of the people of France, but not the state religion.
The Napoleonic Code - 1804
Equality for ALL citizens before the law.
Property was distributed among all children; males and females.
Women needed husband’s consent to dispose of property.
Abolition of privileges based on birth.
Individuals could choose their occupations.
Service of the state based on ability rather than position or wealth.
Right to property & the end of feudalism.
Napoleon’s Dynasty:
Napoleon was named Emperor of the French with his newest constitution.
Napoleon crowns himself Napoleon I on 12/2/1804.
He did not allow anyone else to put the crown on his head.
He then crowned his wife, Josephine, empress.
Napoleonic Wars 1805-1815:
War of the Third Coalition (1805-1807):
1803 – Great Britain restarted its war against France.
1805 – Austria & Russia joined in, creating the Third Coalition. Prussia remained neutral
Napoleon quickly moved into Prussia and took Berlin.
In October 1805, Napoleon defeated the Austrians once again on the battlefield in the German state of Bavaria.
Spanish Wars of Liberation:
Napoleon was forced to place 500,000 troops into Spain over the next few years.
The British viewed this as an opportunity to weaken Napoleon.
They moved an army into Portugal to protect that country and to aid the Spanish guerillas.
After 5 long years of fighting, French troops were pushed out of Spain.
Austrian War
While fighting in Spain continued, Napoleon defeated Austria at the Battle of Wagram.
Napoleon divorced his wife, Josephine, and married Austrian Marie Louise (great niece of Marie Antoinette) so he could have kids & be related to the monarchy.
German Nationalism & Prussian Reform
Many German nationalists wanted a united German state without Napoleon.
Prussia abolished serfdom.
Attempted to increase military through reforms.
Abolished inhumane military punishments.
Opened the officer corps to commoners.
Promotions on basis of merit.
The Big Blunder! Russia:
Napoleon’s focus moved towards his Russian Campaign of 1812-1813.
In June 1812 Napoleon led his Grand Army of 600,000 soldiers eastward across central Europe and into Russia.
The Big Blunder! Russia:
Scorched Earth Policy:
The Russians purposely avoided a direct confrontation with Napoleon, pulling them deeper into Russia. They retreated to Moscow and waited for winter
Burned their crops. The French had to rely on their supply train.
The Big Blunder! Russia:
Moscow. The Russians evacuated and burned Moscow as well. Napoleon’s forces were not prepared for an entire winter and started to retreat in October
European Coalition:
The Combined forces of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain formed an allied army.
Allied armies took over Paris.
Napoleon abdicated throne in March, 1814 and was exiled to island of Elba (Med. Sea).
The Hundred Days:
Napoleon returns for 100 days.
Napoleon was defeated again at Battle of Waterloo by a coalition army.
Exiled for good to tiny island St. Helena in the South Atlantic
Congress of Vienna
New Borders
Quadruple Alliance: Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia met at the Congress of Vienna to draw new European borders. They established of kingdom of Netherlands - No more republic, House of Orange in charge.
Prussia and Austria gained territory west of France and in Italy
New Borders
Alexander of Russia reluctantly got only part of Poland - not happy with this due to his country’s sacrifice
The French Bourbon monarchy was restored with Louis XVIII taking the throne.
France joined in discussions at Vienna under Talleyrand.
Spain refused to sign - lost territory in Italy
Romanticism
The Romantic Movement was an intellectual and artistic movement starting at the end of the 18th century.
Celebrated nature over civilization.
Pushed for a revival of Christianity.
Liked art, music, and literature of medieval times (Romanticized the Middle Ages).
Emphasized feeling and emotion over logic and reason.
English Romantic Writers:
William Wordsworth: Wrote about how humans lose their childlike imagination as they get older.
Lord Byron: A rebel Romanticist who wrote about personal liberty and mocked his own beliefs in famous works such as Don Juan (1819).