French Revolution Timeline Note Sheet

1. Meeting of the Estates General

• King and queen were going bankrupt and didnt want uprising so they called meeting for all of the estates
• 1789
• Marked start of french revolution
• 1st and 2nd estate always outvoted 3rd estate
• Benefits:
  • 1st and 2nd estate always benefitted
• Harms:
  • Lack of power for 3rd estate
• Closest thing they had to national parliament

1. Tennis Court Oath

• 3rds estate made an oath that they would never disperse until a constitution was established
• Members of 3rd estates benefited because they got more equal power
• King was hurt because common people were starting to take an oath that they wouldn't stop until they got a constitution

1. Storming of the Bastille

• Bastille was raided for gunpowder
• July 14th, 1789
• Commoners benefited bc gave them courage to fight against the nobles
• Men and women shared democratic government
• Decide to make an example of their revolutionary power by putting the heads of wardens on pitch forks and marches

1. Declaration of the Rights of Man & Citizen

• 1776
• Laid out system of rights that applied to everyone
• Declared that everyone had the rights to liberty, property, and security
  • French revolution did not do a good job of protecting these rights

1. Women’s March on Versailles

• October, 1789
• Women started to beat drum and began to rally other women
• Believed the royalty was hoarding food
• Demanding more food and more rights to access to food
• Forced King to march back with them to paris after breaking into palace
• French revolution was mostly about lack of food

1. France Goes to War with Austria and Prussia

• Leopold liked monarchies
• He and King William from Prussia decided to ally together and restore the french monarchy
• Louis and national assembly developed a plan to invade Austria and steal their wealth and brain
• Prussia joined Austria in fighting the french
• Louis encouraged Prussians to fight
• National assembly will vote to suspend monarchy and create a new constitution
• National assembly voted to execute louis and he dies

1. Arrest and Execution

• Put on trial and led to abolition of monarchy
• Transformed french society to republic
• Louis and marie executed
• Turning point in revolution
• French middle and lower classes benefited most

1. Reign of Terror

• New government instituted mass killing of former nobles, clergy members from previous monarchy
• Lower class benefited because they gained power
• Upper class was hurt bc they were getting executed and loss of power
• Committee of public safety controlled government
  • Was established after death of King Louis
  • Led by man named Robespierre
• Guillotine was created as a form of enlightened killing

1. Napoleon Bonaparte’s Coup d’etat and Rise to Power

• November,1799
• Towards end of revolution
• Napoleon planned to overthrow new government bc it had failed to reform economy and was very violent
• Effectively ended revolution
• When napoleon was in power, made centralized form of government, made laws, got rid of directory, became console of france
• Negatively affected ppl who were in power and had connections to old government
  • Napoleon established himself as first console of france and granted him unlimited power
  • “Citizens, revolution is established on principles of what it began” ``
  • Instituted reforms in banking and education
  • Supported sciences and arts
  • Sought to improve relations between his regime and catholic church
• Napoleonic code -
  • Defined concept of equality before the law
  • Secured right to private property
  • Based on following ideas of the French Revolution
    • Laws should be based on reason and common sense
    • All MEN should be treated equally under the law
    • People should have certain freedom
  • Got rid of serfdom
  • Progressive legal system reflecting broad minded values
  • Code did not provide equal statues to women
    • Limited suffrage (not allowed to vote)
    • Reduced status to a minor
• Napoleonic wars -
  • Series of major conflicts setting french empire against difference groups of european powers
  • Led to period of French domination over much of europe
  • Wars began from unresolved disputes of French revolution
  • Reforms
    • Centralization of government
    • Reforms in banking and education
    • Support for science and arts
    • Reconciliation with the Church
    • Limited political expression
  • Attacks
    • 1805: France vs. Austria/Russia
    • 1806: France vs. Prussia, Russia, Germany, Sweden
    • 1812: Napoleon invaded Russia
    • 1814: Exiled to Elba
    • 1815: Defeated at Waterloo and exiled to Saint Helena
• Almost more of a absolutist than King Louis was

OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF:

1. Review of the American Revolution (if you need to take notes over this…)

• Involved British colonist rebelling against great Britain
• Great Britain exerting influence across north america
  • French and Indian war
• Great britain started taxing north american colonist
• Colonists only wanted representation to influence ideas
  • “No taxation without representation”
• Colonists issued declaration

2. The New Zealand Wars/The Maori

• Maori tribes lived in new zealand for a long time
• Great Britain annexed new zealand in 1840
  • Age of Industrialization, Imperialism
  • Began to increase its control over new zealand
• In response, Maori tribes would rebel
  • Saw common identity, increasing nationalism
  • Able to band together against Great Britain and have more control
• Great britain took control of Maori because they were industrialized and the Maori tribes were not

3. Latin American Revolutions

• Lates 18th-early 19th century
• Hierarchy based on race; conflict between Peninsulares (europeans born in spain) and Creoles (Europeans born in Americas)
  • Spain favored Peninsulares
  • Creoles want more economic freedom
    • No more Mercantilism
• Simon Bolivar guided independence movement
  • Wrote Jamaica Letter which advocated for independence for latin countries
  • Started to identify latin americans distinction from ___
• Bolivar and Latin Americasn successful and many new constitutional governments created

4. The Congress of Vienna

Goals of the Congress of Vienna

1. Undo everything that Napoleon had done
   1. Reduce France to its 1790 boundaries
   2. Restore European monarchies
2. To Establish:
   1. Balance of power
   2. Legitimacy
   3. Compensation for losses

**Win: Conservatives**

Long term effects of French Revolution and Congress of Vienna

• Balance of Power established
• Growth of Nationalism
• Holy Roman Empire → Germanic Confederation
• Strong buffer states surrounded France
• Britain receives overseas colonies in Africa
• Spread of revolutionary ideas to Latin America and Haiti

5. Haitian Revolution

1791

• Largest and most successful revolution
• Slave revolt on French island of Haiti
• Led by Toussaint L’Ouverture (General, free man, but son of a slave)
• Slaves successful in their fight against French in 1804
• Haiti becomes the first black republic in the world
• Becomes the second nation in the western hemisphere to win independence from a European power
• 20% of Haitian population and more than half of European population was killed