UNIT 5
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND
NAPOLEON
(1789-1815)
CHAPTER 23
PART 1 – REGENTS NOTES
CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
• Under the Old Regime in France, the burden of taxation fell mostly
on the commoners making it highly unequal
• Before the Revolution, the people of France were divided into Three
Estates based on social class
• Many people felt the monarchy and government were denying basic
human rights and failed to meet the needs of the people
• The French Revolution challenged the power of the monarch
• The bourgeoisie (educated middle class) resented their lack of
political power under the Old Regime; hey made up a large part of
the Third Estate
OLD REGIME
EFFECTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
• It was a turning point in global history because it inspired other
nations to seek democracy and independence
• Power shifted to the bourgeoisie, so the middle class gained
influence
• After Napoleon’s downfall in 1815, nationalistic feelings were
stimulated in Europe and Latin America
• The Revolution allowed radical political groups like the Jacobins to
come to power
REIGN OF TERROR
• French dictator Robespierre took power after Louis XVI was
abdicated (taken out of power)
• He ushered in the Reign of Terror
• Anyone perceived to be an enemy would be executed by the
guillotine
• He executed members of every class in France
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
• One major effect of his rule was that he restored political stability
• The French people supported him because they hoped he would
provide stability for the nation
• He failed to expand his empire into Russia because of the country’s
size and climate (cold, harsh weather)
CONGRESS OF VIENNA
• In 1815, this organization of European nations wanted to
restore old monarchies and regimes to power
• The Congress established a balance of power in Europe
after the defeat of Napoleon
PART 2 – CHAPTER 23 NOTES
THE OLD ORDER
• Old Regime—social and political system in France during the
1770s
• Estates—three social classes of France’s Old Regime
• First Estate - Catholic clergy—own 10 percent land, pay few taxes
• Second Estate - rich nobles—2 percent population, own 20 percent
land
• The Third Estate - 97 percent of people are peasants, urban
workers, middle class, have few privileges, pay almost all of the
taxes, want change
FRENCH NUNS (CATHOLIC CHURCH)
FRENCH PEASANTS
THE FORCES OF CHANGE
• Bourgeoisie – middle class group who embraced Enlightenment
idea
• High taxes and rising costs damage economy by 1780s
• King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette known for
extravagance; Louis doubles nation’s debt
• He calls Estates-General on May 5, 1789 - meeting of
representatives from all three estates to approve a new tax he
wanted to impose on the Second Estate
• First time Estates-General met in 175 years
ESTATES-GENERAL
BOURGEOISIE (MIDDLE CLASS)
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
• June 17, 1789
• Delegates, who represented the Third Estate, proclaimed the end of
absolute monarchy and the beginning of a representative
government
• Tennis Court Oath—delegates decide to write new constitution for
France
BASTILLE DAY
• July 14, 1789
• Rumors spread in Paris that Louis was going to use military force to
suppress the National Assembly
• Mob attacks and seizes the Bastille (French prison); they killed
guards in an effort to steal gunpowder to defend Paris
• Event known as “Storming the Bastille”
• Symbolic act of the revolution; national holiday
STORMING THE BASTILLE
GREAT FEAR
•
•
•
•
•
Rumors and panic spread throughout France
Attacks by peasants taking place across France
Peasants destroy legal papers binding them to feudal system
In October 1789, Parisian women revolt over rising price of bread
They demand action, forcing Louis to return from Versailles to Paris
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN
• National Assembly adopts Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen
• Revolutionary leaders use the slogan, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
• The document stated that “men are born and remain free and equal
in rights”
• Document guaranteed freedom of speech and religion
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN
CHANGES IN THE CHURCH
• National Assembly seizes church lands and turns clergy
into public officials
• This caused the new government to lose the support of
peasants
NEW GOVERNMENT
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•
•
•
In September 1791, Assembly finishes new constitution
Legislative Assembly—new body created to pass laws
Major problems, including debt, food shortages remain
Assembly split into Radicals, Moderates, Conservatives
JACOBINS
• Jacobins - radical political organization behind 1792
governmental changes
• Louis XVI is found guilty of treason and beheaded
• Guillotine—machine designed during the Revolution to
behead people
LOUIS XVI IS EXECUTED
ROBESPIERRE
• Maximilien Robespierre—Jacobin leader rules France
for a year in 1793
• Becomes leader of the Committee for Public Safety and
a dictator
• The Committee for Public Safety imposed his “Reign of
Terror”
REIGN OF TERROR
• Robespierre’s rule, which includes killing many opponents
• Thousands die during the Terror, including former allies and Marie
Antoinette
• 85 percent of those who die during the Terror are middle or lower class but
no one was safe from the guillotine
• In July 1794, Robespierre arrested, executed by his fellow revolutionaries
• Two-house legislature and five-man Directory restore order and lead the
new government
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
• He was a military genius who seizes power in France and made
himself emperor
• In 1795, Napoleon defeats royalist rebels attacking National
Convention and was declared a military hero
• Napoleon wins stunning victories in Italy, gaining popularity
• In November 1799, he carries out a coup d’état (seizure of power)
and overthrows the Directory
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
NAPOLEON RULES FRANCE
• In 1800, a new constitution is approved through a plebiscite (vote of the
people)
• To fix economy, he sets up national banking system, efficient tax collection,
and a fairer tax code
• Establishes government-run public schools to train officials
• Signs concordat—agreement—with pope restoring Catholicism in France
• Creates Napoleonic Code—uniform system of laws
• Napoleon did not expand freedom of speech for the French
• In December 1804, Napoleon crowns himself emperor of France
NAPOLEONIC CODE
NAPOLEON CREATES AN EMPIRE
• Sells the Louisiana Territory to United States for $15 million in
1803 to raise money, cut his losses in America, and to increase
America’s power as a British rival
• Britain, Russia, Austria, Sweden join forces against Napoleon
• Napoleon conquers a large portion of Europe by crushing enemy
forces in several brilliant battles
• Napoleon forces Austria, Russia, Sweden to sign peace treaties
NAPOLEON’S EMPIRE (1810)
NAPOLEON’S EMPIRE (1812)
THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
• In 1805, British win Battle of Trafalgar which ensures British naval
superiority
• Using a brilliant and bold maneuver, British Admiral Horatio Nelson
split up the French fleet into smaller groups and then attacked them
• This defeat forces Napoleon to give up his plan to invade Britain
NAPOLEON RIDES INTO BATTLE
THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM
• Napoleon strikes Britain through blockade (forced closing of ports)
• Continental System - economic plan to strengthen Europe,
weaken Britain
• Smugglers and uncooperative allies make France’s blockade fail
• Britain responds with blockade of its own, led by its stronger navy
THE PENINSULAR WAR
• In 1808, Napoleon sends troops across Spain to attack Portugal in
an effort to enforce his Continental System
• Napoleon makes his brother king of Spain, making things worse
• Spanish fight as guerrillas (small groups that attacked and then fled
into hiding)
• British aid Spanish guerrillas
• Napoleon loses 300,000 soldiers during this war
• Nationalist rebels fight the French in other conquered territories
THE PENINSULAR WAR
THE INVASION OF RUSSIA
• Relations with Russia break down so Napoleon decides to invade
• In June 1812, Napoleon’s Grand Army marches into Russia with 420,000
men
• Czar Alexander I used a scorched-earth policy (destroying crops and
livestock) so French would starve
• Russians retreat from Moscow after being defeated at Battle of Borodino
• Napoleon’s forces move on to Moscow; Alexander burned the city rather
than surrender it to the French
• Napoleon eventually retreated after losing thousands of soldiers to Russian
raiders, starvation, and cold weather
NAPOLEON RETREATS FROM MOSCOW, RUSSIA
CZAR ALEXANDER I
NAPOLEON’S DOWNFALL
• Britain, Prussia, Sweden, Russia, Austria join forces against
Napoleon
• Napoleon raises another army, but meets quick defeat by allied
powers
• April 1814 - Napoleon finally surrenders and is exiled to island of
Elba
THE HUNDRED DAYS
• Louis XVIII, new king, is soon overthrown and Napoleon returns
from exile
• Battle of Waterloo - British and Prussian forces led by the Duke of
Wellington defeat Napoleon’s army in June 1815
• This defeat ends the Hundred Days which was Napoleon’s last
attempt at power
• British send Napoleon to the island of St. Helena where he
eventually died in 1821
• Freed European countries began to establish a new order
BATTLE OF WATERLOO
BATTLE OF WATERLOO
DUKE OF WELLINGTON
NAPOLEON IS EXILED
CONGRESS OF VIENNA
• Series of meetings that reshape Europe during the winter of 18141815
• Klemens von Metternich - foreign minister of Austria who was an
influential leader at Congress
• He wanted to restore a balance of power so that no one country
would be a threat to others
• Main goal = establish security and stability for the nations of Europe
• Important effect = nationalistic feelings grew in countries that were
placed under foreign rule (ex: Latin American countries)
CONGRESS OF VIENNA