1789-1795
In the 18th Century, the Kingdom of
France appeared to be one of the most
powerful kingdoms in Europe. However,
much of this was an illusion, for the
reigns of the very extravagant Bourbon
kings had almost bankrupted the country.
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In France, the social classes were
called “estates”. There were three
estates.
The First Estate was made up of
the Catholic clergy. These priests
and bishops made up about 1% of
the population.
The Second Estate was made up of
the nobility (people with titles).
These made up about 2% of the
population.
Everybody else, from wealthy
merchants, lawyers and doctors to
the poorest peasants, made up the
Third Estate.
Even though the First and Second
estates controlled over 75% of the
wealth in France, only the Third
Estate paid taxes. Cartoons of the
time show what the Third Estate
thought about this.
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Events in America, where
the colonists had driven out
their British masters,
convinced many in the
Third Estate that the time
had come to seek fairer
treatment.
Ironically, one of the
reasons why King Louis XVI
of France was so short of
money was that he was
helping the American rebels
against the British!
Cartoons of the time show
the horror of the clergy and
the nobility that the Third
Estate were beginning to
demand their rights.
The King of France was
Louis XVI. When he
came to the throne, he
was popular at first, but
he was a weak and
foolish ruler who did not
listen to his people.
Queen Marie Antoinette was
an Austrian princess. She
was not a bad person, but
had no understanding of the
hardship of the French poor.
She spent her time having
fun with her friends and
going to parties.
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Louis XVI badly needed
money after the American
wars. He called an
“Estates General” which
was like a parliament.
Straight away, there was
an argument. The wealthy
first and second estate
wanted each estate to
have only one vote. This
meant that together, they
could out-vote the Third
Estate
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The Third Estate wanted
each member of the
Estates General to have a
vote. This meant that they
would outnumber the First
and Second Estates.
Louis became nervous that
the Third Estate would
become too powerful, and
he sent soldiers to lock
them out of the Estates
General. This made the
ordinary people furious.
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The Bastille was the royal
prison in Paris. The Paris
mob attacked it to get
guns and ammunition.
They released any
prisoners that they found
there. To this day, the
Storming of the Bastille is
a public holiday in France.
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The leaders of the
Revolution closed down
the Estates General and
formed a National
Assembly, which was
elected by the people.
The King was stripped of
his power and the clergy
and nobility were ordered
to pay taxes. This angered
Pope Pius VI, who
condemned the
Revolution. The Pope was
also angry because the
Assembly wanted parishes
to elect their own clergy.
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Louis and MarieAntoinette looked for help
from the Queen’s brother,
the Emperor of Austria.
They attempted to
escape, but were caught
and brought back to Paris.
The King and Queen were
put on trial as enemies of
the Revolution. They were
executed by the
guillotine.
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The members of the
National Assembly were
terrified that the other
European rulers would try
to avenge the death of
Louis XVI. A radical group
called the Jacobins, led by
Maximillien Robespierre and
Jean-Paul Marat took over.
They formed the
Committee of Public Safety
to deal with “enemies of
the Revolution”. Thousands
of men, women and
children were executed in
what became known as the
Reign of Terror.
Jean-Paul
Marat
Maximillien
Robespierre
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The French people were
sick of bloodshed. Marat
was stabbed to death in his
bath by a girl called
Charlotte Corday, and
Robespierre was executed
at the guillotine.
The government of France
was taken over by a fiveman “Directory”. One of
the Directors, a young
Corsican general called
Napoleon Bonaparte, ended
the Revolution and
proclaimed himself Emperor
of France.
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The French Revolution had a major effect on world
opinion. Kings, queens and rulers were terrified that what
had happened in France would happen to them.
Unfortunately, this made them harsher on their people
rather than otherwise.
The Revolution had a huge effect on Irish history. The
Society of United Irishmen, which planned the 1798
Rebellion, was mainly led by young, well-educated
Protestant and Catholic radicals who admired the French
revolutionary ideals.
Some conservative Catholics like Daniel O’Connell and the
Catholic bishops, horrified by the bloodshed in France,
condemned any political violence in Ireland. This led to a
major split in Irish nationalist politics.