French Revolution Study guide
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o French revolution – 1789 began
French Society
o Highest population in Western Europe, and growing
o 1770 – population predominantly ruled (lived in country side, rural)
o Most French peasants owned some land
o France was self-sufficient for food
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Supposed to be a good thing
o They were not industrializing
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At least not at the same speed as Britain and Prussia.
o
Divided into 3 classes – estates
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Division between those estates was rigid
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Defined by modern standards
o The Catholic Church 1% of the population
o 1789 – there were 10000 officials in France (at the time of the revolution)
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Very rich
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Above the level of priests, bishops, cardinals etc.
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9999 were from noble families
o It means the nobility and the church were practically the same thing
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Chastity, obedience, poverty (all a joke)
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The second estate – nobility 2% of the population
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Government officials
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Army generals
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High in jobs
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Big land owners owned 20% of the land
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Not taxed
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Benefited by fees that peasants were required to pay
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They had to pay to use his mill, wine press even if they didn’t use it they still had to
pay for it
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The third estate – supposed to be the peasants
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In reality it was everybody else, the 97%
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Wealthy merchants, educated lawyers, professors, and some wealthy peasant who
became good businessmen
o Many more realistic than the nobles
o Better educated
o Some were even rich
o Enlightenment
Life, liberty, natural rights Economic causes
o France was not industrializing, Prussia and Britain were
o They were not agricultural
o They could not export anything in the correct amount of quantities
o Internal tariffs
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If you would buy or trade something from a different province you’d be taxed
o France was not making improvements
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They needed proper roads which they did not have to make good trades
o French government failed to promote potatoes
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You can live on potatoes
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Easy to farm
o The French government was in debt
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Partially because they have given many financial aid to America during the American
revolution
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The court was extravagant, spending much money
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Bad public relations
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1.
1789
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
2.
Liberal
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Marie-Antoinette – expensive hats, never wore the same dress twice
1777 – Louis 16th was pressured in appointing Necker as his financial advisor
Necker – powerful in banking, public finance, popular with th educated members of the third
estate.
Louis was not comfortable with Necker because he was Dutch, protestant, and he gave advice
that Louis did not like to hear
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Necker – Said he must begin to tax the first 2 estates
Finally – 1789 (revolution) he had the nerve to say to Louis that he would have to accept a
budget for the court (area at Versailles, not judge and jury…)
Louis fired him in 1789.
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Sparked the French Revolution
People were starving
Economy was a mess
People turned to theft
i. Bakeries most commonly
Many educated started to accept the American Revolution
i. No taxation without representation
Benjamin Franklin
i. Became a symbol for the future
1. Excellent writer
2. Scientist
a. Invented bifocals
b. Benjamin stove
ii. Famous and intelligent person
iii. Person for natural rights
Louis the 16th
i. Allowed the French Parliament to meet
1. First time in 175 years
2. Each estate got a vote
a. Nobles, clergies, peasants…
i. Nobles and clergies always voted together
ii. Except for this time
Election for the estate general
i. Not what Louis had expected
First estate: Liberal priests were elected instead of high clergy
Second estate: Liberal nobles
i. Influenced by the enlightenment
ii. Wanted change
Third estate:
i. Educated lawyers
Not at all what Louis the 16th expected
i. Didn’t think these people would be voted
Constitutional Monarchy
i. King is limited of his powers by the constitution
ii. They didn’t want to kill Louis but they didn’t want him to decide everything
Equality before the law
i. They did not want differences between the estates
ii. No taxation without representation
Confiscation of church property
i. Wanted the property to be distributed
Control Pensions
Louis did what most dictators would do
i. He said the building needed repairs, so he closed the parliament
1.
2.
3.
July 14th
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
They just met somewhere else
Went in a tennis court instead
a. They firstly changed their name
b. They dropped the estate general and named it national assembly instead
Bastille
Old medieval building, used as a jail
Government also stored gunpowder
A mob gathered in front of it
i. They agreed to surrender and was beaten to death
ii. They then burned it and blew up because of the gun powder
National assembly
i. Took a more extreme position
ii. Abolished the privileges of the nobility
1. Including the tax free status for the first 2 estates
2. Also the tithe
a. The ancient tax that the 3rd estate pated to the church
3. In August the National assembly adopted the “Rights of Man”
a. Right to free speech
b. Freedom of religion
c. Free press
d. Rights to property
4. Document for educated Middle class who had property
Radical 1792-1794
1)
Common with revolutions
a) Russian Revolution
b) Iran – 1979
i) All Muslims will rise up against Western
c) Spread of revolutions
i) France declared war on Austria
(1) 1792
(2) Government was influential
(3) Austrian empire was very big and catholic
ii) Austria was quickly joined to Prussia
(1) The Prussians were famous for being good soldiers, good drinkers, they were the infamous for their
food and they didn’t have a sense of humor
(a) Very protestant
(2) Prussian general said publicly- If Louis or Marie-Antoinette was so much as scratched they would
destroy Paris
(a) People went furious
(b) Riots
(i) Priests killed
1. Because they were the first estate
(c) Trial – Louis executed and then a month later his wife also
(d) Some people were going crazy
(i) They wanted to soak their clothes in his blood
(ii) By the end of 1793 – world war
1. They didn’t call it a world war
2. Prussia, Austria, Holland, Spain, UK- all at war with France
a. France survived by using tactics of Total war
i.
Conscription
ii. Forcing people into the army
iii. Army became huge
3.
They mobilized the economy
a. Money = to the army
b. Material of everyday use no = guns yes
(iii) 1793- French government became dominated by the Jacobins
1. Jacobins= extremists, dictators
2. Robespierre
a. A lawyer, a dandy
b. Dominated the French government
c. He wanted to revolutionize French society
i.
Destroy catholic church and aristocracy
ii. He wanted to limit wealth and increase the quality of life of peasants
iii. He wanted to create a republic virtue
iv. Be motivated to help by interest
v. Tens of thousands of people were accused of being secret monarchists
vi. They were executed
vii. They began drowning them because chopping off heads became messy
(iv) Some things became absurd
1. For example: they dropped kings and queens in card decks
2. They abolished Sundays
a. They created a new calendar with a ten day week
3. The reign of terror = ended abruptly
a. Ended because Robespierre was killed by his own community
i.
The government that he controlled killed him because they were afraid he
would turn against them
ii. He died = 1794
iii. Leaving France without a monarchy
iv. Weakened catholic church
v. France was a mess
vi. dictatorship
Dictatorship
1.
The Directory – 1795-1799
a. Accepted new constitution
b. Influenced by Montesquieu
i. Famous
1. Articulating for the first time checks and balances
a. No part of the government had too much power
i. Balanced into three branches
b. It was also bicameral
i. 2 distinct legislative branches
c. Optimistic and pessimistic views
i. Prevent anyone getting absolute power
2. Council of elders (first legislative branch)
a. 500 people
b. They would elect 5 directors
i. Quickly became 5 dictators
c. Their job was to ensure that freedom of press and religion and
freedom of speech, would be protected
i. Stages of development
1. Gradual going into a democratic system
a. Large Middle class
b. Too many extreme factions (group
of people)
c. Reactionary Catholics
i. People were horrified of
how the revolution
ii.
iii.
2.
attacked the Catholic
Church
They wanted to bring
everything back (Church)
Conservative officers,
who wanted to see
France become an
Empire
Definition of this: Napoleon Bonaparte
a. Not from France, born in Corsica
b. Italian family
c. Father was an attorney and held a minor government property
d. Middle class family
e. Went to France to study when he was 9
i. Unpopular at school
ii. Made fun of his accented French
iii. Also because he could not spell (maybe dyslexic)
f. When he was older, he went to a military academy
i. Was great at math
ii. Developed skill as an artillery (canons) officer
g. 1796 – he caught the attention of the directory
i. Because of the grape shot technique
ii. He shot civilians during the Revolution
1. Civilians = mobs who were threatening the directory
iii. The directory sent him to Northern Italy, where he defeated the Austrians
1. Great victory
2. Austria gave territory to France
3. Napoleon became a hero
iv. He became popular with his own troops
v. he was a good speaker
1. constantly talked about the values of the revolution
vi. He wanted to attack the British
1. Came up with a daring plan = to invade Egypt
2. So they could fight the British in Egypt
a. So he could defeat them, using the fighters from India
vii. Also the directory accepted to send him out of Paris
1. Because it was a great idea
2. And they wouldn’t lose anything of the country
viii. The plan didn’t work out so well
1. India didn’t come
2. But he still won
3. Made him very popular
ix. Meanwhile, in Europe
1. The French government was becoming more and more unpopular
(Napoleon isn’t the government yet, he was just a military general)
2. French troops were fighting, in Italy and Switzerland, and they were very
violent (looting, raping, burning…), all this gore made the government
unpopular
3. Also people were becoming increasingly aware of Talleyrand
a. He to control the French government
b. He had a great career
c. He was kicked out later because he had a mistress
x. In 1798- French government passed the law of permanent conscription
1. Whenever there’s war, you are forced to fight; they are allowed to drag
men into the army forever. (existed, but became a permanent law)
xi.
a. They wanted to make sure that they can win
This prompted napoleon who was in Egypt to leave his troops
1. He returned to France and said he was there to save the revolution from
dictatorship
2. He mounted a coup d’état
a. Took over the government
i. Using his military
3. Established the consulate
a. There were three counsels, but it did not last
4. Napoleon was proclaimed first counsel for life
a. He was a dictator, but he also made it understand that he
needed to make reforms that would let him stay in power, and
gain popular support
i. Created the code, “Napoleon”, which provided
equality before the law
ii. He gave the government control over education
1. In the hands of the Catholic Church
2. Spent a lot of money on public
infrastructure… roads
3. Unhealthy and polluted so he built sewers
and fresh water systems
4. Which made him popular but also created
jobs
5. He also made peace with England (more
popularity)
6. Peace for a short period of time
a. As well as prosperity
b. Although press was very censored
c. There was a secret police to make sure enemies were not active
i. Also a secret police to spy on secret police to spy on
secret police (x3 secret police)
5. In 1804 – Napoleon dropped all the pretense of being first consul, and
crowned himself king
a. He took the crown from the pope and crowned himself
i. He thought he was superior to the pope