Mr. Bausback
Class NotesCh’s 3 & 4
SS 9
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The French government was bankrupt
King Louis XIV raised money through taxes
Ordinary people did not want to have to pay
Because of bad harvests, food was in short
supply
Finance minister, Robert Turgot, suggested that
the nobles should be taxed; the nobles opposed
him and he was dismissed
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1763- Seven Years’ war ends
1774-Louis XVI becomes king
1776- America Declaration of Independence
1789- The estates general summoned
1789- Tennis Court Oath
1789- Fall of Bastille
1790- Civil Constitution of the Clergy
1792- Monarchy Overthrown
1793- Louis XVI Executed
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1794- Fall of Robespierre; Thermidore period begins
1795- Directory meets
1799- Napoleon appointed first council
1804- Civil Code becomes Law of France
1804- Napoleon crown himself emperor
1805- Battle of Trafalgar; Battle of Austerliz
1812- Defeat in Russia
1814- Napoleon abdicates
1815- Battle of Waterloo
1815- Napoleon begins exile on Saint Helena
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French King was an ABSOLUTE MONARCH
French society was divided into three groups called
estates
First Estate – consisted of the priests or clergy; paid no
taxes; collected a tax (called a TITHE) from the Third
Estate
Second Estate – consisted of the nobles; paid no taxes,
but could collect taxes from the peasants who worked
for them
Third Estate – consisted of the ordinary people, people
such as shop-keepers, bakers, tradesmen, farm
workers; they were heavily taxed
This traditional political and social system of France is
called the Old Regime
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Representatives of the three estates had not met
together since 1614
Because of the economic problems Louis XVI called the
Estates General 1789
In the Estates General, each estate had a vote and the
First and Second Estates usually out-voted the Third
estate
Unhappy with the Third Estate declared themselves to
be a NATIONAL ASSEMBLY-their own government
The king ordered the other two estates to join the Third
Estate
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(b)
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August 26, 1789 – Declaration of the Rights of Man; the
declaration contained basic principles such as:
“All persons are held innocent until they shall have been
declared guilty”
“no person shall be accused, arrested or imprisoned
except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed
by law”
1790 – Civil Constitution of the Clergy – government
controlled Church; citizens elected bishops and priests;
government sold Church lands; Catholics opposed
reform
1791 – The Constitution – France’s first constitution;
limited the power of the king; king was now a
constitutional monarch; distinction between clergy,
nobles and ordinary people removed; guaranteed equal
rights under the law
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Changes in the structure of government take time
The poor people saw no immediate improvement to
their condition, and were scared of king’s powers
July 14, 1789, a Paris crowd marched to the big prison
in Paris called the Bastille; prisoners were released;
killed the governor of the prison
July and August 1789, peasants in the countryside
attacked their landlords and refused to pay any more
taxes
October, 1789, a Paris crowd marched to Versailles and
insisted that the king be removed
June, 1791, the royal family, disguised, tried to leave
Paris and get to Austria, the home country of the
Queen; they were discovered and taken back to Paris
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Read page 57 & 58 Testing a Hypothesis Using
Maps
Answer questions Your Turn #’s 1-5
Question #’s 3-5 can be answered with a
partner (but you are responsible for all
answers)
Assignment due next class
Emilie questions 1-4 will also be due next class
Good luck and enjoy the game- Go Trojans!
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Kings in other parts of Europe felt threatened
by the success of the revolution; wanted to
come to the support of the French royal family
August 1792, armies from Austria and Prussia
were advancing on Paris.
In September, the French armies defeated the
invaders forcing the invading armies to retreat
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Radical thinkers – those who wanted drastic change in
government
Took control of the National Assembly and called for a
National convention to write a new constitution
The National Convention voted to:
abolish the monarchy
declared France a republic
Execute the King Louis XVI – was guillotined on
January 21, 1793
Abolish all remaining feudal colonies
Sell the land of the nobles who had left the country
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Social and political situation in France was so
chaotic that a the Committee of public Safety
was set up
Committee suspended or ignored the
Constitution and arrested and executed
hundreds of people who were thought to be
enemies of the revolution
This period of arrest and execution became
known as the Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror ended in 1794 with the
execution of Maximilien Robespierre, the
leader of the committee of public safety
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The constitution of 1795 established a new
governing body for France- the directory;
governed France from 1794 until 1799
The Directory was made up a small group of
people who made decisions similar to a council
Directory was weak and divided and
eventually overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte
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Born on the island of Corsica in 1769
Trained at a French military academy
Became general by age 27
Defeated Austrian forces, although he could
not defeat British at sea
Overthrew the directory, declared himself first
consul
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Introduced a code of laws know as Napoleonic
code
Required all citizens to pay taxes
Established schools, open through scholarships
of poor as well as the rich
Formed an agreement (concordat) with the
Catholic Church
Declared himself emperor of France in 1804
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A brilliant general, napoleon Defeated the
Austrian and Prussian Armies
He formed agreements and alliances with other
nations, so they would not plot against him
He could not defeat Britain however, because
of the strength of the British navy
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Countries defeated an governed by Napoleon began to
feel nationalistic, proud of their own nations and
resentful to the French
Revolts broke out al over Europe
Russia defeated the Grand Army of napoleon when it
invaded Russia in 1812
Combined forces of Britain, Austria Russia and Prussia
defeated the French army Napoleon was sent into exile
on the island of Elba, off the coast of Italy
He escaped and returned to lead the French army, but
was defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815
He was exiled and died in 1821
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End of feudalism in France
End of absolute monarchy in France
Spread of revolutionary ideas through rest of
Europe
Code Napoleon – French Civil Code
Strengthened of the ideas of:
Liberalism: a belief in individual freedom and
the right to work for political and social reform
Nationalism: a belief and pride in one’s
country; the right of one’s country to be selfgoverning