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The French Revolution

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Old Regime

• Old Regime = Monarchy + Feudalism

• By the1770’s it no longer worked

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French Society

•Three Estates

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First Estate

• Roman Catholic Clergy (high officials)– 1 %– Owned 10 % of all the land – Extremely wealthy– Paid no direct taxes– Gave a “Free gift” (2 % of their income)

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Second Estate

• Nobility (Army, govt., and court officials)– Less than 2 %– Owned 25 % of the land– Paid no taxes

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Third Estate

• Commoners – everyone else– 97 % – Three groups

Third Estate

1. Bourgeoisie • middle class, educated: believed in the ideas

of the Enlightenment• I.e. liberty & equality

• Owned 20 – 25% of land• Merchants, bankers, industrialists, Lawyers,

doctors, holders of public office, writers

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Third Estate2. Workers - • Skilled workers,

shopkeepers, wage earners• Sans-culottes

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Third Estate

3. Peasant farmers – more than 80 % of total pop.– Owned 35 – 40 % of land– 50% of income went to taxes

• Feudal dues – nobility• Tithes – 10 % of income to the church• Royal taxes – to the king• Corvee – free work for the government

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1% 2%

97%

FirstSecondThird

Estates by Population

What is this political cartoon saying?

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Monarchy

Louis XVI

Marie Antoinette

“Madame deficit”

• Political & Social Inequalities.

• Absolutism and privileged .

• Economics.• Taxation.

• Debt.• Loans.

• Extravagant spending

• by the king and queen.

• Cost of Bread!• Food Scarcity.

• America influence -• Enlightened ideas

• equality,• liberty, and• democracy.

13Causes

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Attempt to Avoid Bankruptcy

• The King hoped to tax the nobles

• Nobles refuse unless the king called a meeting of the Estates General

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Estates General

• King Louis called for the meeting

• First & second Estates expected to dominate the meeting

– One vote per Estate

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Estates General

• Third Estate demanded that all three Estates meet together and vote as individuals– (610 – 591)

• King said follow the old rules• The Third Estate refused

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The National Assembly is Born

Abbe Sieyes Spokesman for the Third Estate:

• Suggested – Third Estate change itself to – The National Assembly

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• On June 17, 1789 the Third Estate became

The National Assembly

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Tennis Court Oath• Locked out of their meeting hall.

• Vowed to stand fast until a constitution was established.

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King Makes a deal

Yielded to the demands of the Third Estate• Meet as one law-making body• Sent for his mercenary army to march to

Paris– Felt he couldn’t trust the French Soldiers

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Parisians Stormed the Bastille

• Bourgeoisie feared that the troops were coming to break up the National Assembly

• Mobs in Paris were rioting over the cost of bread

• Angry mobs stormed the Bastille– Looking to defend Paris & the National

Assembly

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Parisians Stormed the Bastille

Results: July 14, 1789 • Foreign troops are called off• Reduced Kings’ power• Saved The National Assembly• Symbolic act of revolution for the French people.

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Great Fear• Summer of 1789 throughout France.

– A wave of panic spread!

– Uprisings broke out throughout France

– Citizens feared invasion by foreign troops

– Growing hatred of the entire landholding system, fees & obligations

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The Destruction of the Old Regime

• On the night of Aug 4, 1789

• The National Assembly eradicated what was left of feudalism in France

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The Assembly adopted many reforms

• The National Assembly voted to end– Feudalism– Serfdom– Church tithes– Special privileges of the nobles & clergy

•The Old Regime was dead

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The Assembly adopted many reforms

• “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” became the slogan of the revolution

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The National Assembly adopted reforms

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

• Inspired by the American Declaration of Independence & Constitution, & English Bill of Rights

• The aim of all governments is the preservation of the natural rights of man. – Liberty, Property, Security, Resistance to

oppression• “Men are born & remain free & equal in rights.”

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Women Marched on Versailles

• In October 1789• Met with King about the rising $ of bread• Demanded that the king & queen come live in

Paris

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King approved the Constitution &

The Declaration of the Rights of Man• In June 1791 Louis XVI & his family attempt

to escape

• Sept 1791 The National Assembly steps down• Followed by an elected group

– The Legislative Assembly

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France went to war with Austria

• Austria & Prussia threatened to attack (1792)

• Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria (April 1792)

War started

off poorly!

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Rise of the Paris CommuneAustria threatens to destroy Paris

• Mob storms the royal palace • Louis & Marie are imprisonedThreatened by the radicals the Legislative Assembly

gave up on the idea of a limited monarchy• Set aside the constitution & deposed the King• Called for the election of a new governing body

– The National Convention

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France was split by factions

• Legislative Assembly split into three general groups

Left Center Right

Radicals Moderates Conservatives

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A Republic is born

• These groups had more power than the government– Political clubs

• (Jacobin Club Girondins & Mountain)• Danton & Marat

• National Convention abolished the monarchy

• Declared France a Republic

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What to do with Louis XVI ?

• King Louis is tried • Radicals demanded his execution• Executed on Jan 21, 1793• 361 to 288, with 72 calling for a

delay

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New Republic faced problems

Problem• Hostile foreign armies of Austria & Prussia• Britain, Spain, & Portugal joined them

– First coalition

Solution• France initiated a draft (1793)

– A people’s army– French defeated the Austrians & Prussians

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Reign of Terror

Maximilien Robespierre • Tried to wipe out every trace of France’s

past monarchy and nobility• Formed & headed the Committee of Public

Safety• Most famous victim – Marie Antoinette

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Reign of Terror

• Enemies of the Republic and including those who had helped set it up

• 40,000 people were executed!• No one was safe• Members of the National Convention

turned on Robespierre

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Reign of Terror

• On July 28, 1794 Robespierre was executed

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Moderates ruled in the directory

• Sick of the terror• Sick of the high cost of food

• 1795 moderate leaders drafted a new constitution (third since 1789)– Two house legislature– The Directory (five men)

• Also they found themselves a general

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Rise of Napoleon

• In 1795 he saved the National Convention

• Napoleon dispersed the mob with what he called a whiff of grapeshot

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His Brilliant Italian Campaign

• Success was based on three factors: – his supply system,

– Speed and massed surprise attacks by small compact units

– his influence over the morale of his soldiers

• 1796 appointed commander of the French Army in Italy

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Napoleon Seized Power

• By 1799 the Directory had lost the people’s trust – Corruption

• On Nov. 9-10, 1799 – coup d’etat

• Established a new regime – the Consulate

• Bonaparte was one of the three Consuls

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Napoleon Seized Power

• 1800 – He asked the French people to approve a new constitution (4th)

– Plebiscite (yes or no)– He becomes the First Consul

• 1802 – Approved as Consul for Life• 1804 – Voters approved to name himself

Emperor Napoleon I

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Napoleon Seized Power

• By March of 1802 Napoleon had defeated the Second Coalition– Austria, Russia, British

• First peace in Europe in ten years

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Napoleon Restored Order

Economic order – • Balanced the budget • Set up a national bank

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Napoleon Restored Order

Social order – • Promoted officials according to merit

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Napoleon Restored Order

Religious order – • Recognized Catholicism as the faith of the

majority of Frenchmen• Everyone was free to worship as he or she

wished

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Napoleon Restored Order

Legal order – • Napoleonic Code; gave the country a single

set of laws. • Abolished the three estates • everyone was equal before the law

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• By 1810 he had conquered most of Europe (Third Coalition)

• Napoleon lost only one major battle Vs the Third Coalition – Trafalgar

Napoleon Restored Order

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Napoleon’s Mistakes

1. Continental System (1806)– Weakened the economies of Europe

2. Made his brother Joseph king of Spain (1808)

– Peninsula War weakened the French empire– Guerrilla tactics

3. Invasion of Russia (1812)– Czar refused to stop selling grain to Britain– Grand Army wasn’t very loyal– Use of scorched earth policy

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Coalition defeated Napoleon

Grand Alliance• Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, & Sweden

– In October of 1813 Napoleon is defeated at Leipzig

• In April of 1814 Napoleon accepted the terms of surrender

• Exiled to Elba

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The 100 Days

• March 1, 1815 Napoleon escaped

• June 18, 1815 Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo (Belgium) by the Grand Alliance– Duke of Wellington (Britain)

• Napoleon is again exiled – St. Helena– Where in 1821 he died of a stomach ailment

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The End