7.1 the french revolution begins inequality leads to upheaval
TRANSCRIPT
7.1 The French Revolution Begins
Inequality leads to upheaval
The Old Order• The Old Regime – Social and
political system in France during the 1770’s
The French social system
• Estates – Three social classes of France’s Old Regime
The Estates• First Estate – Catholic
Clergy – own 10 percent land, pay few taxes
• Second Estate – rich nobles – 2 percent population, own 20% of the land
Third Estate• 97% of the people are
peasants, urban workers, middle class
Taxation without privilege
• Few privileges, pay heavy taxes, want change
Force of Change• Enlightenment ideas inspire
some in Third Estate
Economic Troubles• High taxes and rising costs
damage economy by 1780’s
• King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette known for extravagance
Rising debt in France
• Louis doubles nation’s debt; banks refuse to lend more money
A Weak Leader• Louis’s poor decisions and lack
of patience add to France’s problems
• He calls the Estates-General – meeting of Representatives from all three estates
Revolution• The National Assembly – Third
Estate has little power under old rules
• Third Estate sets up National Assembly – new legislature to make reforms
• Tennis Court Oath – delegates decide to write new constitution for France
Violence Begins• Rumors fly in Paris that
Louis wants to suppress the National Assembly
Storming of the Bastille
• Mob attacks and seizes the Bastille (prison) and kills guards July 14, 1789
Rebellion and Fear• The Great Fear – peasant
attacks throughout France begin after panic and rumors spread
• Peasants destroy legal papers binding them to feudal system
• October 1789 women revolt over price of bread
Louis Returns• Revolt forces Louis to return
to Paris from Versailles