Transcript The French Revolution

The Age of
Revolutions
1750-1914
“Those who make peaceful
revolution impossible will make
violent revolution inevitable” JFK
The Anatomy of a Revolution:
(adopted from Crane Briton)
Incubation: reasons why people want to rebel
(short term and long term causes/political,
economic, social)
Symptoms: actions people take (protests, etc.)
against the society’s problems
Crisis: Events of the actual revolution
Convalescence: After effects/remedies made to
address the causes of the revolution
The French
Revolution
1789
The Three Estates
French society was divided into three estates:
First Estate=Clergy
Second Estate=Nobles
Third Estate=Middle class (bourgeoisie) and peasants
Land Distribution by Estate
Population by Estate
1%
5%
2%
25%
First Estate
Second Estate
Second Estate
Third Estate
97%
First Estate
70%
Third Estate
The First Estate: CLERGY
• 1% of the population
• Owned 5%-10% of the land
• Collected a tithe from all church members (1/10
their income)
• Lived luxurious lifestyles
• Paid no taxes to the state
The Second Estate: NOBILITY
• 2% of the population
• Owned 25% of the land
• Had high positions in government, military, and
courts
• Collected feudal dues from peasants on their
land
• Lived lavish lifestyles
• Paid no taxes
The Third Estate: MIDDLE CLASS & PEASANTS
• 97% of the population
• Owned 70% of the land
• Educated bourgeoisie resented their lack of
status
• Peasants made up the majority and were very
poor
• Had to pay a tithe to the church, feudal dues and
fines to nobles, and a land tax to the king
• Had no say in government at all
Burden on the Third Estate
“Thus,what is the third
estate? Everything, but an
everything shackled and
oppressed. What would it
be without the privileged
order? Everything, but
and everything free and
flourishing. Nothing can
progress without it;
everything would proceed
infinitely better without
the others…”
-Abbe Sieyes
Additional Problems
• France was in financial crisis because of deficit
spending and costly wars
• Crop failures and bread shortages struck and led
to higher prices
The Estates General Meets
• The Estates General was called together (first time in 175
years) by King Louis XVI to raise taxes to alleviate debt
• Each estate was given one vote in the Estates General
instead of each person
• The Third Estate broke away from the Estates General and
formed the National Assembly
The Tennis Court Oath
Members of the
Third Estate met
at a nearby
tennis court and
vowed to make a
constitution for
France
Storming the
Bastille
July 14,1789
Analyze the following quote. How does it apply to the causes
of the French Revolution?
“Those who make peaceful revolution
impossible make violent revolution
inevitable”
JFK
Phases of the French
Revolution
1. Moderate Phase 1789-1791
• Controlled by the National Assembly
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
• Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
• Constitution of 1791- established a unicameral legislature (the Assembly)
• Civil Constitution of the Clergy
• Declaration of Pilnitz
2. Radical Phase 1792-1794
• Power shifts to radicals in the Assembly (Jacobins)
• Declared France a Republic (sans-culottes)
• Formed the Committee of Public Safety
• Conscription
• Guillotine Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
• Reign of Terror 1793-1794 led by Robespierre
Phases of the French Revolution
3. Directory Phase (1795-1799)
• 3 man leadership (oligarchy)
• Weak, ineffective, corrupt government
4. Age of Napoleon (1799-1815)
• Military leader, overthrew the directory,
declared himself Consul for life
• 1804- crowned himself emperor
• Plebiscite ballot
Rise of Napoleon
•
•
•
•
Economic Changes under Napoleon
– Built roads and canals
– Supported industry
– Peasants gained land
Social Changes under Napoleon
– State education system was created
– Napoleonic Code- law system: all citizens equal before the law but women lost
rights (not citizens)
– Religious toleration (Concordat of 1801)
Military Expansion under Napoleon
– Annexed: Netherlands, Belgium, parts of Germany and Italy
– Alliances with: Austria, Prussia, and Russia
– Family: Joseph Bonaparte on thrown in Spain
Defeat
– Lost naval battle against British
– “General Winter” beat Napoleon in Russia 1812 (scorched earth policy)
– Defeated by Allies in 1814 returned to power and final defeat in 1815 at Waterloo
– Exiled until death
Napoleon’s Empire
at It’s Height, 1812
“It is better to eat than to be
eaten”
-Napoleon
Europe After the Congress of
Vienna