Transcript French Revolution - Mrs. Blair`s World History Class

French Revolution
• France was considered the most advanced
country in Europe in the late 1700s. They
were successful in foreign trade, were at the
center of the Enlightenment, and had a large
population. But, there were A LOT of
problems too!
Causes
• France was a kingdom, but operated
under a system called the “Old
Regime,” divided into three estates or
social classes.
• 1st estate=Church Officials
• 2nd estate=Nobility
• 3rd estate=peasants and middle class
• The 1st and 2nd estates owned
much of the land and had most
of the wealth of France, but
paid very little in taxes. They
had privileges, all the power
and money and the 3rd estate
paid the price.
Make Up of the 3rd Estate
1. The bourgeoisie (middle-class). These were
professionals (bankers, factory owners,
merchants, etc.). Some of the bourgeoisie
were very wealthy, but they paid high taxes
and did not have many privileges.
2. The workers and servants of France.
3. Peasants.
No one in the 3rd estate had privileges. They
wanted more POWER!!!
CAUSES
1. The Enlightenment Ideas, and
watching the successful U.S.
Revolution, gave the people of
France’s 3rd estate inspiration and
courage to stand up for themselves.
They demanded more political
power and equality for all citizens.
CAUSES
• 2. Economic Problems
– Taxes were very high on the 3rd estate (97% of the
population).
– Cost of living was high. There was inflation.
– Bad weather destroyed crops and there was a
shortage of grain. Bread prices doubled.
– Government was highly in debt, partly because
the King and Queen spent too much money!
Causes
• 3. Weak Leadership– King Louis XVI was very fickle and did not have
patience to govern or listen to advisors. He made
poor decisions.
– Marie Antoinette (the queen) was unpopular and
spent lots of money on jewels and gowns.
Causes
• King Louis XVI’s solution was to make the 2nd
estate pay higher taxes. They called for a
meeting of the Estates-General (where
representatives from all three estates meetbut each estate only gets one vote)
• WHY WAS THIS UNFAIR?
Causes
• 4. National Assembly– The 3rd estate (people influenced by ideas of the
Enlightenment) demanded that each delegate gets
a vote-not each estate. Because the 3rd estate had
as many delegates as the 1st and 2nd put together,
this would be more fair. The 3rd estate called
themselves the National Assembly and tried to
pass fair laws for the people of France.
• The National Assembly planned to
draw up a new constitution for
France. They called this promise the
Tennis Court Oath.
Causes
• 5. Storming the Bastille– Since this was all seen as the start of the
revolution no one knew how the government
would respond. Rumors and gossip started,
saying the government was going to start killing
citizens. So citizens started gathering weapons.
– On Bastille Day, (which is now France’s 4th of Julylike holiday) citizens stormed a prison (looking for
gunpowder and weapons), killed guards and then
placed the guard’s heads on pikes and paraded
them around town!
AND IT BEGINS…
• Rebellion spread from Paris to the
countryside. Panic and fear began when
peasants heard nobles were hiring outlaws to
terrorize them. This is known as the Great
Fear.
• Peasants themselves started to become
outlaws, breaking into manors and sometimes
burning them down.
What happens Next?
• The old regime was dead and France started
drafting their version of the Declaration of
Independence (no rights for women).
• Church reforms came first. First step was to
make the church priests elected and paid as
state officials. All land and money they owned
was sold and went to the country’s debt.
(Many peasants objected based on the idea of
separation of church and state.)
• A limited monarchy was created, which gave
the king little power. He was only able to
enforce laws (not create them -that was the
legislative assembly’s job)
• WHAT DOES THIS SOUND LIKE TO YOU????
Immediate EFFECT of the
REVOLUTION
• Before the revolution, people in France were
divided based on their social classes. Because
of the French Revolution, the middle class
(bourgeoisie) gain more POWER.
• Other countries in Europe watched in fear,
afraid that their citizens would do the same to
them!
• Some sent troops to protect and defend the
royal family-France declared war on those
countries.
• The people of France captured and
imprisoned the royal family.
• In 1792, France abandoned their Constitution
and became a republic. THE NATIONAL
CONVENTION was the governing body.
• A radical group, called the Jacobins, saw Louis
XVI as a spy. Since there were no longer kings,
they voted and sentence him to be beheaded
by a guillotine.
• One Jacobin in particular,
Maximilien Robespierre, rose
to power (became a dictator).
He tried to totally wipe out
every trace of France’s history.
• Robespierre’s one year as ruler
became known as the Reign of
Terror. This was a period in France
where ANYONE suspected of being a
threat or enemy of the new
government would be executed.
Anyone who challenged Robespierre
would be sent to the guillotine.
• Eventually, Robespierre
was killed and France
declared itself a
republic. However, they
put a military genius in
charge of the military.
• In 1789 France hit the drawing board again to
create a new plan for the government, this
one less radical They found a new general to
lead their army named Napoleon, who is one
of world’s greatest military geniuses.
• Napoleon Bonaparte was a war
hero. He won many battles for
France and the people LOVED
him. The people of France
urged him to take powerhoping he would bring stability.
Eventually, Napoleon is
crowned Emperor of France
and builds a huge empire.
• Napoleon: set up banks and fair taxes, got rid
of government corruption, set up public
schools, a civil service system (officials hired
by merit-not family/friends), and created the
Napoleonic Code (set of laws limited
injustices, but not a lot of individual power).
• Napoleon was power-hungry and
wanted to conquer all of Europe
(and the U.S.), and he did get most
of Europe, but eventually Napoleon
and his armies were defeated.
Napoleon’s 3 mistakes
• Due to his love of power he was distracted
and made three big mistakes:
• 1) Set up a blockade to stop Great Britain
(England-France’s nemesis) from trading with
anyone in Europe. He hoped it would cripple
England’s economy, but they were able to
smuggle their stuff in. England set up their
own blockade and hurt France’s economy
instead 
• 2) He invades Spain and makes his brother
king of Spain. The Spanish resent this and join
with Great Britain in war (Peninsular war)
weakening the French army.
• NATIONALISM!!!!!!!!!
Napoleon’s 3 mistakes
• 3) Biggest mistake = invading Russia (an ALLY)
because they refused to stop trade with G. B.
• Russia fought hard and joined forces with
Britain, Spain, Prussia, and Sweden) against
France.
• France was weakened and many soldiers were
killed.
The end of Napoleon’s reign
• With a new inexperienced army, Napoleon
was quickly defeated and exiled to Elba, a tiny
island near Italy.
• Louis the XVI’s brother takes power as King
Louis XVII and is unpopular. Napoleon took
advantage of this and escaped to regain the
throne.
The end of Napoleon’s reign
• In the battle of Waterloo,
Brittan and Prussia attacked
again to get rid of Napoleon
and defeated the French Army
in 3 days!!
• Again shipped off to another
island he died 6 years later of a
stomach issue, which was
probably cancer.