c) The Bastille & The Rights Of Man

Question 1

When was the Storming of the Bastille?

Answer 1

14 July 1789

Question 2

What was the main aim of the Storming of the Bastille?

Answer 2

To gather weapons

Rescue prisoners

Question 3

The angry mob consisted of?

Answer 3

Sans-Culottes

Craftsmen and shopkeepers

Question 4

By the end of July how many Parisians had weapons?

Answer 4

Over 200,000

Question 5

What was the Paris Commune?

Answer 5

Representatives from the Paris districts formed the Commune to govern the city - take control.

Question 6

What was the Citizen’s Militia?

Answer 6

Military unit set up to protect Paris’s properties.

After Bastille, the militia became the National Guard under the command of Lafayette.

Question 7

On July 17, Louis XVI was seen wearing what?

Answer 7

A hat with the revolutionary colours

Question 8

Why did the revolution become violent?

Answer 8

1. Kings troops were an increasing presence - Louis refused to remove the troops, which created resentment.
2. The king sacked Necker again - he was popular with the revolutionaries.

Question 9

By early July, how many royal troops were in Paris and Versailles?

Answer 9

Over 30,000

Question 10

After the Storming of the Bastille, why could Louis no longer rely on the military?

Answer 10

Many soldiers deserted to join the protesters

Question 11

What was the ‘Grand Peur’?

Answer 11

The Great Fear

Revolutionary mobs, rampaged through many other towns during the summer.

Peasants attacked the property of the nobility and demanded the abolition of feudal dues.

Question 12

The violence of the Grand Peur had 3 main consequences, which were?

Answer 12

1. Royal power was damaged:
   - many intendants fled the violence, causing royal control of the provinces to collapse.
   - Louis XVI’s gov was not in effective control of France
   - the National Assembly was the closes thing to a central power.
2. It upset the nobility:
   - tension among peasantry and nobility
   - within 2 months, 20,000 aristocrats fled
3. The National Assembly was concerned:
   - liberal nobles in the Assembly chose not to confront the peasant mobs
   - gave the mob what they wanted and abolished ‘the feudal regime’ in the 4th of August Decrees

Question 13

What were the August Decrees?

Answer 13

Created to suppress the angry mob - abolition of feudal dues

Essentially about equality, but did not solve the tensions between the nobility and peasantry

Question 14

What problems were created by the August Decrees?

Answer 14

1. Nobility were enraged - loss of their privileges
2. Peasants were disappointed - expected the feudal system to be destroyed, and were angry that the nobility would be compensated

Question 15

When was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen introduced?

Answer 15

August 27 1789

Question 16

What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen?

Answer 16

Declaration was inspired by the American Declaration of Independence in 1776 and Enlightenment ideas

Designed to form the basis of a constitution and rests on the principle that people have natural rights that are universal and inalienable

The government cannot take the rights away from people

Question 17

What were the key ideas of the Declaration of Man and Citizen?

Answer 17

1. Society should be ruled by a representative government
2. All men are equal
3. The power of the government is limited
4. Governments can be removed
5. The right to make law resides in the nation

Question 18

What were the National Assembly’s main three reasons for producing the declaration?

Answer 18

1. A justification for the revolution - the Assembly needed to legitimise their actions of the previous three months
2. To protect property owners - most members of the Assembly were property owners who were concerned about the peasant attacks on property
3. Compromise - moderate compromise to please as many people as possible

Question 19

What was Louis XVI’s reaction to the August Decrees and the Declaration?

Answer 19

He dismissed both and intended to control France through the use of troops

Question 20

What were the October Days, and when did they begin?

Answer 20

On 5 October around 6000-7000 people (mostly women) marched to the Palace of Versailles

Followed by the National Guard as a precaution

Louis XVI promised to provide more grain for the Parisians and was forced to accept the August Decrees and the Declaration of Rights

Louis also agreed to move to Paris

Question 21

What was the Decree on the Fundamental Principles of Government and when was it introduced?

Answer 21

Late October 1789

Decree confirms that France was now a limited monarchy.

The King has executive power (head of gov) and the Assembly has legislative power (power to make laws).

Established limitations on the power of the King.