Events leading up to 1789 Flashcards
What month and year did the Assembly of Notables meet?
February 1787
What proposals did the Assembly refuse?
A new land tax with no exemptions
New elected regional assemblies to implement the new taxes
Removing restrictions on trade to stimulate the economy
When did Louis call the Estates General?
May 1789
What argument stalled voting in the Assembly of Notables, which estates argued which side and how did this end?
The First and Second Estate wanted to vote by class - allowing them to outvote the Third Estate
The Third Estate wanted to vote by head - allowing them to outvote the First and Second estate
The Third Estate began going about business without it being decided and declared themselves the National Assembly who represented the French people.
What was the Tennis Court Oath?
Due to preparations for all three estates to meet, the Third Estate (Now National Assembly) was locked out of their meeting room.
They went to the tennis court next door and swore to not disperse until they had given France a constitution.
The First and Second Estate joined the National Assembly soon after.
When was the storming of the Bastille?
14th July 1789
Why was the Bastille stormed?
Hoping to restore order, Louis had moved 20,000 troops into Paris.
Radical orators like Desmoulins claimed that Louis planned to kill supporters of reform and so people armed themselves
The Bastille was stormed for the gunpowder and cartridge’s stored there
Why was the storming of the Bastille significant?
The Bastille was symbolic of royal tyranny, imprisonment without trial and torture, making the event a symbol of rebellion
The governor - Launay - was beheaded and his head paraded on a spike
Louis accepted the Commune and National Guard
Many nobles began to flee the country, further weakening Louis
Why did the Great Fear begin?
Rumours spread that gangs of criminals had been hired by feeling nobles to destroy the harvest
This was aided by the poor conditions leading up to 1789 such as high food prices and unemployment in the textiles trade
The National Assembly attempted to stop to the revolt through reform with the August Decrees - what did they do?
Feudal rights were abolished
Tithes and seigneurial - the lord of a peasant’s manor -courts were abolished
All citizens were to be taxed equally
All citizens were eligible for any office in Church, state or army
