Events of 1789 Flashcards
List the events of 1789 chronologically
Tennis Court Oath (June 20)
Seance Royale (June 23)
Storming of the Bastille (July 14)
Unrest in Paris and provinces of France (summer of 1789)
August Decrees (August 4)
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (August 26)
October Days and Women’s March (October 5)
Nationalisation of Church land (November 2)
What was the significance of the meeting of the Estates General? (2)
- first meeting since 1614, shows the extremity of the dire situation France is in
- each Estate allowed to present cahiers, a list of grievances, shows the king wishes to listen to his people, his attempt to understand the flaws in his society
What was happening in Paris and in the provinces?
In Paris
- the economic crisis led to crowds on the streets to demonstrate support the Assembly
- for example, on 28 April the factory of wallpaper manufacturer, Reveillon, was burned down because of rumours that they would to reduce wages
- regular Parisans listen to revolutionary speakers such as Desmouslins
- riots and looting for ammunition and muskets
- National Guard formed on August 10, replace the traditional bourgeois militia, role was to defend the city, prevent crime, and maintain order
In provinces:
* Louis XVI loses his authority
* In Bordeaux, the electors of the Third Estate would seize control
* grain stores were looted
* chateaux (French, a large country house or mansion, also can be a vineyard) attacked and burnt down
* documents that listed peasant obligations were destroyed
* ancien regime leaders in major towns like Lille, Rouen, and Lyon were overthrown by force
* period known as the Great Fear
Explain the Tennis Court Oath and its significance
- long period of inactivity from the government, not addressing the conflict about voting by head or order
- Third Estate decide to proceed on their own and call themselves the National Assembly (declaring a right to manage state affairs and taxation), other deputies were free to join
- due to this, Louis XVI was forced to act and ordered a seance royale, however, the hall the Third Estate usually held meetings in just happened to be locked to prepare for the seance
- deputies instead met on a tennis court nearby, all taking an oath to not disperse until the King gave them a constitution
Explain the Seance Royale
- an attempt by Louis XVI to exert his authority
- Louis XVI agreed to: freedom of press, abolishing the internal customs barriers, and not to impose taxes without the consent of representatives
- However, Louis XVI was considering military force to dissolve the Assembly, stationing troops around Paris, which caused alarm and worsened the public opinion of the Crown
- eventually agreed for all Estates to vote by head
Explain the Storming of the Bastille and its significance
- Bastille was a symbol of the king’s absolute power
- stormed for ammunition, gunpowder and arms
- many gardes francaises, the elite royal infantry, deserted to join opposition in besieging the Bastille, signifies Louis XVI’s loss of power
- majority of those who attacked the Bastille were sans culottes
Explain the August Decrees and its significance
- proposed by liberal nobles (Vicomte de Noailles and Duc de Aiguilion), then legally decreed by the Assembly
- feudal system, serfdom, and corvee abolished
- venality and tithes abolished
- equal taxation
- all citizens eligible for all offices
- established civil equality and was the start of dismantling the ancien regime, though there was fear that there would be an aristocratic plot in response
Explain the Declaration and its significance
- mainly represented the interests of property-owning bourgeoisie
- stated that all men are born free and equal with individual rights to liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression
- advocates popular sovereignty
- constitutes freedom of worship, speech and press
- decreases power of the Church and completely dismantles the hierarchy of the ancien regime
Explain the nationalisation of Church land and its significance
- Church land taken into control of the state to resolve the financial crisis
- assignats issued, backed up by the sale of Church land, and accepted as currency
- future undermined the original dominant position of the Church in the ancien regime
- hoped the clergy would support the revolution and the new regime, because they had to depend on it for their salaries
Explain the October Days and its significance
- Louis XVI uses his suspensive veto to refuse the August Decrees and the Declaration, and summoned the loyal Flanders regiment to Versailles to strengthen his position
- October 1, Louis XVI and Marie attend a banquet celebrating the arrival of the regiment
- according to Marat’s newspaper, during the banquet, officers trampled and urinated on the revolutionary cockade, and instead replacing it with white cockades of the Bourbons
- coincided there’s a food shortage in Paris, armed crowd of Parisians, mostly women, to storm the Hotel de Ville, demanding the Paris Commune for bread, who direct them to Versailles.
- rumours about the king orchestrating the food shortage as revenge for his loss of power, to force people into submission
- Marquis de Lafayette and a regiment of the National Guard take part
- Louis XVI forced to accept the decrees and constitution
- next morning crowd manages to enter Versailles from an unguarded entrance, intent on finding and murdering Queen Marie
- on Lafayette’s advice, the king agrees to return with the crowd to Tuileries Palace in Paris
