FINAL EXAM Flashcards
The Enlightenment
a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent in the West and that instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics
Enlightenment Thinkers
John Locke
- Natural Rights:
- Life, liberty, property - Right to rebel
- People can govern themselves
Enlightenment Thinkers
Montesquieu
- Public good above individual needs
- Government should have 3 branches:
- Judicial, Legislative, Executive - Checks and Balances (one branch cannot be too powerful)
Enlightenment Thinkers
Voltaire
- People are TERRIBLE by nature and improve through learning and laws
- Freedom of speech, thought, religion
- People need a monarchy, can’t govern themselves
- Contradicts John Locke
Enlightenment Thinkers
Jean Jacques Rousseau
- People are born good but then corrupted
- Contradict’s Voltaire - Best government is a direct democracy where EVERYONE votes
- Public good above individual needs
- Same as Montesquieu
Enlightenment Thinkers
Mary Wollstonecraft
- All people are equal and can control their own destiny
- Fought for women’s rights
- Eduation is neccessary
- Society, not nature, created the inequality between men and women
- Society would be better with women in it
Natural Rights
- ALL people are born with natural rights
- right to life, liberty and property - Slaves were not considered people and were not granted these natural rights
- people made excuses
Separation of Powers
- one branch of government will not become too powerful
- keep the checks and balances
Causes of the French Rev
- Estate System
- King Louis XVI
- Economic Problems
Causes of the French Rev
Estate System
First Estate:
-Clergy/ Roman catholic church
-scorned enlightenment
-1% of the population
Second Estate:
-Nobles
-High government officials
-Royalty adjacent
-60/40 pro enlightenment
-NO TAXES
-2% of the population
Third Estate:
-Urban lower class, farmers, merchants, doctors, lawyers (Bourgeoisie)
-could not influence government
-97% of the population
-REBELLED
-50% income goes to nobles (Taxes)
-King louis XVI would not lower their taxes or stop raising them
Causes of the French Rev
King Louis XVI
- Uninterested in leadership
- Extremely indecisive
- Very suggestable and impressionable
- Refused to address problems until it was too late
- Young when he took the throne
- Him and Marie refused to admit they were in peril
- Liked to joke around while naked
- Showed people he was too immature and couldn’t be taken seriously even though Louis took himself VERY seriously
- Would not have kids for several years because of erectile dysfunction, angered many
- If he gave up on spending and luxury enemies would’ve gotten the idea that
- France is vulnerable and is ready to be attacked
Causes of the French Rev
Economic Problems
- High taxes
- 50% of third estate income went to taxes to pay for the nobles way of life - King louis refused to stop increasing third estate taxes
- Crop failures led to food shortages and - inflation of prices (BREAD)
- Extravagant royal spending
- High cost of living
Committee of Public Safety
- Formed during the TERROR
- Its “purpose” was to protect the new republic against attack and rebellion
- Group of 12 men
- Was kind of like a government
- Robespierre quickly became their leader
- Arrested and guillotined any threats to the revolution
- Decree Against Profiteers*
- Law of Suspects*
Haitian Revolution
Conflict between Haitian slaves and French+British colonizers
Causes of the Haitian Rev
Slavery
- Basically an island populated by slaves
- Half a million slaves by 1789 - The rate of death of slaves on plantations was higher than anywhere else in the western hemisphere
- Cheaper to import new ones than working to increase survival
- Before french revolution, in 1789, there were eight times as many slaves as there were white and mixed-race people combined
- Slaves wanted their freedom and to be granted the same rights as French men
Causes of the Haitian Rev
Haitian Society
“3” Social classes:
Grand Blancs
- Rich white people who lived in France
- Had most of the political power
- Owned most of the land on the island
Petit Blancs
- White people who lived on the island
- Had local political power
- Had control of the militia
Gens De Couleur
- mixed race people who managed the investments of the Grand Blancs
- Had considerable power
- Faced racism and segregation
Slaves
- Owned by Grand Blancs
- Had no political power
- Had no rights
- Made up vast majority of the population
Causes of the Haitian Rev
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens
- Passed by the National Assembly
- Gave any male over 25 who paid taxes and owned land the right to vote
- Created a conflict where white men were angry mixed men could vote
- Threw island into chaos and disaray
- Distracted white people eough that slaves began to revolt
Haitian Rev
Stage One
- Slaves rebel
- Britain and Spain also enter conflict, hoping to take french land
- Grand blancs tried to make a deal with great britain to control haiti hoping to maintain slavery
- Britain only saw as opportunity to take french land
- Within a year of their revolt the slaves controlled ⅓ of the island
- National assembly sent 6,000 soldiers
- They also abolished slavery and grant civil + political rights to free men of color
- This helps France regain control of the island - Freed slaves and people of color now fight for France against Britian and Spain
Haitian Rev
Stage Two
- Napoleon comes into power and sends an army intoHaiti
after weeks of fighting, surrender is negotiated
- if Haitian army joins up with french army, slavery will remain abolished - L’ouverture was deceived and sent to france where he died
- Napoleon then tried to reinstate slavery
- Jean Jacques Dessalines then leads Haitian army with a new goal of independence
- Britain and France go to war again, and the Haitains team up with Britain to defeat the French and gain their independence
Results of the Haitian Rev
Jean Jacques Dessalines
- Becomes the revolution’s new leader after L’Ouverture dies
- His forces beat the French
- Later named Emperor of Haiti by generals of the Haitian army
- Jacques I
- Rules until his assasination only a few years later
- During his rule he orders the massacre of any remaining Europeon population in Haiti
- With the acception of the Poles and Germans
- 3,000-5,000 killled (Including women and children)
Resullts of the Haitian Rev
Overall Results
- New ruling class: NOIR
- replaced the white ruling class with a black one - However, anyone (regardless of race) could be considered Noir if they met the qualifications
- Two classes of common people
- Soldiers
- Laborors - Many people were sent back to work on plantations, but succeeded in rebuilding the country
- Laborors resemled slaves but were not technically because they were paid for their work (VERY LITTLE)
- France forced Haiti to pay 150 million Francs in reparations to it’s slaveholders
price was reduced but was still not paid off for over 100 years
Napoleon
- Genius at mobilizing a countries resources for war
- People at home
- The economy - Self made individual who made achievements through merit
- Earns power through deeds in the military
- Corsican nobility
- Basically a third estate member
- His actions embodied revolutionary spirit
- Maintained voting rights
- Set up schools
- Improved businesses
- Made France less reliant on other countries
- Pro-religious freedom - A very good general who helped france conquer lands
- Didn’t like the way the directory ran things so he took over
- Became first consul in the french consulate
Napoleon’s Downfall
- Once he got what he wanted, the fear of enemies drove him to paranoia
- Paranoia corrupted him into being very emperor-like
- Appointed himself consul for life
- Ended up being like a tyrant - people were in support of this at first
- After brutal loss in Russia during the Napoleonic wars, Napoleon was banished to 2 islands and ends in his death
Napoleons Accomplishments
- Conquered ¼ of the world
- Biggest control over europe until WWII - Countries tried fighting off napoleon’s conquering but couldn’t avoid it
- Established many schools (Only for boys)
- Helped France’s economy become more independent
Napoleonic Code
- Reformed french legal system to reflect SOME of the ideas of the revolution and enlightenment
- Freedom of religion
- Maintains property rights
- Equality before the law
BUT: - Press and political freedoms restricted and anti-women
ECONOMIC REFORMS:
- Equal taxes
- National bank
- Business loans
- Making it easy for french businesses to start, france becomes more self sufficient
- Conquering lands helped french economy
GOVERNMENTAL REFORMS:
- Merit system
- If you do good, you get good
- Public schools
- Wanted good education for good workers
- Strengthened military
- Treated them well
RELIGIOUS REFORMS:
- Religious tolerance
- All religions were respected and accepted
- Peace agreement with pope
- The concordat of 1801
- Reestablished trust between france and roman catholic church which had been lost after the national assembly outlawed religion.
