French Revolution Flashcards
What does autocratic mean?
where a ruler has absolute power
What was the french political system like before the revolution?
Autocratic
What were the social causes of the French Revolution?
~ Long term ~
-The king and queen didn’t care/understand what the people were going through. They rarely left the palace
-From 1714, Louis was unpopular.
-In the 1700s there was a population increase.
~ Short term ~
-There were bad harvests in 1787 and 1788. A worker had to spend 75% of their income on bread.
What were the economical causes of the French Revolution?
~ Long term ~
-Food prices were going up and lots of people couldn’t feed themselves
-France had been at war with Britain and America and wars were expensieve. Prices were going up
~ Short term ~
-In 1787, Louis told the aristocrats that they had to pay a land tax and the aristocrats refused.
-The next year, in 1788, Louis told the first estate they had to pay him money.
What were the political causes of the French Revolution?
~ Short term ~
-In 1776, America signed the declaration of independance
How much land did the second estate own?
30%
Who were in the third estate?
Peasants, Sans-Culottes, Bourgeois
Why was it easier being in the second/first estate?
no salt tax, no tax, no forced labour
Who were the Sans-culottes?
A type of peasant
What does Sans-Culotte mean?
“Without trousers” in french
Who were the Bourgeois?
Rich members of the third estate. Not nobles- for instance, bankers, merchants, etc.
What percentage of the population were Bourgeois?
5%
What percentage of the population were peasants?
85%
What percentage of the population were Sans-culottes?
8%
Who was the leader at the time of the french revolution?
Louis the Sixteenth
Why was Louis an unpopular leader?
He took a long time to make decisions and spent a lot of money on expensieve palaces, clothes and goods when the peasants were starving.
What happened in 1776?
The declaration of independance was signed in amercia
What was the declaration of independance?
It freed america from british rule, made the goverment have to listen to the people and abolished anything like estates
When was the french revolution?
5 May 1789
What happened in 1789?
The peasants started to storm the towns, taking the law into their own hands
What was the estate general?
A group made up of people from the three estates, who could decide on new taxes
What was the national assembly?
A group made up of the third estate and clergy, who demanded the King shared his power with them.
Where did the national assembly meet?
A tennis court
Where was the estate general held in the 1780s?
At the Palace of Versailles
