French Revolution Flashcards
Three estates
Clergy- 1%-10% of land, collected tithe
Nobles-2%-25% of land, got tax exemptions
Third-97%-65% of land, greatly varied (serfs to wealthy merchants)
Bourgeoisie and esp petty bourgeoisie (sans-culotte) are jelly of the nobles and are hit hardest by economy-liberals
Peasants were conservatives, but wanted to be free of feudal system
Political causes
Clash between nobility and monarchy
Louis xvi reinstalls parlement of Paris
Everyone kinda hated Louis xvi and MA
Letters de cachet=king can arrest whoever they want
Intellectual causes
Enlight did NOT directly cause frev, but it helped discontent crystallize into criticism of old regime and make people more aware
Economic causes
1714-89? Economy x10! But it’s unequal distribution
Tax system? Sucks! Rich people don’t get as much and farmers general take$
Arev only makes the debt worse
Louis tries to tax nobles, but they get mad and wouldn’t do it
1787? Bankruptcy! 87-89? Famine!
Cahiers de doléances
At start of estates general, louis told people to write their grievances down in these
2 issues of estates general
- Should 3rd estate get twice the votes?
2. Should we vote by person or by estate?
Committee of thirty
Group of liberal nobles, wanted more rights for 3rd estate
What is the third estate? By abbé sieyès
Pamphlet
3rd estate is the will of the nation, nobles are useless!
National Assembly
What the estate general calls itself after June 17,1789
Tennis court oath
June 20, 1789
NA is locked out, so they meet at a tennis court and pledge to write a new constitution
King raises army and dismisses finance minister
Storming of the Bastille
July 14, 1789
Crowds march to Bastille (prison) and form national guard, appointing marquis de Lafayette as head
Great fear
June-August 1789
Peasants attack courts and manors, angry at the feudal system
August 4? NA dismantles entire feudal system!
Declaration of rights of man and citizen
August 26, 1789
Expresses enlightenment principles like equality and freedom
October days
1789
Angry over bread prices, Women of Paris March on Versailles, killing guards and bringing the royal family to Paris
What are parlements, estates, provincial law codes, and tariffs replaced by?
83 equal departments, subdivided into cantons and communes
NA attacks Catholic Church
Nov 1789- July 1790
NA confiscates all Catholic Church land
Church is controlled by state, priests have to swear loyalty to Revolution (civil constitution of the clergy)
Constitution of 1791
June
Conservative, single legislative body with a constitutional monarch
Those who own property are “active” citizens
King tries to flee to varennes, is brought back to Tuileries
Champs de Mars massacre
Crowd gathers to demand republic, NA kills 50
Leads to more radical opinion and distrust of the monarchy
Jacobins club
Produces many revolutionary leaders
Edmund Burke
Conservative, condemns French Revolution and predicts it will cause violence and a military dictatorship
Why did the frev get radical?
- Economic problems- inflation and Laissez-faire stuff angered workers
- Royal family- people are suspicious
- Counterrevolution -other provinces, some clergy, religious peasants
- War- causes more violence and radicalism
When was the liberal phase?
1789-91
When was the radical phase?
1792-94
Declaration of pillnitz
August 1791
Austrian and Prussian rulers promise to restore order in france if other nations will help
Girodins think we need to go to war
France declares war on Austria
April 20, 1792
Louis supports bc he things France will lose
Brunswick manifesto
July 25, 1792
Austria and Prussia threaten revolutionaries with violence if telnet hurt the King and Queen
Ironically, it inflames violence
Early radical people?
Jean-PAUL Marat and George Danton
Create Paris commune
Second French Revolution
August 10, 1792
Armed mob storms Tuileries and arrest king
Constitution of 1791 is revoked
National convention is elected, more radical
September massacres
1792
Fearing that prisoners will aid Austria/Prussia, revolutionaries massacre thousands of prisoners
France is declared a republic
September 20-32, 1792
After victory in battle of valmy, NC abolishes monarchy
King is tried and executed
Jan 21, 1793
Marks start of reign of terror
Max Robespierre and the constitution of 1793
May-June 1793
Paris commune executes giro sim leaders The mountain (part of the jacobins) led by max takes over Constitution of 1793 (male suffrage) is passed but not put into action
Committee of public safety
12 member board, caused reign of terror
Committee of general security=police
Aided by revolutionary tribunals, who execute over 50,000
The vendée
A province of France that rises in counterrevolution against anti catholic and centralizing policies
Levée en masse
Everyone has to contribute to the war effort
Fight for liberté, égalité, et fratenité
Other reign of terror policies
- set max prices for commodities
- abolish slavery (after revolt in st. Dominique)
- create new calendar (dechristianization)
- festival of supreme being (deistic)
- adopt metric system
- military victories! Invade Netherlands
Max executes other people too!
March-may 1794
March? Enragés (extreme liberals)
May? Danton and indulgents
Successes of reign of terror?
Counterrevolution defeated!
French armies successful!
Inflation is going down!
But Max is still killing people
Law of 22 prairial
Loosens standards for proof of treason and suggests more executions
Causes opponents to rally against max, who is executed in July 1794
When was the Thermidor and directory?
1795-99
Constitution of year III
1795
After reign of terror
All males can vote, but electors choose representatives
5 directors make up directory, who rule for 4 years
Faces opposition from left and right
Conspiracy of equals
1796
Extremists attempt to established socialist govt, are executed
Coup d’état of fructidor
Sept 1797
Royalists win elections, but directory annuls results and maintains power
Coup d’état of Brumaire
1801
Napoleon and two others overthrow and create consulate
N soon outsmarts the other 2 and proclaims himself first council for life
When did Napoleon rule?
1799-1814
Napoleons policy on governance
Legislative corps pretty much had to approve whatever the emperor said Created professional bureaucracy Prefects from each district report to n Used plebiscites to gain public support Press was censored, secret police
N’s legal and social policies
Careers open to talent
Napoleonic code- national laws represent ideals of merit and equality, but restrict women’s rights
N’s economic and financial policies
Modernized infrastructure (roads, bridges, monuments)
Established bank of France (modernize tax system)
Industrial stimulation)? Not so much
N’s educational policies
Established nationwide system of schools (lycée) for everyone and technical universities
N’s religious policies (concordat of 1801)
Pope regains some control of clergy and Catholicism is acknowledged as majority
However, France keeps properties and veto power
N is pretty tolerant
Why was Napoleon so darn successful in war?
- Movement- strike quickly
- Defying tradition- ATTACK on Sunday’s, night, etc
- Offensive
- Propaganda- Napoleon is a liberator!
- Citizen armies- war is for people, not mercenaries
Peace of Amiens
1802
France at peace with Britain after N defeated first 2 coalitions
Didnt last at all
Treaty of Tilsit
1807
Napoleon defeats Austria, Prussia, and Russia
Master of the continent! Everyone is annexed, allied, or neutral!
Battle of trafalgar
1805
Gb effectively defends its country from N
Continental system
Forced nations to embargo British goods
Did not work very well
Russia withdrew, so France had to invade
Napoleons defeat?
Forced to retreat from Moscow
Defeated by Germany at battle of nations (1814)
Ultimately at Waterloo (1815)
N’s 2 goals for foreign policy
- Give conquered lands ideals of enlight and frev
2. Gain territory and influence for France
N’s Policies in conquered states?
- Abolished feudalism and centralized govt and law codes
- created republics and appointed relatives to rule
- tried to cut Britain off
What happened to the HRE?
N declared it a confederation of the Rhine with 35 states
What happened to Poland?
Duchy of Warsaw (like a mini Poland) is created
Peninsular war
The people in Spain hated him bc he appointed his brother to rule Spain, so they did a guerrilla warfare thing
What did women gain/not gain?
During moderate phase they gained rights about divorce, property, and child custody
Many declarations and secret society’s were killed (like olympe de gouges)
Napoleonic code sucked
So in all? Not really anything, but established agenda
Causes of frev
- Social inequality
- Political (parlements)
- Intellectual (kinda enlight)
- Economic
