French Revolution Flashcards
political and social system that existed in France before the Revolution of 1789
The Old Regime
major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights - The three groups that the French were divided into before the Revolution; the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate.
The Three Estates
middle class
Bourgeoisie
King of France (1774-1792). In 1789 he summoned the Estates-General to undertake fiscal reforms, an event that eventually led to the French Revolution. Louis was convicted of treason by the revolutionary government and executed in 1793.
Louis XVI
Queen of France (1774-1793) as the wife of Louis XVI. She was tried and executed during the French Revolution.
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette - Madame Deficit The nickname for Marie.
Madame Deficit
assembly of the estates of all France; last meeting in 1789
Estates General
French politician - A priest and politician who contributed to the enlightenment ideas. His goal was to have every French citizen to be considered equal.
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes
French history the body constituted by the French Third Estate in June 1789 after the calling of the Estates General. It was dissolved in Sept 1791 to be replaced by the new Legislative Assembly - a revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate.
National Assembly
a meeting of the Estates General (the French parliamentary body) in May of 1789. The Estates General was made up of members of the First (clergy), Second (nobility), and Third (commoners) Estates and met at Versailles. During the following month, the First and Second Estate clashed with the Third Estate on a variety of issues, including the right to vote by head instead of by order. - Tennis Court Oath a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. Wikipedia
Tennis Court Oath
On 14 July 1789, a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy’s dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed. This article reporting the events of 14 July was published in an English newspaper called The World, a few days after the event took place. - was a fortress in Paris
The Bastille
July 14, observed in France in commemoration of the storming of the Paris Bastille by the citizens of Paris at the outset of the French Revolution (1789).
Bastille Day
general panic that occurred between 17 July and 3 August 1789 at the start of the French Revolution.
The Great Fear
Is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto.
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
French writer - a French playwright and political activist whose feminist and abolitionist writings reached a large audience.
Olympe de Gouges
the bicameral legislature in 28 states of the US - The legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 20, 1792 during the years of the French Revolution.
Legislative Assembly
Arising from or going to a root or source; basic
Radicals
Being within reasonable limits; not excessive or extreme
Moderates
One who has left a native country, especially for political reasons.
Emigres
A name for republicans, originally meant as an insult, referring to the trousers worn by common people rather than courtly breeches. - The common people of the lower classes in late 18th century France.
Sans-culottes
French revolutionary leader (born in Switzerland) who was a leader in overthrowing the Girondists and was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday (1743-1793) - a physician, political theorist and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution.
Jean-Paul Marat
a convention held every four years by each major US political party to choose its presidential candidate - a single-chamber assembly in France from September 20, 1792 to October 26, 1795 during the French Revolution.
National Convention
Society of the Friends of the Constitution - The most prominent political clubs of the French Revolution.
The Jacobins
French revolutionary leader who stormed the Paris bastille.
The Guillotine
French revolutionary leader who stormed the Paris bastille.
Georges Danton
French revolutionary and Jacobin leader: established the Reign of Terror as a member of the Committee of Public Safety
Maximilien Robespierre
a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, in particular, the period of the Terror during the French Revolution - executions
Reign of Terror
British naval commander in the wars with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, who won crucial victories in such battles
Horatio Nelson
blow of state
Coup d’etat
the direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change in the constitution.
Plebiscite
an agreement or treaty, especially one between the Vatican and a secular government relating to matters of mutual interest.
Concordat
naval engagement fought by the Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies
Battle of Trafalgar
the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against Great Britain during the Napoleonic Wars
The Continental System
an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.
Blockade
military conflict between Napoleon’s empire and the allied powers of Spain, Britain and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Peninsular War
a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.
Guerillas
.a military strategy of burning or destroying buildings, crops, or other resources that might be of use to an invading enemy force.
Scorched-Earth Policy
bloody battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia.
Battle of Borodino
city in East Germany, in the state of Saxony
Leipzig
An island of Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Corsica and the mainland. Napoleon spent his first period of exile here.
Elba
the first ruler of the restored monarchy following the French Revolution.
Louis XVIII
A town of central Belgium near Brussels. Napoleon met his final defeat in the Battle of Waterloo
Waterloo
a British island in the S Atlantic: Napoleon’s place of exile 1815-21.
St. Helena
conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman.
Congress of Vienna
Austrian statesman, minister of foreign affairs (1809-48), and a champion of conservatism, who helped form the victorious alliance against Napoleon I and who restored Austria as a leading European power, hosting the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15.
Klemens von Metternich
a situation in which nations of the world have roughly equal power.
Balance of Power
was a coalition created by the monarchist great powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia.
Holy Alliance
group of countries in Europe who worked together and agreed on things: United Kingdom, Austria, Russia and Prussia
Concert of Europe
