French Revolution/Napoleon Flashcards
Four stages of the Revolution
- Moderate stage
- Reign of Terror
- Reaction against the violence
- Napoleon’s reign
1st, 2nd, and third estates
1st: Clergy, paid no taxes, owned 10% of land
2nd: Nobility, 2 % of population, owned 20 % of the land, almost no taxes
3rd: Everyone else, peasants, working class, wealthy traders, paid all taxes, 97 % of the population
- What new name did the third estate adopt?
- What was their new purpose
- The National Assembly
- They passed new laws and some 1st and 2nd joined them
- Pass new laws and reforms in the name of the French people
- Third estate broke into indoor tennis court in Versailles (after they got locked out from lawmaking room)
What was King Louis’ reaction to the National Assembly breaking in
- He yields to their demands
- Called in his Swiss troops for support because he though he couldn’t trust his troops (Most soldiers were in the 3rd Estate). It seems like and act of war because foreign troop. He agrees with people but doesn’t trust
What was the significance of the mobs storming the Bastilee
- Parisians grow alarmed that the Swiss troop are their to harm them
- Parisians raided the Invalides (military hospital) for arms
- They went to Bastille (prisons where king put opposers, symbol of monarch power) to gain more troops. They fight, then negotiate then guards surrender
- Louis thinks it’s a rebellion, but it is a revolution, take arms against France. Bastille (July 14) is French Independence day
The Great Fear
- Peasants roaming countryside and burning down manor houses (nobility houses), they burnt feudal (serf) records
- A lot of violence
- End of feudalism
- Riots
What happened to the King and Queen
-Mob of women force them to move to Paris (They pretended like they wanted to move)
What was the slogan of the Revolution
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
What new rights did the people gain after the Great fear
- Declaration of the Right of man and of the citizen is adopted by the National Assembly
- All men equal and free
- Freedom, equality, liberty, freedom of speech
What kind of Government did the Assembly create after the Great Fear
- Limited Constitutional Monarchy
- An elected Assembly held law-making powers
What changes were made to the church by the national assembly
- Clergy placed under state control, losing their lands and political independence
- Priests were to be elected-> this alarmed peasants who were loyal Catholics
What was Louis’ reaction to the new Constitution made by the National Assembly
- Louis reluctantly approves and then secretly tries to escape the country
- Border guards stop and arrests at the border
- He sends mixed signals
- He and his wife are imprisoned
What was the new name of the National Assembly
- They give up their power for elections
- The legislative assembly
How was the legislative assembly divided
Extreme left:
Left:
Center:
Right:
Extreme right:
Legislative assembly: Extreme left:
san coulettes-> poor urban dwellers-> poorest of the poor, Paris commune
Legislative assembly: Left:
Radicals, sweeping changes, hated the king and favored a republic
Legislative assembly:Center
Moderates, some further reforms
Legislative assembly: Right
Conservative, no change, favored a limited constitutional monarchy
Legislative assembly: Extreme right:
Emigres, nobles who fled during the revolution and wanted the king back
Who did France go to war with during this period and why
- Austria because Marie Antoinette was Austrian and the Royal family wanted France to put King and Antoinette back onto the throne
- Prussian commander threatens to destroy Paris if revolutions harm royal family
- Radicals powerful, secure victories in the war
- August-> tough on royal family
- Radical mobs continue to threaten royal family.
Who were the Jacobins
- Danton and Marat leader
- Members gave violent speeches
- Arrest Louis, Antoinette, and family
- Demanded the King be removed
What was Danton like as a leader
- Passionate speaker. Devoted to poor Parisians
- Leader of the Paris Commune
What was marat like as a leader
- Leader of Jacobin
- Violated freedom of speech
- Edited a radical newspaper and was involved in scientific research
- Put out Pamphlets and newspapers that called for revolution and said to cut of heads of all monarchists and people advocating for monarchy (enemies of the revolution)
What happened to Louis XVI during the reign of terror
-He was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by guillotine
Who was Robespierre and what did he want for France
- Radicals so excited after they kill Louis that they declared war on all monarchys in Europe
- Jacobin leader
- Wanted to build a “Republic of virtue” by wiping out all of France’s past of monarchy and nobility
- Leader of committee of Public Safety that was Robespierre acting as a dictator and executing all who opposed him
What were some changes Robespierre made for France
- Antoinette found guilty of treason and killed by guillotine
- Killed “enemies of the revolution”
- Changes calendar to be all 12 and 30 days, re-named all months after their weather. Pretended to use reason. Took sundays off of the calendar because of religion
- Got rid of religion-> churches in France closed
How many people died in the Reign of Terror
40,000 ish
What happened to Marie Antoinette, Danton, and Robespierre
Antoinette was killed
Danton was accused of being an enemy of the revolution and killed
Robespierre was arrested and killed and the reign of terror ended with his death
-They make Directian government that made Napoleon in charge of the government
Why the guillotine
- Painless
- The national razor
- Instrument of execution
Napoleon: Age 9-16
9: sent to military school
16: graduated from military school and goes into military
Napoleon: October 1795
-Saved National Convention from a mob. Hailed as a hero.
Napoleon: 1796
New Directory gives him an army and he makes sure that people hear about his victories. Led French Army against the forces of Austria and Kingdom of Sardinia and swept into Italy and won victories. Lost in Egypt, but made sure that it didn’t make it into the newspapers, so no one knew about it
Napoleon: 1799
- Directory lost control
- Uses military and chases directory away and the remaining members vote to dissolve the directory, makes him seem democratic.
- Created new government with 3 consuls and named himself the 1st consul, which made him a dictator
Who joined forces (Second Coalition) to fight Napoleon and what was the outcome
- Britain, Austria, and Russia
- All of the countries sign peace agreements with France
- Napoleon defeats all of them in battle
What was the “Plebiscite of 1800” and what did it do
Vote of the people, held to approve a new constitutions. People voted for, and gave all real power to Napoleon as first consul. Napoleon does this t live up to the ideals of the revolution
What changes did Napoleon make to the economy
- Established national banking system-> stabilized finances of France
- Made it so that everyone pays taxes
What changes did Napoleon make to the social order
- Opened Lycees-> public schools open to everyone
- People were promoted on merit (earned it, revolution ideas)
What did Napoleon do for religion in France
- Signed a concordat with the Catholic church
- Restored the church’s place in French society
What was the Napoleonic code and it’s affect
- Restored slavery to French colonies
- Gave the country uniform set of laws
- Limited liberty/individual rights
- Promoted order and authority over individual rights
What new title did Napoleon gain in 1804
- Emperor-> Kings get beheaded. Like chalemagne, ect
- Has people vote to make him Emperor
- Has pope crown him/ he crowns himself
Who in the Third Coalition was Napoleon and why
- 3rd Coalition-> Britain, Russia, Austria, Sweden
- Napoleon fought everyone at land
- He had to fight Britain on sea
- Loses sea fight-> battle of Trafager
What was the Continental system? How did it hurt Napoleon
- Napoleon fights Britain economy and tells people not to trade with Britain
- His countries didn’t follow through
What happened in Spain that hurt Napoleon
- Gained nothing
- Napoleon overthrows Spanish king-> replaced with Napoleon’s brother, when they try to stop him from going to Portugal to make example because they trade with Britain
- Spain used guerilla warfare
- Napoleon lost 300,000 people
Why was invading Russia such a huge mistake for Napoleon
- Winter came, Russia had Scorched-Earth policy
- Napoleon’s army returns home and Russia harassed them on the way home
- Napoleon no longer has an army, so Third Coalition tries to break free
Who defied Napoleon’s Continental system the most
-Portugal and Russia, so he send troops to teach them a lesson
What did the third Coalition do to Napoleon after defeating him in April, 1814
-Sent him to Elba in Italy because French people still loved him, so they couldn’t kill him
Describe Napoleon’s brief return from exile
- They cheer for the Emperor
- He returns to war to the Netherlands
- Meet at 3rd Coalition army at Waterloo
- Napoleon’s army is not trained and they lose
- They send Napoleon to St. Helena
