French Revolution Quiz Flashcards
Second Estate
- nobles
- 1.5% of population
- owned 25% of land
- exempt from taxes
- special hunting privalages
First Estate
- Clergy
- .5% of population
- owned 10% of land
- exempt from taxes
Third Estate
- everyone else
- 98% or population
- paid 100% of all taxes
Bourgeoisie
Middle class, top of third estate. Made of bankers, merchants, lawyers, doctors, journalists, and skilled artisans
France’s Financial Crisis
- huge debt in result of deficit spending
- french gov’t either had to raise taxes or cut spending
- nobles and clergy refused to pay taxes
Anger Among the public
- small rise in bread prices meant hunger and starvation for the poor
- people grew angry, and started to hate those in the estates above them
Storming of the Bastille
- was a medieval prison
- people viewed it as a symbol of the king’s absolute and arbitrary power so they attacked it
- also attacked it for weapons
- guards killed hundreds, and people killed guards
- beheaded prison commander and marched around with it on stake
- celebrated now as a
Estates General
- a representative assembly of all 3 estates
* met to discuss economic issues
National Assembly
What the 3rd estate renamed itself during the meeting of the estates general, claiming they represented the people
Woman’s March in Versailles
October 5, 1789: woman march to versailles and shout for bread. Made fun of Queen and King for lavish lifestyle
Reign of Terror
Radicals took hold of the national assembly and renamed it National Convention. Because of this:
•suffrage extended to all make citizens
•made France a democracy
•thousands execute, including king and queen
Robespierre
Leader of Committee of Public Safety
•committee of 12 members to protect France from external and internal threats
•believed France could only achieve a “republic of virtue” only through the use of terror
