The French Revolution Flashcards
What was happening in Europe?
Anyone who identified with being a member of the church owned about 10% of the entire kingdom of France
–> Lands owned by the church were exempt from taxation and were extremely poorly run
- Lower clergy (perish priests) came from the same community they served - peasant community, peasant stock, etc.
- They were socially inferior, could not rise
- Nobility had more power
1792 – everything changed (when the fire nation attacked? Huhuhu)
- The French changed their military structure – all “of age” and able bodied men had to serve and were sent to military regiments even if they had nothing to fight with
- Entire NATION as an ARMY
- The Napoleonic and Revolutionary wars dragged on until Napoleon’s end after 50 years (lost his first battle in 1812)
Napoleon
He killed lots… but he still cool
He absorbed a hostility to the church and to religion in general
He is creating a set of enemies, they should and could be manipulated
Brought peace to and re-established the French church
“If France was ever to be great and fulfill its collective ambition then its sense of drive of the educated middle classes must be given a voice”
Believed that he had a mission and believed he was a good person with a mission for good things - but what is that mission? - REVOLUTION MADE HIM FIND OUT AYYY
- Committed to the ideas of the revolution of 1789
1790s = French were starving and dying of disease and Napoleon abandoned his own soldiers because the situation in France became so unstable he needed to return and become military dictator of France (1799)
The collapse of the French economy and inability to come back from it = ruin..ing of france! SACRE BLEU
November of 1799 – he took over France
Dictatorship was to be 3 consuls
1st = Napoleon
2 others = power base in order to create a military dictatorship and an entire new empire
He was appointed 1st consul for life
He became unhappy with this and on December 22nd 1804 – he became emperor of France
He also used this to make peace with the church
Roman Catholicism would be the leading religion of France – but not the only one
Some church property was returned and bizarre experiments of the Robespierre era were demolished
This reconciled so many immigrants and brought them all to the new regime
Civil constitution of the clergy was one of the most powerful …
This was a great advantage Napoleon was shown to be a Catholic!
Some element of traditional order was being restored!
