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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Map of Europe 1600’s. Comparing Europe. Map of Europe 1600’s. Map of Europe 1721. Europe 2012. Enlightenment. Also known as the Age of Reason.
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Comparing Europe Map of Europe 1600’s Map of Europe 1721
Enlightenment • Also known as the Age of Reason. • Def. An elite cultural movement of intellects in 18th Century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. • It opposed intolerance and abuse in the Church and state.
Enlightenment (Cont.) • Originated about 1650 – 1700. • Sparked by philosophers Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, Pierre Bayle and mathematician Isaac Newton.
Four Social Classes 1789 • Nobility –upper class • Bourgeoisie – the middle class • Proletariat – town working class • Peasants –lower class • King was still the ruling class. (Louis XVI)
The Three Estates 1789 The First Estate: • The bishops and clergy control of the land. • They represented the traditional authority of the church over all secular power. • Consisted of the rich and poor. • Exempt from most taxation. • There were wealthy aristocrats called abbots who lived in luxury off of wealthy church lands. • The poor parish priests lived much like peasants.
The Second Estate • The lords and nobles of France. (called the Nobility) • Once had considerable authority over their own regions, but the king had tried to centralize all power to himself. • Inherited their titles and wealth came from the land. • Some of the nobles had little money, but had privileges of noble rank. Most enjoyed privileges and wealth. Paid little tax.
The Third Estate • The bourgeoisie, proletariat and peasants. • The middle class was becoming the powerful group in the sense of wealth and value. • Were the common people and by far, the largest group of people in France. • Included the wealthy merchants who rivaled the nobility, doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, the urban poor and the peasants who worked the land. (very diverse group)
The Moderate Stage • 1789 - 1792
The French Revolution Begins • Louis XVI asked the First and Second Estates to accept tax on their land, but they refused. • A major financial crisis followed, which touched off the French Revolution in 1789.
Causes of the French Revolution • Social Inequality (outdated ‘feudal system’ and classes) • Inefficient Government • Taxes and laws differed from province to province causing confusion and injustice. • Enormous Debt • When Louis XIV died in 1715, the treasury was drained from wars. • The government was poor, the clergy and nobility were not. • The king had no authority to tax the wealthy.
Causes of the French Revolution(Cont.) • Weak/unresponsive monarchy. • Food shortages, poor farming conditions and cold winters. • Ideas of the Enlightenment. (society wanting reform) • Growing class disparity between: • Old nobility vs. emerging wealthy bourgeoisie (privileges). • Lower classes (overtaxed) vs. landlords.
Versailles • Estates-General met at Versailles in May, 1789. • Delegates could not agree on a method of voting. • In order for an issue to pass, two of the three estates had to agree. • Clergy and Nobility usually voted the same; Third Estate was thus left out. • The delegates of the Third Estate were mostly Bourgeoisie. • They wanted the 3 Estates to meet together, with each delegate having one vote. • Because half of the 1200 delegates were from the Third Estate, they thought they would have a chance to bring about reform.
The National Assembly • The Third Estate’s delegates forced the Estates to meet as one body. • On June 17, 1789, they declared themselves the National Assembly and invited the other Estates to join them. • On the advice of the nobles, Louis XVI ordered the three Estates to continue to meet separately.
The Tennis Court Oath • The delegates of the Third Estate were locked out at the meeting in Versailles, so they moved to the palace’s indoor tennis court. • Many of the clergy and some nobles joined them. • Defying the king, they demanded a constitution for France and would not leave until this goal was achieved. • The oath they took came to be called the Tennis Court Oath.
The Results • Faced with solid opposition, Louis gave in. • After a week, he ordered all nobility and clergy to join the Third Estate in the National Assembly. • The king’s recognition of the National Assembly was the first victory for the Bourgeoisie. • Louis soon sent 18 000 soldiers to Versailles.
Bastille • On July 14, 1789, the people of Paris massed outside the Bastille. They were already angry because of food shortages, unemployment and high prices. • This stone prison had become a hated symbol of oppression to the Parisians. • Seeking guns and gunpowder, the crowd charged into the courtyard.
Bastille (Cont.) • The prison commander panicked and ordered the guards to open fire. • Nearly 100 people were shot dead before the crowd overwhelmed the defenders and killed the commander. • His head and the head of the mayor of Paris were stuck on poles and paraded through the streets of Paris.
The Attack • The attack on Bastille frightened the king into calling back his troops. • The people of Paris had won another victory. • Their bold action had saved the National Assembly. • Today, the French people mark July 14 as Bastille Day. (their day of national celebration)
The Great Fear • Rumors spread that the nobles were organizing armed bands to kill peasants and seize their property. • A feeling of fear and desperation, called the Great Fear, took hold of the people. • Peasants burned the lords’ manors and destroyed records of payments due. • Middle-class landowners and well-to-do farmers also lost their homes and property as violence raged.
Major Reforms • The peasant uprisings convinced many nobles that they were in danger. • A large number fled to other parts of Europe and were known as Emigres. • The nobles who stayed in France realized the old regime was coming to an end. • They rose in the National Assembly and reluctantly agreed to give up privileges their families had held for centuries.
The End of Feudalism • On August 4, 1789, the National Assembly announced the end of feudalism in France. • The church could no longer collect taxes. • The nobility could not demand fees, taxes and labour from the peasants. • All positions in churches, government and the army were opened to all citizens.
Declaration of the Rights of Man • This document set forth the ideals of the French Revolution. • It reflected people’s hopes for individual rights, freedom and equality. • Government now belonged to the people as a whole.
Women’s March on Versailles • Many Parisian women earned a living making hats and dresses for noblewoman. • However, hat makers and seamstresses found less work, as aristocratic families fled France. • Unemployment worsened as did hunger. • On October 5, 1789, thousands of women marched twelve miles in the pouring rain to Versailles to protest a shortage of bread and soaring food prices. • They stormed the palace and forced the royal family to return to Paris.
Further Reforms • Louis had no choice but to cooperate with the National Assembly. • Over the next two years, the Bourgeoisie made sweeping changes. • The following three drastic changes were:
1. Government Administration • The country was divided into departments governed by elected officials. • The metric system became standard. • The assembly made changes in land ownership. • Land was seized from the Church and of nobles who had fled. Much of this land was then sold to peasants.
2. Church Influence • The National Assembly tried to bring the Church and the clergy under state control. • In 1790, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed. • This law stated that bishops and priests were to be elected by popular vote and paid by the government.
3. Constitutional Government • Perhaps the most important act of the National Assembly, was the adoption of the Constitution in 1791. • This document limited the power of the king and set up an elected lawmaking body, the National Assembly. • To vote for representatives to the assembly, one had to be a male taxpayer. • This barred all women and about 30% of adult men.
Women in the Revolution • Women wanted better education for girls, fair laws dealing with marriage and divorce, and the right to sit on juries. • In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, an English writer, published “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”. • She stated that the rights of man should be extended to women. Better education should achieve this goal.
The Radical Stage of the Revolution • The Constitution of 1791 marked the end of the first stage(Moderate Stage) of the French Revolution. • The Bourgeoisie had made many gains: • Ended special privileges. • Limited the king’s powers. • Provided people a chance to take part in government. • Some felt the reforms had gone too far. • The Revolution entered the second stage marked by violence that rocked much of Europe.
The Flight of the Royal Family • The nobles, the king and queen, Marie Antoinette (a member of the Hapsburg family of Austria) thought the Revolution had gone too far. • She made plans for the royal family’s escape to the Austrian Netherlands, where Louis could work with other European monarchs on plans to crush the Revolution.
The Escape • Louis and his family slipped out of the palace on the night of June 20, 1791. • Guards arrested them before they could reach the border and returned them to Paris. • This cost Louis a loss of support. • Many people suspected the king and queen of plotting to overturn the recent reforms.
Deepening Divisions • Radicals, people who favor drastic change, grew in numbers, as doubts about the king increased. • These included many wage earners and small shopkeepers of Paris. • Were called sans-culottes (men wore long pants, instead of knee-length pants of the upper classes) • They wanted France to become a republic.
Deepening Divisions • The Parisian people gained fewer benefits than the Bourgeoisie and the peasants. • Wanted a greater voice in government, higher wages, lower food prices, and an end to food shortages. • The Bourgeoisie viewed the demands of the radicals as a threat. However, other members became leaders of the radicals. • They steered the Revolution in a more violent direction, bringing bloodshed to much of Europe.
War With Austria and Prussia • On April 20, 1792, France declared war on Austria. • Was partly due to worries that the family of Marie Antoinette who ruled Austria might help the nobles in a counterrevolution. • A movement to restore the old way of government. • Prussia backed Austria and the two countries invaded France.
The Invasion • Prussia and Austria threatened to destroy Paris if the king or queen were harmed. • Enraged, the Parisians rioted. A mob attacked the palace on Aug. 10, killing hundreds of guards and servants. • A radical government, the Commune, seized power and imprisoned the king. • They ordered elections to choose representatives for a new assembly to be called the National Convention. • For the first time, all adult males were granted suffrage, the right to vote.
The Revolution in Crisis • The declaration of war on Austria showed that the French Revolution had moved into a radical stage. • Its leaders were willing to take drastic action against all enemies. • The following are three major events that occurred:
1. Execution of the King and Queen • The National Convention met for the first time in September, 1792. • Its first act was to end the monarchy and declare France a republic. • The radical members decided that the royal family was a danger to the republic. They accused Louis of working with nobles and foreign agents.
Execution (Cont.) • The Convention, by one vote, sentenced Louis to death. • He was sent to the guillotine and beheaded on January 21, 1793. • Marie Antoinette met the same end later that year.
The Radical Stage • 1793 – 1794 • Also known as the ‘Reign of Terror’.
2. Expansion of The War • French armies recovered from early defeats, forcing the invading Austrians and Prussians to retreat. • Marched into the Austrian Netherlands. • Britain and Spain became allies of Austria and Prussia. • The once confident French Revolutionaries now found themselves at war with nearly all of Europe.
2. Expansion of The War (Cont.) • By the spring of 1793, the new French republic was in a state of crisis. • Foreign troops had invaded France and were marching toward Paris. • Food prices soared. • Hungry Parisians looted stores. • In western France, clergy and nobles led a counterrevolutionary movement.
