The French Revolution Part A

1. The French RevolutionPart A

2. In brief, what was the French Revolution? • It was a period (roughly 1789-1799) in which elements of the French people overthrew and destroyed the Ancien Regime (i.e. the old French royal and medieval ruling system), and replaced it with new governing systems designed to re-make French society along more enlightened and modern lines.

3. 2. What was one of the major factors that brought about the French Revolution? • By the 1780s, the French government under King Louis XVI was in financial disarray due to massive debt and a tax system that placed great burden on the common (and often poor) people

4. 3. What was another factor that brought about the French Revolution? • During the late 1780s, France suffered more than one bad grain harvest, and as such, bread prices increased. 4. Why were grain/bread prices so important? • For many French commoners, bread was the staple food item in their respective diets • High bread prices meant that many commoners could not afford enough to eat

5. 5. What were some reasons why the French government was in such deep debt by the late 1780s? • As far back as Louis XIV’s reign (1643-1715), France had borrowed a lot of money in order to fight a series of wars • Under Louis XVI (1774-1793), France went into further debt while fighting on the American side during the American Revolution. • To an extent, the French people shouldered large financial burden on behalf of American independence

6. 6. By 1789, King Louis XVI had called together what? • The Estates-General, an assembly of representatives of Frances three social classes 7. Why did Louis XVI call for the Estates-General to assemble, something that had not been done since the 1600s? • He wanted the Estates-General to find a solution to France’s financial problems

7. 8. In French society in general, what was the First Estate? • The Catholic Clergy (e.g. Bishops, Abbots, Priests, Monks, etc.) 9. In French society in general, what was the Second Estate? • The Nobility (e.g. Aristocrats such as Princes, Dukes, Counts, Barons, etc.)

8. 10. In French society, what was the Third Estate? • The Common People (Those who were not Clergy or Nobles) • The Third Estate made up the vast majority of the French population

9. 11. What was one of the subgroups of the Third Estate? • The Peasants (Those who worked the land in farming, but often did not own any land) • The Peasantry often lived from day-to-day with little extra wealth and was quite vulnerable to the consequences of bad crops and high food prices

10. 12. What was another subgroup of the Third Estate? • Wage Laborers (These were folks who lived off of earned wages, often in cities) • Like the peasants, wage laborers were vulnerable to the negative consequences of high bread prices

11. 13. What was another subgroup of the Third Estate? • The Bourgeoisie (These were property-owning merchants and prosperous wage-earners who made their livings in the world of commerce) • The Bourgeoisie was made up of a range of people in terms of wealth in that some were more prosperous than other members of the Bourgeoisie

12. 14. In many ways, the French Bourgeoisie made up what? • An emerging middle class that was neither Aristocrat nor peasant 15. When the Estates-General convened in the spring of 1789, representatives of the Third Estate largely reflected the sentiments of whom? • The Bourgeoisie