The French Revolution & Age of Napoleon

The French Revolution & Age of Napoleon World History Chapter 11

Background to Revolution • 1789 – What a year in world history! • Beginning of the United States of America • Beginning of the French Revolution • More radical & violent than the American Revolution • Attempted to create new political and social orders

Two Causes of the French Revolution • Long range cause: The social inequality within France caused by the traditional divisions within their society: the Estates • Immediate cause: the near collapse of the French government’s finances

1st Estate: The Clergy • Made up 0.5% of the French population • (total population: 27,000,000) • Owned 10% of French land • DID NOT pay the taille – France’s chief tax • Radical divisions existed among this estate: • Higher clergy share the interests of the nobility & often came from aristocratic families • Lower clergy (parish priests) were often poor and from the class of commoners

2nd Estate: The Nobility • Made up 1.5% of the population • Owned 25% of the land • Held major positions in the government, military, church, and judicial system • Also DID NOT pay the taille

3rd Estate: The Commoners • Three subdivisions of the 3rd estate existed • Made up 98% of the population • Owned 65% of the land • Paid 100% of the taille (they’re the only taxpayers!) • Among members of the 3rd estate there was a wide range of wealth, occupations, and education

Divisions of the 3rd Estate • Peasants • Farmers who were still mostly tied to local landlords for survival • Skilled craftspeople • Wage earners: carpenters, cobblers, smiths, etc. • Bourgeoisie • Middle class • Professionals: doctors, lawyers, bankers, merchants, etc. • Drawn to Enlightenment ideas

What are we going to eat??? • France’s population had grown by more than 7 million during the 1700’s after growing by less than 2 million people during the previous 200 years • The staple of the French diet was bread, which requires flour to make, which comes from grain, which must be farmed… • Two successive bad harvests in 1787 & 1788 had catastrophic consequences: • Food shortages • Skyrocketing food prices • Decrease in manufacturing • Rising unemployment • TOTAL MISERY for the poor of France…1/3 of the population! (9 million)

Financial Crisis • Uncontrolled government spending • Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette lived a lavish lifestyle at Versailles with their court • Fashion/jewelry/hairstyles • Court life: Food, wine, banquets, etc. • Excessive costs of war • Still had not recovered from the debt incurred during the Seven Year’s War (1756-1763) • Aid to the American Rebels vs. Great Britain

The King’s Response • To look for solutions to the financial crisis King Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General • The French Parliament • Composed of representatives from all 3 Estates • Clergy & Nobility had about 300 delegates each • 3rd Estate had nearly 600 total delegates • Vote by Order: Each estate could cast only 1 vote as an entire group (individual delegates did NOT get to vote) • It was the first meeting in 175 years! (1614)

The National Assembly • As the Estates General began, deputies of the 3rd Estate argued to change voting practices so that each delegate would cast their own vote • Louis XVI decided voting would remain by order • June 17, 1789 the 3rd Estate declared itself a National Assembly • Their goal was to draft a constitution for France

Tennis Court Oath • June 20, 1789 the National Assembly found their meeting place locked • They moved to an indoor tennis court & took an oath to continue meeting as a National Assembly until they had produced a French Constitution

Storming the Bastille • Louis XVI prepared to use force against the 3rd Estate • July 14, 1789 a mob of Parisians stormed the Bastille • An armory & prison in Paris • As a symbol of royal oppression, it was torn down brick by brick • Paris was abandoned to the rebels • The King was told he could no longer trust royal troops • The fall of the Bastille saved the National Assembly

Destruction of the Old Regime • Peasant revolts & fear of invasion during the summer of 1789 spurred the National Assembly to take action • August 4: abolished the rights of landlords & the financial privileges of the 1st and 2nd Estates

Declaration of the Rights of Man • Produced by the National Assembly on August 26, 1789 • Inspired by the: • U.S. Declaration of Independence & Constitution • English Bill of Rights • “Natural & imprescriptible rights of man” • Liberty • Property • Security • Resistance to oppression • Freedom & Equal Rights for all men • Merit system for holding public office • End to exemptions from taxation • Affirmed freedom of speech and the press

Declaration of the Rights of Women • Women were not included in the provisions of the Declaration of the Rights of Man • Writer Olympe de Gouges refused to accept this • She wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen • It insists women should have all the same rights as men • She was ignored by the National Assembly

King Louis XVI Concedes • Royal family remained isolated at Versailles & refused to accept the decrees of the National Assembly • October 5, 1789: March on Versailles • 1000’s of women, many armed marched from Paris to Versailles • Ran through the palace killing guards & looking for the queen • Louis XVI forced to accept their demands • Abolition of feudalism & financial privileges • Sign the Declaration of the Rights of Man • Royal family returned to Paris as prisoners of the Revolution

1st Attack on the Church • National Assembly seized & sold church lands • New Civil Constitution of the Clergy • Bishops & Priests were to be elected positions • They would be paid by the state (French gov’t) • French gov’t controlled the church • Catholics become enemies of the Revolution

Constitution of 1791 • Completed by the National Assembly, thus upholding the oath they took on June 20, 1789 • Set up a limited monarchy • King is still the head of state • Laws are made by an elected legislature • Requirements to vote for the legislature: • Male • Older than 25 • Pay a certain amount of taxes

The Paris Commune • Losses vs. Austria & economic troubles led to a new radical group in Paris – the Paris Commune • Organized an attack on the Legislative Assembly: • Took Louis XVI hostage & suspended the monarchy • New national convention to decide the nation’s future • Universal Male Suffrage – ALL males could vote for their representatives at this new convention • Governmental power passed into the hands of the Commune • Many members of the commune called themselves sans-culottes: those without knee pants; to be identified with the working poor

Radical Revolution & Reaction Chapter 11 section 2

A Radical Shift • Under Georges Danton the Paris Commune sought revenge on anyone who aided the king or resisted the changes • 1000’s were arrested & massacred

A New National Convention • Began meeting in September, 1792 • First Action: Abolish the monarchy & est. the French Repubic • Members of the convention split into factions over the issue of Louis XVI’s fate • Factions: groups connected by a shared belief or opinion within a larger group

The Emerging Factions • Both factions are members of the Jacobin club – a large network of political groups throughout the country • Girondins: represented the provinces (areas outside of the cities) & wanted to keep the King alive • Mountain: represented the interests of radicals in Paris & wanted to execute Louis XVI for treason • Louis XVI was beheaded by the guillotine on Jan. 21, 1793

New Crisis: Foreign & Domestic • National Convention didn’t rule all of France • Peasants in Western France & those who lived in major provincial cities refused to accept the Convention’s authority • Executing Louis XVI & Marie angered the rest of Europe’s monarchs • By late spring 1793 an informal coalition prepared to invade France • Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, GB, Dutch Republic • If France were defeated it would be the end of the revolution, revolutionaries, and restore the old regime

The French Revolution & Age of Napoleon