The French

Revolution1789

Absolute Monarchies

•All kingdoms in Europe had absolute monarchies (France, Russia, Spain, Austria, Prussia, etc.) EXCEPT:

»Britain»The Netherlands

French King Louis XVI & his Austrian wife Marie

Antoinette

• Louis XVI spent money on:–Unsuccessful wars to enlarge

France’s territory and –Versailles

…he and his father and grandfather had made France wealthy, but they spent all France’s money and emptied the treasury!

Versailles

The three estates

•First Estate:

the Catholic Clergy•less than 1% pop.

•Paid no taxes (“free gift” from

church)•Owned 10% of land

•Second Estate:

•Landowning nobles (“duke”

or “baron”)•Paid no taxes

•Owned 20% land

•Third Estate:•Bourgeoisie – “Middle class” lawyers, doctors, bankers, manufacturers,

shop keepers•Sans – coulottes: urban

poor• Peasant farmers• 98% population

• Owned 70% land

•Third Estate Taxes:

•½ income to gov’t•Royal taxes to king’s agent

•Feudal dues to nobles•Corvee (work tax)

•Tithes to catholic church

Socio-Economic Data, Socio-Economic Data, 17891789

The French Urban PoorThe French Urban Poor

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of Income Spent on Bread

1787

1788

a Urban Commoner’sUrban Commoner’sBudget:Budget:

– Food 80%Food 80%– Rent 25%Rent 25%– Tithe 10%Tithe 10%– Taxes 35%Taxes 35%– Clothing 20%Clothing 20%– TOTAL 170%TOTAL 170%

a King’s Budget:King’s Budget:– Interest 50%Interest 50%– Army 25%Army 25%– Versailles 25%Versailles 25%– Coronation 10%Coronation 10%– Loans 25%Loans 25%– Admin. 25%Admin. 25%– TOTAL 160%TOTAL 160%

Financial ProblemsFinancial Problemsin France, 1789in France, 1789

French Budget, 1774French Budget, 1774

American Revolution: 1776 - 1783

• Louis XVI sent troops & money to help American Revolutionaries

• Wanted to strike a blow against England – England was

France’s biggest rival in Europe

Why did French citizens feel the need to revolt?

• Disgruntled because of unfair tax situation

• Most 3rd Estate citizens lived mainly on bread– 1788 poor grain harvest – price of bread

doubled; many starved; Louis XVI didn’t do anything about it

– Spring 1788 – starved all winter & gave ½ income to gov’t

Why did French citizens feel the need to revolt?

• Louis XVI was a weak ruler– Borrowed money to finance his wars– Needed/ wanted to tax people more

• American Revolutionaries had successfully broken away from an unfair leader who taxed them without giving them representation in government– French citizens were INSPIRED!!!

Why did Louis XVI need money & tax French

citizens?• War effort in America• Expand French territory in Europe• Called Estates – General together

to approve a new tax– Dangerous move because they’d call

for new laws to be written

The Estates-General

= The French Legislature

King Louis XVI hadn’t called the Estates-General to meet for 175 years because he didn’t want them to pass any laws!

•When the king finally called the Estates-General together, the 3rd estate did something drastic…

Rigged Legislative System

• 1st Estate = 1 Vote• 2nd Estate = 1 Vote

– 1&2 Always voted together– 591 members total

• 3rd Estate = 1 Vote– 610 members– Called for a change in voting

system– led to the TENNIS COURT OATH

As soon as the Estates- General began to meet they declared themselves the

new Legislature of France and called themselves the National Assembly.

Louis XVI responded by sending in Swiss troops to break up the National

Assembly.

Meanwhile there were bread riots in the streets of Paris.

The tennis court oath

Tennis Court Oath

Signatures

Bastille: Fortress/ Prison for political prisoners

A French mob stormed the Bastille to get weapons to

defend the National Assembly

The Great Fear

•Rumors that the king’s troops were going to take revenge on the commoners for the storming of the Bastille.

•Instead, commoners went on a rampage, ransacking nobles’ manors and drove the king and queen from Versailles into Paris.

As a result, almost everyone died.

Bastille Day/ French Independence Day = July

14th

Changes made by the National Assembly August

1789 - 1791• Voted to end serfdom/ Feudalism & made

all citizens equal under the law• Freedom of speech• Freedom of religion

Changes made by the National Assembly August

1789 - 1791• Nobles gave up

exclusive hunting rights• Nobles gave up tradition

of paying no taxes• Nobles gave up right to

collect feudal dues

Changes made by the National Assembly August

1789 - 1791• Elected assembly to make all laws =

Legislative Assembly• Abolished provinces & created 83

“departments”• Set up a constitutional monarchy

“liberté,equalité,

fraternité”=

liberty,equality,

brotherhood

colors arered, whiteand blue

Declarationof theRightsof Man

1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man

First Article – “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.

Social distinctions can be founded only on the common

utility.”

Declaration of the Rights of Man

•“the aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural rights of man.”

•“…These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.”

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN

WAS THE FIRST ACT OF THE NEW LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, MAKING ALL PEOPLE EQUAL

UNDER THE LAW.

It was their first step towards a new constitution.

Declaration of the Rights of Woman, a letter written by Olympe de Gouges

to Queen Marie Antoinette

Vindication of the Rights of Woman

by Mary Wollstonecraft

The Legislature invents new terms!

Left, Right and Moderate

Have you ever heard these terms?...wondered

what they mean?...

Within the Context of the French Revolution:

• Left = wanted more radical changes (a republic)

• Right = conservatives opposed to more change in government; wanted a limited monarchy

• Moderate = middle of the road

Within the context of today’s politics:

• Left = more gov’t control of social and economic programs

• Right = less gov’t control of social and economic programs

• Moderate = middle of the road

The French

RevolutionPart 2

Louis XVI Makes A Mistake…

• Tried to flee w/ Marie Antoinette to Austrian Netherlands

• Postmaster recognized Louis at the border from his picture on the new French coins

• Louis & Marie were returned to Paris• This discredited the French Monarchy• King and Queen taken as prisoners by the

French mob

Angry Parisians storm the Palace

National Convention elected in 1792

• Legislative Assembly resigned• National Convention declared

a republic• Made king and queen “private

citizens”– Louis XVI tried for treason– Executed by guillotine

January 21, 1793

Execution of King Louis XVI, 1792

Robespierre…a leader in crisis

1793-94• Radical leader of

“Committee for Public Safety”

• Reign of Terror – years during his control of France

• Tried to wipe out all traces of France’s monarchy & nobility

“liberté,equalité,

fraternité”=

liberty,equality,

brotherhood

colors arered, whiteand blue

Guillotine – “Death to the Traitors!”

• Executed Marie Antoinette & other leaders of the French Republic– More than 40,000 killed under Robespierre

guillotine

political cartoonfrom the

French Revolution;piles of heads

represent each groupRobespierre targeted;

nobles, clergy,peasants…and the biggest pileis “the people”

“down with the tyrant!”

• Conspirators from the Left and Right of the National Convention accused Robespierre of treason

• Tried in the morning, executed in the evening

• Guillotined July 28, 1794

Robespierre being

guillotined

1794

Constitution of 1795

…a new constitution (yes, another one!) • made TWO branches of government:legislative branch (elected) executive branch- Directory of 5 (group of

5 moderates - oligarchy)(Power in the hands of bourgeoisie)

NapoleonBonaparte

• Popular military hero from Corsica called on to save France from the continuing chaos!

Corsica,the

islandwhere

Napoleon

was born

Young Napoleon Bonaparte

as aFrench general,

circa 1795

byGros

Napoleon Bonaparte• 1795

– Group of royalists threatened the palace where the NC was meeting

– Napoleon was told to defend the Palace– w/in minutes Napoleon opened fire w/

cannons; attacked and fled – became a national hero– Appointed commander of Army – Age

26

Napoleon’s First 5 Years

• Relatively peaceful because of his military leadership and victories– Most famous

general in Europe by 1797

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1800 by David

(notice names in rocks below)

• Consul- 2 people that jointly acted as Head of State in Ancient Rome

• Nov. 9, 1799 – ordered 500 troops to occupy legislature’s chamber and drive out elected members– Voted to end Directory of 5– Turned power of France to 3 Consuls

(Consulate)– Napoleon was one

Napoleon’s Rise to Power

1800• N. assumed title of “1st Consul”

– Coup d’etat– Asked French people to approve this

new title

1802

•Won a war against France’s neighbors: Britain, Russia, & Austria

•Napoleon asked French citizens to vote “yes” or “no” that he be named “Consul for Life”

•(result: Yes!)

1803

•Went to war against 3rd Coalition–Britain–Russia–Austria–Sweden–Prussia

•Won majority of battles & gained land for empire

Dec. 2, 1804• Crowned him self Emperor of France in

Notre Dame Cathedral

Detail of Napoleon and his wife, Josephine (by David)

Napoleonas

Napoleon I,Emperorof France

byDavid

Napoleon’s Empire (green) & his allies (purple) – name 4 countries not ruled

by Napoleon in 1810

Napoleon in War of 1812

• Napoleon wanted to conquer Britain

• Put a blockade on Britain’s Continental System of commerce

• British seized any ships in the Atlantic– Confiscated cargo and took it

back to England• Some of the ships were USA’s, so

the USA declared war on Britain

Napoleon’s Big Mistake

• Russian Czar kept selling grain to Britain, which prompted Napoleon to invade

• Scorched- Earth policy – Russian soldiers retreated instead of meeting French army– Burned crops and villages as they went– Napoleon unable to feed or supply his army &

forced to turn back

• Hitler made this same mistake in Russia during WWII

End of Napoleon’s Reign

• Exiled to Elba – island in Med. Sea• Louis XVIII crowned King of France –

Congress of Vienna• Battle of Waterloo (Belguim) 1815–

marked end of Napoleon’s rule– Exiled to St. Helena – Died 1821

St. Helena – site of Napoleon’s captivity

Napoleon’s Legacy•Napoleonic Code•Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

•1799-1815 all of Europe in chaos

•Napoleon tried to gain control of most of Europe

•All of Europe’s money, soldiers and metals used up to fight against France

Napoleonic Code

•First SUCCESSFUL code of law in Europe since Roman times (ended 1200 years before!)

•Established the “rule of law,” instead of the “rule of a monarch,” following the ideas of the revolution.

Napoleonic Code•Examples:–All laws have to be published–All male citizens are equal–“natural” right to property (government couldn’t take it away)

–Husbands are the head of the family, but divorce is allowed by mutual consent

Napoleonic Code

1.Abolished the 3 estates; all men were equal under the law

2.Granted religious freedom3.“all careers open to talent,”

not just the noble classes

Napoleonic Code

4. Took away women’s rights to own property

5. Re-introduced slavery into the French colonies in the Caribbean

6. Allowed government to censor publications like newspapers.

Napoleonic Code

•Applied to everyone EXCEPT Napoleon himself!