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The Beginning of the French Revolution
The French Revolution started in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s making it about a decade filled with political turmoil and terror. King Louis XVI was overthrown and many people were executed including himself and his wife, Marie Antoinette. -
Background Information of the Bastille
The Bastille was first constructed to protect Paris from English attacks. It was then converted into a prison in the 17th century and were reserved for upper class members, politicians, and spies. Many of the prisoners did not have a trial and were locked up by the orders of the king. The grand structure was a 100 feet tall and surrounded by a moat more than 80 feet wide. -
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Citations
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/french-revolutionaries-storm-bastille http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/196/storming-of-the-bastille/ http://sciencepole.com/french-constitution-1791/ http://www.andreazuvich.com/history/jacobean-jacobites-and-jacobins/ http://www.history.com/topics/napoleon -
Storming of the Bastille
On July 13, rebels which mainly consisted of peasants, attacked the soldiers with their muskets who were guarding the Bastille. On July 14, protesters in Paris started to gather around the Bastille in order to collect weapons and gunpowder. -
Storming of the Bastille (continued)
People across Paris started to revolt against the upper class citizens such as tax collectors, landlords, and nobles by stealing and burning down their homes. The National Constituent Assembly abolished feudalism on August 4, 1789. The document that eliminated the feudal system was known as the "death certificate of the old order." -
Drafting a Constitution
The National Constituent Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen which stated the ideas of democratic principles that were based off the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau who lived from 1772 to 1778. The document declared to replace the feudal system with one that was based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty, and representative government. -
Drafting a Constitution (continued)
Creating a constitution for France came with many challenges to overcome for the National Constituent Assembly during troublesome economic times. For many months the assembly struggled with how to transform the shape and expanse of the country's new political landscape. In the end the assembly finally adopted a formal constitution on September 3, 1971 which established a constitutional monarchy in which the king had the power to veto and be able to appoint ministers. -
Political Crisis
In 1793, the newly elected Legislative Assembly were involved in many European wars and faced divisions within the National Convention of France. Extremist Jacobins who were a group of revolutionaries attacked France and took control of the country by implementing the establishment of a new calendar and the eradication of the Christian faith. They also created the Reign of Terror which was almost a year long period in which enemies of the revolution were killed by the guillotine. -
Napoleon's Rise to Power
On August 22, 1975 the National Convention supported a new constitution that established France's first bicameral legislature. The five-member Directory, who were appointed by the parliament, carried the executive power. Royalists and Jacobins did not like the new regime but were not able to voice their opinions due to the army led by the young and successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte who lived from 1769 to 1821. -
Napoleon's Rise to Power (continued)
The Directory dealt with financial crises, popular discontent, inefficiency, and political corruption. The directors were dependent on the military to maintain their authority and gave much of their power to the generals. The people of France were frustrated and Napoleon got rid of the Directory. He appointed himself as France's first consul which marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonoic era, in which the country would eventually rule most of Europe.
