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Jacques Necker
Banker from Geneva who served as a minister for Louis XVI. Attempted to reform with changes in taxes, loans, and finance in general. His dismissal was part of the reason the Bastille was stormed. -
Jean-Paul Marat
Marat was a large influence in the rise of the Jacobin Club and the downfall of monarchy. Partnered with Robespierre to pursue beliefs. Jean-Paul Marat believed in the preventation of aristocrats. -
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes
Sieyes was a french churchman and theorist. He played a major role in Napoleans rise to power. Sieyes made a pamphlet reguarding the 3rd estate and the nation. This pamphlet eventually got him elected as a third estate representative. -
Olympe de Gouges
French social reformer who tried getting representation to lesser valued people, such as orphan children and unwed women. She wrote her own version of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. She was one of the first people to really fight for women's equaity. -
Louis XVI
Louis XVI was the last absolute monarch of France. Louis was married to Marie Antoinette. His poor spending habits and money management led the country to protest, causing Louis to be overthrown and executed. -
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France alongside Louis XVI. She lived a very lavish lifestyle which didn't help Frances money problems. She was famously known for saying “Let them eat cake,” regarding the poor who didn’t have food. -
Maximilien Robespierre
Robespierre was a radical democratic figure of the revolution. He was once president of the Jacobin club of Paris. Robespierre believed in granting all men the right to vote. -
Marquis De Lafayette
Fought in American Revolution, came back to France to become commander of the national guard. Lafayette helped start the French Revolution. He drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man. -
Georges Danton
Danton served as the Minister of Justice in France. He was one of the founders of the Committee of public safety. Credited as chief force in overthrown of French monarchy. -
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon is known as one of the greatest military leaders in the modern world. He served as Emperor of France from 1802 until 1815. Napoleon was a very strategic, ahead-of-his-time military leader. -
Charlotte Corday
Corday is most notabily known for the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat. She believed he was threatening the republic and that if he were dead, violence would be resolved. She stabbed him in the bath of his home. -
Jacobins
Major radical political faction of French Revoltion. Violence was commonly used in reformational movement by Jacobins, which sparked the terror. This group heavily revolted against governmet officals. -
Attack on the Bastille
National Assembly led a siege on the bastille including a ton of civilians, successfully storming the old building which was currently being used as a prison. This event sparked the beginning of the French Revolution. It was a great show of the strength of the people to overpower the monarchy. -
Sans-Culottes
The Sans-Culottes were the lower class of France during the revolution. These people were known for using mobs and revolts to get what they wanted politically. The common people of France made up this group, so they had a lot of people to intimidate the government with. -
Directory
The directory was a 5 member group made to govern France. This group was unsuccessful in maintaining control, so Napolean overthrew it 4 years later after being formed. The directory was used in the First French Republic.