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THE IMPACT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Enlightenment principles and the American Revolution gave the bourgeoisie new ideas to help them confront absolutism and the stratified society. -
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS
The Third Estate aspired to profound social reforms, they opposed to the heavy taxes and rents imposed on them by the feudal lords. Due to the poor harvest the manarchy's lack of money proposed that the priviledges begin to pay taxes and they refused to accepted them. -
ESTATES GENERAL
The Estates General met in Versailles in May 1789 in which the Third Estate decided to leave the meeting because the privileges clases refused to pay taxes. The Third Estate formed the National Assembly and took the Tennis Court Oath ,promising to create a new Constitution. -
THE STORMED OF THE BASTILLE
The people of Paris support the Asembly's proposals and, on July 14 they stormed the Bastille. The revolution spread to the countryside were nobles homes were burnt. (The Great Fear) -
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE
The National Constituent Assembly introduced several measures that eliminated the Old Regime:
- Abolition of the tithe and feudal rights.
-Publication of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
-Writting of the first Constitution of France. -
The Legislative Assembly
The king accepted the new Constitution and a new government was vote, the Legislative Assembly which was a moderate government.It only lasted one year due to the intense opposition of the Nobles and Clergy(against the new reforms) and the radical revolutionaries
(wanted deeper and more democratic change). -
FLIGHT TO VARENNES
In June of 1791 the Royal Family tried to leave the country but they were taken prisoners. -
THE GIRONDIN CONVENTION (1792/93)
The Girondins, the more moderate bourgeoisie, controlled the Republic. A new assembly, The National Convention was established due to the execution of Louis XVI and his wife for treason. For this reason monarchies in Europe formed an Absolutist coalition against France. And in France priviledge classes organised royalist plots. -
THE POWER OF THE JACOBINS
The war against the First Coalition made people think about the revolution. The Jacobins took advantage of this and made with the power in June 1793. -
THE REIGN OF TERROR OF ROBESPIERRE
Robespierre was the jacobin dictator of France, during his reign the Committee of Public Safety judged and executed more than 20.000 people by guillotine, this is the reason why it is known as the Reign Terror.
Robespierre started started to lose support in 1974, he was arrested and executed in the guillotine by some revolutionaries. -
THE DIRECTORY (1794/99)
The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the revolution and it entered its final phase. A new constitution in 1795 granted the executive power to a collegial government, known as the Directory and restored census sufrage. -
THE APPEARANCE OF NAPOLEON
The Directory was unstable because it faced opposition frem the aristocracy which,sought to re-establised the monarchy and recover its privileges, and the common people, who supported the return of the Jacobins. This why Napoleon Bonaparte organised a coup d' état
in 1799 that ended the Directory and created the Consulate -
THE CONSULATE(1799-1804)
In 1799 Napoleon supported by a large part of the burgeoisie was named consul, and the Consulate's rule began. This was a period of autocratic and authoritarian rule. The constitution of 1800 of the new political system didn't include the separation of powers or a declaration of rights so the liberties were very limited and public opinion was censured.
For other part Napoleon allow exiles to return if they accepted the new goverment and establish a commercial code to stimulate the economy. -
THE NAPOLEONIC EMPIRE(1804-1815)
Napoleon began his conquest of Europe in 1803 and was crowned emperor by the Pope a year later. His large army and the new military tactics let him defeat most of the European monarchies. After his victory over Austria and Russia at Austerlitz in 1806, his troops became unstoppable. In 1808, the French invaded Spain. In 1811 the Napoleonic Empire had reached its zenith, now France controlled most of Europe. -
THE DEFEAT OF NAPOLEON
The opposition to Napoleon grew among the conquered and allied peoples of Europe, who had a sense o nationalism.
- The defeat in Russia: Napoleon sended an army of 500.000 men to Russia in 1812,after the winter only a fifth part of men returned. -
NAPOLEON'S EXILE
In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo against Graet Britain and Prussia he was sent to exile, into the island of Saint Helena where he died in 1821.
In France monarchy was restored, there the current king Louis XVIII issued a new constitution and kept the Napoleonic Code.