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1400
Ancien Regime
When: Prior to the French Revolution
What: When all French people were subjects of the king
Who: The king and three estates: 1st estate (clergy), 2nd estate (aristocrats) and 3rd estate.
Why: the king had absolute power
Outcomes: divided the people, caused spite towards the king -
The Enlightenment
When: During the late 17th to early 18th century
What: philosophers and intellectuals spreading their ideas and brought on ideas for the French peasants
Who: e.g. Voltaire and Rousseau
Why: to establish a civil society, to promote republican ideas, to promote new ideas based on reason
Outcome: the philosophers were part to blame for the revolution occurring. -
Economics Problems
When: from 1731 onwards
What: France was in debt to many countries and was running out of money. The 1st and 2nd estates taxed the 3rd estate.
Who: The 3rd estate was suffering from sever economic strain caused by the other estates.
Why: France's debt, paired with failing crops and high taxes
Outcomes: Anger and desperation spread through the French people that led to the revolution. -
Estates-General
When: 5 May 1789 to 9 July 1789
What: gathering of representatives of all estates to vote and make changes in France.
Who: Louis XVI, members of the three estates
Why: gather to discuss how to fix the financial crisis
Outcomes: highlighted the unfairness between the estates and inspired the creation of the National Assembly -
National Assembly
When: 17 June 1789 to 9 July 1789
What: formed by the 3rd estate as a revolutionary assembly
Who: 3rd estate
Why: they demanded one man=one vote but was turned down by the other estates -
Tennis Court Oath
What: the 3rd estate took an oath not to separate until they drafted a constitution for France
Who: 3rd estate
Why: response to being locked out of their usual meeting hall -
Storming of the Bastille
What: Bastille was mostly used as a state prison.
Who: 3rd estate and Governor de Launay
Why: 3rd estate was worried the French army was preparing for an attack, so they took over the Hotel des Invalides in Paris to get weaponry. They didn't have gun powder so they went to the Bastille.
Outcomes: led to the overthrow of King Louis XVI and French Revolution; 100 killed from 3rd estate; Governor de Launay and 3 officers killed -
Great Fear
When: 22 July 1789 to 6 August 1789
What: a period of fear and acts of self-defense/attacks on chateaus
Who: peasants
Why: already unrest due to previous grain shortage; rumour that the aristocrats had a plot to starve or burn out the population
Outcomes: chateeaux destroyed, documents destroyed, people killed, National Assembly abolished the Ancien Regime and dues paid by peasants to seigneur (lords) -
August Decrees
What: National Assembly moved to abolish seigneurialism (a form of feudalism) and unify France
Who: National Assembly, aristocracy
Why: increase pressure for social reform from the common people led to this change
Outcomes: after this, 19 decrees were debated and drafted in the National Assembly; most peasants refused to pay the feudal dues, taxes and tithes after this date. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens
What: National Assembly issued the declaration which defined individual and collective rights
Who: National Assembly
Why: influenced by the doctrine of natural right, stating that the rights of man are held to be universal
Outcomes: freedom of speech and press were declared; arbitrary arrests outlawed; asserted the principles of popular sovereignty (the idea that the government is created by, and gains its power from, its people, and that it must operate in conformity to the will of the people) -
The October Days /October March/ Women's March
When: 5-6 October 1789
What: several thousands of Parisians marched on Versailles to pressure the king. 24 hrs of tension, intimidation and some violence
Why: some were hungry and hoped the king would fix bread
shortages, some wanted retribution against the king's soldiers or his wife. Others wanted the king to leave Versailles and return to Paris - to be away from the corrupting influences of the aristocracy.
Outcome: king agreed to leave and accompany them back to Paris -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
What: an act to regulate the Catholic Church in France; to eliminate corruption and abuses within the Church; reduced no. of bishops/archbishops; clergy swore an other of loyalty to France
Why: they wanted the church to be free of corruption, free of foreign control and accountable to both the nation and its people
Outcomes:church land was confiscated and became public property. state took responsibility for paying clerical salaries. -
Constitution of 1791
What: citizens/voters defined as males over 25 who paid annual taxes equivalent to at least three days’ wages; set a Constitutional Monarchy, "king of the French" - only had limited powers
Why: a new system of government was required when the Ancien Regime ended
Outcome: creation of the Legislative Assembly - the national parliament of France; only lasted a year as the revolution became more radical. -
Flight to Varennes
When: 20-21 June 1791
What: When King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to escape from Paris; arrested in Varenne
Why: fearing radicalism of the revolution and actions against the church; wanted to organise a counter-revolution of loyal troops at Montmedy
Outcomes: sent back to Paris, charged with treason -
War with Austria and Prussia
When: Austria April 1792; Prussia June 1792
Outcome: contributed to the atmosphere of uncertainty as there was further division between those who supported and those who opposed these conflicts. -
Attack on the Tuileries/ The 10 August
What: an inserrectionary action by republician soldiers and the people of Paris who stormed the Tuileries Palace
Why: they wanted to dispose the of the king and the absolute monarchy; Louis XVI had vetoed radical measures proposed by the Assembly; increased tension as Prussian and Austrian armies entered France promising to protect the monarchy
Outcome: end of the monarchy; 600 of king's Swiss guards killed -
September Massacres
When: 2-6 September 1792
What: series of killings of prisoners in Paris
Why:fear that foreign and royalist armies would attack Paris; fear that prisoners would be freed to join the royalist armies
Outcome: more than 1000 prisoners killed -
National Convention
What: first French government organised as a republic; a new constitution with no monarchy
Why: created after the attack on the Tuileries -
First French Republic
When: 22 September 1792 - 1804
What: new government without a monarchy -
Reign of Terror
When: Between 1793-1794
What: Some people believe it began after the execution of Louis XVI,others see the creation of the Revolutionary Tribunal or the consolidation of the Committee of Public Safety as the starting point.
Who: Robespierre was considered the main architect of the Reign of Terror.
Why: various reason given e.g. fear, to control counterrevolutionaries etc.
Outcome: approx. 40 000 people were killed in France. It saw the suspension of many civil liberties. -
Committee of Public Safety
When: April 1793- 1795
What: a provisional government. its role - protecting the newly established republic against foreign attacks and internal rebellion
Who: 12 leaders including Robespierre, Marat and Daton.
Why: the newly constitution was set aside so the could focus on the dangers of a coalition of European nations and counter-revolutionary forces.
Outcome: Reign of Terror -
Execution of King Louis XVI
Who- King Louis XVI
Why- The king was found guilty of conspiring against the state and condemned to death.
Outcome/s- His death deepened the rift between republicans and monarchists inside France and it also brought other European countries into the war against the Revolution. -
Revolutionary Calendar
What: a new calendar was created and implemented during the French Revolution. It was used by the French government for about 12 years
Who: Presented by Pierre Sylvain
Why: Was designed to remove all religious and royalist influences from the calendar
Outcome: created a more rational and scientific calendar -
Thermidorian Reaction
When: 1794-1795
What:Robespierre was toppled from power and a conservative reaction against Robespierre and the Jacobins began
Who: Paul Barra, Jean-Lambert Tallien, Joesph Fouche
Why: a parliamentary revolt initiated to go against and topple the Reign of Terror
Outcome: it purged the government of Jacobin influence and attempted to restore some of the political, social and economic values of 1789 -
The Directory
What: a group of men were chosen through legislature to prevent too much power being concentrated into one man's hands
Who: a group of 5 men who held the executive power
Why: Was created in reaction to puritanical dictators
Outcome: focused on ending the excesses of the Jacobin Reign of Terror -
Coup 18 Brumaire: Napoleon
What: Coup d'etat that overthrew the system of government under the Directory
Who: Napoleon Bonaparte
Why; to end the French Revolution