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Divided French Society/Financial Troubles
France still clung to an outdated social system that had emerged in the Middle Ages. France was divided in to either one of the three social classes or estates. the first estate was made up of the clergy, the second estate was made up of the nobles, and the thrid estate comprised the vast majority of the population. During this time period the French clergy still enjoyed enormous wealth and privilege. One of the causes of economic troubles was of deficit spending financially. -
Louis XVI Calls The Estates General
France tottered on the verge of bankruptcy. Nobles fearful of taxes were denouncing royal tyranny. In preparation, Louis XVI had all 3 estates prepare notebooks listing their grieving. They wanted for reforms such as fairer taxes, freedom of the press, or regular meetings of the estates general. When reform minded clergy and nobles joined the assembly, Louis XVI grudgingly accepted it. -
Parisians storm the Bastille
The city of Paris seized the spotlight from the National Assembly meeting in Versailles. More than 800 Parisians assembled outside the Bastille. The crowd demanded weapons and gunpowder believed to be stored there. The commander of the Bastille refused to open the gates and open fire on the crowd. In this battle many people were killed. The people broke through the gaurds and killed the commander. The Bastille was a symbol to the people of France representing years of abuse by the monarchy. -
Revolt/National Assembly Acts
Nobles in the National Assembly voted to end their own privileges They gave up their old manorial dues, exclusive hunting rights, special legal status, and exemption from taxes. Feudalism is abolished. The National Assembly turned the reforms of Augest 4 into a law. The Assembly issued on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the citizen. -
Threats from abroad
Marie Antoinette and others had been urging the King to escape their humiliating situation.Louis finally gave in. The king was disguised as a servant in a coach, but the attempt did not work. Louis XVI was taken back to Paris and he took a dash towards the border and showed that he was a traitor to the revolution. -
Civil War
The failed attempt by Louis XVI brought further hostile rumblings from abroad. In August 1791, the King of Prussia and the emperor of Austria issued the Declaration of Pilnitz. They threatened to intervene to protect the French Monarchy. The Jacobins used pamphlteers and sympathatic newspaper editors to advance the republican cause. The sans-culottes pushed the revolution into more radical action. -
Monarchy is abolished
A crowd of Parisians stormed the royal palace of the Tuileries and killed the kings gaurds. The royal family fled to the Legislative Assembly escaping before the mob arrived. Suffarage was to be extended to all male citizens. The queen Marie was also killed later on and the popular press celebrated her death. -
Robespierre and the Reign of Terror
Danger threatened France on all sides. The country was at war with much of Europe, including Britian, Netherlands, spain, and Prussia. Robespierre quickly rose to the leadership of the Committiee of Public Safety. The engine of the Terror was the Guillotine. In a year the Terror consumed those who initiated it. Robespierre was arrested and the next day he was killed. After him the exectutions slowed dramatically. -
Spread of Nationalism
Revolution and war gave the French people a strong sense of national identity. Nationalism spread throughout France. France was a nation in arms. From the port city of Marseilles troops marched to a rousing new song. It urged the "children of the fatherland" to march against the "bloody banner of tyranny." -
Third Stage of the Revolution
In reaction to the Terror the Revolution entered its third stage. The Constitution of 1795 set up a fiveman directory and a two-house legislative elected by male citizens of property. Peace was made with Prussia and Spain, but war with Austia and Great Britian continued. As chaos threatened, politicians turned to Napoleon Bonaparte. The politicians planned to use him to advance their own goals. Before long he would outwit them all to become ruler of France.
