-
Period: to
Divided French Society
The French were spilt into three social classes or estates. The first estates was called the clergy which was filled church and royal leaders. The second estate was called the nobility which was filled with nobles who worked for the king. The third estate was a large amount of the French people and it consisted of everyone else. The first two estates had many privileges and paid no taxes while the third estate was forced to serve in the military and were taxed for everything. -
Period: to
Deficit Spending
Louis XLV left France in deep debt from all the wars he had funded. The costs also rose and by 1789, most of the taxes were used to pay for their debt. Bad harvests made it even worse especially for the peasants. King Louis XV recruited a finical advisor, Jacques Necker. He urged the king to tax the first two estates. Those estates immediately forced the king to dismiss him because they enjoyed their lavish lifestyles and privileges. -
Period: to
National Assembly Acts (Part 3)
The government punished the nobles whom rejected it. The constitution was finally completed in 1791. It changed the government drastically but it insured that everyone would be equal. Soon after, the king, Marie Antoinette and the royal children dressed as servants and tried to flee but was caught. To the people, he looked like a traitor to the Revolution. -
Period: to
National Assembly Acts (Part 2)
Soon, anger turned to action once again as six thousand female laborers marched to Versailles, demanding bread. They refused to leave without the king and the king was forced to go, bringing the royal family with them. The National Assembly followed the king there and continued to solve the financial crisis. They decided to sell Church lands which caused revolt by the bishops and priests. The pope condemned it and many religious peasants rejected it as well. -
Period: to
National Assembly Acts (Part 1)
Rumors spread rapidly about attacks on villages and the people began very fearful, causing panic. They began to attack nobles and steal food from storehouses but t eventually died down. Meanwhile, the National Assembly was still meeting and the nobles finally gave up their privileges. This lead to the writing of the Constitution of Man which proclaimed that all men were to be treated equally. Unfortunately, this constitution didn't include women. -
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General
With France on the verge of bankruptcy, Louis XVI calls the Estates-General to meet in Versailles. As delegates from each estate began to meet, it soon became apparent that the third estate was always outvoted. After no progress was made, the third estate said they represented the people of France but were locked out of the meeting hall a few days later. They met on the tennis court next to the meeting hall instead and swore to meet until they established a fair constitution. -
Parisians Storm the Bastille
More than 800 Parisians surrounded the Bastille demanding weapons after rumors about royal troops occupying the capital were spread. The commander of the Bastille refused to let them in and opened fire on the crowd. A battle broke out soon after and the crowd broke through the defenses. They killed the commander along with five other guards and released the prisoners inside. This event was a symbol of fighting back against the abuse from the monarchy. -
Threats from Abroad
The talk of revolution in France frightened the other countries of change in their countries. Europe increased border patrol to keep out the "French plague". The King of Prussia and emperor of Austria issued a declaration, threatening to intervene to protect French monarchy. The French prepared for war even though the declaration was mostly a bluff. -
Period: to
Radicals Take Over (Part 1)
The legislative Assembly takes office in October but barely lasts a year because of the crises in France and abroad. In Paris, sans-culottes who were the working class people, pushed for the revolution to become more radical. They wanted a republic instead of a monarchy. The Jacobins, middle class lawyers and intellectuals who were part of the Legislative Assembly, agreed with them and created newspapers to advance republic cause. Jacobins soon had the upper hand in the Assembly. -
Period: to
Radicals Take Over (Part 2)
The Jacobins were eager to spread the revolution and declared war on Austria, Prussia, Britain and a few other states as soon as words of war began to spread between French revolutionaries and European monarchs. France expected an easy win. -
Period: to
Monarchy is Abolished
As Prussian forces began to cut down French recruits, the Parisians began to take action. In August 1792, they stormed the royal palace of Tuileries and killed the guard as the royal family fled. Soon after, they attacked prisons that held nobles and tortured and killed over 1,200 of them. The Assembly took action by giving the right to vote to all men then voted to abolish monarchy and establish a republic. The king and his wife were executed around that time. -
Nationalism Spreads
Nationalism spread throughout the country during the revolution. France now had their own people running and defending their country. Because of this strong sense of pride in their country, the French people devoted many dances, songs and festivals to honor thier country. -
Period: to
Robespierre and the Reign of Terror (Part 1)
At this time, France was at war with much of Europe, the Netherlands, Spain and Prussia. To deal with this, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety who had almost absolute power to save to revolution. They created a tax to contribute to war effort but were put to trial for it. French recruits went to defend the republic and soon over ran the Netherlands and invaded Italy while peasant revolts were crushed in France. -
Period: to
Robespierre and the Reign of Terror (Part 2)
Robespierre soon rose to lead the Committee back in France to help battle the counterrevolutionaries. He was one of the main leaders of the Reign of Terror because he believed that criminals needed to die in order to start their new government. Seven thousand people who supposedly resisted the revolution were killed. Within a year of this, the Convention feared for their own lives so they arrested and executed Robespierre on July 27, 1794. -
Period: to
Third Stage of the Revolution
After the Reign of Terror died down, the Convention wrote another consitution called The Constitution of 1795. It outlined their new government setup. The Directory held most of power during this time. They quickly surpressed riots due to bread prices but war with Austria and Britain as well as revivial of royalist feelings threatened chaos. Politicians turned to Napoleon, a popular military hero, to advance with their own goals.
