FCPS World II SOL Standards: WHII 6e, 8a and 8b FCPS HS Social Studies © 2014 The French Revolution, Napoleon, and Congress of Vienna (1770-1850 C.E.) You Mean the Revolution Was More than a Bunch of Heads Being Chopped Off? e ird Estate carrying the king, nobles and Catholic Church on its back Source: http://www.mrallsophistory.com/revision/the-origins-of-the-french-revolution.html Causes and Events of the French Revolution By the late 1700s, France was on the edge of revolution. The French people were inspired by both the American Revolution and the Enlightenment ideas. The country was struggling due to debt, famine, and inequality. The lower class, known as the third estate, was being taxed unfairly and felt they deserved equal say in the government. On July 14, 1789, a group of angry peasants looking for weapons began the French Revolution by Storming the Bastille, an old prison. The third estate went on to take over the government and made major changes to France. Their goal was to get rid of the old system of monarchy and nobles and establish democracy. Revolutionaries, under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, arrested and executed King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. This began a time known as the Reign of Terror during which those who opposed the Revolution were executed with the guillotine. Over 15,000 people died during the Reign of Terror. While the Revolution did not achieve all of its goals of liberty and equality for all, it did succeed in encouraging secularism, nationalism and democracy. e national boundaries within Europe as set by the Congress of Vienna, 1815 Source: Wikimedia Commons; http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/commons/0/05/Map_congress_of_vienna.jpg Congress of Vienna After Napoleon’s defeat, the European leaders wanted to establish peace and stability in Europe, but there was disagreement about how to do that. Some leaders and politicians, known as conservatives, wanted to keep traditional ideas such as monarchy and divine right. Others, known as liberals, liked change such as democracy and equality. The European leaders held a series of meetings called the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. At the meetings, conservatives got their way. Napoleon crosses the St. Bernard, by Jacques- Louis David (Berlin), 1800 Source: Source: Wikimedia Commons; http:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Napol%C3%A9on_ Bonaparte#mediaviewer/File:Jacques-Louis_David_007.jpg Napoleon’s Rise and Fall The French people grew tired of the revolution’s violence. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, a successful French general, promised to end the chaos and restore the glory of France. The French people willingly accepted him as their leader. Napoleon began fixing the economy, government, education and much more. His longest lasting impact was establishing a legal system known as the Napoleonic Code. This system applied to all French people and stressed equality. Napoleon declared himself emperor of France and attempted to conquer neighboring European countries in a series of wars known as the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon conquered a large part of Europe, but was eventually defeated. One of the major effects of Napoleon’s desire to control Europe was increasing nationalism in conquered lands. One decision was to restore the monarchies of Europe. Another decision was to balance power in Europe by making sure no one country became too powerful. They did this by changing the map of Europe and redrawing boundaries.