The French Revolution
Jan 11, 2016
The French Revolution
Absolutism• Absolute monarchs didn’t
share power with a counsel or parliament
• “Divine Right of Kings”
King James I of England
The Seigneurial System• Feudal method of land
ownership and organization
• Peasant labor
Receiving a seigneurial grant
Louis XIV• Ruled from 1643–1715• Reduced the power of
the nobility• Fought four wars• Greatly increased
France’s national debt
The Seven Years’ War
• Louis XV• War fought in Europe, India, North America• France ends up losing some of its colonial possessions• Increases French national debt
Louis XV French and English troops fight at the battle of Fort St. Philip on the island of Minorca
The Three Estates
• First Estate: clergy• Second Estate:
nobility• Third Estate: the
rest of society• The Estates General
Cartoon depicting the three Estates
Socio-Economic Data, 1789Socio-Economic Data, 1789
The French Urban PoorThe French Urban Poor
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
% of Income Spent on Bread
1787
1788
Urban Commoner’sUrban Commoner’sBudget:Budget:
– Food 80%Food 80%
– Rent 25%Rent 25%
– Tithe 10%Tithe 10%
– Taxes 35%Taxes 35%
– Clothing 20%Clothing 20%
– TOTAL 170%TOTAL 170%
King’s Budget:King’s Budget:– Interest 50%Interest 50%
– Army 25%Army 25%
– Versailles 25%Versailles 25%
– Coronation 10%Coronation 10%
– Loans 25%Loans 25%
– Admin. 25%Admin. 25%
– TOTAL 160%TOTAL 160%
Financial Problems in France, 1789Financial Problems in France, 1789
French Budget, 1774French Budget, 1774
Where is the tax money?Where is the tax money?
Commoners3rd Estate
Aristocracy2nd Estate
Clergy1st Estate
The Suggested Voting Pattern:The Suggested Voting Pattern:Voting by EstatesVoting by Estates
1
1
1
Louis XIV insisted that Louis XIV insisted that the ancient distinction of the three orders the ancient distinction of the three orders be conserved in its entirety.be conserved in its entirety.
Commoners3rd Estate
Aristocracy2nd Estate
Clergy1st Estate
The Number of RepresentativesThe Number of Representativesin the Estates General: Vote by Head!in the Estates General: Vote by Head!
300
300
648
The Third Estate
• Taxation• Crop failures
The Enlightenment• New ideas about
society and government
• The social contract
John Locke Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Europe on the Eve of theEurope on the Eve of theFrench RevolutionFrench Revolution
The American Revolution
• France supported the colonists against Great Britain
• Revolutionary ideals
Marquis de Lafayette
Financial Crisis
• Jacques Necker• Tax on property• Calling of the Estates
General
Finance Minister Jacques Necker
The Estates General• One vote per
estate• Clergy and
nobility usually joined together to outvote the Third Estate
• Met in Versailles in May 1789
• Voting controversy
A meeting of the Estates General
Confrontation With the King• Louis XVI
ordered the Third Estate locked out of the National Assembly’s meeting hall
• The Tennis Court Oath
• The king reverses his position
Artist Jacques Louis David’s depiction of the Tennis Court Oath
The National Assembly
• The Third Estate took action and established its own government
• On June 17, 1789, the National Assembly was formed
Storming of the Bastille
• Rioting in Paris in early July
• Firing of Necker• July 14th: a mob
storms and takes the Bastille
The Great Fear
• Rebellion spreads• Peasants destroy
the countryside• End of feudal
privileges
The Great Fear: Peasant RevoltThe Great Fear: Peasant Revolt(July 20, 1789)(July 20, 1789)
Y Rumors that the feudal aristocracy [the Rumors that the feudal aristocracy [the aristosaristos] were sending ] were sending hired brigands to attack peasants and pillage their land.hired brigands to attack peasants and pillage their land.
The PathThe Pathof theof the“Great“GreatFear”Fear”
National Constituent AssemblyNational Constituent Assembly1789 - 17911789 - 1791
August DecreesAugust DecreesAugust 4-11, 1789August 4-11, 1789
(A renunciation of aristocratic privileges!)(A renunciation of aristocratic privileges!)
Liberté!Liberté!Egalité!Egalité!
Fraternité!Fraternité!
The Tricolor (1789)The Tricolor (1789)
The WHITE of the The WHITE of the Bourbons + the RED & Bourbons + the RED & BLUE of Paris.BLUE of Paris.
Citizen!Citizen!
The Tricolor is the Fashion!The Tricolor is the Fashion!
The “Liberty Cap”: The “Liberty Cap”: Bonne RougeBonne Rouge
Revolutionary SymbolsRevolutionary Symbols
CockadeCockade
Revolutionary Revolutionary ClockClock
La RepublicLa RepublicLibertéLiberté
Revolutionary Playing CardsRevolutionary Playing Cards
The Declaration of the Rights of Man The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizenand of the Citizen
August 26, August 26, 17891789
V Liberty!Liberty!
V Property!Property!
V Resistance to Resistance to oppression!oppression!
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
• Adopted by National Assembly on August 27th
• Enlightenment ideals• Outlined basic freedoms
held by all• Asserted the sovereignty of
the people• “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”
The March of Women• Lower classes still
unsatisfied• Thousands of
starving women and peasants march on Versailles
• Louis forced to return to Paris
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
• Financial crisis• National
Assembly confiscates and sells off church lands
• Church also secularized, reorganized
• Clergy oath of loyaltyCartoon depicting the confiscation of Church lands
Planting the Tree of LibertyPlanting the Tree of Liberty
17901790
Flight of the King
• Émigrés• Louis XVI and his
family attempted to flee France
• They were arrested at Varennes
The capture of Louis XVI at Varennes
Reaction from Other Countries• Declaration of
Pillnitz• Possible foreign
intervention
Illustration depicting
Prussian King Frederick
William III, Austrian Emperor
Leopold II, and the Comte
d’Artois, Louis XVI’s brother
New Constitution
• Constitutional monarchy
• New Legislative Assembly
• Sans-culottes
Painting depicting the 1791 constitution
War With Austria
• France declares war
• War of the First Coalition
• Levee en masse
Painting of the Battle of Valmy, 1792
The Radicals Take Over
• Paris mob stormed Tuileries
• Louis and family seek aid of Legislative Assembly
• Arrested and deposed
Paris crowds storm the Tuileries
The National Convention
• First met on September 21, 1792
• Revolutionary Calendar
• Monarchy abolished; France officially becomes a republic
• Factions: Jacobins vs. Girondins
A Jacobin club
Jean-Paul Marat
Georges Danton
Leaders in the National Convention
Robespierre
• Lawyer• Radical Jacobin• Most controversial figure
of the French Revolution
The Execution of the King• The Verdict: The outcome of Louis’s trial was
decided by a vote. The Jury of deputies had to answer three questions. Firstly, they had to decide whether or not Louis was guilty. All 693 deputies answered ‘Yes’. Secondly, they had to decide where there should be a referendum to decide his fate. 284 deputies said ‘Yes’, the rest said ‘No’. Finally the deputies were asked what the punishment should be. 321 said ‘prison or exile’, whilst 374 said the punishment should be death.
• 21st January 1793 – the day of the execution – preparations are made: The Convention needed to make sure that Louis’s execution went smoothly. Troops were stationed at the entrances to the city to prevent crowds from entering or leaving. 200 Mounted guards and 1200 foot soldiers were to surround Louis’s coach. There were around 80,000 armed men in Paris to ensure that problems did not arise. Louis’s own preparations included having a final meeting with his family, attending mass at 6 o’clock in the morning, and passing instructions to Clergy, his servant.
The Guillotine• Dr. Joseph Guillotin• Intended as a more
humane method of execution
• Thousands guillotined during the French Revolution
Execution of the King
• On January 17, 1793, Louis XVI was convicted of treason
• He went to the guillotine four days later on January 21, 1793
The Committee of Public Safety
• Created to cease an internal rebellion in 1793
• Given dictatorial power
• Ruled France for nearly a year
A citizen petitions the Committee of Public Safety
The Reign of Terror
• July 1793–July 1794
• Executions• Death of
Robespierre
The execution of Marie Antoinette
The Thermidorean Reaction
• Robespierre overthrown on 9 Thermidor
• Committee of Public Safety dismantled
• Jacobin clubs disbanded• New constitution
adopted in August 1795• Executive branch
known as the Directory
9 Thermidor meeting of the National Convention
The Directory
• Promoted middle class interests
• Financial crisis• Food shortages• Riots in Paris• Rise of Napoleon
Cartoon depicting the
errors and bad judgment of
the Directory
Napoleon Bonaparte
• Popularity rises after victories over the Austrians
• Conflict with Britain• 1799 Coup d’etat• The Consulate
Napoleon Becomes Emperor
1804: Napoleon crowns himself emperor
Legacies of the French Revolution
• End of absolutism• Power of nobles ended• Peasants became
landowners• Nationalism• Enlightenment ideals