Transcript THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Map of Europe 1600’s Map of Europe 1721
Also known as the Age of Reason.
Def. An elite cultural movement of intellects in 18 th Century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge.
o It opposed intolerance and abuse in the Church and state.
Originated about 1650 – 1700.
Sparked by philosophers Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, Pierre Bayle and mathematician Isaac Newton.
Nobility –upper class Bourgeoisie – the middle class Proletariat – town working class Peasants –lower class King was still the ruling class. (Louis XVI)
The First Estate: The bishops and clergy control of the land.
They represented the traditional authority of the church over all secular power.
Consisted of the rich and poor.
Exempt from most taxation.
There were wealthy aristocrats called abbots who lived in luxury off of wealthy church lands.
The poor parish priests lived much like peasants.
The lords and nobles of France. (called the Nobility) Once had considerable authority over their own regions, but the king had tried to centralize all power to himself.
Inherited their titles and wealth came from the land.
Some of the nobles had little money, but had privileges of noble rank. Most enjoyed privileges and wealth. Paid little tax.
The bourgeoisie, proletariat and peasants.
The middle class was becoming the powerful group in the sense of wealth and value.
Were the common people and by far, the largest group of people in France.
Included the wealthy merchants who rivaled the nobility, doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, the urban poor and the peasants who worked the land. (very diverse group)
1789 - 1792
Louis XVI asked the First and Second Estates to accept tax on their land, but they refused.
A major financial crisis followed, which touched off the French Revolution in 1789.
Social Inequality (outdated ‘feudal system’ and classes) Inefficient Government o Taxes and laws differed from province to province causing confusion and injustice.
Enormous Debt o o o When Louis XIV died in 1715, the treasury was drained from wars.
The government was poor, the clergy and nobility were not.
The king had no authority to tax the wealthy.
Weak/unresponsive monarchy.
Food shortages, poor farming conditions and cold winters.
Ideas of the Enlightenment. (society wanting reform) Growing class disparity between: o o Old nobility vs. emerging wealthy bourgeoisie (privileges).
Lower classes (overtaxed) vs. landlords.
Estates-General met at Versailles in May, 1789.
o Delegates could not agree on a method of voting.
o In order for an issue to pass, two of the three estates had to agree.
Clergy and Nobility usually voted the same; Third Estate was thus left out.
The delegates of the Third Estate were mostly Bourgeoisie.
o They wanted the 3 Estates to meet together, with each delegate having one vote.
o Because half of the 1200 delegates were from the Third Estate, they thought they would have a chance to bring about reform.
The Third Estate’s delegates forced the Estates to meet as one body.
On June 17, 1789, they declared themselves the National Assembly and invited the other Estates to join them.
On the advice of the nobles, Louis XVI ordered the three Estates to continue to meet separately.
The delegates of the Third Estate were locked out at the meeting in Versailles, so they moved to the palace’s indoor tennis court.
Many of the clergy and some nobles joined them.
Defying the king, they demanded a constitution for France and would not leave until this goal was achieved.
The oath they took came to be called the Tennis Court Oath.
Faced with solid opposition, Louis gave in.
After a week, he ordered all nobility and clergy to join the Third Estate in the National Assembly.
The king’s recognition of the National Assembly was the first victory for the Bourgeoisie.
Louis soon sent 18 000 soldiers to Versailles.
On July 14, 1789, the people of Paris massed outside the Bastille.
They were already angry because of food shortages, unemployment and high prices.
This stone prison had become a hated symbol of oppression to the Parisians.
Seeking guns and gunpowder, the crowd charged into the courtyard.
The prison commander panicked and ordered the guards to open fire.
Nearly 100 people were shot dead before the crowd overwhelmed the defenders and killed the commander.
His head and the head of the mayor of Paris were stuck on poles and paraded through the streets of Paris.
The attack on Bastille frightened the king into calling back his troops.
The people of Paris had won another victory.
o Their bold action had saved the National Assembly.
Today, the French people mark July 14 as Bastille Day. (their day of national celebration)
Rumors spread that the nobles were organizing armed bands to kill peasants and seize their property.
A feeling of fear and desperation, called the Great Fear, took hold of the people.
Peasants burned the lords’ manors and destroyed records of payments due.
Middle-class landowners and well-to-do farmers also lost their homes and property as violence raged.
The peasant uprisings convinced many nobles that they were in danger.
A large number fled to other parts of Europe and were known as Emigres.
The nobles who stayed in France realized the old regime was coming to an end.
o They rose in the National Assembly and reluctantly agreed to give up privileges their families had held for centuries.
On August 4, 1789, the National Assembly announced the end of feudalism in France.
The church could no longer collect taxes.
The nobility could not demand fees, taxes and labour from the peasants.
All positions in churches, government and the army were opened to all citizens.
This document set forth the ideals of the French Revolution.
It reflected people’s hopes for individual rights, freedom and equality.
Government now belonged to the people as a whole.
Many Parisian women earned a living making hats and dresses for noblewoman.
o However, hat makers and seamstresses found less work, as aristocratic families fled France.
Unemployment worsened as did hunger. o On October 5, 1789, thousands of women marched twelve miles in the pouring rain to Versailles to protest a shortage of bread and soaring food prices.
They stormed the palace and forced the royal family to return to Paris.
Louis had no choice but to cooperate with the National Assembly.
Over the next two years, the Bourgeoisie made sweeping changes.
The following three drastic changes were:
The country was divided into departments governed by elected officials.
The metric system became standard.
The assembly made changes in land ownership.
Land was seized from the Church and of nobles who had fled. Much of this land was then sold to peasants.
The National Assembly tried to bring the Church and the clergy under state control.
In 1790, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed.
o This law stated that bishops and priests were to be elected by popular vote and paid by the government.
Perhaps the most important act of the National Assembly, was the adoption of the Constitution in 1791.
This document limited the power of the king and set up an elected lawmaking body, the National Assembly.
To vote for representatives to the assembly, one had to be a male taxpayer.
o This barred all women and about 30% of adult men.
Women wanted better education for girls, fair laws dealing with marriage and divorce, and the right to sit on juries.
In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, an English writer, published “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”.
o She stated that the rights of man should be extended to women. Better education should achieve this goal.
The Constitution of 1791 marked the end of the first stage(Moderate Stage) of the French Revolution.
The Bourgeoisie had made many gains: o o o Some felt the reforms had gone too far.
o Ended special privileges.
Limited the king’s powers.
Provided people a chance to take part in government.
The Revolution entered the second stage marked by violence that rocked much of Europe.
The nobles, the king and queen, Marie Antoinette (a member of the Hapsburg family of Austria) thought the Revolution had gone too far.
She made plans for the royal family’s escape to the Austrian Netherlands, where Louis could work with other European monarchs on plans to crush the Revolution.
Louis and his family slipped out of the palace on the night of June 20, 1791.
Guards arrested them before they could reach the border and returned them to Paris.
This cost Louis a loss of support.
Many people suspected the king and queen of plotting to overturn the recent reforms.
Radicals, people who favor drastic change, grew in numbers, as doubts about the king increased.
o o These included many wage earners and small shopkeepers of Paris.
Were called sans-culottes (men wore long pants, instead of knee-length pants of the upper classes) They wanted France to become a republic.
The Parisian people gained fewer benefits than the Bourgeoisie and the peasants.
o Wanted a greater voice in government, higher wages, lower food prices, and an end to food shortages.
The Bourgeoisie viewed the demands of the radicals as a threat. However, other members became leaders of the radicals.
They steered the Revolution in a more violent direction, bringing bloodshed to much of Europe.
On April 20, 1792, France declared war on Austria.
o Was partly due to worries that the family of Marie Antoinette who ruled Austria might help the nobles in a counterrevolution.
A movement to restore the old way of government.
Prussia backed Austria and the two countries invaded France.
Prussia and Austria threatened to destroy Paris if the king or queen were harmed.
Enraged, the Parisians rioted. A mob attacked the palace on Aug. 10, killing hundreds of guards and servants.
A radical government, the Commune, seized power and imprisoned the king.
o They ordered elections to choose representatives for a new assembly to be called the National Convention.
o For the first time, all adult males were granted suffrage, the right to vote.
The declaration of war on Austria showed that the French Revolution had moved into a radical stage.
Its leaders were willing to take drastic action against all enemies.
The following are three major events that occurred:
The National Convention met for the first time in September, 1792.
Its first act was to end the monarchy and declare France a republic.
The radical members decided that the royal family was a danger to the republic. They accused Louis of working with nobles and foreign agents.
The Convention, by one vote, sentenced Louis to death.
He was sent to the guillotine and beheaded on January 21, 1793.
Marie Antoinette met the same end later that year.
1793 – 1794 Also known as the ‘Reign of Terror’.
French armies recovered from early defeats, forcing the invading Austrians and Prussians to retreat.
o Marched into the Austrian Netherlands.
Britain and Spain became allies of Austria and Prussia.
The once confident French Revolutionaries now found themselves at war with nearly all of Europe.
By the spring of 1793, the new French republic was in a state of crisis.
Foreign troops had invaded France and were marching toward Paris.
o o Food prices soared.
Hungry Parisians looted stores.
In western France, clergy and nobles led a counterrevolutionary movement.
Violent disagreements emerged within the National Convention.
The most radical groups of revolutionaries were centered in Paris and included a political club called the Jacobins.
George Danton and Maximilien Robespierre were both lawyers and two of the most prominent Jacobins.
The more moderate members of the Convention were known as Girondists.
They drew most of their support from people in provinces outside of Paris.
Leaders of the Jacobins and Girondists came mainly from the Bourgeoisie.
The Jacobins joined forces with poor Parisians and arrested Girondist leaders.
o Set up the Committee of Public Safety.
o This group of about a dozen men held unlimited power to deal with France’s desperate situation.
One of the most pressing problems for the Committee of Public Safety was to feed the hungry in Paris.
The government lowered the price of certain foods and rationed bread.
The committee also had to push back enemy troops and protect the government from its opponents within France.
In August, 1793, the Committee appealed to the nation to help in the war effort.
For the first time in European history, all able-bodied men were drafted for army service.
The new French army, one million strong, was the largest army in the history of the world.
The rallying song, Marseillaise, is now the French National Anthem.
Robespierre, the leading member of the Committee of Public Safety, attempted to preserve the republic.
He introduced a brutal program called, “The Reign of Terror”.
o The goal was to silence critics of the government.
He set up a court to arrest and hear cases of accused enemies of the republic.
Between Sept. 1793 and July, 1794, 20 000 – 40 000 were found guilty and executed. Many others were imprisoned.
Included clergy, aristocrats and common people. (anyone who disagreed with the Jacobins) Most trials were a mockery of justice.
o No chance to defend themselves.
In Paris, carts filled with prisoners rolled through the streets to the public square, where the guillotine was set up.
o Huge crowds came to see these executions.
Spiraled out of control.
o o Robespierre’s fellow leaders weren’t safe.
Early in 1794, Danton and other politicians were executed for trying to stop the terror.
Several members of the National Convention arranged for Robespierre’s arrest on July 27, 1794.
The next day, Robespierre and his followers met their fate and were sent to the guillotine.
1794 - 1798
The fall of Robespierre put the reins of the government back into the hands of the moderates.
They wanted no more of the Jacobins.
They lifted price controls and limited the voting rights to taxpayers only.
In 1795, a group of five men called the Directory, set up a republic.
Only property owners were allowed to vote.
These five directors put down uprisings by the radical sans-culottes and the ones supporting monarchy.
The Directory was a very weak government. They fell from power in 1799, ending the French Revolution.
The French Revolution radically changed French society.
The Old Regime was completely overturned.
Absolute Monarchy came to an end.
The Church and the nobility lost their special privileges.
The decline of the nobles aided the steady rise of the Bourgeoisie, who soon dominated the government bureaucracy.
Were felt outside of France as well.
o Liberty and individual rights were echoed by reformers in Latin America and other lands.
Introduced a new style of warfare.
o Other European countries followed France’s idea of bringing people and resources of the entire nation to help in war efforts.
Promoted the spirit of nationalism, deep devotion to one’s country. It eventually spread throughout Europe and beyond.
In November 1799, a group of politicians carried out a coup d’etat or “strike against the state”.
o They overthrew the Directory and placed a popular general at the head of the government.
Within a decade, this leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, made France the dominant power of Europe. Reforms of the Revolution spread across Europe.
Napoleon proved to be a military genius.
In 1793, he joined the French Revolutionary forces and showed great talent for planning and leadership.
In 1796, he took command of the French armies fighting the Austrians in Italy.
o Won key battles.
Not content to be a general. He wanted to rule France.
Invaded Egypt in 1798, but that was a military failure.
In November 1799, Napoleon’s soldiers surrounded the French legislature to overthrow the Directory.
A new government called “The Consulate” replaced the Directory.
Was a remarkable politician and general.
Won political support by pleasing the Bourgeoisie. He promised them jobs in government and the army.
Promoted trade and industry.
Placed taxes on imports to protect French businesses.
Set up a national bank to provide credit to businesses and keep the economy stable.
At the same time, he won the support of workers and peasants.
o o o Expansion of trade created many new jobs.
Food available at low prices to poor city dwellers.
Allowed peasants to keep land they had gained during the Revolution.
Pleased the nobles, even though Feudal privileges were not restored.
Napoleon reached an agreement with the Pope called the Concordat of 1801.
o Balanced the rights of Church and State.
The Church would not get its land back.
Catholicism was accepted as the religion of the majority.
Also, the government had greater control, as Napoleon chose Bishops. It now had greater control over the Church.
In 1800, Napoleon appointed a staff of lawyers to draw up a code of laws for all of France.
The Napoleonic Code, established in 1804, stated that all French men were treated as equals, no matter what their birth or wealth.
Feudalism and class privileges were abolished.
People could practice the religion of their choice and protected their property rights.
Napoleon used diplomacy and military skills to break up the alliance between Russia, Austria and Britain and sign peace treaties with all three countries.
However, the French expansion threatened British trade. The two went to war in 1803.
In 1805, Russia, Austria and Sweden formed an alliance against Napoleon, which Prussia joined the next year. The wars that followed were called the “Napoleonic Wars”.
From 1805 – 1807, Napoleon’s armies rolled over Austria, Prussia and Russia.
Suddenly, France was the leading power in Europe.
His administrators in conquered lands reduced the privileges of the nobles and the clergy.
In 1805, France could not defeat Britain at Trafalgar. They lost many ships, but Britain did not lose any.
Napoleon then developed a plan called “The Continental System”. It did not allow any countries under French control to trade with Britain.
Britain got around this by increasing trade with the United States and smuggling goods into Europe.
The British navy blockaded France and its allies.
Middle class merchants in Europe turned against Napoleon, because their businesses were weakened by the cutoff of British trade.
Portugal did not go along with The Continental System. Napoleon invaded it and Spain.
In 1808, the Portuguese and Spaniards bitterly resented the takeover. They used guerrilla warfare (surprise attacks by small bands of soldiers) French troops were trained for regular warfare and could not adjust to the rugged terrain and these attacks.
Eventually France was defeated, and in turn, Britain invaded France.
By 1812, Napoleon’s empire had reached the edge of Russia. Relations between France and Russia were strained, even though they were allies.
Czar Alexander I angered Napoleon by trading with Britain in violation of the Continental System.
Napoleon decided to invade Russia.
Napoleon gathered about 614 000 troops from France and conquered countries.
The Grand Army, as it was called, invaded Russia in June 1812.
Russia retreated eastward, setting fires to farms and crops along the way. The French army was deprived of food.
The Grand Army also began to run short of supplies. Disease, hunger, exhaustion and desertion thinned the ranks.
The Russian retreat allowed Napoleon to reach Moscow. The city was deserted, as the Russians had set fires that destroyed nearly all of it.
Napoleon ordered a French retreat, as he knew that his army could not survive the harsh winter. He only had about 100 000 soldiers left.
They began the long march westward on October 19, 1812.
The retreat became a disaster.
The soldiers had little food and not enough warm clothing.
Russian peasants and horsemen attacked soldiers who fell behind.
Temperature dropped to minus 30 degrees and troops froze to death.
Fewer than 40 000 soldiers survived the march from Moscow.
In the German state of Prussia, anti-French leaders stirred up feelings of nationalism.
In 1813, Prussia declared war on France. Allied forces from Prussia, Austria, Russia and Sweden defeated Napoleon in October 1813 at Leipzig, Germany.
o It was called “The Battle of the Nations”.
The victorious allies then invaded France.
When they reached Paris in March 1814, Napoleon abdicated.
Louis XVIII, the younger brother of the executed Louis XVI, was crowned King of France.
The allies exiled Napoleon to a small island called Elba, off the western coast of Italy.
To keep France in line, Prussia, Austria, Russia and Great Britain agreed to form the Quadruple Alliance.
They pledged to remain united against any future attempt by France to dominate Europe.
Napoleon was only 44 years old at the time of his exile.
He longed for the excitement of battle, the cheers of his soldiers and the glory of victory.
o He also knew that many French people did not like the new king.
Napoleon escaped Elba and landed on the French coast on March 1, 1815 with about 1000 soldiers.
King Louis XVIII sent his army to arrest Napoleon.
The king’s troops joined Napoleon after he won back their loyalty.
On March 20, 1815, Napoleon swept back into Paris and received a hero’s welcome.
In June 1815, the European allies and France met again in the Austrian Netherlands.
Napoleon’s army was soundly defeated. This was led by the British Duke of Wellington and the Prussian field marshal Gebhard von Blucher.
Napoleon surrendered to the British, who sent him to St. Helena, a lonely island a thousand miles from the Atlantic coast of Africa.
This is where he spent the last six years of his life.
His conquests radically changed Europe by spreading many of the French Revolution’s reforms and ideals.
Governments were reorganized, feudal ideas were rejected, freedom and equality took root.
Nationalist feelings grew and many European people took steps to create independent nations.