Chapter 11, Section 1 The French Revolution Begins

1. Chapter 11, Section 1The French Revolution Begins * Both long-range problems and immediate forces caused the French Revolution. * The long-range problems concerned France’s social structure. * France was divided into 3 estates (social classes) – the first, second, and third. * The First Estate, the clergy, was about .5 percent of the population & was exempt from taxes. * The Second Estate, the nobility, was about 1.5 percent of the population & paid little, if any, taxes. They enjoyed certain privileges in society that others did not have. * The Third Estate, the commoners, was about 98 percent of the population & was divided by differences in occupation, education, & wealth. * The Third Estate consisted of the bourgeoisie (middle class), urban workers, & peasants, and they had to pay a variety of taxes, tithes, fees, fines, & feudal dues. The chief tax that all members of the Third Estate had to pay was the taille. * Widespread opposition to the existing order in France led to instability and a desire for change.

2. * The immediate cause of the French Revolution was the near collapse of the government’s finances. * Since the reign of Louis XIV, the debt of the French government and royal family had been steadily increasing. * The government of Louis XVI was finally forced to call a meeting of the Estates-General (the French parliament) for May 1789. The Estates- General had not met since 1614. * Each order of French society had representatives in the Estates-General. * To fix France’s economic problems, most members of the Third Estate wanted to abolish the tax exemptions of the clergy & nobility. * After a disagreement on how they were to vote within the Estates-General, members of the Third Estate walked out, began calling themselves the National Assembly, & decided to draft a constitution.

3. * After being locked out of their normal meeting place, the National Assembly moved into an indoor tennis court & took the Tennis Court Oath, an oath that they would not disband until they had drafted a constitution for France. * Eventually, the other members of the Estates- General joined the National Assembly. * July 1789, commoners stormed & dismantled the Bastille, the royal armory & prison in Paris. * Louis XVI’s authority collapsed, and local uprisings broke out throughout France. * Peasant rebellions in the countryside became part of the Great Fear, a vast panic that hit France in July & August of 1789.

4. * August, 1789 – the National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen which proclaimed freedom & equal rights for all men, access to public office based on talent, & an end to exemptions from taxation. * Olympe de Gouges argued for equal rights for women in Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen. * Louis XVI stayed at Versailles & refused to accept the laws of the National Assembly, but a delegation of women from Paris met with the king, convinced him to accept the new decrees, and escorted Louis & his family back to Paris. * The National Assembly reformed the Catholic Church by adopting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy which called for bishops & priests to be elected by the people & paid by the state. * The National Assembly adopted the Constitution of 1791 which set up a limited monarchy with a king & a Legislative Assembly. * Louis XVI & his family tried to flee France, but he was recognized & returned to Paris. * Spring of 1792, rulers of Austria & Prussia threatened to help Louis XVI, so the Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. * August, 1792 – radicals formed the Paris Commune, attacked the royal palace & Legislative Assembly, captured the king, and demanded the end of the monarchy. * The French Revolution was about to enter a more radical phase.

5. Chapter 11, Section 2Radical Revolution and Reaction * The revolution moved toward radicalism as the sans-culottes, led by minister of justice Georges Danton, sought revenge on those who had aided the king & resisted the popular will. * The National Convention began meeting in Sept. of 1792 to depose the king & est. the French Republic. * Disagreement over the king’s fate within the Convention led to two factions being created within the Jacobin political club. * Jan. 1793, Louis XVI was tried & found guilty of various crimes and put to death on the guillotine. * After Louis’ execution, many European nations formed a loose coalition to invade France. * To respond to both internal & external problems, the Convention formed the Committee of Public Safety, led by Danton & Maximilien Robespierre. The Committee was given broad powers to defend France from threats. * To reflect its belief in reason, the National Convention pursued a policy of dechristianization& adopted a new calendar.

6. * From July 1793 to July 1794, the Committee of Public Safety instituted what became known as the Reign of Terror, during which time revolutionary courts were set up to prosecute enemies of the republic. * The most famous victim of the Reign of Terror was the king’s wife, Marie Antoinette. * The Convention & Committee instituted a variety of radical reforms during the time that they were in control of France. * By the summer of 1794, France had defeated its foreign foes, but Robespierre was still obsessed with ridding France of its domestic enemies. * The Reign of Terror ended in July 1794 when Robespierre was captured & executed by deputies of the Convention. * After the Reign of Terror, the Convention drafted a new constitution (the Constitution of 1795) creating a new government called the Directory. * The period of the Directory (1795 to 1799) was one of government corruption, economic crisis, and political instability. * In 1799 a coup d’etat (sudden overthrow of the government) led by the popular general Napoleon Bonaparte toppled the Directory & Napoleon took power.

7. Chapter 11, Section 3The Age of Napoleon * After overthrowing the Directory, Napoleon ordered a new constitution be drafted that established a new regime known as the Consulate. * Napoleon viewed himself as an enlightened ruler, therefore he believed it his duty to reform France’s governmental & social institutions. Napoleon: - centralized the government - created the Bank of France for financial reform - introduced educational reform - reconciled with the Catholic Church - introduced legal reform with the Civil Code (the most important of which was the Napoleonic Code) * 1802, Napoleon held a plebiscite in which the people voted overwhelmingly to make him first consul for life. * 1804, Napoleon declared himself to be the hereditary emperor of the French. * Promotion within Napoleon’s government and military was based on ability.

8. * While Napoleon was reorganizing France, he was also building his Grand Empire. * 1800 to 1806, Napoleon’s influence spread thru virtually all of continental Europe as he defeated Austria, Prussia, & Russia. * Oct. 1805, Lord Nelson’s British fleet smashed the combined French & Spanish navies at the Battle of Trafalgar off the southwest coast of Spain. * 1806, Napoleon destroyed the Holy Roman Empire. * Napoleon’s Grand Empire had three parts: the French Empire, dependent states, & allied states. * Nov. 1806, unable to defeat the British militarily, Napoleon established the Continental System in an effort to destroy the British economy. * The Continental System was designed to make it impossible for the British to trade with the European continent. * The survival of Britain as well as the growth of nationalism throughout Europe eventually led to the downfall of Napoleon’s empire.

9. * Napoleon’s attempt to force the Continental System on European nations eventually destroyed his empire. * 1807, Portugal refused to support the System; French troops were sent to occupy Portugal & Spain. * 1808, Papal States refused to support the System; Napoleon annexed the Papal States. * 1810, Holland protested the System; Napoleon annexed Holland. * 1811, Alexander I withdrew Russia from the System. * May 1812, Napoleon’s Grand Army of 600,000 men began their march toward Russia. * By late June, the Grand Army entered Russia, & in mid-Sept., Napoleon’s forces entered Moscow, but the tsar refused to surrender. The Russians had simply retreated, burning their own villages & countryside. * Late Oct., Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow; only about 40,000 of Napoleon’s Grand Army was left after the failed invasion of Russia.

10. * Napoleon’s defeat in Russia set the stage for his final downfall. * Oct. 1813, the combined forces of Russia, Austria, & Prussia defeated Napoleon in the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig. * March 1814, Allied armies entered Paris. * April 1814, Napoleon abdicated & was exiled to Elba. * March 1815, Napoleon returned to France & regained control. * June 1815, British forces under the Duke of Wellington joined Prussian forces under von Blucher to defeat Napoleon’s forces at Waterloo in the Austrian Netherlands, and Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena.

11. * Napoleon’s legacy: - equality before the law (Napoleonic Code) - freedom of religion - remnants of feudalism destroyed - abolition of absolute monarchy