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The French Revolution: Ancien Regime & the Reign of Terror 1787 – 1799

The French Revolution: Ancien Regime & the Reign of Terror 1787 – 1799 ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’. ‘Ancien Regime’. Known as the ‘Old Regime’ (order), it existed throughout much of Europe during 18th Century.

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The French Revolution: Ancien Regime & the Reign of Terror 1787 – 1799

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  1. The French Revolution: Ancien Regime & the Reign of Terror 1787 – 1799 ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’

  2. ‘Ancien Regime’ • Known as the ‘Old Regime’ (order), it existed throughout much of Europe during 18th Century. • In this society, division between three groups (estates) was clear and unbalanced: the largest group (peasants & bourgeoisie) paid most of the taxes of France, yet had very little power. • The ‘Estates-General’ (picture), was a meeting between all three sections of French society:- 1st Estate(Clergy)- 2nd Estate(Nobility)- 3rd Estate(Bourgeoisie & Peasants) • Eventually, tensions rose when increased taxes and food shortages caused French peasants to revolt.

  3. Absolutism ‘Divine Right to Rule’ The belief that kings were chosen by God to rule over their people and states.

  4. The Enlightenment was a movement away from tradition towards a more critical understanding of man’s place in society. The ideas & concepts of the Enlightenment included: • Rationality: Reasoned thought will lead to the truth & freedom. • Universality: All humans are equal by nature. • Secularism: Religion & spirituality should be private and never inform public actions in politics, economics etc. • Progress: Mankind is driven by making improvements to his individual self and to society in general. • Representative Government: People can and must be ruled by themselves in fair systems that rely solely on the will of the people. The Enlightenment: Age of Reason

  5. The Estates-General The ‘Estates-General’ was a meeting held between all three groups of society. Each group only had one vote, regardless of the difference in size of the groups. Therefore, it was easy for the 1st & 2nd Estates to out-vote the 3rd Estate • - 1st Estate(Clergy)-2nd Estate(Nobility)-3rd Estate(Bourgeoisie & Peasants)

  6. Royal Palace at Versailles

  7. King Louis XVI - Married Marie Antoinette - Indecisive - Disinterested in state affairs (preferred his own personal interests)

  8. 1st Estate:(Catholic Clergy - 140,000)- 1% of population- owned up to 20% of land - paid no taxes- collected the tithe - controlled education - held privileged positions • 3rd Estate: • (Farmers, peasants, labourers, doctors, lawyers - 25,000,000) • paid the Tithe (Church tax)- paid Taille (land tax) • Did all the work • No benefits • Unprivileged 2nd Estate:(Nobility - 400,000) 2% of population Owned up to 25% of land paid no taxes Held privileged positions

  9. France aids Americans in their War of Independence France joins war in 1777

  10. Cost of WarEstates-General Meeting • By 1789, France’s involvement in the American War of Independence had almost bankrupted the state. • King Louis XVI decided to call a meeting of the Estates-General to raise taxes to pay this debt. • This meeting would provoke serious divisions between the 3rd Estate and the 1st & 2nd Estates. • The Third Estate wanted each member of each Estate to get one vote each, rather than one vote only for each Estate. 1st Estate (308 members - 1 vote) 2nd Estate (285 members - 1 vote) 3rd Estate (621 members - 1 vote)

  11. “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the Kingdom is established” When the 3rd Estate was locked out of the Estates-General meeting, they moved to the royal tennis court.Here, they all swore an oath to remain united until a democratic constitution was created for France. *576 of 577 members present swore the oath. Tennis Court Oath20th June 1789

  12. The National Constituent Assembly13th June – 9th July 1789 King Louis XVI now saw that the self-proclaimed ‘National Assembly’ was a serious threat to his rule, so he ordered the 1st & 2nd Estates to join the 3rd Estate in the National Assembly so that he appeared to remain in control.

  13. Fall of the Bastille14th July 1789 • On 14th July 1789, a mob grew outside the Bastille Prison in Paris. The Bastille was infamous as a place where dissidents were imprisoned, but it also usually held a large store of weapons, ammunitions and food. • Food shortages and high prices were common at this time. The self-styled militia of Paris the ‘National Guard’ – attacked the prison and killed the governor. • This was in direct response to the King stationing huge numbers of soldiers in Paris. The mob went looking for weapons & gunpowder to defend the National Assembly from the King’s soldiers. King Louis relented and called off his soldiers.

  14. “No, Sire, a revolution!” - Duke de La Rochefoucauld “So, is there a rebellion?”- King Louis XVI

  15. Declaration of the Rights of Man & of the Citizen 26th August 1789 National Assembly cancelled the tithe tax and abolished the privileges of the nobility. The Declaration of the Rights of Man & of the Citizen declared: • All men are born free and equal (‘universality’) • People have rights to liberty, property & security • Every citizen is equal before the law • Freedom of Speech was guaranteed for all citizens. • Slavery was abolished

  16. Under this new law, all church land came under state control to be sold and all members of the clergy had to swear an oath to the Republic. The tithe was abolished also. Clergy would have to be elected = Privileges of the 1st Estate now evaporatedPope Pius VI condemned this act and the Declaration of Rights of Man Civil Constitution of the Clergy 12th July 1790

  17. King Louis, Marie Antoinette and the Princess Royal all attempted to escape as tensions rose in France.They were attempting to reach Montédy near the Belgian border (part of the Austrian Empire at this time) Flight to Montédy20th June, 1791

  18. Dressed as servants, the King and his family were recognised at Varennes Capture at Varennes21st June 1791

  19. Historic marker of the place where King Louis & his family were captured

  20. Republicanism Erupts Benevolent King Flight to Varennes Traitor to the Revolution! King Louis XVI and his family brought back to Paris under guard and imprisoned in the Palace of Tuileries. Now considered a traitor, many felt the need to establish a complete republic, without a monarchy.

  21. France declares war on Prussia & Austria on 20th April 1792. Prussia & Austria now attack France, threatening to destroy Paris if the King was harmed in any way.The French eventually drove the Prussians and Austrians back. Revolutionary France under attack 1792

  22. 10th August 1792: Storming the Palace of Tuileries As France fought off the Prussian & Austrian armies, many people in France saw their attack as proof of King Louis’ treason to his own people. The ‘National Guard’ revolutionaries attacked the Palace of Tuileries and arrested the King. The King was now tried for treason to the French Republic

  23. The National Assembly: – The Convention – declares France a Republic&abolishes the Monarchy21st September 1792 King Louis XVI was beheaded by guillotine on 21st January 1793. Marie Antoinette was also later guillotined. The execution of the King rallied other European countries against France: Britain, Spain, Holland, Austria & Prussia all declared war on the First French Republic.

  24. “Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible”- Maximilien Robespierre The Reign of Terror 1793 - 1794

  25. The Reign of Terror:Committee of Public Safety • Committee of Public Safety formed in early 1793. • Made up of twelve men, lead by Maximilien Robespierre, known as ‘The Incorruptible’. • Under Robespierre’s leadership, a large army was created and successfully defended France from other European nations. • Everyone came under suspicion, with the Committee trying tens of thousands and executing 40,000 people as enemies of the revolution. • Ultimately, Robespierre wanted to continue with the trials & executions (even after the danger to France had subsided) and so was arrested himself and executed by guillotine.

  26. Napoleon Bonaparte:Emperor of France1769 - 1821 • A French army general, Napoleon Bonaparte, made himself ruler of France. • In 1804, he was crowned as the Emperor of France. • As Emperor, Napoleon had many of the powers of the old Kings of France. • The French Revolution had finally ended after war, social upheaval, widespread societal suspicion and mass executions.

  27. France dominates Europe1804 - 1815 Napoleonic Europe

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