French Revolution The Beginnings
Cause of Revolution
- Four main causes; Debt, Taxation Issuse, Failure of Reform, Famine
Debt
- The debt of the French gov was around 8 to 12 billion livre (their currency)
- Louis XVI spent a lot of money on very luxurious things, instead of being financially responsible
- Also, they still had war debts from the Seven Years War (with England) 1756-1763
- Much of their debt was complied bc they werent exlporing like their rival, England
- England was able to use the colonies as a steady source of income
- France had not completely bought into Mercantilism either at this time like England had
Taxation
- France, at this time, was heavily involved in traded (Good)
- Howevere, to be a great trading counrty, you cant have high tariffs, so you need to tax heavily on your people (Bad)
- Masses of people of France, not to thrilled with this idea. Also nobles didnt pay taxes.
Failure of Reform
- Some French "economists" stated that the nobles should be included in taxation
- This plan backfired, as peasants had to pay even more than before
- France continued to stick with their economic plan even though they were continuing to go deeper and deeper into debt
Famine
- Crop failure in the 1780's didnt help much either
- Supply and demand occurs here with bread
- Got to the point where peasants thought the crown had wished for them to do (conspiracy)
Guillotine
- The condemned person is secured at the bottom of the fram, with his or her neck held directly below the blade
- However, it continued to be used long after the Revolution and remained France's standard method of judicial execution until the abolition of capital punishment with the backing of Pres Francois Mitterand in 1981
Marie Antoinette
- Born in Vienna, Austria
- Married Louis the XVI
- Became the Queen of France
- Had one son and one daughter
- Very popular with the people at the beginning of her reign
- At the end of her reign, very unpopular
- Executed by Guillotine
Napoleon
- Military leader during the later stages of the Revolution
- Became the Emperor of the French in 1804
- Known for: Napolenic Code, Height (short), Battle Tricks, Waterloo
Fun Fact
- During the French Revolution, George Washington became the first president of the USA
More Beginnings
- Started in 1789 and lasted until 1799
- In 1700s, France and England were considered the most advanced countries in Europe and the world
- It had a large population and a great foreign trade
- However, much of the world did not know the extreme debt that France had occurred
Old Regime
- In the 1770’s the social and political system of France was called the Old Regime
- Under this Regime, there were 3 large social classes called estates
First Estate
- Made up of clergy of the Roman Catholic Church (priest, bishops, deacons, cardinals)
- Had to pay 2 percent of their earnings to taxes
- Owned 10 percent of the lands in France
- Their jobs were to provide religion, education, and relief services to the poor
- Less than 1 percent of French population were in this estate
2nd Estate
- This group was made up of rich nobles
- They held the highest offices in the government in France
- This estate paid 0 percent of income to taxes
- Owned 20 percent of the lands in France
- This estates had only 2 percent of the population of France
3rd Estate
- Included everyone that wasn’t in the first two estates
- Had no power to influence their government in France
- Had to pay 50 percent of income/food to taxes
- Resented the first two classes
- Owned 70 percent of the lands in France and consisted of 97 percent of the population
Enlightenment Ideals
- Enlightenment is a complex with many influences, for this chapter we will focus on the influence from USA
- The 3rd estate was becoming very tired of the Old Regime
- They prompted the ideals of equality, liberty, and a democracy
Weak Leader
- Louis XVI (married to Marie Antoinette) was a very weak leader
- He was very indecisive and paid very little attention to his advisors
- Marie didn’t help much either with constantly expressing her opinion and the fact that she was from Austria
- He finally wanted to tax the nobles, but they weren’t happy there either so the Estates-General was called
Estates-General
- An assembly of representatives from all three estates
- Their goal was to approve the new tax
- The meeting was held on May 5, 1789 in Versailles
- It was the first the assembly had met in 175 years
- In the past the 3 estates would meet separately and there would only be 1 vote per estate
- This allowed for the 1st and 2nd estate to always beat the 3rd
- The king sided with the nobles again and they were outvoted
July 14th 1789
- Storming of the Bastille- see your research. Know that France lost their governor, secretary of state, and the “mayor” of Paris
July 17th 1789
- The Great Fear- the peasantry revolt against feudalism and a number of urban disturbances and revolts. Many members of the aristocracy flee Paris to become emigres.
- Emigres- someone who has migrated out of an area… (Emigrant)
August 26th 1789
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is adopted by the assembly
- Is a fundamental documental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal
Legislative Assembly
- Late 1789
- Emigres are required to return back to Paris with the threat of death if they didn’t return
- King is still scared to return so he removes the idea that they have to come back
- This allows for new blood (3rd estate) to become part of the legislative assembly
Women’s March on Versailles
- Also known as The October March, The October Days, or simply the March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution
- The march began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who, on the morning of October 1789, were near rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread
- The market women and their various allies grew into a mob of thousands and, encouraged by revolutionary agitators, they ransacked the city armory for weapons and marched to the Palace of Versailles
- The next day, the crowd compelled the king, his family, and most of the French Assembly to return with them to Paris
These events effectively ended the independent authority of the King
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