- Fun Fact: During the French Revolution, George Washington became the first president of the U.S.A.
- Started in 1789 and lasted until 1799
- In 1700's, France and England were considered the most advanced countries in Europe and the world
- It had a large population and a great (good and bad) foreign trade
- How ever, 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 this
- Under this Regime, there were 3 large social classes called estates
- First Estate
- Made up of clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, priests, bishops, deacons, cardinals
- Had to pay 2 percent of their earnings to taxes
- Owned10 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
- Second Estate
- This group was made up of French Nobles
- They held the highest offices in the government in France
- This estate paid 0 percent of income taxes
- Owned 20 percent of the lands in France
- This estate had only 2 percent of the population of France
- Third Estate
- Included everyone that wasn't in the first two estates
- Had no power to influence the government in France
- Had to pay 50 percent 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,
- 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 time 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
Research- 1 paragraph for Tennis Court Oath
1 paragraph for Storming of the Bastille
- Order of Events
- Storming of the Bastille- see your research. Know that France lost their governor, secretary of state, and thee "mayor" of Paris
- 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 immigrants
- Emigres- someone who has migrated out of an area voluntarily
- Declaration of the rights of Man and of the citizen is adopted by the assembly, is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights, defining the individual and collective rights of all estates of the realm as universal- comparable to the Bill of Rights
- 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
- Women's March on Versailles- also known as the October March, The October Days or simply The march of Versailles , was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution, The march began among women in the market places of Paris who, on the morning of October 5, 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 to Paris with them
- These events effectively ended the independent authority of the king
Comments