Thursday, April 4

French Revolution: The beginnings

Causes of French Revolution

Debt

The debt of the French government was around 8 to 12 billion livre (their currency)
Louis XVI spend a lot of money on very luxurious things, instead of being financially responsible
Also they still had war debts from the Seven Year's War (with England) 1756- 1763
Much of their debt was complied because hey weren't exploring like their rival, England
England was able to use the colonies as a steady source of income
France had not completely bought in to Mercantilism either at this time like England had

Taxation

France, at this time, was heavenly involved in trading (good)
However, to be a great trading country, you cannot have high tariffs, so you need to tax heavily on your people (bad)
Masses of people of France, not too thrilled with this idea. Also nobles did not pay these taxes

Failure to 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 every though they were continuing to go deeper and deeper into debt

Famine

Crop failure in the 1780's didn't help much either
Supply and demand occurs here with bread
Got to the point where peasants thought the crown had wished for them to die (conspiracy!)

Guillotine

The condemned person is secured is secured at the bottom of the frame, with this or her nick help 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 President Francois Mitterrand in 1981. (A little more than 30 years ago)

Marie Antoinette

Napoleon

French Revolution: Continues

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 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
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% of their earnings to taxes
owned 10% of the lands in France
Their jobs were to provide religion, education, and relief services to the poor
less than 1% of French population were in this estate

Second Estate:

Third Estate:

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 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 5th, 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 estate and 2nd estate to always beat the 3rd
the king sided with the nobles again and they were outvoted

Order of Events

Storming of the Bastille: See your research. Know that France lost their governor, secretary of state, and the "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 emigres
Emigres: Someone who has migrated out of an area...(Emigrant)

August 26, 1789

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 the estates of the realm as universal
The U.S equivalent would be 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 so he removes the idea that they have to come back
This allows for new blood (3rd estate) to become apart 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 ad most significant events of the French Revolution
The march began among women in the marketplace 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 with them to Paris
These events effectively ended the independent authority of the king

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