french revolution
tennis court oath
On June 20th, 1789, the members of the French Estates-General for the Third Estate, who had begun to call themselves the National Assembly, took the Tennis Court Oath. There they took an oath never to separate until a written constitution had been established for France.
abolition of feudalism
One of the central events of the French Revolution was to abolish feudalism, and the old rules, taxes and privileges left over from the age of feudalism. The National Constituent Assembly, acting on the night of 4 August 1789, announced, "The National Assembly abolishes the feudal system entirely."[1] It abolished both the seigneurial rights of the Second Estate (the nobility) and the tithes gathered by the First Estate (the Catholic clergy).[2][3] The old judicial system, founded on the 13 regional parlements, was suspended in November 1789, and finally abolished in 1790.[4]
paris commune
Paris Commune formed. In the wake of France's defeat by Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, workers and students of Paris joined together to form a revolutionary government called the Paris Commune. Elected on March 26, the Commune was in direct opposition to the conservative national government.
bastille
The Bastille (/bæˈstiːl/; French: [bastij]) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789, in the French Revolution, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement, and was later demolished and replaced by the Place de la Bastille.
Brunswick Manifesto
The Brunswick Manifesto was a proclamation issued by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Allied Army (principally Austrian and Prussian), on 25 July 1792 to the population of Paris, France during the War of the First Coalition. It threatened that if the French royal family were harmed, then French civilians would be harmed.[2] It is widely regarded to have been a measure intended to intimidate Paris
Jacobins
The Jacobin Club was one of several organizations that grew out of the French Revolution, and it was distinguished for its left-wing, revolutionary politics.[4] Because of this, the Jacobins, unlike other sects like the Girondins, were closely allied to the sans-culottes, who were a popular force of working-class Parisians that played a pivotal role in the development of the revolution. The Jacobins had a significant presence in the National Convention, and were dubbed 'the Mountain' for their seats in the uppermost part of the chamber
creation of legislative assembly
The Legislative Assembly was the governing body of France between October 1791 and September 1792. The Legislative Assembly replaced the National Constituent Assembly, which by September 1791 had completed most of the work for which it was convened. Its deputies had drafted a constitution they believed reflected the aims of the revolution. Feudalism, noble titles and the Ancien Régime's other institutional inequalities had been abolished. The idealistic Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted as a preamble to the new constitution. Royal absolutism was dead and the king stripped of most of his executive powers. In late September 1791, Louis XVI gave his assent to the new constitution, pledging to "maintain it at home, defend it abroad and cause its execution by all the means at my disposal". Its mission complete, the National Constituent Assembly voted for its own dissolution and handed national government to the Legislative Assembly.
reign of terror
The Terror was a brief but deadly period where Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunals condemned thousands of people to die on the guillotine. The realities of the Terror were more complex. The Reign of Terror was not driven by one man, one body or one policy; it was a child of many parents and was shaped by different forces and factors. Whatever its causes, the Reign of Terror was certainly the most violent period of the French Revolution. Between the two summers of 1793 and 1794 more than 50,000 people were killed for suspected counter-revolutionary activity or so-called "crimes against liberty".
execution of louis xvi
The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution ("Revolution Square", formerly Place Louis XV, and renamed Place de la Concorde in 1795) in Paris. It was a major event of the Revolution. The king was convicted in a near-unanimous vote (while no one voted "not guilty", several deputies abstained) and condemned to death by a simple majority.
Women's March on Versailles
The march began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were near rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread. Their demonstrations quickly became intertwined with the activities of revolutionaries, who were seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France. They marched to the Palace of Versailles. The crowd besieged the palace, and in a dramatic and violent confrontation, they successfully pressed their demands upon King Louis XVI. The next day, the crowd compelled the king, his family, and most of the French Assembly to return with them to Paris. These events ended the king's independence and signified the change of power and reforms about to overtake France. The march symbolized a new balance of power that displaced the ancient privileged orders of the French nobility and favored the nation's common people, collectively termed the Third Estate.
Call for the estates general
The suggestion to summon the Estates General came from the Assembly of Notables installed by the King on 22 February 1787. It had not met since 1626. The estates general was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). Summoned by King Louis XVI, it was brought to an end when the Third Estate formed into a National Assembly, inviting the other two to join, against the wishes of the King. This signals the outbreak of the French Revolution.
Sans-culottes
a lower-class Parisian republican in the French Revolution The sans-culottes, most of them urban labourers, served as the driving popular force behind the revolution. he most fundamental political ideals of the sans-culottes were social equality, economic equality, and popular democracy. They supported the abolition of all the authority and privileges of the monarchy, nobility, and Roman Catholic clergy, the establishment of fixed wages, the implementation of price controls to ensure affordable food and other essentials, and vigilance against counter-revolutionaries.
Committee of Public Safety
created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793—formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror (1793-94), a stage of the French Revolution. The Committee of Public Safety succeeded the previous Committee of General Defence (established in January 1793) and assumed its role of protecting the newly established republic against foreign attacks and internal rebellion. As a wartime measure, the Committee—composed at first of nine, and later of twelve, members—was given broad supervisory powers over military, judicial, and legislative efforts. It was formed as an administrative body to supervise and expedite the work of the executive bodies of the Convention and of the government ministers appointed by the Convention.
king escapes
during the night of 20-21 June 1791 was a significant episode in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfully attempted to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution at the head of loyal troops under royalist officers concentrated at Montmédy near the frontier. They escaped only as far as the small town of Varennes, where they were arrested after having been recognized at their previous stop in Sainte-Menehould. The incident was a turning point after which popular hostility towards the French monarchy as an institution, as well as towards the king and queen as individuals, became much more pronounced. The king's attempted flight provoked charges of treason that ultimately led to his execution in 1793.
the directory
the French Revolutionary government set up by the Constitution of the Year III, which lasted four years, from November 1795 to November 1799.
robespierre
was a French lawyer and politician, one of the best known and most influential figures associated with the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. As a member of the Estates-General, the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club, Robespierre was an outspoken advocate for the poor and for democratic institutions. He campaigned for universal male suffrage in France, price controls on basic food commodities and the abolition of slavery in the French colonies. He was an ardent opponent of the death penalty, but played an important role in arranging the execution of King Louis XVI, which led to the establishment of a French Republic.
Marat
was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist[1] who became best known for his role as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution. His journalism became renowned for its fierce tone, uncompromising stance towards the new leaders and institutions of the revolution, and advocacy of basic human rights for the poorest members of society, yet calling for prisoners of the Revolution to be killed before they could be freed in what became known as the September Massacres.[2] He was one of the most radical voices of the French Revolution. He became a vigorous defender of the sans-culottes, publishing his views in pamphlets, placards and newspapers, notably his periodical L'Ami du peuple (Friend of the People), which helped make him their unofficial link with the radical, republican Jacobin group that came to power after June 1793.
great fear
was a general panic that took place between 17 July and 3 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Was a period of panic and riot by peasants and others amid rumours of an "aristocratic conspiracy" by the king and the privileged to overthrow the Third Estate.
civil constitution of the clergy
was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that caused the immediate subordination of the Catholic Church in France to the French government.
Danton
was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution, in particular as the first president of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in the overthrow of the French monarchy and the establishment of the First French Republic".[1] He was guillotined by the advocates of revolutionary terror after accusations of venality and leniency toward the enemies of the Revolution
National Guard
was originally a French militia which existed from 1789 until 1872, including a period of official disbandment from 1827 to 1830. It was separate from the French Army and existed both for policing and as a military reserve. For most of its history the National Guard, particularly its officers, were widely viewed as loyal to middle-class interests. However, from 1792 to 1795, the National Guard was perceived as revolutionary and the lower ranks were identified with sans-culottes, and soon after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the National Guard in Paris became viewed as dangerously revolutionary, contributing to its dissolution.
Louis XVI
was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as Citizen Louis Capet during the final weeks of his life. In 1765, at the death of his father, Louis, son and heir apparent of Louis XV, Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin of France. Upon his grandfather's death on 10 May 1774, he assumed the title "King of France and Navarre", which he used until 4 September 1791, when he received the title of "King of the French" until the monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792. Louis XVI was guillotined on 21 January 1793.
Marie Antoinette
was the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an Archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. In April 1770, upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne, she became Dauphine of France. On 10 May 1774, when her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI, she assumed the title Queen of France and Navarre, which she held until September 1791, when, as the French Revolution proceeded, she became Queen of the French, a title she held until 21 September 1792.
national convention
was the second government of the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the one-year Legislative Assembly. Created after the great insurrection of 10 August 1792, it was the first French government organized as a republic, abandoning the monarchy altogether.
september massacres
were a wave of killings in Paris and other cities from 2-7 September 1792, during the French Revolution. There was a fear that foreign and royalist armies would attack Paris and that the inmates of the city's prisons would be freed and join them. Radicals called for preemptive action, especially journalist Jean-Paul Marat, who called on draftees to kill the prisoners before they could be freed.[2] The action was undertaken by mobs of National Guardsmen and some fédérés; it was tolerated by the city government, the Paris Commune, which called on other cities to follow suit.[3] By 6 September, half the prison population of Paris had been summarily executed: some 1200 to 1400 prisoners. Of these, 233 were nonjuring Catholic priests who refused to submit to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. However, the great majority of those killed were common criminals.[4] The massacres were repeated in many other French cities.[5]
creation of national assembly
which existed from June 13, 1789 to July 9, 1789, was a revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate (the common people) of the Estates-General; thereafter (until replaced by the Legislative Assembly on Sept. 30, 1791) it was known as the National Constituent Assembly The Third Estate had been granted "double representation"—that is, twice as many delegates as each of the other estates—but at the opening session on May 5, 1789 they were informed that all voting would be "by power" not "by head", so their double representation was to be meaningless in terms of power. They refused this and proceeded to meet separately
emigre
Émigré, any of the Frenchmen, at first mostly aristocrats, who fled France in the years following the French Revolution of 1789. From their places of exile in other countries, many émigrés plotted against the Revolutionary government, seeking foreign help in their goal of restoring the old regime. The Revolutionary leaders in France, fearful of their activity, took action against them: émigrés who did not return by January 1792 were liable to death as traitors
france declares war
By 1792, European Monarchs were eyeing France with suspicion. They had seen the overthrow of Louis XVI, by the French people, and worried that revolutionary fervor would spread to their countries. However, the monarchs were too suspecting of each other to unite against France. While elsewhere in Europe caution was being displayed, in France the public opinion was for war. Reactionaries and the monarchy wanted war because they thought that the new government would be easily defeated by foreign powers. This would pave the way for a return to the old regime, with Louis at the head of government. Revolutionaries wanted war because they thought war would unify the country, and had a genuine desire to spread the ideas of the Revolution to all of Europe. On April 20, 1792, the Legislative Assembly (France's governing body, formed in 1791) declared war on Austria. Although the French fared poorly at first, the armies became more successful as the war progressed.
Constitution of 1791
French constitution created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting. It was an important result of the French Revolution and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as its introduction. This Constitution meant the creation of a French constitutional monarchy.