French Revolution

Bourgeoise

A classification that means French middle clas, upper middle class within the third estate of French social class system; included merchants, bankers, doctors, professors, those involved in manufacturing Effect: propped the French economy (contributed to society and paid taxes)

Jacques Necker

financial wizard who urged king louis XV to reduce court spending, reform government, and improve internal affair by abolishing tariffs that made trade costly. Cause: Louis XIV wagered costly wars such as the French Revolution and Seven Years war Effect: (Louis XIV) Necker urged the king to call for the Estates General meeting and obtained to double the number of the Third Estate representatives. But Necker was not able to change the voting process. There was still one vote by Estate instead of a vote by head.

Abbe Sieyes

wrote "What is the Third Estate?" cause: third estate started to get angry that they had to pay taxes and follow laws/ rules, and the 1st and 2nd estate had all the wealth and didn't contribute to society Effect: The the third estate eventually gets the rights they deserve under the declaration of the rights of man and citizen.

Robespierre

(1758-1794) emerged as the dominant figure in the Committee of Public Safety. Most powerful revolutionary figure in 1793 and 1794 and thought terror was important for revolution. Argued that people had to devote themselves to the Republic with no selfish gains from political life. Cause: came to power to deal with the threats of France, with the Committee of Public Safety, who had battled to save the revolution Effect: a chief leader of the reign of terror, executing around 40,000 people who were seen to try to rebel against the radical government. significance; saved the French Revolution from going back to monarchy, although it eventually does.

Bonaparte Napoleon

(1769-1821) Emperor of France; he seized power in a coup d'état in 1799 and he gained a large empire in Europe. He placed his relatives into positions of power throughout Europe, he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, and sent to exile on the island of Elba. Cause: received a scholarship to a good military academy, shaping him into an ambitious leader/ general Effect: made Napoleon civil law code (making all men equal under the law) Significance: Napoleon's internal policies strengthened France and allowed it to dominate most of Europe after a series of successful military campaigns (1805-7). Naturally, he established his style of rule in the countries he overran. However, he mistakenly thought that the administrative and legal reforms of the revolution he carried to the rest of Europe could be separated from the ideas of Nationalism and Liberalism (liberty and equality) that had given those reforms life and substance. Therefore, Napoleon's imperial rule inadvertently spread these ideas of Nationalism and Liberalism.

Louis XVI

(1792) well meaning but weak and indecisive king of France who appointed Jacques Necker as his advisor. Louis' allegiance to his nobles led him to ignore many of Necker's proposals, causing upset amongst the Third Estate. Cause: The economy spiraled downward (unemployment in Paris in 1788 is estimated at 50%), crops failed, the price of bread and other food soared. The people were not happy. To top it off, Louis had the misfortune to marry a foreigner, the Austrian Marie Antoinette. The anger of the French people, fueled by xenophobia, targeted Marie as a prime source of their problems. Effect: end of an era, and French Monarchy

Louis XVII

(1814-1824) Restored Bourbon throne after the Revoltion. He accepted Napoleon's Civil Code (principle of equality before the law), honored the property rights of those who had purchased confiscated land and establish a bicameral (two-house) legislature consisting of the Chamber of Peers (chosen by king) and the Chamber of Deputies (chosen by an electorate). cause: When Napoleon went into exile to the island of Elba, Louis XVIII and his family returned to the throne of his ancestors. Effect: the new French regime was more liberal and enlightened than the last, because the demands of total war had cancelled under the Empire the civil rights and these were now guaranteed by the Charter of Bourbon. The French economy also tried to be fixed.

Edmund Burke

A conservative leader who was deeply troubled by the aroused spirit of reform. In 1790, he published Reforms on The Revolution in France, one of the greatest intellectual defenses of European conservatism. He defended inherited priveledges in general and those of the English monarchy and aristocracy. Glorified unrepresentitive Parliament and predicted reform would lead to much chaos/tyranny. Cause: Emigres, etc spread bad word of the Revolution Effect: the French eventually loose in the war over the revolution in Waterloo and Louis XVIII takes power

Olympe de Gouges

A proponent of democracy, she demanded the same rights for French women that French men were demanding for themselves. In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791), she challenged the practice of male authority and the notion of male-female inequality. She lost her life to the guillotine due to her revolutionary ideas. cause: Women are not given full rights in revolutionary documents Effect/ Significance: killed in the Guillotine, women in France today have rights

Louis XV

Great grandson of Louis XIV. Although France was then the strongest state in Europe, years of warfare had drained the treasury. He was far too weak to deal with heavy taxes bad harvest etc. and neglected the need for reform. Cause: became king at 5 years old in 1719 after the death of his Great Grandfather Louis XIV died Effect: Had Louis XV followed a more conservative fiscal policy, the revolution might have been delayed, or averted. However, with dire consequences, Louis XV's reign was marked by the same disastrous spending on maintaining France's position in Europe as the reign of Louis XIV.

Marie Antoinette

The Queen of France during the Revolution. She was married to Louis XIV. She was also known for her lavish spending's, and her extravagant head dresses. She is well known for a quote "Let them eat cake.", however she never actually said this. The people of France executed her, and her husband Louis XIV in 1793. Cause: (her downfall): the great fear and the bread famine Effect: She is executed in the Guillotine and the french Revolution is supposively "over." Significance: she represented everything that was wrong with the monarchy and the Second Estate: They appeared to be tone-deaf, out of touch, disloyal (along with her allegedly treasonous behavior, writers and pamphleteers frequently accused the queen of adultery) and self-interested. the image of the queen was far more influential than the woman herself.

Crane Brinton

an American historian of France, as well as an historian of ideas. His most famous work, The Anatomy of Revolution, compared the dynamics of revolutionary movements to the progress of fever Cause: the American Revolution Effect/ significance: we study the 4 phases in history class today