World History II -- French Revolution TEST -- Date: 11/17/23

Third Estate in Estates General

- Mainly bourgeoisie were delegates for Third Estate in Estates General -> went to solve national financial crisis AND insist on reform -> previous estates general system always allowed for first and second estates to outvote third, thus third estate wanted all three to meet and vote together

From 1804 to 1814, Napoleon furthered reputation on the battlefield -> successfully faced down great European powers, Grand Empire of Napoleon reached greatest extent in 1810

- Napoleon valued rapid movements and made effective use of his large armies, developing new plans for each battle - Redrew the map of Europe, added (annexed) some areas to France (Netherlands and Belgium, parts of Italy + Germany), abolished Holy Roman Empire, created 38 member Confederation of the Rhine under French protection, made other countries reluctantly sign treaties with him - Put friends and family members on the thrones of Europe - Britain alone remained outside Napoleon's European empire, relied on sea power to stop Napoleon, Napoleon failed to invade in 1805, Battle of Trafalgar fought off southwest coast of Spain, Horatio Nelson smashed the French fleet and sabotaged French victory

Why were the clergy looked down upon/attacked by the Third Estate + Enlightenment idealists during 1789?

- The First Estate provided social services like schools, hospitals, and orphanages -> But: during the Enlightenment, "philosophes" targeted the Church for reform -> pointing out the idleness of clergy, Church interference in politics, and intolerance for dissent (disagreement) In Response: Many clergy condemned Enlightenment for undermining religion and moral order Philosophes Definition: (A group of radical thinkers and writers in France in the eighteenth century, including Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau --The philosophes stressed the use of human reason and were especially critical of established religious and political practices)

Power of the Clergy

In the Middle ages, Church had great influence over Christian Europe -- By 1789, in France, the French Clergy had enormous wealth and privilege, owned 10% of land, collected tithes (10% of salary), and paid no direct taxes to the state High Church leaders, such as bishops and abbots, were often also nobles, lived very well

Estates General, had not met for 175 years prior to 1789 in fear of nobles recovering the feudal rights they lost under absolute rule

-> the calling of the estates general offered a chance to make change, to establish a constitution that could bring the monarch under the control of the nobles and guarantee privileges (motivation for starting estates general, actually turned in favor of the third estate) by 1789: France was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nobles fearful of taxes were denouncing royalty, bread riots escalating -> Louis XVI summoned Estates General to meet in Versailles in May 1789

Napoleon's Reforms

-Modernizes finances; restores prosperity -regulates economy to control prices, encourages new industry, builds roads and canals -public school system set up under strict government control -made peace with Catholic Church through The Concordat of 1801, keeping Church under state control but recognized religious freedom for Catholics (Catholics liked it) -supported by all classes, encouraged emigres to return, recognized peasants' right to lands they bought from Church and nobles during revolution, restoration of order after years of chaos - Made all careers open to talent, Napoleonic Code: embodied Enlightenment principles, such as equality of all citizens, religious toleration, advancement based on merit, undid most of women's rights and made males have complete authority over their wives - Theme of Napoleon valuing order and authority over individual rights

When did the French Revolution begin?

1789, with the storming of the Bastille

Bastille Storming

July 14 1789 -> Paris, rumors that the National Assembly would be disbanded and royal troops would occupy capital, Parisians assembled outside Bastille (prison, symbol of royalty and nobility), demanded weapons and gunpowder -> Commander of Bastille opened fire, mob broke through defenses, killed commander, released prisoners, became a symbol and the start of the French Revolution

When did the storming of the Bastille take place?

July 1789 (the 14th of July)

Third Estate -- What were they Made of

Made up of 27 million people, 98% of the population, at the top were the "bourgeoisie: middle class", prosperous bankers, merchants, manufacturers who held up the French economy + lawyers, doctors, journalists, professors, and skilled artisans However: the bourgeoisie only consisted of 10% of the Third Estate-- 9 out of 10 people in France were rural peasants, some of the wealthy being landowners, others being farmers, laborers, and many others had obligations to nobles The poorest members of the Third Estate were city workers, those earning a living in labor or working as servants, many were unemployed and turned to begging or crime

Why was the Third Estate unrestful in 1789?

Members of the Third Estate resented the privileges enjoyed by the First and Second estate -- bourgeoisie (middle-class employed and educated workers) could buy political offices and titles, but the best were reserved for nobles, while urban workers/city workers earned miserable wages. Smallest rise in price of bread could mean starvation Burdens Upon Peasants: Peasants were taxed on everything, and man owed fees and services dating back to medieval times, forced to do unpaid labor to repair roads and bridges --> nobles hurt by rising prices further burdened the peasants by trying to reimpose old manor dues had no representation in political order, despite being the majority Only nobles had the right to hunt game -> peasants were forbidden to kill the rabbits that ate their crops

Downfall of Napoleon

Battle of the Nations at Leipzig was where Napoleon was defeated by an alliance of Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia, in 1813 -> in 1814, Napoleon abdicated (stepped down) from power and was exiled to Elba, the victors recognizing the brother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII as king of France -> The following economic depression and fear of return to the old regime rekindled loyalty to Napoleon - When victors gathered for a peace conference in Vienna, Napoleon escaped his island exile and returned to France to the welcome joy of soldiers; Louis XVIII fled, and in March 1815, Napoleon was reinstated emperor Only 100 days later, in Waterloo, Belgium in June 1815, Napoleon was defeated, abdicated again, and went into his second exile on St. Helena -> died in 1821, never returned from exile

Chief goals of Congress of Vienna and what it did to achieve these goals

Chief goal: restore peace and stability to Europe after 25 years of war 1. Organized lavish banquets to inspire unity and cooperation and friendship among all attending countries, redrew the map of Europe and organized fair land distribution, created Concert of Europe to further maintaining peace, established legitimate monarchs again

Counterrevolutionaries were battled within France, the revolution now the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, lawyer and politician, leader of Committee of Public Safety, Jacobin

Considered the "incorruptible", enemies called him a tyrant, embraced idea of "general will", promoted religious tolerance and wished to abolish slavery, believed virtue and a republic could only be achieved through terror A chief architect of the Reign of Terror, July 1793 to July 1794, 40,000 people killed, by the guillotine Weary of bloodshed and fearful of losing their own lives, in July 1794, the Convention turned on the Committee of Public safety -> Robespierre and Georges Danton executed, ceasing most of the executions

Economic Warfare through Napoleon's Continental System

Napoleon waged economic warfare through Continental System, closing European ports to British goods; Britain responded with a blockade of European ports Failed to bring Britain to its knees

Civil Constitution of the Clergy, 1790

National Assembly voted to take over and sell Church lands + placed Church under state control. A document, issued by the National Assembly in July 1790, that broke ties with the Catholic Church and established a national church system in France with a process for electing bishops and priests. Ended papal authority, dissolved convents and monasteriesThe document angered the pope and church officials and turned many French Catholics against the revolutionaries.

Why were the Third Estate questioning the ancien regime?

Due to Enlightenment ideals, "Why did the first two estates have privileges at the expense of the majority?", third estate called for privileged classes to pay taxes,

France's Crumbling Economy

Economic decline in 1770s, late 1780s = bad harvests, food prices rise, more hunger -> hard times and lack of food causing riots, revolts, attacking manor houses

Cahiers

(notebooks), list of grievances drawn up by delegates going to the meeting of the estates general, called for reforms like fairer taxes, freedom of the press, regular meetings of estates general - testified to boiling class resentments, often cahiers insulted and publicly called out the first and second estates

King during French Revolution: Louis XVI

- Appointed Jacques Necker, financial minister, to help the economic crisis, who insisted on reducing court spending, reforming government, abolishing tariffs that made taxing costly (improving trade), and TAXING THE FIRST AND SECOND ESTATES --> due to this last suggestion, first and second estate forced king to dismiss him crisis deepens as nothing is done to prevent it -> pressure for reform mounts (make change to improve), first and second estate called for Estates General meeting

National Assembly + Tennis Court Oath

- At the Estates General of 1789, Third Estate transformed themselves into National Assembly, representing people of France, invited members of other estates to help them form a constitution (body of law) for France -> One day, they were locked out of the meeting room due to unrelated circumstances -> but they believed the king wished to send them home and took the Tennis Court oath, vowing not to disband until they had created a constitution -> Louis XVI accepted National Assembly due to involvement from First and Second Estate, royal troops began gathering around Versailles and Paris, rumors king would dissolve assembly grew, deepened crisis in July 1789 due to Necker's second dismissal + growing food shortages due to 1788 harvest, leading to...storming of Bastille

Development into French Republic

Radicals took control of the National Assembly in 1792, supported by Parisians, elected a new legislative body, the National Convention -> suffrage extended to all male citizens rather than only property owners (constitution of 1791) September 1792: Convention met and voted to abolish monarchy, declared France a republic, new constitution seized lands of nobles, abolished titles of nobility, Jacobins sought to erase all traces of new order, declared all men and women "Citizen"

Spain v Napoleon

Resistance to foreign rule by France in 1808 came from Spain, who remained loyal to their former king and were devoted to the Church that France wished to destroy -> Spanish patriots fueled by nationalism led "guerilla warfare" (hit and run raids) Leading to large numbers of Napoleon's armies being tied down in Spain when Napoleon needed them elsewhere

What is the "Old Regime"?, ended in 1789, "ancien regime" (old order)

The French Government was organized into three estates (first- clergy, second - nobility, third - commoners, 98% of the rest of the population), all of which were ruled by an absolute monarch, the political and social system that existed in France before the French Revolution

What were the Three Estates of France?

The first estate is made up of the clergy, the second is made up of the nobility, and the third is made up of the commoners, 98% of the population

Constitution of 1791

The main goal of the National Assembly, officially set up the limited monarchy to replace the absolute monarchy, established the Legislative Assembly: which had the power to make laws, collect taxes, decide on issues of war and peace, allowed people to elect lawmakers (only tax-paying male citizens could) Constitution replaced old provinces, abolished old provincial courts, protected private property, supported free trade, compensated nobles for land seized by peasants, forbade labor unions, abolished guilds To moderate reformers, the Constitution of 1791 completed the revolution, ending Church interference in government and ensured equality of all men in the law, put power in the hands of common men.

Second Estate - Nobles + Why were they Struggling During 1789?

Titled nobility of French Society, had their military power crushed in 1600s, and had rights only under strict royal control (including top jobs in government, army, courts, and Church) -> ambitious nobles tried for royal appointments or enjoyed endless entertainment at Versailles -> nobles were unrestful as many had little money income despite owning land, and felt the pressure of trying to maintain their noble status in a period of rising economic prices -> Note: Many nobles disliked absolutism (absolute rule), resenting the monarchy, feared losing their traditional privileges, especially the right to not pay taxes

By 1812, Napoleon had invaded Russia, but the campaign caused a chain of events that led to his downfall -> his final defeat brought an end to the era of the French Revolution.

Under Napoleon, French armies had spread the ideas of the revolution across Europe -> backing liberal reforms in the lands they conquered, installing revolutionary governments, abolishing nobility, ending church privileges, opened careers to "men of talent", ending serfdom and manorial dues Nationalism that motivated French forces also worked to limit Napoleon's ability to conquer other nations

France Financial Crisis

hand in hand w/ social unrest, caused in part by "deficit spending" (government spending exceeding revenue) due to lavish lives of nobles, monarchy, clergy, + debts from war (Seven Year's War, American Revolution) costs rising in 1700s government borrowing more and more money in order to solve financial crisis: government needs to increase taxes, reduce expenses or both: however nobles and clergy do not want to limit their lavish lifestyles and don't want to pay taxes

Napoleon in Russia

invaded because they didn't obey the Continental System, Russia won because of "scorched earth policy" of burning villages and fields before retreating, leaving no food for the French or shelter, and harsh winter climate in 1812, making Napoleon unable to feed and supply his army through the approaching winter -> by making them retreat 1,000 miles from Moscow, he lost 500,000 out of the 600,000 soldiers; Napoleon's reputation from this was shattered.