FRENCH REVOLUTION

The French Revolution is an uprising in France against the monarchy from 1789 to 1799 which resulted in the establishment of France as a republic.
1. THE CAUSES
  1. THE INFLUENCE OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
    1. The Enlightenment was put into practice in the American Revolution.
    2. Revolutionaries demanded that all french subjects were free and equal to the law.
  2. POLITICAL CRISIS
    1. Estates general
      1. Set out two problems:
        Clergy and nobility had more power (2 votes) than the third estate (1 vote)
        Estates general couldn't limit the king's power.
  3. ECONOMIC CRISIS
    1. France is bankrupt due to:
      1. France participated in American War of Independence.
      2. Royal family spent large amounts of money.
        Louis XVI decided to increase taxes, even for the privileged upper classes.
  4. SOCIAL CRISIS
    1. All three estates were discontented with the crown.
      1. Clergy and nobility
        Didn't want to pay taxes.
      2. Middle classes and peasanty
        Objected to the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and nobility.
        Angered by the luxurious lifestyle of the crown and court.
2. MAJOR EVENTS
  1. Increasing political and economic problems, Louis XVI decided to call together the Estates General in 1789 in order to increase taxes. This meeting marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
    1. THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY (1789-1791)
      Annotations:
      - Also called the National Assembly.
      1. Third Estate proposed new voting system:
        Each representative would have an individual vote.
      2. People from Paris stormed the Bastille. (14 July 1789)
        Annotations:
        Bastille: A famous political prison.
    2. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (1791-1792)
      1. Confrontations between two political groups, Girondists and Jacobins.
        GIRONDISTS
        Believed in the Revolution.
        Moderate political ideas.
        Limited suffrage.
        JACOBINS
        Believed in the revolution.
        They expanded suffrage.
        Radical political ideas.
      2. The war against Austria and Prussia.
    3. CONVENTION (1792-1795)
      1. Absolution of the Monarchy and execution of Louis XVI.
      2. War with the absolutists nations of Europe.
      3. Robespierre eliminated any opposition by using terror and guillotine.
    4. DIRECTORY AND CONSULATE (1795-1799)
      1. Executive power was held by a directory of five members.
      2. Napoleon stood out in many military campaigns and became the first consul.
3. THE CONCEQUENCES
  1. POLITICAL CHANGES
    1. Caused end of absolute monarchy.
      1. Constitutional monarchies and republics were formed.
    2. New constitutions:
      1. BASED ON:
        Popular sovereignty
        Separation of powers
      2. ESTABLISHED:
        Limited male suffrage
        Civil rights
    3. Elections led to the emergence of political groups.
  2. ECONOMIC CHANGES
    1. Legal changes ended the economic privileges that has characterized the Ancien Régime.
      1. All citizens now had to pay tax and contribute to the states expenses.
        Annotations:
        Including nobility and clergy.
      2. New laws guaranteed private property rights.
      3. Free trade was guaranteed in benefited middle-class merchants.
  3. SOCIAL CHANGES
    1. Once the clergy and nobility had lost the privileges they had enjoyed under the Ancien Régime, the Estates system ceased to exit.
  4. Main concequence
    1. The crisis and ultimate disintegration of the Ancien Régime.

Next up

FRENCH REVOLUTION

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by Sophie Coughlan Coll about 7 years ago