Chapter 20 Ids

Brianna Yates

Estates – division of society that split the population into three different estates: the
First Estate consisted of the Clergy, the Second, Nobility, and the Third, the rest
of the population, although there were further divisions. Members represented
their Estate in the Assembly.

Enlightened Despots – the governmental system in which rulers altered previous

ways of ruling to accommodate the period of Enlightenment. During this time
rulers attended to arts and sciences, while also focusing on the rights of the
individual such as property and freedom of speech.

Catherine the Great – “Enlightened” ruler of Russia for 3 years. She was the empress
who was responsible for the expansion of Russia and the westernization that took
place during her reign. She was able to continue to keep the peasants in the fields
while educating the wealthy and maintaining connections with the rest of Europe.

Charter of Nobility – doctrine that was declared by Catherine the Great of Russia. It
was effective in maintaining proper a nobility-throne relationship by offering
more control for the nobility over serfs and land in exchange for loyalty to the
throne in return.

Joseph II of Austria –emperor of the Holy Roman Empire for 35 years. He instituted a
series of laws and reforms that shaped his country and was generally much more
effective than his enlightened counterparts. Instead of following the ideas set
before him by the period of enlightenment, he simply followed his own path and
established a government based on reason; where the members were dedicated
rather than given the job at birth.

George III – king of Great Britain and Ireland for nearly 60 years. During his reign he
united the two realms into the United Kingdom, but he is most notable for his
passion for war. During his reign, he got into many conflicts with France, and also
lost the American colonies as well.

John Wilkes – English politician that fought for the people’s rights in choosing a
representative assembly, rather than the traditional way in which the House of
Commons chose the members. He was eventually kicked out of the congress
when members became dissatisfied with his increasing conservatism.

Louis XVI – king of France until his title was banned by the Revolutionaries. He
became a much hated member of the French government due to the fact that he
was a terrible leader and a rather indecisive man. In reality, he was probably not
nearly as terrible as he was made out to be but was bad enough for the general
public to revolt.
Corvee – the tax that peasants paid not in money but in work. Peasants were
responsible for working a certain number of days in order to pay their dues
towards the noble of their land and/or the government itself.

Jacques Necker – French financial advisor for Louis XVI who tried desperately to fix
the financial crisis during the king’s reign in the late 1700s.

Calonne – Frenchman who advocated the revival of the French economy after
stumbling upon the countries mere debt of 110 million livres. There were many
reasons for this debt, namely the American Revolution though. Calonne’s plan
consisted of several measures to be taken; however, they all failed miserably. In a
last ditch effort, he decided to convince the assembly to tax rich and poor alike in
order to keep the country afloat.

Abbe Sieyes – Frenchman who could be viewed as the most prominent voice of the
people during the French Revolution. He wrote a pamphlet entitled “What is the
Third Estate?” and eventually helped bring Napoleon to power.

Cahiers – a method for the local population to complain to the government in charge
to reform certain areas of the system. It was mostly a means for the population to
speak out to the government.

National Assembly – the “main assembly” of the French legislative branch; before the
fighting between the two classes took place and they divided into the National
Constituent Assembly (The Third Estate) and the Estates-General (The First and
Second Estates). Due to internal conflicts dealing with representation, they
decided it was best if they stopped seeing each other.

The Bastille – major French prison that is most notable for the storming of the castle
that took place during the beginning of the French Revolution after much rioting
occurred in the streets of France.

Tricolor – the new representative colors of the French Revolution and the
overthrowing regime that took place afterwards. The colors were symbolic of the
capital (red & blue), separated by the Bourbon color (white).

The Great Fear – event that took place in France after a shortage of grain. Peasants,
who had by this time grown weary of the nobles hording the food, soon came to
rioting. They destroyed documents mostly, but also stole essentials for survival.
This fear spread rampant in Europe until the militias were able to stop the
violence.

Assignats – paper currency that developed from the government running out of
money and being forced to sell church properties. They were supposed to be
bonds but overtime they evolved into legal tender. Unfortunately the poorly
regulated notes became useless with the rise of hyperinflation.
Civil Constitution of the Clergy – the reform that was brought by the French
Revolution that angered many citizens and the Church. It directly affected the
election of cardinals and bishops in the French Church and was harmful to the
progress of the revolution.

Émigrés – French refugees who, fearing their life or life earnings, were forced out of
France during the French Revolution. They mostly consisted of wealthy,
protestant civilians who had much to lose during an uncertain time.

Legislative Assembly – the French legislature that was able to discuss topics such as
revolution and politics during the transitions between the National Constituent
Assembly and the National Convention. It was only around for about a year.

Jacobin Club – political faction that was most likely the most influential during the
French Revolution. Membership neared five hundred thousand at its peak, with
nearly eight thousand chapters in France. It originated from the popular Breton
deputies of the Estates General at Versailles.

Brunswick Manifesto – a deal created by the Duke of Brunswick between him and the
people of Paris. It was initially created to maintain the peace between his family
and the increasingly violent population of France. Basically, as long as his family
remained safe, he would not harm the population. Too bad though, because this
only further stirred up the already angry nation into action.

Sans-culottes – term used to describe the poorer of the Third Estate. It was created by
the wealthier of the Estate. It originated from the pants worn by the poor, which
were not short like the wealthy, during the Revolution.

National Convention – consisted of the constitutional and legislative assembly. It was

the executive power during the first few years of the new republic, but only lasted
three years due to the fact that everyone thought it was best to wait until the
fighting had died down. The confusion of power brought by the convention was
essential in establishing a government.

September Massacres – violent riots that took place in Paris during the French
Revolution in 1792. During this time half of the prison population was executed,
the Roman Catholic Church was targeted, and the violence was not nearing an
end.

Girondins – French political faction that was much like the Jacobins, only came from
a different area. Both parties were powerful in organizing the outcome of the
government (which was failure) and essentially led to the Revolution.

The Mountain – political group that was most powerful in the Assembly (called
 Montagnards). They butted heads with the Girondins in the Assembly, because
the Montagnards were largely inefficient due to their background and the
Girondins were able to make logical decisions.

The Vendee – site of the revolt that took place against the Revolutionary
establishment because the peasants did not like the new changes to the Roman
Catholic Church under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. It cost the
government about 100,000 livres.

Law of the Maximum – French law that established the maximum price of grain in an
effort to eliminate inflation and thus solve the food shortage problems. It was
established by the National Convention in 1793 and covered not only grain but
also other important products.

Committee of Public Safety – formed the executive government that was missing
from France and was commissioned by the National Convention. The committee
consisted of twelve members and executed thousands of people during the period
which was known as “the Reign of Terror.”

Robespierre – leader of the French Revolution. He was nicknamed “The

Incorruptible.” Educated in law, he was a follower of Enlightenment philosophies.
He was eventually executed for his part in the Committee of Public Safety and the
Reign of Terror.

Reign of Terror – period during the French Revolution that saw much rivalry between
political groups with the use of the guillotine. Overall, somewhere between
18,500 and 40,000 people died during these conflicts, until the leaders of the
movement were also executed for their crimes.

Decadi – calendar that was used by the French during the Revolution for about
thirteen years.

Levee en Masse – doctrine of the Third Geneva Convention that explains why all men
must defend France, which originates from the French Revolutionary war, which
demonstrates a new role for the citizen.