CH 18 FRENCH

REVOLUTION &
NAPOLEAN
1789-1815 p. 574
Part 1. P. 576: Mrs. G reads French Rev. Begins
◦ Background: France had 3 classes & the
upper classes had special status (clergy &
landowners)
◦ 3 estates
1st: Clergy: Divided—higher from noble
families, parish priests were often poor;
owned 10% of land
2nd: Nobles: Govt, military, courts,
church; owned 25-30% of land
◦ NEITHER OF THE ABOVE
ESTATES HAD TO PAY
TAILLE: FRANCE’S CHIEF
TAX
3rd: Everyone else : could be lowliest
peasant (75% of this estate) to
wealthiest merchant; owned 35-40% of
land
 Peasants had to pay fees to nobles for
certain things (like grinding of flour);
also had to harvest nobles crops
Prices of goods increased faster than
wages
bourgeoisie: middle class;
merchants, bankers, industrialists,
lawyers, doctors, writers. They didn’t
want to abolish noble class. Instead,
they just wanted THEIR class elevated.
NOBLES AND BOURGEOISIE BOTH HATED
ABSOLUTE POWER OF MONARCH KING
LOUIS XVI

Financial crisis/bad harvests/broke

government all contributed to unrest.
PLUS-extravagant spending of king &
his wife Marie Antoinette
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDTo7IyW0tA
From Estates-General to National
Assembly: Estates-General had not met since 1614 because
kings were so absolute
◦ 1789 Louis XVI called a meeting of Estates General:
◦ 1st & 2nd Estate each had about 300 reps.
◦ 3rd Estate had 600 reps.
Each estate had 1 vote; therefore, 1st & 2nd could outvote 3rd. 3rd wanted 1 man, 1 vote.
1st & 2nd estates locked the doors on the 3rd. 3rd met in a indoor tennis court to draft a new
constitution. Tennis Court Oath: vow to meet until a new constitution was drafted

July 14, 1789: Peasants heard the king’s forces were coming to attack. They also
heard there were munitions in the Bastille, a prison. They stormed the Bastille, only
to find no munitions. The rebels then demolished the Bastille & beheaded the
warden. Sparked more rebellions known as the Great Fear.
End of the old regime: On Aug 4, 1789, National
Assembly abolished all privileges for nobles and clergy.
◦ Declaration of the Rights of Man: Aug 26, 1789. All men free & equal before the law,
public office should be based on talent, no group exempt from taxation, & freedom of
speech & press. **Based on U.S. Constitution
◦ What about women?
◦ King concedes: Louis XIV stayed at Versailles & refused to accept Dec. of Rts. of Man.
Women stormed Versailles and demanded he accept it. On Oct. 6 he did. King &
Queen were prisoners of Paris.

◦ Church Reforms: Civil Constitution of Clergy: Nat’l Assembly seized & sold church
lands. (govt needed $); church brought under control of the state. Bishops and priests
were elected not appointed by Pope. Many Catholics became enemies of the
revolution.
New Regime
◦ New Constitution & New Fears: Constitution of 1791: King’s power
was limited by the Legislative Assembly made up of men, 25 and
older, who paid a certain amount of taxes. (active citizens) All
others were passive citizens. Louis XIV HATED the new Leg.
Assembly. He tried to flee France in disguise but was captured &
brought back & reluctantly swore to uphold the new constitution.

◦ War w/ Austria: Austria/Prussia feared revolutions would spread

and supported Louis XIV threatening attack. France struck first and
faired badly.

◦ Rise of the Paris Commune: In 1792, Parisians still hungry and

demonstrating. Declared themselves a commune run by a city
council & seized power of Legislative Assembly. The revolution
became more radical. Members called themselves sans-culottes
meaning they wore long trousers instead of the short pants that
nobles wore.
Part 2 P. 586 Radical Revolution & Reaction
◦ Move to radicalism: by Aug of 1792, Louis XIV really
had no authority. Under the new minister of justice,
Georges Danton, the sans-culottes attacked the
palace. Rumors of nobles attacking the commune
and vice versa fueled opposition from both sides.
(the mountain) Jacobins: felt King needed to
be executed
Girondins: favored keeping King alive
Jan 21, 1793—King Louis XIV beheaded-reinforced the
new, radical phase Mrs. G reads inset P. 587
◦ A European coalition took up arms against the new
France in order to restore old order. Maximilian
Robespierre was the Jacobian leader of the new
French radicals.
Reign of Terror: led by Robespierre, the Committee of
Public Safety took control of gov’t; set up to protect France
◦ Revolutionary Courts: set up to prosecute counter-revolutionaries
(40,000 people killed, Marie Antoinette included)
◦ Republic of Virtue: a democratic republic composed of good
citizens that Robespierre concocted. National Convention moved
toward De-Christianization due to the church being “superstitious”
instead of reasonable. However, France remained overwhelmingly
catholic.
◦ A Nation in Arms: Committee of Public Safety raised an army to fight
outside sources who were trying to maintain monarchy’s power. In
one year, raised over 1 million soldiers
◦ 1794 France had defeated its outside enemies. Robespierre was
guillotined and Reign of Terror ended. New government set up;
National Convention restricted power of Committee of Public Safety.
2 legislative houses set up to balance power.
The Directory: executive committee of 5 under new
constitution.
◦ Only those who owned property
could be electors-members of the
house—backward from universal
male suffrage of the Commune.
Directory was corrupt. Directory
saw opposition from both radicals
and conservatives. Relied on
military, General Napoleon
Bonaparte eventually overthrew
the Directory in a coup d’etat.
Crowned himself emperor of
France
Part 3; pg. 396 Age or Napoleon: ruled France from 1799-1815;
helped end the revolution by setting up new gov’t--consulate--
BUT was a revolutionary
◦ Early life: Actually Italian; military
school background and war hero.

◦ Domestic policies:
 peace with the church
Napoleon set up 7 legal codes; most
important >>>Civil code/Napoleonic
Code: equality of all citizens before
the law, right to choose own
profession, religious tolerance,
abolition of feudalism
◦ Created strong, centralized gov’t of
CAPABLE officials. (not based on
rank/birth)
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aq_gRfmjgY
Napoleon’s Empire: Napoleon cared much more
about military leadership than domestic policies—probably led to
his downfall.
◦ Building: when he took over, France at war with Russia/Gr Brit/Austria. Initially Napoleon bartered
peace, but eventually fought again and WON. Napoleon was master of Europe; engineered a
GRAND EMPIRE-3 parts : French, dependent (kingdoms ruled by Napoleon’s relatives), allied
(countries Napoleon beat); these 3 parts joined forced against Great Britain.
◦ Spreading: He sought to spread 3 tenants of revolution: 1. legal equality
2. religious toleration
3. economic freedom

◦ British Resistance; Had superior Sea Power

◦ FALL OF NAPOLEON: FORCING OF French NATIONALISM onto other nations; survival of Great Britain
He was defeated by a combo of British and Prussian Army
Final Defeat at Waterloo against Duke of Wellington
Napoleon exiled to island of St. Helena