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Financial Troubles
MoneyFrance was in great. Although most of it was from Louis XIV, Seven Years' War and the American Revolution added to it along with the lavish life-style people were living. The goverment countinued to borrow more and more money. France was divided into three different social classes called estates but only the third one, which was a majority of the population, was required to pay taxes and the upper estates, the clergy and the nobility, did not want to pay taxes. Unsure about what to do, -
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Financial Troubles 2
Louis calls Jacques Necker, a financial expert, to get his opinion. He says the only was to fix it is to make everyone pay taxes but Louis does not want to do this; Jacques Necker is fired and the Estates-General is called. -
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General
Unsure how to handle the financial problem, Louis XVI called upon the Estates-General to meet and discus how they would like to approach everything. He had each estate prepare a cahiers about what they did not like; many complained about taxes, freedom of press, and regular meeting of the Estates-General. When the estate went to vote, however, the third estate was always outvoted and therefore the upper estates always got what they wanted ignoring what a majority of the population wanted. The -
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General 2
third estate, unhappy about not getting a say, wanted to meet together, not separate, and count the votes "by head". They declared themselves the National Assembly and said they were representing the people of France. They took the Tennis Court Oath to always meet together when they had to until the problem they were faced with was resolved. They soon started to hear rumors that the king was planning to get rid of the assembly. -
Storming the Bastille
Upon hearing rumors about the king breaking up the National Assembly, more than 800 Parisians gathered outside of Bastille and demanded weapons and gun powder. The commander there refused to hand over any weapons and started firing at the crowd; this sparked a battle. As the battle progressed, the mob managed to break through the defense and kill the commander and all of the guards there. Although there were no weapons to take, they released prisioners. -
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National Assembly Acts
National AssemblyOn August 4, 1789, feudalism was abolished. The National Assembly wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizens that said all men were equal; this document was modeled after the American Declaration of Independence. The king did not take well to this document and did not accept the reforms. Later on, 6,000 woman that were unhappy about the lack of bread gathered and marched from Paris to Versailles and demanded to see the king. They were tired of always having food taken from them -
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National Assembly Acts 2
when they were starving. The women refused to leave until the king returned to Paris with them so they did not have to travel as far when they wanted to see him; they ended up dragging him and the royal family all the way back. The National Assembly then voted to take over and sell the Church land to pay off debt. To further control the Church, it was put under state control. The Assembly later wrote the Constitution of 1791 which limited monarchies. Everything was starting to become too much -
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National Assembly Acts 3
Louis XVI and he decided the only way for him to regain control was for him to seek help from another army. He tried to escape to Austria where his wife had relatives but then got caught. This broke the bond between him and his subjects because they all thought he was abandoning them. -
Threats From Abroad
In August of 1791, the king of Prussia and emperor of Austria, who also happened to be the queen's brother, issued the Declaration of Pilnitz. This document warned the people of France that they would intervene anything that happened in order to protect the French monarchy. Although this was really only a threat, France prepared for war. -
Civil War (Radicals Take Over) 2
Austria, Prussia, Britain, and some other states. -
Civil War (Radicals Take Over)
In October, the new Legislative Assembly took office but did not end up lasting very long, less than a year. They could not handle all of the financial problems. Prices started to rise rapidly which then led to even more food shortages. The sans-culottes demanded a republic. The Legislative Assembly began to compete for power. The Jacobins started using the the newspaper to spread information about a republican government quicker. To spread the revolution beginning there, France declared war on -
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Monarchy is Abolished
Killing the KingOn August 10, 1792, the Parisians stormed the royal palace and killed all of the king's guards. The royal family was then relocated to where the Legislative assembly was. Citizens began attacking the prisons and killing the prisoners and letting some loose. The radicals were trying to make things better for France; they took control of the Assembly and elected a new legislative body. In September, they voted to abolish the monarchy and change their government to a republic. In January they -
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Monarchy is Abolished 2
killed the king. In October, the queen was then killed as well. The monarchy is officially abolished. -
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Robespierre and the Reign of Terror 2
horror. Members of the Convention eventually turned on the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre was arrested and then executed. -
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Robespierre and the Reign of Terror
GuillotineRobespierre was a strong leader and quickly became the leader of the Committee of Public Safety. However, he only thought France was capable of achieving a "republic of virtue" through terror. He was one of the chief architects of the Reign of Terror. During that time, about 300,000 people who resisted the revolution were arrested and 17,000 were killed. Fueling the Reign of Terror the whole time was the guillotine. It was thought to be a more human way of killing but quickly became a symbol of -
Third Stage of the Revolution
After everything happened with the Reign of Terror, the revolution entered its third stage and wrote a third constitution: the Constitution of 1795. This set up five-man Directory and a two-house legislature. The Directory held power from 1795-1799. During this time peace was made with Prussia and Spain. On the other hand, war with Austria and Britain continued and the rising price of bread rose causing the sans-culottes to riot. People who had left France before were now returning with feeling -
Third Stage of the Revolution 2
of royalists. These things threatened the Directory. The politicians then turned to Napoleon for help to reach their own goals. -
Spread of Nationalism
By 1799, the French people had gained a sense of pride towards their country. After all, they did manage to overtake their monarchy and set up a whole new government. They started attending festivals to celebrate the nation and the revolution.
