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� The French Revolution � Began in 1789. The period before the 1789 was known as the Old Regime. During that time the French kings organized a society dominated by social classes.
1. First Estate
- Consisted of the clergy of the Roman Catholic church
- Totaled less than 1 percent of the population
- The clergy did not have to pay taxes
- The higher clergy � archbishops, bishops, and abbots held the most wealth
- The lower clergy � parish, and priests performed the most work and were vastly underpaid
2. Second Estate
Both drained the economy and did not work
- The nobility
- Represented less than 2 percent of the population
- Primogeniture, or the right of the eldest son to inherit titles and property
- The right to function as �lord of the manor�
- They paid few taxes and collected feudal dues from the peasants
- When France and its army expanded more kings gained power and the nobility did not profit from this
3. Third Estate
- the rest of the French people, and was home to 97 percent of the population
- the estate was subdivided into 3 groups
a. The bourgeoisie � the city dwelling middle class made up of merchants, manufacturers, doctors and lawyers � many possessed wealth and education. Soon they became discontent with their social positions
b. laborers and artisans � laborers worked in shops and artisans had skill
c. the peasants � ranked as the lowest and often led miserable lives � were mostly serfs
- required to pay a tithe
- they had a lack of civil liberties
� The Financial Crisis
1. The wars of Louis XIV put the country in great debt
2. Louis XV � his reign was the second longest in French history (lasted 59 years).
- when taxes did not cover expenses he borrowed more money from the banks
- he also ignored warnings from people about the outrageous debt the country was in
- during this period there was inefficiency, corruption, and the people had no basic rights. �letire de cachet� � meant that the nobility had the right to kill whomever they desired to without a fair trial
4. Louis XVI � the successor of Louis XV
a. Cared very little about governing his country
b. Married Marie Antoinette, which formed an alliance between Austria and France which was an unpopular move according to the French
c. During his time France�s debt rapidly worsened because of their assistance to the United States during the American Revolution
- The French assisted the U.S. because they expected that after the war the U.S. would be chaotic and France could come in and take over (didn�t happen)
d. He sought help from financial experts and they gave him advice on how to control the country�s debt
- Tax the first two estates
- but every time a new tax was proposed the noble protested and refused to cooperate
e. by 1787 the country had exhausted its credit and bankers refused to lend the government money
f. he tried to convene the Estates-General at Versailles in May 1789
� The Meeting of the Estates-General
1. Because the Estates-General had not met for 175 years, people did not know if it would be effective.
2. In the past the 3 estates had met separately and the first and second estates always outvoted the third estate (one vote for each estate).
3. the first assembly met on May 5, 1789
- the delegates were instructed to follow the old custom of voting
- the representatives of the Third estate refused to vote
4. As a result to the assembly meeting, on June 17, 1789 the Third Estate proclaimed itself the National Assembly
5. The National Assembly
- They wanted to completely abolish feudalism
- Since the Third Estate was forbidden from their meeting place, on June 20, they made a pledge called the Tennis Court Oath.
- They refused to cooperate unless they had a written constitution for France
The Spread of the Revolution
1. On July 14, 1789 the National Assembly stormed into Bastille and looted weapons for their army
- Bastille was one of the most notorious prisons as well as an armory
- The attack on Bastille triggered �The Great Fear� � peasants felt that they were going to become the targets of the angry nobles so they revolted
2. General Lafayette led the National Guard (a people�s army)
3. Their new flag had the colors red, white, and blue stripes
� Turmoil in France � the French Monarchy is overthrown / The end of the Old Regime
1. August 4, 1789 � the National assembly abolished feudalism in France
- Repealed the tithe
- Canceled all feudal dues and services owed by peasants
- Abolished special privileges for the First and Second Estates
2. August 27, 1789 � the assembly adopted the Declaration of Rights of Man
- Influenced by the English Bill of Rights
- The writings of Rousseau and other philosophers
- The American Declaration of Independence
� The Declaration of the Rights of Man
1. guaranteed due process � protection under the law
2. men are born equal and remain equal before law
3. freedom of speech, of press, and of religion
5. guaranteed men the right to take part in their government and resist oppression
6. declared that all citizens had equal right to hold public office
7. right to personal liberty
8. the slogan of the French Revolution declared �liberty, equality, fraternity.�
9. these rights were not extended to woman
10. Olympe de Gouges wrote a declaration for women but it was rejected
- she was sentenced to the guillotine
� Reforms in Government
1. Between 1789 and 1791 the Assembly passed over 2,000 laws
2. The Assembly reformed France�s administrative structure
- Abolished the provinces
- Divided France into 83 districts called departments
- Also called for the election of all local officials
- Also assumed the country�s debt
- In November 1789, they seized land owned by the Catholic Church and sold it to the public in order to pay off the debt
3. In 1790 the Assembly issued the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
- This law stated that people in the parishes and dioceses would elect the clergy
- They assumed church expenses and paid the salaries of the priests and bishops
- They had to swear alliance to the government instead of the Pope � Very controversial
� The Constitution in 1791
1. In 1791 the National Assembly finally finished the constitution for France
- the constitution limited authority to the king and set up a government divided into 3 branches
� judicial � very weak system
� executive � limited monarchy
� legislative � only wealthy powerful men could vote
- the king no longer had any power
- taxpaying male voters elected the members of the one-house legislature (the Legislative Assembly)
- wealthy powerful men still held most of the political power � very inexperienced people worked in the Legislative branch
- only 15% of the people of France were represented by the Legislative branch
- did not permit women to vote or run for office
2. Louis XVI reluctantly consented to the new regulations that were imposed on him
� When he tried to flee with his family, he was stopped and escorted back to Paris
� The National Assembly allowed Louis XVI to remain as the king
� His attempt at an escape marked the turning point of the Revolution � people no longer trusted the king
3. The constitution went into effect in September but lasted less than a year
4. People within the government also contributed to its downfall � Legislative Assembly
� Conservatives � believed the Revolutionary had gone on long enough and did not want to change the existing conditions (right)
� Radicals � wanted to get rid of the king, set up a republic, and institute far-reaching changes (left)
� Moderates � had no extreme views, they sided with either conservatives or radicals � depending on the issues (center)
- Conservatives � Right Wing � desire of maintaining the status quo, generally speaking they said that in order for a good government to function power needs to give institutions more power � worked within the law
- Liberals � Left Wing � more flexible in shifting with the times. They believed that the rights of an individual must be protected (take power away from institutions and give to the individuals � worked within the law
- Moderates � Center � no world view or single perspective about what should be done
- Radicals � Left Wing � extreme version of liberals
- Reactionaries � Right Wing � operated outside of the law, and are the most extreme version of Right wing
5. Declaration of Pillnitz
� called for European countries to help Louis restore the monarchy to its full power � was issued by Marie Antoinette�s brother.
� The �migr�ys pressured the kings of their countries to come to the rescue of Louis and the French monarchy
� On April 1792 the Legislative Assembly voted to declare war on Austria. The objective was to keep Prussia and other German states out of the war but they failed and Austrian and Prussian soldiers invaded France.
� The End of the Monarchy
1. The Austrian/Prussian invasion sent the city into a mass uprising.
� radicals seized control of the city government and set up an organization called the Commune (was a bridge to a new government)
� When the Persian Commander, the Duke of Brunswick, vowed to destroy Paris, members of the Commune threatened the Legislative Assembly with violence unless the monarchy was abandoned
� Marseillaise became the French national anthem
� April 27, 1792, the Assembly suspended the office of the king and troops marched to Tuileries palace and massacred many of the king�s guards. They also imprisoned Louis XVI and his family in the Temple.
� The Commune now had full control over Paris and tried to govern the Assembly
- after ending the monarchy they set out to form a new constitution
- they sent delegates to the National convention
� The National Convention
- all men could vote � universal male sufferage
- only about 10% of the 7 million eligible voters actually voted
� The Reign on Terror lasted from 1793 � 1794
1. Girondist � conservatives (came from a district in France)
2. Jacobins � moderates � close to the radical middle class
3. Marat � extreme radicals
� 2 of the major radical groups that ended up siding with the Jacobins were:
- Robespierre � stabbed by his own knife � he invented the guillotine and was killed by it
- Dantan � was for the Revolution but felt it was getting out of hand and because of that he was sentenced to the guillotine
� Committee of Public Safety
- adopted a draft
- everyone between 18 and 45 was eligible for the army
- the French army was reinvigorated
- many social classes were combined
- increase in poverty
- peasants revolted and there was a lack of food
- revolutionary tribune � go after anybody who opposed the revolution
� In 1795 the National Convention drafted another constitution
- they reformed education
- abolished slavery in colonies
- adopted the metric system
- new calendar � 10 days a week rather than 7
- codified laws � put it in a handbook
1. The new constitution established an executive branch of five men called directors. � bicameral (2 houses) / legislative and judicial
2. The new government was called the Directory
- the Directory governed France for 4 years
- it pleased neither the radicals nor the conservatives
- the directors were weak, corrupt and selfish (greed + power)
- France�s problems were not solved
- prices skyrocketed out of control
- the peasants, sans-culottes, and all the poor people in France suffered
- the directors made no effort to improve the situation
- as a result the economic situation got worse
- the people of Paris began to feel that blood must be spilled in order to have bread
- encouraged good leadership in the French army
1. The continuing wars with Great Britain, Austria, and Sardinia provided opportunities for able military leaders.
2. From 1795 � 1799 an unknown general named Napoleon Bonaparte caught France�s attention
a. Prevented the uprising in Paris and attempted to prevent the establishment of the Directory � credited for preventing riots in Paris
b. Was born in 1769 on the French island of Corsica and he attended military school
c. He was a genius in both political and military affairs
d. He played a dominant role in most French wars fought from 1796 until 1815
i. The were known as Napoleonic Wars
e. Showed his ability to lead when he took a small, weak army to Italy and within weeks he forced the Sardinians to make peace
f. He defeated the Austrians twice
i. in 1797 he forced them to sign a humiliating peace treaty
ii. the peace treaty gave France control of all Northern Italy
3. Napoleon�s seizure made him so popular in France
a. The Directory worried that he might seize too much power
b. He proposed a campaign to weaken the British military campaign that would cut off British trade with Africa and India.
i. The Directory readily agreed to this plan in order to get him out of the country
c. Napoleon�s campaign met with disaster and the British destroyed the French fleet near Alexandria in Egypt
i. This cut off the French�s army supply lines
ii. Napoleon left his army and returned to France secretly
iii. He exaggerated claims of victory
- Napoleon was able to get away with abandoning his army in Egypt because there was no way to send the message quickly to France. By the time the message arrived in France Napoleon was already in power
- Egypt was a place of conflict because it was a critical trade area
d. France faced a dangerous situation
- The British had organized a Second Coalition against France that included Austria and Russian
- Coalition forces drove French armies out of Italy
- The French lost control over conquered states
4. Napoleon�s seizure of power
a. Conditions in France worsened
- People were afraid that royalists might seize control
- They organized a plot to overthrow the government
- They wanted to place Napoleon in power
- They wanted stability in France to insure that they could keep the property and power that came with their names
- Abb� Siey�s � a chief conspirator
- In 1799 3 directors resigned and two were arrested
- Troops surrounded the legislature and forced its members to leave
b. The government was finally turned over to Napoleon
- Coup d��tat � �stroke of state� � a seizure of power by force
- �I found the crown of France lying on the ground, and I picked it up with a sword.� � Napoleon
� Napoleon built an Empire that spread across Europe
1. The Napoleonic Era / Age of Napoleon from 1799 to 1814
- napoleon was named dictator by the coup d��tat
- the people of France accepted the dictatorship
- people wanted stability
- others were afraid to protest because they feared arrest
� Napoleon supported changes brought by the Revolution
- Respected the ideals of the Declaration of the Rights of Man
- Did not restore serfdom and feudal privileges
- He reassured that land that peasants owned would remain theirs
- No real freedom because Napoleon believed that people should obey orders given by their leaders
� Napoleon and the Consulate
- Napoleon gave himself unlimited power
- the executive branch, made up of 3 consults, they called themselves the Consulate
- Napoleon took the title of First Consul named after the Roman Republic
- As First Consul, Napoleon was the commander and chief
- He also had a right to appoint and dismiss all officials and to propose all new laws
- None of the other Consulate�s legislative bodies had any real power
� Plebiscite � public vote / poll � could vote yes or no
- Napoleon submitted his new constitution to the public for a vote
- the public could now vote on whether they like the changes or not but it did not affect the constitution itself
� The people of France strongly supported Napoleon because
- the people of France need stability after the Reign of Terror
- they needed a savior and a victorious general
- Napoleon promised reforms in security and efficiency
� The Napoleonic Code � The Declaration of the Rights of Man were adopted into the Napoleonic Code
� Napoleon greatly admired for his military history but is better known for work in the government
- Scholars completed the revision and organization of all French law that began with the National Convention
- Established the bank of France because he wanted a central financial institution
- Having a central bank that could coordinate all money and finances
- The government also established the public education system planned by the National Convention
- This included elementary schools, high schools, universities, and technical schools
- A central agency called the University of France supervised the schools
� The Concordat in 1801
- Napoleon ended the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the French government
- By reaching an agreement called the Concordat with the Pope in 1801
- It acknowledged Catholicism as the religion of most French citizens
- Did not abolish religious tolerance
- The church gave up claims to property seized by the government and sold during the Revolution
- Napoleon also said that the government would have control over the clergy but the pope would get the final say
� In a display of diplomacy, Napoleon destroyed the Second Coalition against France
- In 1799 he convinced Russia to desert the coalition
- by 1801 Austria asked France for peace
- and in 1802 Great Britain and France signed a peace treat
� Napoleon as Emperor � �Divide and Conquer� � he separated the coalition and took over, this is how he became successful in war against the coalition
� �Separate Peace� � a peace treaty between one country in the coalition and the enemy
� Plebiscite of 1804
- The French people voted to declare France an empire
- First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor Napoleon I � France became an empire
� The Cathedral of Notre Dame inaugurated the empire as the First Empire
- The pope came to Paris to crown the new emperor (very significant)
- But Napoleon crowned himself and this showed that he felt that he had the ultimate power and he controlled everything
� The First Empire expanded beyond France�s old boundaries
- The British became determined to bring down Napoleon
� In 1805 the Third Coalition allied themselves with Great Britain
- This coalition now included Austria, Russia, Sweden and Great Britain
- Spain allied with France
- Napoleon planned to defeat the British navy and then invade Great Britain
� In 1805 a British fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet near Trafalgar (off the Spanish coast)
- Napoleon miraculously succeed in land battle against Russia and Austria
� The Continental System
1. Napoleon had nothing but contempt for the British and he called them a �nation of shopkeepers�
� Because of the Continental System, no one on the continent owned by France could trade with Great Britain otherwise there would be serious consequences
� Britain responded with a blockade of all European ports
� Napoleon than ordered his navy to seize any ships that obeyed the British blockade
� These blockades greatly affected the United State because they depended on both trade from Great Britain and the continent of Europe
- British ships did the most damage to the U.S.
- This conflict began the War of 1812 between Britain and the U.S.
� The British blockade also hurt France�s trade but they continued to win battles against the Third Coalition
- In 1805 Napoleon smashed the combined forces of Russia and Austria in Austerlitz (a town north of Vienna)
- Soon after the Third Coalition collapsed
� The Reorganization of Europe
1. In 1808 Napoleon completely dominated Europe
- Czar Alexander I allied Russia with France
- Napoleon ruled the Austrian and Dutch Netherlands and Spain
- he forced Denmark and the Papal States into alliances
2. The Confederation of the Rhine
3. Since 1795 various treaties had given France the right to intervene in the affairs of many small German states
4. Napoleon organized the most important of the states and named himself to the protector of the CotR.
5. In 1806 Napoleon abolished the Holy Roman Empire
6. Wherever the French army went it put the Napoleonic Code into effect
- Abolished feudalism
- Abolished serfdom
- Introduced the modern methods of the French army
- They also helped awaken the nationalism-a love of one�s country rather than one�s native region
7. In France the Declaration of the Rights of Man produced feelings of patriotism for the country as a whole.
- People thought of themselves as French, with a country and ideals worth fighting for
- Patriotism stirred among the conquered people, they wanted to rid themselves of the French rule
8. Peninsular Campaign
� in 1807 Portugal refused to observe the Continental System because the nation�s prosperity depended on trade with G.B.
� In retaliation the French army occupied Portugal and drove its king into exile
� Napoleon then decided to conquer Spain
- Napoleon forced the Spanish king out and put his brother Joseph as the king
- The Spanish people revolted in 1808 and drove Joseph out of the country so Napoleon got angry and set an attack on Spain
- The British sent an army under Arthur Wellesley to help the Spanish
� The Peninsular Campaign lasted from 1808 to 1814
- Guerilla Warfare � rebel groups (unofficial and informal group of fighters) they did not follow traditional rules and guidelines of war
- Napoleon continued to control Spain�s government
- Napoleon�s Spanish campaign drained military resources
- In 1814 the Spanish and British captured Madrid and drove out the king
- Then they drew up a new constitution that provided for a limited monarchy � the British assisted them
� Catastrophe in Russia
1. Czar Alexander I of Russia, who reigned from 1801 to 1825 did not like Napoleon�s domination of Europe
- in 1812 the Czar resumed trade with G.B.
- Napoleon was angered by this and decided to invade Russia
2. Napoleon�s Grand Army totaled 600,000 soldiers
- About half the soldiers were French and were not enthusiastic about the war
- Most of the soldiers were from countries forced to be his allies
3. May 1812-Napoleon�s army began to march towards Russia
� The Russian army used tact to trap the French army deep in Russia
� This made it harder for the French supplies to reach the army
� Napoleon and his army captured Moscow but it was a hollow victory because the Russians had already destroyed the buildings and crops in the area and the French had no shelter or food
� The Russians practiced a scorched-earth policy � they burned and destroyed everything that may be of value to the invaders (crops, buildings, etc�)
- They had no food or supplies
- Their soldiers starved and began to suffer from disease
- They had no shelter from the cold
- Finally Napoleon decided to retreat
- 4/5 of the original army was gone by the time they reached Prussia
� Napoleon�s retreat from Russia marked one of the greatest military disasters of all time
� The Russian winter struck with exceptional force
� The French troops also had to pass through the countryside where they were attacked by the Cossacks and peasants
- Napoleon left his army and escaped to France to protect his empire
� After Napoleon was captured he was sent to Elba and the Alliances reinstated the Bourbons as monarchs
1. Napoleon gained support in Elba and was able to escape the island and once again he tried to battle and regain command one last time
2. The Bourbons got a second chance to rule and they failed because the people did not like them
� Louis XVII sent troops to capture Napoleon in Waterloo (the Battle of Waterloo)
3. The Hundred Days War
- the Duke of Wellington led his troops to defeat Napoleon in Waterloo
- Then Napoleon asked to be sent to the U.S. but his request was denied do he was sent to a remote island called St. Helena. There Napoleon died and his body was sent back to France for burial
� The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the laws that were set during the Napoleonic Era and the Revolution were still present during the time that the monarchs returned. Even though Napoleon didn�t succeed in controlling Europe, he still left a mark and stability concerning the constitution. This led people of conquered countries in Europe to fight for their freedom.
� Before the Congress of Vienna GB was fighting a war in the US (the War of 1812). The War of 1812 began because the US refused to halt trade with France. In retaliation the British Navy began to take American sailor and make them serve for in the British army.
- They fought the war also to recapture the US, but since they did not have all their forces ready to fight the US (because of the war against Napoleon), the British did not succeed in recapturing the US
- The final battle was fought in 1814 after the war was over because there was not knowledge of a treaty being signed. The final loss for GB took place in New Orleans.
- Then GB became allies with the US
� After the fall of Napoleon, major European powers were determined to restore order
� The Congress of Vienna � during this rule there were no major wars but for a while the tensions were cooled.
1. was a conference held in the Austrian capital.
2. the congress first began in 1814 while Napoleon was in exile and about 700 diplomats attended. Ruled until 1848
3. The major representatives were:
- Lord Castlereagh, foreign secretary of Great Britain
- Prince Klemens von Metternich, chief minister of Austria and chairman of the conference (led the congress of Vienna)
- Czar Alexander I of Russia
- King Frederick William II of Prussia
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, representative of France and King Louis XVIII
� Treaties � are signed and than named after where they were signed. The primary purpose of a treaty is to reflect who won and who lost. The purpose of that is revenge and a country can be punished for their involvement (e: WW1, Germany punished). The treaty ends one war and begins another (ex: WW2 began because Germany was still angry about WW1). But an exception to this would be the Treaty of Paris.
� The Principles of the Congress of Vienna
1. Legitimacy � all former ruling families should be restored to their thrones
- The Bourbon monarchy was restored in France, Spain, and in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
- other monarchies were restored to Portugal and Sardinia.
2. The balance of power had to be restored in Europe. This worked like check and balances, nations in Europe had to keep any one country from becoming too powerful
3. the countries that suffered the most by Napoleon � especially Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia � had to be compensated for their losses
- By giving out land to different countries, the tensions began to rise. For example a certain country like Sweden would be awarded Norway but the Dutch lived in Norway. They were not being asked where they wanted to live and whether they wanted to be a part of a country like Sweden. Ideas of starting a revolution began because people of countries awarded to members of the Alliance, did not want to just be given away and then live under the rule of their new country.
4. France had to be weakened
- France was stripped of its conquests and their boundaries returned to the original 1792 borders
- They also had to pay a large indemnity � a compensation to other nations for damages it had inflicted on them
� Alliances Among the Great Powers
� The Quadruple Alliance � the 4 most powerful countries joined together in attempt to maintain the status quo
- Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia agreed in 1815 to continue their alliance
- Their chief purpose was to make sure that France carried out it�s peace treaties and to ensure that no danger would come to the European countries
- In 1818 France joined the alliance
� The Holy Alliance
- Czar Alexander I firmly believed in absolute monarchies and in Christian principles and he urged all rulers to pledge themselves to rule as Christians
- GB and many other empires did not agree to this alliance because they didn�t want to follow the Christian principles.
- The Pope didn�t agree to it either because he was the Pope and had divine power and did not want to follow any laws of the alliance.
� The Concert of Europe
- grew out of the Quadruple Alliance and was a form of international government by agreement
- it was aimed at maintaining peace and the status quo � in this case it was the balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna
- the Concert of Europe lasted until 1848
� The Age of Metternich � the most strongest man during that time
� Metternich greatly influenced Europe
- He believed in absolute monarchy and opposed the idea of constitutions and liberalism
- He aimed to prevent war or revolution and to preserve absolutism
- He had people spy on revolutionary movements and liberals would be punished
- Metternich also had great influence on German states and he persuaded the rulers to adopt his methods
� Political Liberalism
- the ideas of liberals greatly influenced politics during the 1800s
- Liberals believed in the individual importance of liberty � freedom of thought, religion, and economic opportunity. They hated the tyranny of absolute rule
� Reaction to Metternich
- liberals reacted strongly to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna and to Metternich
- this resulted in many uprisings and that threatened the status quo
- the five powers gathered and Austria, Prussia, and Russia agreed to act in concert to stop any attempt of a revolution
- Great Britain opposed interfering in the attempts of the liberals, not only because the people sympathized with those who were being oppressed but also Great Britain depended on trade and did not want to get involved with politics of other countries
- Interfering would also affect trading
- Under the influence of foreign secretary George Canning in 1822, Great Britain withdrew from the Quintuple Alliance
� The Metternich System in Operation � for a while his system was successful
- in 1819 discontent flared among German university students so Metternich called the German Confederation at Carlsbad in Bohemia.
- The Carlsbad Decrees were adopted. This decree placed students of the university under strict watch. They censored newspapers and formed an organization to search for secret revolutionary activities.
- In 1820 a revolt in Spain caused King Ferdinand VII to restore the constitution
� this alarmed the members of the Quintuple Alliance and despite British protest they sent a French army to Spain. In 1823 they restored Ferdinand to full power and destroyed the resistance movement
- The Spanish revolt inspired others
� in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies revolutionaries forced the king to grant a constitution but an Austrian army stopped the revolt
� the Portuguese revolted as well but the ruler assumed absolute power years later
- The Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 brought freedom to the Greek. There was a lot of nationalism and the Greeks were able to form a country and that was a failure of Metternich.
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