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THE FRENCH
REVOLUTION AND
NAPOLEON
Ancien Régime: The absolute monarchy under the
French Bourbon kings, considered to have ended with
the meeting of the Estates-General on May 5, 1789
which led to the French Revolution.
Bastille: Ancient fortress in Paris used as a prison that
was captured and later demolished by the people of
Paris in their search for weapons to possibly fight the
king’s soldiers.
Bastille Attacked (Storming of the Bastille: The
French version of our Fourth of July is called Bastille
Day, which celebrates the events of July 14. 1789.
On that day, the working class and middle class of
Paris attacked the famous French prison called the
Bastille. This helped to start the French Revolution.
The Paris mob attacked the Bastille to free prisoners
and to get the guns stored in the prison.
Bourbons: The Bourbon royal dynasty governed
France from 1589 to 1793 and from 1814 to 1830,
creating an absolute monarchy with total power under
Louis XIV and was overthrown during the reign of
Louis XVI.
Bourgeoisie – French word that means middle class
the wealthy who were not nobles. Usually the
bourgeoisie are businessmen, merchants, investors,
and professionals such as lawyers or doctors.
Causes of the French Revolution:
 The French government went broke helping
the Americans during their revolution and
they had to tax the poor and middle class
more
 The Church and rich nobles paid no taxes
 There was a famine (no food) and everyone
was starving
 The poor and middle class had no say in
government
Duke of Wellington: British general who defeated
Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.
Elba: Napoleon was exiled by the European allies to
the Mediterranean island of Elba after he quit being
emperor of France in 1814. He was given the title
Emperor of Elba and ruled over its 110,000 people.
Estates General: Legislative government of French
monarchy that hadn't been called since 1614, had
virtually no power, and consisted of three estates with
equal voting power. It was called by Louis XIV in
1789 to fix his money problems.
Feudalism dies: The French Revolution demolished
the feudal system in France and replaced it with the
modern class system and this idea spread to other
countries eventually. The nobility and the Church lost
much power. The French Revolution led to the final
destruction of the feudal system in Europe.
Guillotine: The guillotine is a device used for
carrying out executions by decapitation.
Invasion of Russia: Napoleon invaded Russia in
1812, hoping for a short campaign and quick victory.
However, the Russian army retreated and forced him
to go further and further into Russia. The Russians
burned everything so Napoleon’s men could not find
food for themselves or their horses. People began to
die of hunger. Napoleon managed to make it to
Moscow but the Russians burned Moscow after
evacuating it. Napoleon had not shelter and was
forced to retreat back to France in the dead of the
Russian winter. He lost400,000 men and this was the
beginning of the end for Napoleon.
Lord Nelson: British admiral whose navy constantly
defeated the French navy. Nelson defeated a large
French navy at the Battle of Trafalgar and prevented
Napoleon from invading England.
Louis XVI : King of France from 1774 to 1793. He
was married to Marie Antoinette, daughter of the
Habsburg Empress Marie Theresa. Louis was
executed in 1793.
Committee of Public Safety: National governing
committee that formed the war dictatorship of 17931794 and consisted of 12 men led by Robespierre. It
was in charge of the war and general affairs during the
Reign of Terror.
Marie Antoinette: Queen of France and wife of
Louis XVI. She was unpopular with the French
people because of her lack of care for them and her
love of spending money. She supposedly said “Let
them eat cake!” when told the workers were starving
from lack of bread. She was executed by the
guillotine in 1793.
Declaration of the Rights of Man: Basic list of
rights the revolutionaries in France believed people
should have. The Declaration of the Rights of Man
was like a combination of our Declaration of
Independence and the Bill of Rights.
Josephine/Marie-Josephe-Rose de Beauharnais:
The real name of the woman we call today Josephine,
Napoleon’s first wife, is the second name here. He did
not like her name and called her Josephine. She did
not give him a child so he divorced her in 1810.
Marsellaise: A song from the French Revolution that
became the national anthem of France.
Metric System: The system of measurement using
liters, meters, kilograms, etc. was invented during the
French Revolution to replace the old fashioned ways
of measuring.
Middle Class: The middle class, called the
bourgeoisie were businessmen, merchants, investors,
and professionals such as lawyers or doctors. They
came to power after the French Revolution took away
the power of the nobility and the Church.
Napoleon Bonaparte: (1769-1821) French general
who became dictator of France (Counsel) in 1799 and
then emperor of the French in 1804 and fought many
wars against European countries. Napoleon was
actually born in Corsica, an island off the coast of
Italy that was owned by the French. He spoke French
with an Italian accent. Bonaparte came to power
during the French Revolution, first as a general, then
as a dictator. Napoleon is regarded as one of the
greatest generals in history. He met his final defeat at
the famous battle of Waterloo.
Napoleonic Code: Napoleon changed the law code of
France and called it the Napoleonic legal code, of
course. It is still used today in France and places like
the state of Louisiana.
National Assembly: The third estate broke off from
the Estates-General in June of 1789 and formed the
National Assembly, declaring themselves the
legislature of France. The clergy joined them
eventually.
Oath of the Tennis Court: Locked out of the
legislature building in 1789, the Third Estate’s
National Assembly met in the King's tennis courts and
declared they would not return to their provinces until
France had a constitution for the average person.
Reign of Terror: Time period during the French
Revolution when thousands of people had their heads
chopped off in the guillotine for supposedly being
traitors to France. Maximilien Robespierre was in
charge of the Reign of Terror and eventually had his
head chopped off also.
Robespierre, Maximilien: Robespierre was a French
revolutionary politician who came to run France
during the Reign of Terror. He put to death large
numbers of people and he died himself by the
guillotine.
Royalists or Monarchists: These terms refers to
supporters of the French king.
Sans-culottes: French phrase that means "those
without breeches” The sans-culottes were the average
working class people of Paris who wore pants without
the knee stockings.
St. Helena: After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon
was exiled to the South Atlantic island of St. Helena,
owned by the British. He stayed there under guard
until he died in 1821.
Symbols: Several symbols of the French Revolution
were the:
 sans culottes: wearing pants with no long
knee socks
 funny looking hats called Phrygian hats
 the three colored flag of France...tri-color
The Hundred Days: The Hundred Days or the
Waterloo Campaign commonly refers to the period
between March, 1815, the date on which Napoleon
Bonaparte arrived in Paris after his return from Elba,
and July 1815, after his defeat at the Battle of
Waterloo by Wellington.
Three Estates of France:
 First Estate - The clergy, members of the
Catholic and Protestant churches
 Second Estate - The nobility
 Third Estate – the poor and middle class
including the professional class of lawyers
and doctors
Versailles: Huge palace of the French kings about
twelve miles from Paris. Louis XIV built Versailles
and he moved his court and government there in 1682.
Waterloo: A town in central Belgium where in 1815
Napoleon met his final defeat in 1815 at the hands of
the British and French armies under the Duke of
Wellington.
“Whiff of grapeshot”: Famous saying of Napoleon
when he fired on a Royalist (they supported the king)
mob with cannon. This made Napoleon famous.