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Chapter 11
France: The French Revolution
And the Age of Napoleon
Bonaparte.
Section 1:
The French Revolution Begins
Two important events in 1789 were:
 the beginning of a new United States of
America and the beginning of the French
Revolution
French Revolution vs. the American Revolution:
The French Revolution differed from the
American Revolution in three ways
It was more complex, more violent, and more
radical
France BEFORE the Revolution:
The French Estates st
1 and 2nd
 Before the Revolution:
exempt
 1st Estate: consisted of the clergy from
Taille- tax
 .5% of the population 10% of land
 2nd
Estate: consisted of the nobles
 1.5%
 3rd
of the population 25% of land
Estate: consisted of the commoners
 98%
of the population 65% of land
2nd Estate
 Held
many of the leading positions in
the government, the military, the law
courts, and higher church offices.
 Had many privileges
The
rd
3
Estate
Divided by differences in occupation, level of
education, and wealth.
 Peasants: largest segment of the 3rd
Estate, some owned land, had to pay fees
to use village facilities
 Wage earners: craftspeople, shopkeepers,
and other wage earners in the cities.
 Bourgeoisie: Middle class of the 3rd Estate
Merchants, bankers, industrialists, and
professional people
Immediate Cause
French Revolution was caused by near
collapse of the government finances
 Bad harvests in 1787-1789 combined with
a slowdown in manufacturing led to food
shortages, rising prices for food, and
unemployment.

Overspending…..

What was the name of the king and his
queen that caused this near collapse
because of their extravagance?
Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette

continued to spend money for:


Costly wars and court luxuries
Sent money to help American colonists against Britain
Desperate times call for desperate measures….

Louis XVI was forced to call a meeting of
the Estates-General, to raise new taxes.
 French
Parliament
 This assembly had not meet since 1614
 The Estates-General included representatives
from each of the three estates, approximately
300 each from the 1st & 2nd & 600 for the 3rd.
 The meeting started on May 5, 1789 at
Versailles.
How should we vote?

Each Estate gets one vote
Vs.

Each representative gets one vote
1st
and 2nd Estate like first option, why?
3rd Estate likes the second option, why?
King likes 1st option…

This problem about voting lead the Third Estate to form
the National Assembly on June 17, 1789 where they
decided to draft a constitution.
After their first meeting they came back to
find their meeting place locked up.
 Moved to a nearby indoor tennis court
where they swore they would continue to
meet until they produced a French
constitution this is known as the Tennis
court oath.

July 14, 1789
 Commoners
 an
stormed the Bastille
armory and prison in Paris
 They
dismantled it brick by brick
 Symbolized injustice of the
Monarch
 Popular
revolutions and uprisings broke
out throughout France along with
peasant rebellions.
 These events became part of the Great
Fear, a vast panic that spread quickly.
 The citizens feared invasion by foreign
troops that they would support the
monarchy so they formed militias
What shall they do?
 What
did the National Assembly do in
response to peasant revolts and fear of
foreign troops?
 August
8, 1789 they voted to
 Abolish
the rights of the landlords
 Abolish financial privileges of the nobles &
clergy.
 Taille
- France’s chief tax, both the nobles and
clergy had been exempt from paying this hefty tax
while the commoners paid
National Assembly named its
charter of basic liberties…
The Declaration of the
Rights of Man and The
Citizen
(Enlightened Views)
Nobles
give up feudal
dues
Nobles must pay taxes
All males could hold
office
What about the women?
Olympia de Gouges wrote the Declaration
of the Rights of Woman and the Female
Citizen. WHY?
 She refused to accept an exclusion of
women from the political rights of France

March to Versailles
King refuses to accept reforms
 October 1789 – women marched to King
Louis estate in Versailles demanding bread
and the King’s acceptance of Assembly
 King agrees to move to Paris to show
support for the new reforms.
 The royal family became virtual prisoners
in Paris.

National Assembly takes control
of the church
 The
National Assembly controlled the
Catholic Church…. Under the Civil
Constitution of the Clergy.
 Determined
that the bishops and priests
would be elected by the people and
paid by the state.
Constitution of 1791

National Assembly adopts a new
constitution
 Limits
royal powers: still have a king but a
Legislative Assembly will make laws
 Unicameral legislature – one house
 Voters elect
 Suffrage – men only
 Basic
rights
* Could not make everyone happy
Monarch Flees
Social unrest continues
 Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette flee to
Austria
 Arrested and returned to France

 People

distrust him
Emigres – French Nobles flee country
Other European leaders began to fear that
revolution would spread to their countries.
Austria and Prussia even threaten to use
force to restore monarchy.
 Members of the new Paris Commune took
the king captive and suspend the
monarchy and call for a National
Convention, chosen on the basis of
universal male suffrage.

Section 2
Radical Revolution and Reaction
 The
French Revolution was about
to enter a more radical and
violent stage.
 Power passed form the Assembly
to the Paris Commune.
 Called themselves the sansculottes, ordinary patriots without
fine clothes.
French Republic
National Convention 1792 –
1795
 Democratic Constitution
written

 Everyman
to vote
 Metric system

Louis XVI – tried and convicted
of “conspiring against liberty.”
 Beheaded
on guillotine
Revolution Spreads

European Monarchs ally against the
revolutionary government in France.
 (Austria,
Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and
the Dutch Republic)

National Convention adopted conscription
The draft
Civilians skills & resources gathered
Revolutionaries

Jacobins – extreme radicals – defenders of
the revolution

Girondists – moderates – wanted to
protect the middle class from radical
attacks

Disagree on course of revolution
Reign of Terror

The Committee of Public Safety
 Maximilien
Robespierre
 Takes control of France
 Meant
to defend France from foreign and domestic
threats

Jacobins set out to control French enemies
 From
July 1793 – 1794
 Suspected Traitors put to death
 Revolutionary
courts were set up to
prosecute internal enemies of the
revolutionary republic.
 Close to 40,000 people were killed
 16,000
of them by Guillotine including
 Marie
Antoinette and Olympe de Gouges
 By
the summer of 1794 the French
had defeated their foes. There was
less need for the Reign of Terror but
it continued nonetheless. Robespierre
obsessed with ridding France of all its
corrupt elements
 Robespierre was finally stopped and…
 Put
to death by guillotine
Virtues
 Committee
 Opened
of Public Safety
schools
 Promoted education
 Taught agricultural skills
 Introduced wage and price controls
 Tried to unite Catholics, deists, and
nonbelievers by worshiping
“Superior Being”
The Directory
1795 - 1799
Takes over after the fall of Robespierre
 Ends Universal Suffrage

 Property
owners only
Five wealthy middle class men
 Bicameral legislature
 Put down revolts of radicals
 Bankruptcy and moral scandals weakened
the Directory

Section 3
The Age of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte dominated FRENCH
and EUROPEAN history from 1799 to 1815
The Rise of Napoleon
French Military General during Revolution

Won victories in Egypt against British

Returned to France

Coup d'état – quick seizure of power
 In
this case Napoleon overthrew the Directory
His education in French
military schools led to his
commission in 1785 as a
LIEUTENANT in the French
army.
 AT the age of only 24,
Napoleon was made a
brigadier general by the
COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
 IN 1796, he was made
commander of the French
armies in ITALY where he won
a series of victories.


He won support of his men because of his
energy, charm, ability to make quick
decisions, intelligence, ease with words,
and supreme confidence.
Although, theoretically the
new government of 1799
(called the consulate) was a
republic, but Napoleon held
ABSOLUTE power.
 Dictatorship – government
with absolute ruler
 IN 1802, Napoleon was made
CONSUL for life and two years
later he had himself crowned
EMPEROR Napoleon I.

Domestic Policies

Napoleon was a believer in reason who
regarded religion to be at most a
CONVINIENCE. But in Egypt he called
himself a MUSLIM; in France, a
CATHOLIC.

Napoleon had no personal religious faith,
but he saw the need to restore stability to
France and most of France was Catholic. So
he made peace with the Church.

Concordat of 1801 - an agreement made
with the Pope, CATHOLICISM was
recognized as the official religion of a
majority of the French people.
 Most
famous domestic
achievement
 Codification
of the laws
 Before the Revolution there had
been almost 300 legal systems
 Napoleon simplified and unite these
into seven law codes
The
most important was the CIVIL
CODE or NAPOLEONIC CODE
Good things:
All equal before the
law
Right to choose
profession
Religious toleration
Abolished serfdom
Bad things:
Women “less
equal”
Harder to get
divorce
Can’t inherit
property equally
Husbands control
property
Napoleon’s Empire
At the end of the Revolution France was at
war with a coalition of Russia, Great Britain,
and Austria. Napoleon tries for peace, treaty
in 1802, doesn’t last.
New war in 1803 France comes out on top
Map in your book p. 349 of France
Empire, Dependent states and allies.

Napoleonic Europe
 Tries
to take on Great Britain but Britain has a
very powerful Navy.
 Battle of Trafalgar – British Admiral Lord
Nelson defeats French navy

Nationalism –People want self-rule;
independent territory based on own
custom and tradition
Russia

Czar Alexander I – withdrew Continental
System from hurting Russia’s economy

Continental System – Napoleon orders his
European Nations to stop trade with Great
Britain

Napoleon invades Russia
Napoleon’s Defeat

Scorched earth policy

Harsh winters

Russians attack upon retreat

400,000 of 600,000 French soldiers die
Napoleon Surrenders
 March
1814
 Louis XVIII regains thrown
 Napoleon captured at Waterloo
 Exiled to Saint Helena Island until
death 1821
 Two
major reasons help to explain
the rapid decline of Napoleon’s
Grand Empire: the SURVIVAL of
Great Britain and the force of
NATIONALISM
 The beginning of Napoleon’s
downfall came in 1812 with his
disastrous invasion of RUSSIA.