THE END OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION THE REIGN OF TERROR AND NAPOLEON

REVIEW: THE REVOLUTION BEGINS Estates General  National Assembly  Tennis Court Oath  New Government (“Representatives of the People of France”) Urban poor demonstrate in Paris  Storming of the Bastille The Great Fear: Rebellion spreads from Paris to the countryside Poor and hungry peasants storm manor houses; steal food; burn debt records; in some cases kill nobles

A NEW GOVERNMENT After declaring themselves the National Assembly, the representatives of the Third Estate worked for two years to create a new government; They produced two documents: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen The Constitution of 1791: Created a Limited Monarchy Created the Legislative Assembly: Would make all laws for France Representatives elected by all property-owning citizens

POLITICAL FACTIONS Within the Legislative Assembly, 3 factions quickly emerged: Conservatives: Supported the system of Limited Monarchy Moderates: Supported some changes to the government; Gradual expansion of voting rights Radicals: Opposed the monarchy altogether; Supported sweeping changes to government and society Universal male suffrage

END OF THE MONARCHY The Legislative Assembly lasted for only one year Under pressure of war and street demonstrations, the Assembly set aside the Constitution of 1791 and called for elections for a new body: The National Convention The National Convention was elected via universal male suffrage The most radical faction within the Convention—the Jacobins quickly gained control The first act of the Convention was to abolish the monarchy and declare France a Republic

THE REIGN OF TERROR The Jacobins created the Committee of Public Safety, headed by Maximillian Robespierre Convinced that France was full of spies and royalists attempting to defeat the Revolution, Robespierre began executing anyone accused of working against the Revolution Over the course of one year (Summer 1793 – Summer 1794), 40,000 people were executed at the guillotine The victims included King Louis XVI and his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette

THE RISE OF NAPOLEON The people of France eventually grew weary of the Reign of Terror At the end of the Terror, Robespierre himself was executed at the guillotine 1795: The National Convention creates the Directory; a 5-man executive body whose purpose was to bring order to France 1796: The Directory appointed Napoleon Bonaparte commander of the army : Napoleon wins a string of impressive victories over Italian and Austrian armies 1799: Napoleon marches his troops against the National Convention; the Directory is dissolved and Napoleon is named “First Consul” He quickly becomes a dictator 1804: Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France by the Pope

THE NAPOLEONIC WARS —Napoleon conquers nearly all of Europe Wherever he conquered, Napoleon spread the ideals of the French Revolution: Anti-(hereditary) monarchy —Napoleon threw dozens of rulers off of their thrones, and replaced them with his own appointees The Declaration of Rights The Napoleonic Code (see next slide) Napoleon’s Defeat: 1812—Napoleon makes the fatal mistake of invading Russia; His army was bogged down in the brutal Russian winter; most of them starved or froze during the retreat back to France 1814—Napoleon is defeated at Paris; sent into exile on Elba 1815—After returning from exile, Napoleon is again defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, and sent into permanent exile on St. Helena

NAPOLEON’S EUROPE

LEGACY OF NAPOLEON AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Economy —Napoleon established a tax and banking system that stabilized the French economy Created a central bank —giving control of France’s currency to… (?) Education —Napoleon set up a national school system that was open to male students of all backgrounds Law —Napoleon established the Napoleonic Code ; a uniform system of laws for all of France The Code restricted the freedoms of speech and the press, and re-established slavery in French colonies Revolutionary Ideas —The idea that revolutionary change is possible was spread throughout the continent of Europe