Workbook Questions Page 73 #1-5 Page 74 #6-8, 10 Pages 84 & 85 #1-3, 5, 6 Pages 88 & 89 #1-3, 5, 6 Pages 92 & 93 #1-3, 6, 7

Versailles Palace This palace would house France’s royal family from The palace was built by Louis XIV in order to move the royal family away from Paris. This was done to avoid corruption and conspiracy (plot against) among the court.

How much do you think it cost to build Versailles? Original estimates put the palace at 2 billion$ (U.S. Currency) Taking into account today’s price of gold the palace could have cost almost 300 billion dollars (U.S. Currency).

Louis XIV: The Basics  Louis became His Most Christian Majesty at the age of 5 in  He did not assume power until he was 23 in  He was supreme ruler of France until his death in He was 77.  He referred to himself as the Sun King because he felt the court and France should revolve around him.

Louis XIV: Politics Louis didn’t rule as a child. He ruled under an Italian, Cardinal Mazarin, and his mother until the age of 23.

 Louis centralized power by giving the nobility pointless titles.  The nobility would have no real power, but because they had the title they were happy.  All decisions were made by the king.  To distract the nobility the king would throw huge parties at the palace of Versailles with lots of food, wine, and women.  With all this Louis could make any decision he wanted to.

 Powerful people used public punishments as a form of social control.  People could see what would happen to them if they broke the rules.

France and the Ancien Régime  The Ancien Régime (old system) refers to social classes, wealth, and power that existed in France before the Revolution.  In this system the king had absolute/total power.  Frenchmen believed it was the king’s divine right (god given) to rule.

 The next class was the nobility (government officials and other very wealthy people).

 The High clergy (religious officials) formed the next group.  The Bourgeoisie (business owners) followed them. High Clergy Bourgeoisie

 The final and largest class were the commoners (peasants, farmers, low clergy, artisans/craftsmen, labourers, journeymen)

King/Monarch Nobility High Clergy Bourgeoisie Commoners Represent 90% of France’s population at the time The fact that less then 10% of the population controlled the country upset many people.

The Commoners were very heavily taxed, while the upper classes were not taxed at all. The upper classes lived a very expensive lifestyle, paid with tax money. The monarch would also use large sums of money to wage wars, also paid with taxes.

Between Louis XIV and the Revolution  Heavy taxation on the commoners continued, no taxation on the upper classes.  Louis XV and Louis XVI continued to wage wars and live a very expensive lifestyle (along with the upper classes).  Enlightenment occurred, therefore, people started to question the Ancien Régime.

 The Revolution began in 1789 and ended in  The goal of the Revolution was to completely change society.  The revolutionaries fought to remove the royal family and nobility from power and give it to the commoners.  The battles were fought primarily between Louis XVI’s armies and his allies (Prussia, Austria, and Holland) against the Revolutionary army of France.

The Guillotine It was invented by Dr. Antoine Louis and built by Tobias Schmidt. It is said that Dr. J.I. Guillotin originally suggested the idea. The Guillotine was created to provide a method of execution that would be used by all, regardless of class.

The last execution by guillotine in France was in However, this method was used outside of France as well. Records show that the Nazis executed almost ( ) people using their version of the guillotine. The last state to outlaw the use of the guillotine was East Germany in 1987.

Causes of the French Revolution

Cause #1: Government’s lack of money  The Kings of France spent huge sums of money during the Seven Year War and the American Revolution.  The luxurious (parties, palaces, etc.) lifestyle of the nobility and royal family.  The clergy (church) and the nobility did not pay taxes.

Cause #2: Economic Depression  Crop failures and very high taxes bankrupted many small farms and shops.  This led to poverty and hunger among the lower classes.

Cause #3: The Influence and Spread of Enlightenment Ideas  Like humanists, influential French philosophers believed that progress could be achieved through reason, education, tolerance and freedom.  They admired the English political system* and questioned the system of absolute monarchy.  They strongly believed in having both individual and collective rights and freedoms.

Examples of Enlightenment Ideas:  Every citizen should be equal and free, and take part in public life.  People of all faiths should be accepted as equals.  People should be allowed to publicly criticize the government or the press without fear of being arrested.  Against torture  Wanted education to be widely available.

The English Revolution and its New Political System  In the late 17 th century, King James II tried to establish an absolute monarchy modeled on the French system.  In other words, he wanted total control of England.

 Parliament (law makers) reacted to this threat by drafting the Bill of Rights, which set strict limits on the king’s powers.  James II was overthrown and fled to France.

 Parliament offered the throne to Mary (king’s daughter) on condition that she agrees to the Bill of rights.

Importance of English Revolution: Monarchs no longer had absolute power. Their power would come from Parliament and not from God. They had to respect habeas corpus and the Bill of Rights (set of laws). Utopia :an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.

HABEAS CORPUS:  People have the basic freedom not to be imprisoned without a trial.  Anyone who is arrested has the right to know why they are being arrested and what the charge is.  They can be released on bail and must be brought before a judge within 3 days.

John Locke ( )  English Philosopher  Believed in the right to property and freedom of thought.  Believed that people had the right to rise up against the king and overthrow him if he did not respect the laws.

The Estates-General  Since the 1302, the population of France was divided into three estates.  Clergy (1 st )  Nobility (2 nd )  Everyone else (3 rd )  The first two estates did not have to pay taxes.  In 1789, Louis XVI called a meeting of the estates, called the estates general. (First time in 175 years)

Demands of the Third Estate They demanded: A constitution. This was a set of rules which would limit the king’s power and give them a say in running France. The Third Estate should speak for the whole country as they represented 98% of France.

Did the King Listen? The king would not accept their demands. The next day, the king shut them out of their meeting place. In anger the Third Estate went off to a nearby Tennis Court and formed a new government called the National Assembly. It is in this court that the Assembly would stay together until the king agreed to a constitution. It became known as the Tennis Court Oath!

 The Bastille was an old fort.  It was being used as a prison and armory.  It was attacked because the king was going to crush Paris with foreign soldiers and the Revolutionaries needed gunpowder to fight back.  It was a prison for enemies of the king arrested without trial.

What does this event symbolize? o It symbolizes for all citizens of France, liberty, democracy, and the struggle against all forms of oppression.

Retaliation* from other European countries  The people began to worry about retaliation from other European countries who were allies (friends) of Louis XVI.  This fear was the spark that started bloodshed.  From this point on many royals, nobles, and those loyal to the king would be killed. (*make an attack or assault in return for a similar attack)

Map of Europe at the time of the French Revolution (1789)

On July 14, 1789 the people of France stormed the Bastille, a prison, in search of weapons and ammunition. This marked the first battle between the French Revolutionaries and those loyal to the King. Today July 14 is known as Bastille day in France, it is a national holiday.

Declaration of the Rights of Man After the storming of the Bastille the National assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man in August The main features of this declaration were: 1.All class privileges were ended 2.All Frenchmen were free and equal 3.Bill of rights for Frenchmen (freedom of speech, press, religion)

Shortcomings of the Declaration  The Declaration of the Rights of Man excludes women.  Most of the articles of the declaration only refer to Frenchmen not Frenchwomen.  The declaration does not outlaw slavery despite the fact that document discusses the freedom and equality of all men.

Trouble with the new government  By 1791 the National Assembly was dissolved and replaced with the Constituent Assembly(new group that was formed to make laws).  Why was it dissolved? corruption and internal fighting!  The Constituent Assembly did not what to get rid of the king. They wanted a constitutional monarchy.  This is a political system in which the king has no real power.  Louis secretly hated this idea!

In 1792 the Constituent Assembly is abolished! Why? Again due to fighting and corruption! It is replaced by the Convention (the ruling group that made laws for France between 1792 and 1794).

The period of many people loyal to the King, mostly nobility, left France. These people were called “émigrés.” The émigrés were trying to convince other European countries to intervene and restore the king’s throne. How? Sending a foreign army into France and overthrowing the Revoluntionaries!

War! In April 1792 France declares war on Prussia and Austria. Why? They had been helping nobles (called émigrés)who had fled from France.

Absolute Monarchy National Assembly 1789 Constituent Assembly 1791 Convention 1792 Created the constitutional monarchy Governments dissolved due to fighting and corruption. Committee of Public Safety 1793 Directory 1795 Napoleon 1799

The tri-color flag was by the revolutionaries in The blue and red represent the colors on the flag of Paris, the capital of France. The white represents royalty, introduced by the Marquis de Lafayette. The white was included to symbolize the submission of the royal family to the people.

The tricolor flag o Blue and red are the traditional colors of Paris o White symbolizes Royalty

Death of Louis XVI  In 1792 the Legislative Assembly assigned Louis XVI to be the Constitutional Monarch.  Louis XVI had the title of King but no power.  In June 1791 the king and his family tried to escape from Paris to join members of the army at Metz.  The plan failed and they were captured in Varennes.  They were forced to return to Paris through silent and angry crowds.

Execution of Louis XVI

Committee of Public Safety In March 1793 the Revolutionary Tribunal and the Committee of Public Safety was set up to fight the enemies of the Revolution. Maximilien de Robespierre became one of the leading members of this committee.

M. Robespierre

Robespierre: The Basics  Nicknamed “The Incorruptible” for his strong views on government.  He belonged to the Jacobin Club, who were strong supporters of the revolution.  He was merciless.  He was truly a believer in “if you are not with us your against us” idea.

The Terror  Under the direction of Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety guillotined nearly people, between  Almost 1400 people were executed in Paris alone.  The people that were executed were usually charged with treason or were considered enemies of the new government.

Georges-Jacques Danton

Georges-Jacques Danton (Oct.26, 1759 – Apr.5, 1794 Georges Danton, French Revolutionary leader and orator, often credited as the chief force in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the First French Republic (September 21, 1792). He later became the first president of the Committee of Public Safety, but his increasing moderation and eventual opposition to the Reign of Terror led to his own death at the guillotine.Committee of Public Safety

The Death of Marie Antoinette  Originally from Austria, Marie Antoinette was given in marriage to Louis XVI.  Although she was liked at first her popularity began to decline after a series of poor decisions.  During the revolution she was arrested and sentenced to death as an enemy of the new government.

 She was held at the “Conciergerie” (a prison) until she was guillotined in Paris in 1793 (6 months after Louis XVI)

The end of the Reign of Terror  The Reign of Terror came to an end when Robespierre himself was accused tyranny and treason.  Many felt that Robespierre was abusing his power and becoming a dictator.  On July 28, 1794, Robespierre was guillotined near Paris.

End of the Revolution  The Committee of Public Safety was dissolved in  In the same year (1795) the Directory was created. The Directory consisted of 5 members that ruled France.  Like other governments the Directory failed.  In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte, a popular general, built an army and siezed control of the country.

Napoleon quickly created the Consulate and then declared himself emperor in 1804.