1. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Fun fact of the day: The last person to be executed via guillotine was named Hamida Djandoubi. He was executed in 1977.

2. FRENCH REVOLUTION SIMULATION

3. PLAYERS King Louis XVI Queen Marie Antoinette Controller-General
Clergy
Lords
Peasants
Robespierre

4. KING LOUIS AND MARIE
You both live in the enormous Palace of Versailles. Thanks to King Louis XIV, you have absolute power to rule France. You are both devout Catholics who support the traditional role the Church and the nobility play in French society. You want France to continue to be a great nation. Louis, you enjoy hunting. Marie, you enjoy the opera, taking care of your family, and touring the spacious gardens of Versailles.

5. CONTROLLER-GENERAL
You are the Controller-General for France. This is the most important government position beside the king and queen. Appointed by King Louis XVI, you are responsible for the financial health of the nation. You collect and keep track of taxes paid to the government and advice the king on how to make France wealthy and economically strong.

6. LORDS (NOBILITY)
You are a member of the French nobility. Your King, Louis XVI, has the legal power to make decisions without your agreement. He sometimes requires you to stay at his palace for long periods of time, far away from your family. But the king needs the support of lords like you to collect taxes and protect the nation. Also, you control a manor in the countryside – complete with a castle – where peasants produce food for you. In return, you provide the peasants a place to live and protection from harm.

7. PEASANTS
You are a French peasant. You live on a manor owned by your noble lord. You spend the day – from sunrise to sunset – farming crops for your family and your lord. If you don’t produce enough food, you and your family could starve. You attend church each Sunday to gain spiritual guidance from the clergy, and you have a great deal of affection for your king and queen.

8. King Louis XIV ruled France from and built the enormously extravagant Palace of Versailles. The king invited nobles to stay at the Palace and showered them with parties and royal attention. At the same time, Louis XIV transferred all political power into his own hands (away from the nobles, whom he kept busy through entertainment). From 1754 to the late 1780s, Louis XIV’s grandson, King Louis XVI, ruled the French nation. Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette, a member of the royal family in Austria, who then became Queen of France. The noble lords of France owned much of the farming land, which they allowed to peasants to use in exchange for food. Nobles had the privilege of not being taxed and the duty to protect their peasants. The Catholic clergy provided religious support and social services for the poor. The clergy were not allowed to be taxed by the government, and they also collected a tithe, a ten percent of tax on all income, that went back to the Church.
BACKGROUND

9. STAGE ONE: DAILY LIFE Daily life in France during Louis XVI’s reign asd
After about five minutes, have the nobles collect all of their peasant’s work. Clergy – take 10% of the food produced. Controller-general: take 50% of the remainder. Lord – take 50% of the remainder. Then distribute the rest out.

10. SOCIAL CLASSES IN FRANCE
CLERGY, CHURCH OFFICIALS
FIRST ESTATE
NOBILITY, PEOPLE WHO OWN LAND
SECOND ESTATE
LITERALLY EVERYONE
ELSE
95% of the French population was in the 3rd Estate
THIRD ESTATE

11. The first two estates enjoyed most of the wealth and privileges of France.
The Church
(First Estate)
The nobility
(Second Estate)
Owned 10% of the land
Collected tithes
Paid no direct taxes to the state
Had rights to top jobs in the government, the army, the courts, and the Church
Paid no taxes 11

12. The Third Estate was the most diverse and made up 95% of the population in France.
Bourgeoisie and middle class
Urban workers
Rural peasants
Paid taxes on everything from land to soap
Owed fees and services dating back to medieval times
When the ideals of the Enlightenment spread among the Third Estate, many people began to question the existing social order. 12

13. WHAT’S UP WITH FRANCE?
Louis XIV Seven Years’ War American Revolution Bad harvests
ECONOMIC PROBS
(France was in major, major debt)
(Read: France was on the verge of bankruptcy)

14. Controller-General:
“Fellow citizens, though we have collected taxes this year, France is still in a grave financial crisis. The king and queen need the full support of the French citizens to resolve this problem. I ask you, citizens, to consider how you can help your country.”

15. In 1788, France spent half its annual budget for the interest payments on the ever-increasing national debt. In addition, 25 percent of the budget paid for military expenditures and 6 percent paid for the extravagant lifestyle of the king and his court at Versailles. Tax burden was carried by the peasants, because clergy and nobility were largely exempt from taxes. AND THEN A BAD HARVEST HIT AND EVERYTHING WAS TERRIBLE. TAKE FOOD TOKENS AWAY FROM THE PEASANTS

16. STAGE TWO: THE ESTATES-GENERAL
Louis and Marie, the Controller-General, and the clergy: you keep doing you. You’re perfect in every way. Lords: gather at one table Peasants: go to the back of the room near the cemetery. No one likes you. Sit on the floor. BOOOOOOO. PEASANTS ARE THE WORST.

17. STAGE TWO: THE ESTATES-GENERAL
“French citizens, we are faced with a grave financial crisis that threatens to ruin France. We collect far less money than it costs to run this nation. We must either raise more money for the royal treasury or perish as a nation. I seek your advice and support. This is why I have assembled the Estates General. I instruct each of the Three Estates to decide and explain:
1) whether they think the separate Estates should vote by order (each Estate gets one vote) or by head (each person gets one vote)
2) how you propose France and its people can solve this horrible economic crisis.”
In their groups, actually do this, and write down things. Shouldn’t take too long. One representative declares what they want to the king.

18. VOTING
King: you need to say we’re doing it by head – one vote per estate. And then everyone will vote on your proposal. Dismiss everyone

19. VOTING Third Estate, how do you feel?
King: you need to say we’re doing it by head – one vote per estate. And then everyone will vote on your proposal. Dismiss everyone

20. THE TENNIS COURT OATH
The Third Estate refused to conduct any business until the king broke tradition and ordered the three Estates to sit together as a single representative body
This obv didn’t happen
The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly
The true representative body of France
Some members of the First and Second Estate joined them
A lot of clergy!

21. THE TENNIS COURT OATH
The National Assembly was excluded from their hall in Versailles due to “repairs,” so they met in a large, indoor tennis court (of course there’s one in Versailles), and swore the famous Tennis Court Oath

22. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
“I swear an oath to God and nation never to be separated until we have formed a solid and equitable Constitution as our constituents have asked us to.”
They did! The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen – highly influenced by US dec of ind
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

23. NOW WHAT? BUT EVERYONE IS STILL POOR
National Assembly establishes a constitutional monarchy
Lawmaking power in the hands of the National Assembly
King remains head; can veto laws
Stole land from nobles who fled and seized land from the Church
BUT
EVERYONE
IS STILL POOR

24. DON’T. EVER. ANGER. THE. PEASANTS.
¼ of Paris citizens unemployed
Bread prices soared  no one has food
Rumors started circulating that the king was going to take back Paris
(it’s a medieval fort where the French government stored a lot of gunpowder). Symbolizes the injustices of the monarchy. The commanding officer of the Bastille freaked out and fired into the crowd, killing 98 people. Revolutionaries won out – the soldiers surrendered – which inspired more revolts across France. Peasants start to revolt against their lords!
STORM THE BASTILLE!
Peasant rebellions all across France (called the Great Fear);
the French Revolution has started

25. Enter: Maximilien Robespierre, a Jacobin radical revolutionary
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE
New Constitution in 1791
Fear of breakdown of law and order
Led to unrest
Still violence all over France
Austria and France go to war
(Psst... Marie Antoinette is Austrian)
And then Prussia joins in
And then Marie and Louis try to escape to Austria
(Psst… Napoleon is winning a lot of these battles)
Blames Louis XVI for everything.
Enter: Maximilien Robespierre, a Jacobin radical revolutionary

26. ROBESPIERRRE
“French citizens, we have just uncovered secret documents from the royal palace that prove beyond a doubt that the king is a traitor. He attempted to leave France! He collaborated with the Austrian enemy. He conspired to stop the revolution and take back his power. I hold the proof in my hands! See for yourself!”
King Louis XVI put on trial. And beheaded.

27. ROBESPIERRRE
“French citizens, revolutionary brothers and sisters, we have been tricked by this wicked king. I propose that we sell off the church lands, tax all citizens equally, fight the Austrians with revolutionary spirit, and put the king on trial for treason. WHO IS WITH ME!?”
King Louis XVI put on trial. And beheaded.

29. ROBESPIERRE’S RADICAL REPUBLIC
“Revolutionary brothers and sisters, the problem with France is that there are too many traitor! If we execute ALL traitors, we will have a Republic of Virtue and then will be able to continue the revolution. To all traitors of the Revolution, terror is not the order of the day. I ask you, revolutionary citizens of France, to write a new constitution that will save France.”
Robespierre’s Reign of Terror – while people are distracted writing out a new constitution, Robespierre goes around and kills all the traitors – queens, clergy, people who have objected, etc – go up to the peasants and ensure that they’re radical enough, otherwise ‘behead’ them. ENEMY OF THE NATION! ENEMY OF THE REVOLUTION!

30. ROBESPIERRE’S REIGN OF TERROR
40,000 French men and women were executed for treason

31. ROBESPIERRE’S REIGN OF TERROR

32. WHAT ABOUT ROBESPIERRE?
Anyone want to take a …stab… at it

33. THE FRENCH REV IN A NUTSHELL
EVERYTHING IS
CHAOTIC
AND
TERRIBLE

34. RISE OF NAPOLEON
Five disastrous years of a disastrous five- man executive called the Directory
Enter: Napoleon, a famous war general
Coup d’etat
He establishes a three-man consulate – and declares himself the first consul.
Yes, from Rome
Napoleon overthrew the directory

35. REIGN OF NAPOLEON Consul  Emperor, rules 1799-1814
… what’s the point of the Revolution, then?
France becomes a centrally controlled police state where revolutionary ideals of freedom of speech and press were constantly violated
He did do some good things:
Abolished feudal property relations
Secured the advances of the Third Estate
Supported education and science and the arts
Became friends with the Catholic Church again
Created the legal code the Napoleonic Code, which is the foundation of French civil law today

36. AND THEN HE TRIED TO TAKE OVER ALL OF EUROPE
Napoleon declared himself emperor and tried to conquer all of Europe, and actually did conquer most of it by 1812, when he was then exiled (but then came back for 100 days in 1815 but then lost again)
Moral of the story: Never invade Russia in the winter

37. NAPOLEON CREATES AN EMPIRE
Struggles dealing with the slave armies in Haiti  SELLS LOUISIANA TO USA
France vs. Britain, version 3.0

38. END OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Napoleon is exiled
Restoration of the French monarchy
Louis XVIII became king
Tumultuous political stance in France
Lots of shifts between emperor and monarchy and republic for 100 years
Congress of Vienna
Strong countries surround France
Balance of power in Europe – no country can be too strong or take over… Until Hitler.
Rise of nationalism
Italy and Germany grow in power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New political ideologies: conservatives, liberals, and radicals

39. FIN