Chapter 6, Section 1:

Cause of the Revolution (French Revolution)

- The Enlightenment
- The American Revolution
- France was suffering major financial/economic problems
- The French Monarchy was particularly absolutist
- The French people had no rights

Financial Troubles
- Social unrest made worse by financial troubles
- Years of deficit spending has create a huge national debt
- Government kept borrowing many, couldn’t pay off the interest
- Had to increase taxes and/or cut spending- did neither
- Louis XIV and Louis XV had run up the debt
- Louis XVI wanted to fix the problem, but had little support
- Appointed by Jacques Necker, who proposed taxing the nobility

The Estates General (The French Parliament)

- The King summoned the Estates General ( hadn’t been called in
150 years)
- Met in 1789 in Versailles
- The Estates General has 3 branches
o First Estates- church/clergy (10%)
o Second Estate- Nobility
o Third Estate- Common people (90%)
- A stalemate developed over voting
- The Third Estate, claims to represent the people, declares “ the
National Assembly”
- When they returned the nest day the door was locked, they
moved to a nearby tennis court and they take “The Tennis Court
Oath”
- The King half-heartedly accepted this but began to gather his
forces
- On July 14th 1789, a cloud of Parisians fearful that the king would
occupy the city, they stormed The Bastille.
- They killed the guards, released the prisoners

Chapter 6, Section 2:

Four Phases of the French Revolution

- The moderate phase(1789-1791): turned France into a
constitutional monarchy
- The radical phase (1792-1794): escalating violence led to the
end of the monarchy and the Reign of Terror
 - The reaction against extremism phase (1795-1799): Known as
the Directory
- The Age of Napoleon (1799-1815): Consolidated many
revolutionary changes

Political Crisis Leads to Revolt

- In 1789, problems continued to mount
- Terrible famine sweeps through France
- Unemployed skyrocketed
- Food prices increased
- Paris, the capital, was in turmoil, with different group (factions)

August 1789 The National Assembly Acts

- In response to peasant uprising and the storming of the Bastille,
the NA ends special privilege for nobles
- They declare that “Feudalism” is abolished establish equality
before the law
- The NA issues “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
citizen”, very similar to American Declaration of Independence
- Proclaimed natural rights and equality for all men (women left
out)
- Louis XVI was hesitant about accepting the reforms

Women March on Versailles→ October 6th 1789

- Angered by the King’s hesitation, 6000 Parisian women marched
to Versailles
- Many directed their anger at Marie Antoinette, the Austrian-born
queen who lived a life of great wealth and excess
- They demanded that the royal family return with them to Paris
- Louis reluctantly agreed, and moved to Paris the next day
- The royal family became virtual prisoners of the revolution

Chapter 6, Section 3

The Monarchy is Abolished

- By 1791, the French Revolution was growing violent/extreme
- The royal family are virtual prisoners
- Royal Family attempts to escape and leave France, reach Austria

The Reign of Terror

- The Convention (NA) created a committee to deal with the
growing military/political crises
- Called the Committee for Public Safety, it was led by Robespierre
- They use the guillotine to carry out Swift, revolutionary “justice”
- The King and Queen and thousands of others are beheaded.
Chapter 6, Section 4:

Napoleon Bonaparte
- Born in Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean Sea, to a
modest background
- Trained for a military career from age 9
- Supported Revolution
- Rose quickly in the army, had many military victories, brilliant
soldier
- By 1799 Napoleon was a popular general who had the
trust/support of the people
- Took over the French government in 1802
- Crowned himself emperor

Napoleon Reforms France

- “Order, Security, Efficiency”
- Strengthened the French economy
- Made peace with the Catholic Church
- Turned France into a meritocracy
- Meritocracy – rise as high as you can in society until you reach
your full potential, regardless of background

Napoleon Builds on Empire

- From 1804  1812, Napoleon built up the French Empire (the
Grand Empire)
- Conquered parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany,
Spain
- Put his relatives on the thrones of Europe
- Nepotism – Favoritism to relatives
- Used diplomacy and war to intimidate other countries
- French pride and power grew
- Only Britain defied France, so Napoleon, waged economic
warfare through the continental system (huge trade embargo)

Napoleon’s Empire Faces Challenges

- Resentment against the French slowly spread
- Spain and Austria rebelled against France
- Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 – enormous mistake
- A new alliance of Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia defeat
Napoleon in 1813
- He abdicated and goes into exile
- Returns in 1815 – to reclaim his power but loses at the Battle of
Waterloo

Europe After Napoleon

- Napoleon died in exile in 1821, but his legend lived on
- After Waterloo, Europe’s leaders met at the Congress of Vienna
1814-1815
- Their goal was to restore stability and order to Europe, roll back
the Revolution, create a lasting peace
- Prince Clemens von Metternich led the Congress, sought to
establish a “balance of power” in Europe, so no one nation
dominated
- Weakened France, restored old monarchies, and suppressed
uprisings
- The Congress of Vienna’s efforts kept the peace (more or less) in
Europe for 100 years (1914 WWI)