Chapter 23 – Section 1
Revolutions Threatens the French King
Economic and Social inequalities help cause the French Revolution
The Old Regime
· Left over from feudal times – divided society into 3 classes (Estates)
§ First Estate – Catholic Church Clergy
· Paid 2% of income in taxes
§ Second Estate - rich nobles
· Paid almost no taxes
§ Third Estate – everyone else
· Bourgeoisie – merchants and artisans
o Some were rich, but lacked privileges of 2nd Est.
· Workers – servants, cooks - lived in cities
o Poorer than bourgeoisie
· Peasants – lived in country
o Poorer than bourgeoisie
o Paid 50% of income in a variety of taxes
Factors Leading to Revolution
· Enlightenment Ideas
§ New views on gov’t and a questioning of society
§ American Revolution inspired people
· Economic Problems
§ Gov’t was in debt from wars
§ King and Queen spent lots of money
§ Heavy taxation
§ Crop failures and rise of prices of bread
· Weak Leader / Absolute Rule
§ Louis was indecisive and uninterested – put off solving problem
§ Absolute rule/extravagance clashed with Enlightenment mood
Revolution Dawns
King calls the Estates General to approve an increase in taxes to pay for debt
· Estates General
§ Each Estate gets one vote
§ First and Second Estate always vote together to outvote the Third Estate 2-1
§ Third Estate wants each delegate to have a vote to equal it out
· National Assembly
§ Third Estate votes to change the system and renames themselves the National Assembly
§ Louis XVI locks them out of Estates General
§ Take Tennis Court Oath – Constitution is written
· Storming the Bastille
§ Rumors spread of mercenaries in Paris there to kill Parisians
§ Mobs stole weapons – storm Bastille for gunpowder to protect themselves – They take over the prison
· The Great Fear
§ Panic in the country that nobles hired outlaws to kill peasants
§ Peasants turned into violent mobs – attacked nobles
§ Women march on Versailles to protest rising bread prices
· King and Queen go to Paris as captives
Key Concepts:
· Economic and political gap between the Estates (1st and 2nd vs. 3rd)
· Enlightenment ideas take hold in society – people want change
· Debt, spending, bad harvests made bad economy – France is bankrupt
· Third Estate makes change toward equality – National Assembly
· Revolution begins food prices spark women to action
A Graphic View of the Three Estates in France
2%
0.5%
97.5%
Percentage of Taxes Paid by Estate in 1789
Comparison of Estates in France, 1789
Graphic View of the Three Estates in France
Population in Each Estate, 1789
1st - 130,000
2nd - 520,000
3rd – 25,350,000
Number of Votes in the Estates General, 1789
1 1
1
Each Estate has one vote
Graphic View of the Three Estates in France
Percentage of Income Spent On Taxes, By Estate
1789
Chapter 23 – Section 2
Revolution Brings Reform and Terror
Fear affects all portions of the population and brings reform and terror
The Assembly Reforms France
· Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is drafted
o Guarantees equal justice, freedom of speech, religion
o Gov’t is to preserve natural rights: liberty, property, security
· “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” becomes slogan of the Revolution
· State takes over Catholic Church lands to help pay debt
o Avoids taxing bourgeoisie further – peasants oppose takeover
Conflicting Goals Cause Division
· With a constitution, France is now a limited constitutional monarchy
· National Assembly hands power to Legislative Assembly – make laws
· Legislative Assembly is split into 3 opposing groups (factions)
Radicals – want sweeping changes (Sans-culottes)
Moderates – want some change, but not as much as radicals
Conservatives – want few changes
Radicals eventually gain control
War and Extreme Measures
· Foreign monarchs and nobles feared Revolution might spread to their nations – They supported restoring Louis to the throne
§ Leg. Assembly sees this as threat – declares war on Austria
§ War goes badly for France in the beginning
Radicals Execute the King
· Mobs control France by summer of 1792
§ Natn’l Convention abolishes monarchy - declares France a Republic
§ Louis XVI is tried for treason and executed by guillotine
§ France still fighting foreign enemies (Prussia, Austria, Spain, GB)
The Terror Grips France - “The Reign of Terror”
· Robespierre gains control – seek to destroy all remnants of monarchy
o Sought to eliminate “enemies of the Revolution” within France
o “Committee of Public Safety” tried and executed “enemies”
§ Revolutionary leaders who challenged Robespierre’s leadership were targeted, tried and executed
§ Soon, even the slightest offense was punished
Over 40,000 people total were killed (85% were peasants)
The End of Terror
· National Convention realizes that nobody is safe from Robespierre
o They turn on him and he is executed by guillotine
· National Convention sets up new gov’t - moderates are now in control
o The Directory names Napoleon as head general of France’s army
Key Concepts:
· Declaration of the Rights of Man guarantees freedoms
· Factions split new government
· War with Austria causes panic – radicals take over – king is killed
· Robespierre’s “Reign of Terror” becomes arbitrary and out of control
· “Terror” ends with Robespierre’s death – middle class controls gov’t
Chapter 23 – Section 3
Napoleon Forges an Empire
Napoleon takes advantage of France’s political turmoil and chaos to gain control
Napoleon Grasps Power
· Napoleon gains reputation as a military hero
o The Directory was losing control, except for the army
§ Napoleon throws a coup – is named consul
Napoleon Rules France
· Desperate for a strong leader, people approve new constitution
o Gave all real power to Napoleon
Napoleon’s Reforms
· Economic
o Sets up a national bank – also gave loans to businesses
o Enacts a fairer tax code
o Stabilized the currency
· Government
o Fired corrupt officials – hired on merit
o Starts lycees – gov’t run schools
o Created Napoleonic Code – system of laws
§ Established a uniform set of laws, eliminated some injustices
· Also limited liberty, favored gov’t over individual rights
· Women lost rights gained during Revolution
· Freedom of speech and press were restricted
· Restored slavery in Caribbean colonies
· Religious
o Signed concordat with Pope
§ Catholic Church is less powerful
§ Rejected Church control in national affairs
· Napoleon crowns himself emperor with by vote of the people
Napoleon Creates an Empire
· Reconquering St. Domingue fails – scraps plans for New World empire
o Sells Louisiana Territory to US – gains money for European wars
· Napoleon has success in conquering most of Europe
· Battle of Trafalgar
o French navy is defeated - Napoleon gives up on invading Britain
The French Empire
· Controlled most of Europe through conquest, alliances and threats
· His control made many aware of their loyalty to their nations
· The empire was large, but unstable – it can not be maintained
Key Concepts:
· Napoleon grabs power because of Government disorder and chaos
· People want stability – allow Napoleon to become dictator then emperor
· Napoleon creates order through reforms to gov’t, religion and economy
· Napoleon controls most of Europe with war, threats and alliances
· While large and powerful, France’s empire was unstable
Chapter 23 – Section 4
Napoleon’s Empire Collapses
Napoleon’s Three Costly Mistakes
· The Continental System
o A blockade to prevent all trade and communication between Europe and England
§ Designed to destroy England’s commerce and economy
§ Was supposed to make Europe more self-sufficient
o Reasons for failure
§ Blockade was too loose – cargo was smuggled into Europe
§ Napoleon’s allies ignored it
§ England set up their own blockade, which was effective
· Supplies from other nations did not reach Europe
· This weakened France and territories it controlled
· The Peninsular War
o Napoleon sent troops to Portugal to enforce the Continental System
§ Had to march through Spain to get there
§ When Spanish towns rioted, he named his brother king
o Results
§ Napoleon lost 300,000 men – weakened French army
§ Inspires nationalism in Spain, Italy and Germany
· Parts of his empire were turning against him
· The Invasion of Russia
o Although allies with France, Russia needed commerce with England – breaks down the alliance
§ Napoleon invades, Russians retreat
§ Scorched earth policy leaves no resources for Napoleon
§ Napoleon marches to Moscow – stays for five weeks
§ Caught in the Russian winter while returning to France
§ Attacked by Russians during retreat
§ Lost 95% of his army
Napoleon’s Downfall
· Napoleon’s enemies join forces to take advantage of his weakened army
o England, Russia, Prussia, Sweden make up the Fourth Coalition
· Napoleon raises a new army, but it is inexperienced
o He is defeated an Battle of Leipzig
o Exiled to Elba island
Napoleon’s Comeback
· Louis XVIII comes to France to rule as king
o Quickly becomes unpopular
§ Suspected of wanting to undo Revolution land reforms
· Napoleon escapes from exile
o Quickly raises and army - thousands of volunteers
o Within days he is emperor again – Louis flees
· Waterloo
o Napoleon attacks British forces at Waterloo
o Defeated by English and Prussian armies in two days
o Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena
§ He dies 21 years later
· The door is now open for a new order in Europe
Key Concepts:
· Napoleon makes three costly mistakes that lead to his downfall
· Returns from exile to regain power – he is defeated
· Chance for a new European order emerges in his absence
Chapter 22 – Section 5
The Congress of Vienna
After Napoleon, Europe seeks long-lasting peace and stability. The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of the European powers to do this.
Metternich’s Plan
· He distrusted democracy, and wanted to keep the status quo
· He adopts a three-part plan to do this
Part 1 - Containment of France
· Prevent future French aggression by surrounding it with strong countries.
o Smaller nations/states were combined
Part 2 - Balance of Power
· Prevent any one country from easily overpowering another.
o Weaken France, but not too much to inspire revenge
o All territory gained by Napoleon was given back
Part 3 - Legitimacy
· Return the rulers Napoleon had deposed to the throne
o These “legitimate” rulers would stabilize their countries and the political relations among nations
The Congress of Vienna was a success. It created peace, avoided severe punishment that would cause a revenge war, and created a balance of power.
Concert of Europe
· A series of alliances to ensure nations help each other if war breaks out
§ Conservative gov’t takes hold – they do not want change
Legacy
· Nationalism spreads – will fuel more revolution later
· Attitudes about authority and power change permanently