FRENCH REVOLUTION Flashcards
state the time period where;
susbstinence crisis occurred
AKA the struggle to survive
-from 1715 to 1789 the population of France increased from 23 million to 28 million, which increased the need for food grains
- insufficient production of the food grains increased its prices
-however, the wages of most the workers still remained the same.
- This condition worsened during the winter season
- these are the causes which led to the subsistence crisis
describe the events that took place on 14 July1789
- on the morning of14 july 1789, the king ordered the troops to move into the city of Paris, there were rumours that he had ordered that the citizens be shot.
- some 7000 men and women formed the people’s mliitia
3, people raided into the bastille and released released several prisioners - the agitated crowd broke into the cheabs to burn the important documents and looted the hidden food grains such as bread
state the time period where Louis XVI became the king of France
1774 was when Luois XVI became the king of France
describe the first estate ( the clergy)
the first estate members were privileged by birth
they were members of the church and had vast land and wealth
they did not have to pay taxes to the state
describe the 2nd estate ppl
the people who belonged to the 3nd estate were known as the nobles.
they were also privileged by birth and extracted their feudal dues from the peasents
describe the 3rd estate members
the 3rd estate members were not privileged by birth and had to pay taxes
however there were 3 divisions of the 3rd estate people
1. the big business men, lawyers and other officials
2. peasants and the artisans
3. small peasants, landless labours and small servents
describe the growing middle class
1.during the 18th century, a growing middle class emerged. They had gotten rich because they were involved in trade in woollen and silk textiles
2. they were lawyers and administrative officials
3. philosophers thought that the going middle class people were responsible for the revolution that was going to take place in France
4. philosophers such as jhon locke wrote books which criticized the absolute right of the French monarch.
5. these ideas were spread through the newspapers and books, meanwhile rumours spread that the king was going to further increase the taxes, which angered the citizens of france
describe what happen of 5th May 1789
- Louis XVI called the Estates general meeting where representatives from all the 3 estates were present
- the first and the second estate members had sent 300 representatives each while the 3rd estate sent 600 representatives
- although the members of the 3rd estate were more educated, they were discriminated and were forced to stand at the back.
- the 3rd estate people had proposed the new idea where the assembly be taken as a whole and each person be given 1 vote
- the king refused to accept this and they stomped out of the assembly in protest
describe what happened on 20th june of 1789
- The 3rd estate members had walked out in protest and had gathered in the indoor tennis court in the Versailles
2, they declared themselves the national assembly of France and also declared that they declare that they will frame a constitution. The 3rd estate members viewed themselves as the spokesperson of France - The leaders of this national assembly were Mirabeau and Abbe sieyes
- Mirabeau was initially born on a noble family but was convinces that justice nneds to be done to the people of the 3rd estate
- abbe sieyes was initially a priest and had written the influential pamphlet ‘what is the 3rd estate’
Revolt starts at the bastille
explain this sentence
- in France, due to the bad whether, the price of the food grains had again went up, and taking advantage of this situation, the bakers at the bakeries had hoarded the supplies. This led to angry women lining up in front of the bakeries until one point where they raided the bakeries
- On 14th July 1789, the agitated crowd stomped into the bastille in search for hoarded ammunition.
- there was also rumours spread which said that the king was going to hire robbers to destroy the ripen crops.
- after hearing this, they attached the chateau
- the peasants burnt the documents and looted the food grains stored
explain how France became a constitutional monarchy
- In 1791, the national assembly had completed constructing a constitution whose main objective was to limit the powers of the monarch
- the powers were divided into legislative, juidicary, and the executive
state and explain the laws that were made by the national assembly
the national assembly had made many changes to the assembly but there were 3 particular laws were the highlights of the constitution created by the national assembly
1. any male above the age of 25 who had paid taxes enough to add up to 3 days of wages. They were considered active citizens and were given the right to vote while the others such as the women and children were considered passive citizens which meant that they did not have the right to vote
2. in order to contest in the elections or become the member of the national assembly, the individual needed to belong to the highest group of tax payers
3. The constitution had begun saying that there be right to express freedom of opinion, freedom of speech and equality before law. It was the state’s responsibility to ensure that these rights are given to each citizen
what happned on 4th august, 1789?
Louis XVI had abolished the law which stated that only the members of the rd estate needed to pay taxes.
after this law was passed, the land owned by the church was sized and members of all the states needed to pay tax.
by this time, france had already collected 2 billion livres
what happened at the April of 1792 and why>
in April of 1792, France had declared war against Prussia and Austria
this was because the European countries had noticed the rapid growth of France and had sent troops to France.
why:
a large number of citizens were convinced that the revolution needs to be carried further because the constitution that was designed in 1789 only gave privileges to the richer sections of the population.
people discussed the political plans in political clubs and one of the most popular clubs was the Jacobins club
What is the Jacobins club
- the jacobin club generally consisted of the less prosperous sections of the society, their leader was maxmillian Robesphere
- the people who belonged to the jacobin club were dressed with long stripped trousers, similar to the dock worders. They also wore a red cap that symbolises peace.
