The French Revolution and Napoleon (1789-1815) Chapter 11
Main Ideas Social inequality & economic problems contributed to the French Revolution Radical groups controlled the Revolution Revolution allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to take control dominate French & European history from 1799-1815
Background to French Revolution France divided into three social classes (Estates, image 2) First Estate clergy (exempt from paying taille) Second Estate nobility (exempt from taille) Third Estate commoners (98% of population) Peasants, artisans, shopkeepers Bourgeoisie (middle class) owned 25% of land Economic crisis resulted in 1/3 of population living in poverty Ideas of the Enlightenment encouraged oppressed to challenge the monarchy and old order
Reasons for Economic Crisis French government spent lavishly on wars (Seven Years War) & court luxuries Queen Marie Antoinette ( Madame Deficit ) especially known for her extravagance To address economic crisis, King Louis XVI was forced to call a meeting of the Estates-General (French Parliament), which had not met since 1614
Estates-General becomes National Assembly Each Estate had representatives in the Estates- General Third Estate wanted a constitutional government & tax exemptions for clergy & nobility abolished However, each estate had only one vote obviously First & Second Estates overruled wishes of the Third Estate & King Louis XVI upheld the voting tradition of one vote per Estate
Estates-General becomes National Assembly Third Estate (98% of population) reacted by calling a National Assembly to draft a constitution They were locked out of their meeting place so they met next door on a tennis court & vowed to continue meeting until a constitution was drafted (Tennis Court Oath)
Storming of the Bastille July 14, 1789 angry Parisian mob of 8,000 men & women, looking for weapons, stormed the Bastille, a royal armory & prison The Bastille was defended by Marquis de Launay & small garrison of 114 men After 4 hrs. of fighting Marquis de Launay surrendered the angry mob beat Launay to death, cut off his head & carried it aloft through streets of Paris
Revolution Spreads Local revolutions against the old order spread throughout France, peasant rebellions were particularly violent and caused great panic (The Great Fear)
Destruction of Old Order National Assembly first adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (pg. 336) Freedom & equal rights for all End to tax exemptions (taille) Citizens take part in making laws King Louis XVI stayed at Versailles & refused to accept laws passed by the National Assembly
Bread Shortage Paris reached a high level of tension & price of bread soared (50-80% of a peasant or urban worker s income went toward bread) In October (1789) thousands of Parisian women armed with broomsticks & pitchforks marched to Versailles to confront Louis XVI As a result, the royal family was forced to meet the mob s demands and family was escorted back to Paris, where they essentially became prisoners
Roman Catholic Church The National Assembly took control of the Roman Catholic Church, seized its land and declared that bishops & priests must be elected By 1791, the old order was officially destroyed
Revolution s Radical Phase King Louis XVI looked to other European monarchs (Austria & Prussia) for help in crushing the revolt - family tried to escape Paris unsuccessfully The National Assembly, fearing intervention from Austria, declared war and France was soundly defeated The defeat, along with increasing economic troubles, allowed radical sans-culottes (Paris Commune) to Without breeches ordinary patriots without fine clothes take power & capture the royal family Liberty, Equality, Fraternity = motto (End Section 1)
Sans-culottes Led by minister of justice, Georges Danton, they sought revenge on King Louis XVI & his supporters (thousands arrested and killed) France s new ruling body (National Convention) met in 1792 & abolished the monarchy what to do with royal family? National Convention splits into two factions (Jacobin club members) 1. Girondins (Juh Rahn Duhns) outside cities 2. Mountain radicals in Paris January, 1793 King Louis XVI executed October, 1793 Marie Antoinette executed Both sent to the guillotine and beheaded
Committee of Public Safety Execution of King Louis XVI outraged other European monarchies who formed loose coalition to invade France In response, the National Convention formed 12 member Committee of Public Safety first led by Georges Danton, then later by Maximilien Robespierre Robespierre believed in Rousseau s idea of Social Contract, therefore anyone who did not submit to the general will (as he saw it) should be executed National Convention pursued policy of dechristianization The Republic of Virtue (First Republic of many)
Reign of Terror For roughly a year (1793-1794) the Committee of Public Safety took control 40,000 people executed as internal enemies of the revolutionary First Republic guillotine symbolic of terror A Nation in Arms France raised 1 million man army = nationalism Reign of Terror eventually came to end with Robespierre execution on July 28, 1794 moderate leaders took over
The Directory The Committee of Public Safety s power was reduced, a new legislative body and five electors known as The Directory ruled France from 1795-1799 The Directory s rule was marked by corruption, radical opposition, & more economic problems Situation ripe for a military overthrow of the government (coup d état) End Section 2
The Age of Napoleon Napoleon born in 1769 in Corsica, attended military school, rose to rank of commander in French army In 1799, led coup d état against The Directory and became absolute ruler of France I am the revolution In 1802, declared himself consul for life In 1804, crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon s Reforms 1. Made peace with R.C. Church religious toleration 2. Established consistent legal system = Napoleonic Code, seven codes with civil code being most important it preserved most of the Revolution s reforms but restricted women rights 3. Created a centralized government (bureaucracy), implemented a new noble class/aristocracy based on merit instead of birthright (meritocracy) 4. restricted freedom of press
Napoleon s Conquest From 1805-1807 Napoleon s Grand Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies Nations defeated by Napoleon became allied states within his Grand Empire (dependent states & allied states) Napoleon s grand prize was Great Britain however, its sea power made it invulnerable to an army s attack To defeat Britain, Napoleon utilized economic warfare known as the Continental System = stop nations from trading with the British (unsuccessful, Britain survived & it only sparked nationalism)
Napoleon s Fall In June of 1812, Grand Army of 600,000 men invades Russia because it refused to comply with Continental System Russian forces draw Napoleon s army deep into the country (Moscow) eventually forced to retreat The Great Retreat took place in harsh winter and only 40,000 of 600,000 Napoleon s men survived European foes capitalized and captured Paris in March, 1814 Napoleon abdicates throne & exiled to the island of Elba & France s Bourbon (Bore-bone) monarchy restored in person of Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI
Napoleon s Return & Defeat Napoleon returned from exile (The Hundred Days) to defeat Louis XVIII and reclaim power Napoleon, however, suffered his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo where a combined force of British & Prussian armies led by Duke of Wellington delivered a crushing defeat This time, Napoleon exiled to island of St. Helena never to return, he died in 1815 (53 yrs. old)