Chapter 7 Section 1

 Considered the Most advanced country of Europe  Large population, prosperous foreign trade, was the center of the Enlightenment, highly praised and imitated culture  Truth  Great unrest caused by bad harvests, high prices, high taxes, and questions raised by the philosophes

 The Old Regime  People were divided into three Estates – Social classes  First Estate- Clergy  Held 10% of the land in France  Education and relief for poor  2% of income goes to the government  Second Estate- Nobles  2% of the population, 20% of the land  Third Estate- Everyone else  Privileged Estates  1 st and 2 nd  Had access to high offices and had exemptions from paying taxes

 Third Estate  97% of the people  3 groups of the 3 rd estate  Bourgeoisie ( middle Class)  Educated and believed in Enlightenment Ideals  Some were as rich as nobles, but the paid high taxes and lacked privileges  guild privileges- exclusive rights to a trade in an area- given by King  Felt like their wealth entitled them to a greater degree of social status and political power  Urban Workers  Poorest, got low wages and many times went hungry  Peasants  More than 80% of France's population  Half their income went to dues for the nobles, tithes to the church, and taxes to the king’s agents * Third estate very discontent with the heavy burden and privileges given to others

 3 big problems  1. New ideas about government  The Enlightenment  Inspired by the success of American Revolution  Speeches at the Tuleries  2. Economic Problems  Appeared sound because expansion of production and trade  Taxes made it almost impossible to make business profitable  Price of living up  Crop failures make the price of bread go up- many starving  Heavy debt b/c of aid the American Revolution

 3. Indecisive leadership  Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette  Alliance between Austro-Hungarian Empire and France (Hapsburgs and Bourbons) Old Enemies  Married when she was 15 and he was 16  Queen and king when 18 and 19  Marital problems = no children= rumors  Libelles- “let them eat cake”  Spending Habits  Silliness of Versailles  Hamlet  Petit Trianon  Privacy and Formality  Dress  Louis the Weak Leader  More interest in his hobbies like lock making  Took poor advice from ill informed people

 Louis only option is to impose a tax on the 2 nd Estate  Don’t allow him to so he has to call the Estates- General – an assembly made of representatives from all 3 estates.  1 st time it had met in 175 years, met in Versailles in May of 1789  Old Rules- Each estate meets in separate halls and each estate had 1 vote= 3 rd estate loses  Louis make it 2 votes for the 3 rd estate  What they want-each delegate gets a vote- Louis doesn’t allow it.  3 rd Estate stonewalls  Emmanuel Joseph- Sieyes suggest they make a new legislative body

 What is the Third Estate? Everything.  What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing.  What does it ask? To become something.

 June 17, rd estate after long night of debate decides to establish the National Assembly  Proclaims an end to absolute monarchy  1 st act of Revolution  Tennis Court Oath  Louis locks them out of their meeting room  3 days later meet on an indoor tennis court  Take oath saying they won’t leave until they have written a new constitution  1 st and 2 nd estaters who want reform join them.  Louis stations Swiss mercenaries around Versailles

 Rumor has it  Louis going to use mercenaries to dismiss the National Assembly or to kill citizens  Attack the mercenaries- July 12, 1789  Demolish tax wall  Storm a monastery looking for grain  Create a new gov. and National guard  Decide to go to the Bastille Prison for weapons  Also seen as a symbol of Royal Power  Only 7 people in the prison- most of them loony  Hack of the guard’s head with a pocket knife than parade around with it on a pike  July 14 Bastille day- like 4 th of July

 Rebellion spreads to the countryside.  Rumors make people panic  Peasants arm themselves w/ pitchforks and break into noble’s houses, burn them down, etc.  October 1789 Women riot over bread and march to Versailles.  Are followed by national guard- have cannons guns, etc.  First want answers from National Assembly  Then turn to the king and queen- break into the palace and demand that they move to Paris.  King of France to King of the French