  Ruled from 1774 – 1791  1770 Married Marie Antoinette  Austrian Princess  Populace not happy because an Alliance with Austria is what drew France into the 7 years war  Couldn’t produce and heir  Main flaw was lacked firmness  Always consulted public opinion  Found guilty of high treason  Executed by guillotine in 1793 Louis XVI ( )

  Louis XV left France deeply in debt  By 1787 the French government was 4000 million livres in dept.  In 1787 the King asked the nobility to help him reform the tax system  Members of the 1 st estate and the 2 nd estate did not pay taxes  Louis wanted the 1 st and 2 nd estate to pay taxes  Not surprisingly they refused Problem 1 - Money

  In the years 1787 to 1789 there was terrible weather  Heavy rain, bard winters and hot summers  Led to 3 very bad harvests in France  Inflation and starvation followed  The nobility, the clergy and the King lived in the lap of luxury Problem 2 – Bad harvest

  A gathering of the 3 estates  Not called since 1614  Convened by Louis to deal with the debt  No real power mostly symbolic  Used as an advisory council  Each estate would have one vote Estates General 1789

  Meeting supposed to be about taxes, degrades into who should have what power  Louis closes the meeting  Locks everyone out  3 rd estate moves to a Tennis Court and takes the  “Tennis Court Oath” Estate General

  June 20, 1789  576 of 577 members of the 3 rd estate  Take an oath not to separate until a constitution is created  Creation of the “National Assembly” Tennis Court Oath

  Shifting of the balance of power from the monarch to the people  Louis less able to rely on the divine right of kings  Forces Louis to count voting by head rather than order of the estates  Birth of modern democracy  3 rd estate does not back down  Inspires riots and revolutionary behaviour throughout the countryside Tennis Court Oath - Significance

  Begins with the Tennis Court Oath  Majority the 3 rd estate  Invite the 1 st and 2 nd estate to join them  Most of the clergy and some of the nobles join  Declare themselves the governing power of France  The army at this point is still loyal to Louis  Foreign mercenaries summoned by Louis National Assembly 1789 (June)

  Storming the Bastille

  National Assembly feels threatened by the impending troops  Large scale rioting across Paris and the countryside begins to organize  Rallying cry “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity!”  Set their sights on the Bastille  A prison  More a symbol of royal power  Housed weaponry  Now the 3 rd estate was armed The Fall of the Bastille

  August  National Assembly takes away seigneurial rights from the nobles and the tithing rights away from the clergy  Within a few hours all special privileges are taken from the 1 st and 2 nd estates  Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen passed  Makes one legislative assembly where all men are equal and the King only has a “suspensive veto”  Could delay laws but not veto them  Assembly abolishes all hereditary offices (government) Abolishment of Feudalism

  National Assembly declares on November 1789 that all Church land (10% of total land) becomes property of the state (Assembly)  Assembly Auctions off the land to the highest bidder  The Church now becomes the charge of the State  The poor, sick and weak now under the care of the State  Assembly abolishes “Monastic Vows”  All monks and nuns are forced to return to private life Reformation of the French Church

  Army becoming increasingly difficult to control  Made up of peasants with nobles as commanding officers  Louis not really liking what he is seeing tries to flee France dressed as a commoner  Recognized, arrested and brought back to France  This is the beginning of the end for the monarchy in France Louis XVI and the Army

  Groups in France wanted to “export” the ideals of the revolution to the rest of Europe  Louis thought war would strengthen his reputation  This lead to declaration of war against Austria  Austrian ally Prussia declares that they will attack if France does not withdraw and reinstate the monarchy War 1792

  Louis accused of conspiring with the enemies of France (foreign nations)  Executed by guillotine  Jan 17, 1793 Execution of Louis XVI

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  Committee of Public safety comes under the control of Maximillien Robespierre and the Jacobins  Jacobins  Radical revolutionary group who believed in force to further the revolution  people killed by guillotine for “counter revolutionary actions”  Girondins  More moderate opposition to the Jacobins  Many killed in the Reign Reign of Terror

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  Girondin response to the Jacobin Terror  Execution of many of the Jacobins responsible  Robespierre executed  July 27, 1794  Brings an end to the reign of Terror  New constitution brought in The White Terror

  New Parliament chosen by eligible land owners (vote)  Council of 500  500 representatives (lower house)  Council of Elders  250 Senators  Executive power was granted to 5 people chosen by the council of elders and nominated by the council of 500 The Constitutional Republic

  Crippled the aristocracy (nobles)  Destroyed the power of the Church  Ended the monarchy in France  Modern style democracy established Results of the French Revolution