1. French Revolution
Chapter 7

3. Revolution Threatens the French King
1700’s France – most advanced country and center of Enlightenment
Prosperous foreign trade
Large population
Highly praised culture

4. Problems High Prices High taxes
Influence of Enlightenment philosophers Rousseau and Voltaire.

5. Old Regime First Estate (Clergy) Owned 10% of land. Assisted the poor.
Gave 2% of its
income to the government.

6. Second Estate Rich nobles 2% of the population. Owned 20% of land.
Paid no taxes.

7. The first and second estates scorned Enlightenment ideas.

8. Third Estate 98% of the population
Consisted of three different groups:
Bourgeoisie
City Workers
Peasants

9. Bourgeoisie Merchants and artisans Well educated
Believed in enlightenment ideals
Paid high taxes

10. City Workers Cooks, servants, laborers, etc. Paid low wages
Frequently unemployed
Often went hungry.

11. Peasants
Largest group of third estate 80% of population (26 million people)
Paid half of income to nobles, tithes to the church, and taxes to the king
Eager for change

12. Forces of change Enlightenment Ideals Economy
Equality, liberty, and democracy
Encouraged by American revolution
Economy
1780’s crop failures
High taxes
Large debt

13. Weak leadership Louis XVI was indecisive Married an unpopular
Austrian princess Marie
Antoinette
Attempted to tax the
second estate (nobles)

14. Estates general (May 5, 1789)
An assembly of representatives from all three estates.
Called together by the king, under pressure from the nobles to vote on new taxes.

15. Clergy and nobles expected to control the Estates General as they had in Middle Ages.
The Third Estate insisted on equal representation for all estates, wanted one vote for each delegate.

16. Abbe Sieyes
“What is the third estate? Everything…What does it demand? To become something herein.”
Suggests a National Assembly be formed.

17. National Assembly
June 17, 1789, a vote was passed to form National Assembly.
Pass new laws and reforms to change France.
First act of the Revolution

18. Tennis Court Oath
Third estate delegates locked out of their meeting room.
Broke into tennis court and pledged to stay until a constitution was created.
The pledge came to be known as the Tennis Court Oath.

19. King Louis XVI
No longer trusts French guards, hires Swiss to protect him at Versailles
Rumors of foreign troops coming to murder French citizens under King’s orders run rampant
People gather weapons and go to get gunpowder at the…

20. The Bastille July 14, 1789 Was a prison where gunpowder was stored
Mob overtakes guards
Becomes a symbol of revolution

21. Great Fear
Rebellion spreads across countryside as do rumors that peasants are being terrorized
This sparks the great fear where peasants get pitchforks and torches and attack nobles’ houses burning them down

22. Rioting Continues
Parisian women riot in October of 1789 angry over the cost of bread
Men join in arm themselves and march to Versailles
They kill some soldiers and demand that the Royal Family go to Paris
They do signaling they no longer have power

24. Robespierre

25. Guillotine

26. Beethoven