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History - The French Revolution - Class Notes

The French Revolution began in 1789 and overthrew the French monarchy and feudal system of government. Key events included the storming of the Bastille prison and the abolition of the feudal system. The revolution established France as a constitutional monarchy but growing unrest led to the establishment of a republic in 1792 and the execution of Louis XVI in 1793. The radical Jacobin government led by Robespierre established a Reign of Terror to eliminate opposition but his own regime was overthrown in 1794. Napoleon later crowned himself emperor in 1804, bringing the revolution to an end.

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181 views91 pages

History - The French Revolution - Class Notes

The French Revolution began in 1789 and overthrew the French monarchy and feudal system of government. Key events included the storming of the Bastille prison and the abolition of the feudal system. The revolution established France as a constitutional monarchy but growing unrest led to the establishment of a republic in 1792 and the execution of Louis XVI in 1793. The radical Jacobin government led by Robespierre established a Reign of Terror to eliminate opposition but his own regime was overthrown in 1794. Napoleon later crowned himself emperor in 1804, bringing the revolution to an end.

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musicfactory2008
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History

➢ The French Revolution

By-Joginder Chahar Sir


Topics to be covered
1 One shot complete chapter
The Story of Louis XVI
All of these were educated and believed that no group in society
should be privileged by birth.
Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of
the monarch.
Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government
based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
The Outbreak of the Revolution

In France of the Old Regime the monarch did


not have the power to impose taxes
according to his will alone.
He had to call a meeting of the Estates
General which would then pass his proposals
for new taxes.
On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to
pass proposals for new taxes.

The third estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated
members.
Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly.
Third estate demanded
On 20 June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of
Versailles
Noble family A priest
Wrote an influential pamphlet called
‘What is the Third Estate’?
Rest of France
In the countryside rumors spread from village to village
Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and
accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by
a constitution.
On the night of 4 August 1789
1. The Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and
taxes.
2. Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges.
3. Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated.
4. As a result, the government acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livres.
France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

Drafted the constitution in 1791


The Constitution began with a
Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen.
Rights such as the right to life,
freedom of speech, freedom of
opinion, equality before law, were
established as ‘natural and
inalienable’ rights
France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a
Republic
Louis XVI had signed the Constitution, he entered into secret negotiations with the King
of Prussia.
National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against
Prussia and Austria
Marseillaise, composed by the
poet Roget de L’Isle

It was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into
Paris and so got its name.
The Marseillaise is now the national anthem of France.
The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less
prosperous sections of society.
shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-
makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers.
Maximilian Robespierre
These Jacobins came to be known as the
sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those
without knee breeches’.
On the morning of August 10 they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries,
massacred the king’s guards and held the king himself as hostage for several
hours.
Elections were held.
From now on all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right
to vote.
The newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
On 21 September 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France a
republic.
Louis XVI was sentenced
to death by a court on
the charge of treason

On 21 January 1793 he was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde.


The queen Marie Antoinette met with the same fate shortly after.
पता है रोबेस्पिएरे ने क्या किया?

A maximum ceiling on wages and prices.


Meat and bread were rationed.
Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed by
the government.
The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden.
All citizens were required to eat equality bread.
Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address.
Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and
women were henceforth Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen).
Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
July 1794
A Directory Rules France

The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to
seize power.

Two elected legislative councils.


These then appointed a Directory, an executive made up of five members.
Did Women have a Revolution?
About sixty women’s
clubs came up in
different French cities.
The Society of
Revolutionary and
Republican Women
was the most famous of
them
Efforts by revolutionary government

In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that
helped improve the lives of women.
Schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will.
Marriage was made into a contract and registered under civil law.
Divorce was made legal, and could be applied for by both women and men.
Women could now train for jobs, could become artists or run small
businesses.

It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.
The Abolition of Slavery
French merchants sailed from the
ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the
African coast, where they bought
slaves from local chieftains.
Branded and shackled, the slaves
were packed tightly into ships to
the Caribbean and they were sold
to plantation owners. The
exploitation made it possible to
meet the growing demand in
European markets for sugar,
The slave trade began in the coffee, and indigo.
seventeenth century.
The Convention which in
1794 legislated to free all
slaves in the French overseas
possessions.
This, however, turned out to
be a short-term measure
because ten years later,
Napoleon reintroduced
slavery.
Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.
The Revolution and Everyday Life

Now the Declaration of the


Rights of Man and Citizen
proclaimed freedom of
speech and expression to be a
natural right.
Conclusion

In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself


Emperor of France.
Napoleon saw his role as a moderniser of
Europe.
He introduced many laws such as the
protection of private property and a uniform
system of weights and measures provided by
the decimal system.
He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815
Sprint to Success

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