French Revolution slides

1. TOPIC 3
FRENCH REVOLUTION
N.B NKUTHA

2. WHAT IS FRENCH REVOLUTION
• On 14 July 1789 hundreds of French city workers stormed the Bastille fortress in Paris.This
marked the beginning of the French Revolution, which would last for 10 years.The
Revolution destroyed the Old Order in France that determined every single person’s position
and rights.Workers who had long been denied rights and privileges grew frustrated and
angry that the higher classes would never be fair to them.They decided to challenge the
ruling order to force change.The Bastille was a symbol of the Old Order and its fall
symbolized the collapse of the hated Order.The French Revolution had an impact on the rest
of Europe and in many other parts of the world.
•

3. TIMELINE
July 1788 - Calling together of the Estates General
17 June 1789 - Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly
14 July 1789 - Storming of the Bastille
Late July 1789 - The Great Fear
4 August 1789 - Nobles surrender their special privileges
20 April 1792 - Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria
21-22 September 1792 - The monarchy is done away with
January 1793 - Louis XVI is guillotined
June 1793 - The Jacobins take power
28 July 1794 - Robespierre is guillotined
1799 - Napoleon seizes power; Revolution end

4. WHAT IS REVOLUTION
• A revolution is when people rebel against the government, or the way other people
treat them.They will try to change these things and try to get into power themselves. In
the French Revolution, the common people of France rebelled against the absolute king
and the way the rich and socially-important minority exploited and mistreated them.
They tried to change the whole social order that made the minority mistreat them.

5. WHAT CAUSED FRENCH REVOLUTION
• In France, there was a very strict social order that determined your place in society, what you could do
for a living, and where you could live. It was called theAncient Régime or Old Order.
• Estates: One of the three social classes in France under theAncient Regime
• The Old Order divided society into three groups.
• The first two Estates were very privileged: most of them had big houses and a lot of money, so that
they did not have to work.They also did not have to pay taxes.These two Estates were the clergy
(those working for the Roman Catholic Church, like priests and monks) and the aristocracy (or nobles).
Together, these two classes made up only 2% of all the people in France.The other 98% was the
common people, or theThird Estate.They included peasants (farm workers), urban workers and a small
group of businessmen.

6. HOW DID NAPOLEON FAIL TO PREVENT FRENCH REVOLUTION
THIS WILL BE DISCUSSED ON OUR NEXT SESSION
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