1. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Vedant Yogesh
Class - IX
Detail From Triumph of Marat, Boilly,
1794 (Musee des Beaux-Arts)

2. One of the main factors that led to the French Revolution
was the unbalanced social structure of society during the
Old Regime.
It was the main reason of the depletion of the treasury
of the king.
King was a person of Mediocre Intelligence.
Formation of the Estate General.
Influence from the writers.
CAUSES
Economic
cause
Political
cause
Immediate
cause
Economic
cause
Social
Cause

3. THE SOCIAL CAUSE / SOCIETY UNDER THE OLD REGIME
First Estate
Second Estate
Third Estate
•High-ranking members of
the Church
•Privileged class
•Nobility
•Privileged class
• Everyone else – from
peasants in the countryside
to wealthy bourgeoisie
merchants in the cities
• Unprivileged class
In France, people were divided into three
Estates :-

4. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Land
Ownership
Taxation Population
Clergy
Nobility
Commoners

5. THE FRENCH ROYALTY

6.  Louis XVI was an
awkward, clumsy man
who had a good heart but
was unable to relate to
people on a personal
level.
– He often appeared unfeeling and gruff.
– He was insecure and seems to have disliked
being King of France.
 When one of his ministers resigned, he
was heard to remark, "Why can't I resign
too?”
LOUIS XIV

7. Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette,
in her early years as
Queen, was flighty and
irresponsible.
She spent huge amounts
on clothes, buying a new
dress nearly every
other day.
Being Austrian, she was
terribly unpopular in
France and had few
friends.

8. People were hungry;
the country was
broke.
This picture is from
an all-woman
bread riot.
Marie Antionette said
“let them eat
cake”
BREAD RIOTS

9. The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques Louis David
 The delegates agreed
and all but one of the
578 delegates signed it.
– Their oath is known as the
Tennis Court Oath.
– It said: "The National
Assembly, considering that
it has been summoned to
establish the constitution
of the kingdom... decrees
that all members of this
assembly shall
immediately take a solemn
oath not to separate... until
the constitution of the
kingdom is established on
firm foundations..." June
20, 1789

10. STORMING THE BASTILLE
 Events of the night of
July 13, 1789
 Reasons for the attack on
the Bastille the next
morning
 The stubbornness of the
governor of the fortress
 Celebrations on the night
of July 14th
 Sparks tremendous
popular revolution all over
France

11. Freedom
of
religion
Freedom of
speech
Freedom of
the press
“Liberty,
equality,
fraternity!”
“Liberty,
equality,
fraternity!”
Right of
the people
to create
laws
Right to a
fair trial

12. People had grown tired of the instability and
bloodshed of the revolution and were ready
for something more moderate.
By 1795, the republic was gone, and 5 men
with business interests had the executive
power in France.
This new government was called The
Directory.
It was far more conservative than
the Jacobin republic had been.
It was also ineffectual.
THE DIRECTORY

13. EFFECTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
• Both the King and Queen
were beheaded
• French monarchy no more
• In addition to the Royal
family, 17,000 people were
executed with the guillotine.

14. Napoleon Bonaparte