The document summarizes key events of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794. It begins with unrest in Paris in July 1789 over rumors the king planned to fire on citizens. An armed group then stormed the Bastille prison, seeing it as a symbol of royal despotism. In the countryside, peasants revolted against feudal contracts. The National Assembly was formed and declared independence from the king. The Assembly took the Tennis Court Oath and released the Declaration of Rights of Man. The Revolution then grew more radical as the Jacobins, led by Robespierre, established a Reign of Terror, executing over 15,000 people. Robespierre was later overthrown and executed in 1794

1. Prepared By :Prepared By :
SUJIT KUMARSUJIT KUMAR

2. • A revolution is a fundamental change in
power or organizational structures that
takes place in a relatively short period of
time.
• The forcible overthrow of a government or
social order
• Any fundamental change or reversal of
condition

3. Bastille’s DownfallBastille’s Downfall

4. • On 14th
July 1789 alarm broke out in the
city of Paris.

5. • Roomers spread that the king had
commanded troops to open fire upon the
citizens.

6. • A group of several hundred armed people
(militia) marched towards the eastern part
of Paris city and stormed the fortress-
prison of Bastille.

7. • It was
hated as it
stood for
the
despotic
powers of
the king.

8. • People hoped to find hoarded ammunition.

9. • In the armed fight that followed killed the
commander of Bastille and prisoners were
released.

10. • The fortress was demolished and its stone
fragments were sold to those in the market
who want to keep it as a souvenir.

11. • Historians looked it as the sign of end of
monarch and the beginning of new era.

12. • Louis XVI became the king of France at
the age of 20. He belonged to the Bourbon
family of kings.

13. • King Louis was more concerned with his
own personal interests than in the
interests of the State and Court.
• He was incapable of strong decisive action

14. • No one factor was directly responsible for
the French Revolution.
• Years of feudal oppression and fiscal
mismanagement contributed to a French
society that was ripe for revolt.
• Noting a downward economic spiral in the
late 1700s, King Louis XVI brought in a
number of financial advisors to review the
weakened French treasury.

15. • France was an absolute monarchy

16. • The king was young and did not know
much about state affairs

17. • The treasury was empty

18. • Taxes were paid by the third estate only
but the first and second estates enjoyed
all privileges.
Taille Tithe

19. • There was an emerging rich and strong
middle class in the third estate called
bourgeoisie

20. • Influence of new ideas esp. on the bourgeoisie
• Influence of American constitution
• France faced hunger due to poor harvests. This
mainly affected the poor who could not afford
food grains because of increased prices.

21. • Wars fought by previous monarchs
especially the seven years war.
• Court expenses (esp. immense palace at
Versailles)
• American war of Independence (1775-
1783)

22. • The Clergy was established as a privileged Estate.
• Members of the lower clergy were usually priests.
– they collected the tithe (usually 10%);
– they censored books;
– operated schools and hospitals;
– They also owned 10-15% of all the land in France
and paid no taxes.

23. • The Nobility represented another privileged Estate.
• The nobility held the highest positions in the Church,
the army and the government.
• They were virtually exempt from paying taxes of any
kind.
• They collected rent from the peasant population who
lived on their lands.
• They also collected taille from the peasantry.

24. • Third estate of the French society was made up of
the middle classes bourgeoisie, and lower class
peasantry (about 90% of population).
• The bourgeoisies consisted of merchants,
manufacturers, bankers, doctors, lawyers.
• The peasantry continued to live in extreme
poverty due to the high taxation from the upper
class.
• They were the victims of heavy taxation since they
had to pay for the cost of war, for the king, for the
church, and taxes due to their lord of the manor.
• Since they were getting financial pressure, the
peasantry wanted to limit the king’s power, also
wanted liberal ideas where they could argue what
is right for themselves.

25. • About 60% of the land was owned by
nobles, clergy and rich members of third
estate.

27. A contemporary cartoon showing a
peasant crushed by the levies which
the monarchy and the privileged
orders imposed.

30. • The bourgeoisie did not believe that any
group in society should be privileged by
birth, but position should be based on
merit.
• France was influenced by the ideas of
John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau,
Voltaire, Montesquieu and others.

31. • John Locke: believed that the government should
be selected by and follow the will of the people
• Locke argued that the state resulted from a
voluntary agreement between individuals who
established a sovereign power to protect them
from the insecure conditions.
• Locke insists that there must be limits to political
authority.
• Locke contended that the aim of a supreme power
is to preserve the state and improve the quality of
life for individuals in that society, and the authority
of the government must be limited by the will of the
people.

32. • "Man was born free, and he is everywhere
in chains. One man thinks himself the
master of others, but remains more of a
slave than they.“
• Sovereignty should be in the hands of the
people.
• Government should be based in a social
contract between the people and their
representatives i.e the rulers and the
ruled.

33. • The said political power should be divided
into three branches, namely
• Legislature
• Executive and
• Judiciary

34. • Views by various Philosophers:
JOHN LOCKE (Two Treatises of Government):
Refute the doctrine of the divine & absolute
right of the monarch.
(A)

35. (B)
JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU
(The Social Contract):
•Proposed a form of govt. based on the social
contract between people & their
representatives.

36. (C)
MONTESQUIEU ( The Spirit of Laws):
Proposed division of power within the govt.
between legislative, the executive & the
Judiciary.

37. • Inspired the ideas of freedom in man
• Inspired people to rise against tyranny

40. Bad
harvest
Scarcity
of grains
Rising
food
prices
The poorest
can no longer
buy bread
Food
riots
Weaker
bodies
Diseases
and
epidemics
Increased
number of
deaths

41. The Estates-GeneralThe Estates-General

42. • In a final act of desperation, Louis XVI
decided in 1789 to convene the Estates-
General, an ancient assembly consisting
of three different estates that each
represented a portion of the French
population.
• If the Estates-General could agree on a
new tax solution, it would be implemented.
• In estate General, each section of the
society had a vote.

43. • However, since two of the three estates—
the clergy and the nobility (both comprises
300 members)—were tax-exempt, the
burden would again fall upon the third
estate (600 members). This rebuked them
so
what
does
that
mea
n?

44. • Knowing that they could not win with votesKnowing that they could not win with votes
they withdrew from the Estates Generalthey withdrew from the Estates General
and declared themselves independent ofand declared themselves independent of
the authority of the Estates General.the authority of the Estates General.
• They formed the National Assembly.They formed the National Assembly.
• Liking this idea some members of theLiking this idea some members of the
other two estates joined the knewother two estates joined the knew
assembly.assembly.

46. • Shortly after the National Assembly formed,
its members took the Tennis Court Oath,
swearing that they would not relent in their
efforts until a new constitution had been
agreed upon.
• In Paris, citizens stormed the city’s largest
prison, the Bastille, in pursuit of arms.
• In the countryside, peasants and farmers
revolted against their feudal contracts by
attacking the manors and estates of their
landlords.
• Shortly thereafter, the assembly released the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen, which established a proper judicial
code and the autonomy of the French people.

47. And the result? Peasants were freedAnd the result? Peasants were freed
from their feudal contracts and thefrom their feudal contracts and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and ofDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen, which established a properthe Citizen, which established a proper
judicial code and the autonomy of thejudicial code and the autonomy of the
French people, was released.French people, was released.

48. a bill of rights modeled ona bill of rights modeled on
English and AmericanEnglish and American
examples, which guaranteedexamples, which guaranteed
thatthat "men are born and"men are born and
remain free and equal inremain free and equal in
rights."rights." It also guaranteedIt also guaranteed
thatthat "property being an"property being an
inviolable and sacred rightinviolable and sacred right,,
no one may be deprived of itno one may be deprived of it
except for an obviousexcept for an obvious
requirement of publicrequirement of public
necessity,necessity, certified by lawcertified by law . . .. . .
."."

50. • Though the National Assembly did
succeed in drafting a constitution, the
relative peace of the moment was short-
lived.
• The National Assembly became a house
divided. They began to form alliances
based on class and belief. The lower
classes felt left out…again.

51.  RadicalsRadicals
 wanted the kingwanted the king
completely out of thecompletely out of the
picturepicture

52. • Outside of France, some neighboring
countries feared that France’s
revolutionary spirit would spread beyond
French land.
• In response, they insisted that the French
return Louis XVI to the throne.
• National Assembly declared war on
Austria and Prussia.

53. so what does that meanso what does that mean??
French neighbors fearedFrench neighbors feared
that revolution wouldthat revolution would
spread to their countries.spread to their countries.
Neighboring countriesNeighboring countries
requested the returnrequested the return
of Louis XVI.of Louis XVI.

54. The Reign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror
The first acts of the newly named National
Convention were the abolition of the monarchy and
the declaration of France as a republic.
In January 1793, the convention tried and executed
Louis XVI on the grounds of treason.
And the Jacobins, led by Maximilian Robespierre,
took control.

55. so what does that mean?so what does that mean?
Simply put…France
did away with the
monarchy and
decided they would
be a Republic and
Louis lost his head...
Literally.

56. • Backed by the newly approved
Constitution of 1793, Robespierre
began conscripting French soldiers and
implementing laws to stabilize the
economy.

57. • For a time, it seemed that France’s fortunes
might be changing.
• But Robespierre, growing increasingly
paranoid about counterrevolutionary
influences, embarked upon a Reign of Terror
in late 1793–1794, during which he had more
than 15,000 people executed at the guillotine.

58. • When the French
army successfully
removed foreign
invaders and the
economy finally
stabilized, however,
Robespierre no
longer had any
justification for his
extreme actions,
and he himself was
arrested in July
1794 and executed.

59. Time period when
Robespierre was so
afraid of opposition
that he executed
people that mightmight
be a threat.

60. The Directory
After the reign of terror the French were fearful
of a too powerful government .
The Directory was formed to oversee the
balance of responsibilities and appointments.

61. • The Abolition of Slavery
Beginning
• One of the most revolutionary
social reforms of the Jacobin
regime was the abolition of
slavery in French Colonies.
• The colonies in Caribbean
-Martinique, Guadeloupe and
San Domingo-
were the important suppliers of
commodities such as tobacco,
indigo, sugar and coffee.

62. • Reluctance of Europeans to go to distant &
unfamiliar land created shortage of labour in
plantation.
• This resulted in the beginning of triangular
slave trade Europe, Africa & the Americas.

63. •The slave trade began in theThe slave trade began in the 1717thth
century.century.
Merchants sailed from the ports ofMerchants sailed from the ports of
Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast,Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast,
where they bought slaves from localwhere they bought slaves from local
Chieftain.Chieftain...

64. • Branded and
shackled, the
slaves were
packed tightly into
the ships for 3
months long
voyage across the
Atlantic to the
Caribbean.
• They then were
sold to the
plantation owners

65. Abolition
• In 18th
century slavery faced criticism.
• National Assembly debated about rights of
man should be given to all.

66. • Opposed by businessmen.
• In 1794 the Convention finally freed all
slaves.
• But Napoleon reintroduced slavery
• Finally in 1848 slavery was abolished.

67. A picture is worth a thousand words.
A man will fight harder for his
interests than for his rights.
A revolution can be neither made
nor stopped. The only thing that can
be done is for one of several of its
children to give it a direction by dint
of victories.
A true man hates no one.
“Take time to deliberate, but when
the time for action has arrived, stop
thinking and go in.”

68. so what does that mean?
Napoleon took
over and France
became a
dictatorship for
the next 15 years.

69. Napoleon set out to expand his
empire and was rather
successful. He attempted to take
Russia. After several errors in
judgment he was defeated at
Waterloo in 1815.