3. The Old Regime
1. First Estate
- consisted of the Clergy - 2% of all income
- Roman Catholic Church
2. Second Estate
- nobles and other members - 20% of all land
- ignored taxes
* known as the two privileged estates
4. The Old Regime Continued
3. The Third Estate
- consisted of 97% of all of the population
- divided into 3 subclasses
a. Bourgeoisie - merchants, bankers, artists
b. City workers - tradespeople, apprentices
c. Peasants - paid about half their income - tax
- Lacked privileges compared to two other estates
5. The Enlightenment Ideas
- The third estates is inspired by the ideas of
the American revolution
- Began questioning the structure of society
- Eventually demanded democracy over
absolute monarchy - “life and liberty”
6. Economic Troubles in France
- 1780’s - France has a heavy taxation on the
Third Estate, bad weather creates shortage in
the number of crops, and leads to starvation in
the Third Estate - business is rough in this era
- Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette help out with
the deficit/debt by extravagant spending
7. Louis XVI and Marie
- Louis procrastinated and was indecisive in
his decisions - imposed taxes on the nobility
when there was virtually no money left
- Second Estate called for an assembly
- Estate-General- representatives from all 3
estates to deal with the mounting debt
- approves a tax - (doesn’t help that much)
8. The National Assembly
- Third Estate wants to create an assembly
under Joseph Sieyes
- National Assembly is created on June 17th,
1789
- 3 days later locked out of their meeting room
- Stormed into a indoor tennis court and
demanded a new constitution be made
Tennis Court Oath
9. Bastille is Stormed
- Rumors spread of Louis XVI sending troops
to massacre French citizens or break the
National assembly - want to protect Paris
- June 4th - In Paris, a mob storms the prison
and becomes a symbolic act of the start of
the French Revolution
- Afterwards, a big time of worry came to
France - The Great Fear
10. The Great Fear
- A time where people worried that nobles
were sending outlaws to kill peasants
- Peasants stormed nobles’ manors and
destroyed the “tax” papers or the houses
- In one case, women in Paris stormed
Versailles, killed multiple guards, and
demanded that Louis XVI and Marie return
(fight over bread) - but they eventually leave
11. Reform and Terror for
Many
Dictators, Guillotines, and a Whole Lot of Blood
12. Nobles Side with the N.A.
- They joined the national assembly more out
of fear than the ideas behind the assembly
- much of the two upper classes being
attacked by the Third Estate
- Old Regime was dead by August 4th, 1789
since both upper classes joined - feudal
privileges gone and equal classes are created
13. France’s “Declaration”
- drafted with similar ideals to that of the U.S.
Declaration of Independence - The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen
- kept “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” in
mind
14. N.A. Reforms to the Church
- The National Assembly took the church’s
land and said that church leaders were to be
elected as state officials - Catholics are not
happy
- Catholic church loses independence and land
- Some devout peasants went against the
assembly from this point, forward
15. The Creation of a Constitution
- Two years of debate and long arguments lead
to a constitution in 1791 - signed by Louis
What the N.A. Constitution Did…
1. limited the authority of the king
2. created a legislative body - Legislative
Assembly
3. L.A. could create laws and approve war
16. The Splitting of the L.A.
- old problems such as food shortage arose
and answers caused the L.A. to split.
Radicals Moderates Conservatives
- opposed monarchy
and wanted a lot of
drastic changes in
the government
- wanted some
changes to the
government but not
too much
- liked how things
were with the
limited monarchy
and wanted little
change in
government
17. WAR!!!...and gore
- Nobles in other European countries are
worried as they look at what is happening in
France - Austria and Prussia take action
- L.A. declares war in 1792
- Revolutionaries take Louis, Marie, and their
children prisoner with a raid of 20,000
people
18. War Cont.
- peasant kill over 1,000 prisoners in fear that
the loyal ones to the king would let him
escape - “September Massacre” - Louis
- Constitution of 1791 - dissolved the L.A.,
called for new legislature and disposed the
king - National Convention created
- declared France as a republic - the Jacobins
or the “radical” group involved with change
19. War Cont.
- Jean - Paul Marat and George Dalton were
major contributors during this time
- N.C. eventually beheaded Louis in 1793
- France was winning against Austria and Prussia
(Battle of Valmy) but enemy allies were created
(Britain, Spain, and Austria)
- series of defeats - Meanwhile, an extreme
Jacobin known as Max Robespierre took control
20. Reign of Terror
- Under Max’s control, many changes took place
- calendar, closed churches, etc.
- Ruled as a dictator as the head of safety -
executed as many as 40,000 for dumb reasons
- eventually taken down by the rest of the N.C in
1794 and a new draft of government was
formed in 1795 - the creation of the Directory
and election of a new general… followed
21. The Time of Napoleon
Bonaparte
How he created an empire and how he ended up
destroying it...
22. Sweet..Napoleon!
- Sent to a military school at age 16 in 1785, he
was given a chance to defend the delegate of
the N.C. in 1795 from rebels loyal to the
crown
- Became hero in eyes of French citizens and
had a series of victories while general
(exception was at Egypt)
23. Napoleon Seizes the Directory
- In 1799 the Directory had lost political
authority/faith from French citizens
- Napoleon was urged by others to be a
political leader after his dealing in Egypt -
drove most of the Directory’s members out
and it was dissolved (a coup d’etat)
- He became a dictator and first consul- (3
consuls)
24. Napoleon’s Actions as Dictator
1. New constitution created in 1800
2. Set up an efficient way of tax collection as
well as a bank system for France
3. Dismissed corrupt officials and set
government - run public schools (lycees)
4. Established a new relationship between
church and state - the concordat
5. Creation of the Napoleonic Code - set of laws
25. Napoleon Cont.
- In 1789, Revolution ideas spread to the area
known as present- day Haiti - demanding
rights - civil war breaks out
- Napoleon in 1801 tried to take back the
colony for the sugar industry - fails
- Cuts his losses and sells the Louisiana
Territory in 1803 to the U.S.
- Becomes emperor of France in 1804
26. Napoleon Tries for Europe
- He turned his attention to Europe and set his
eyes on conquering most of it - was
successful overall with Switzerland and parts
of Italy - failed at the Battle of Trafalgar
against Britain's navy
- Had many “puppet governments” in various
countries across Europe
27. Napoleon’s Undoing and Peninsular War
- Napoleon failed to keep his French empire going - only
lasted for 5 years
- He failed for 3 reasons (1 BIG reason):
1. Set up a blockade and closed ports - no exports from
Britain or any other country (Britain responded and his
efforts were useless)
2. Tried to get Portugal to accept the Continental System by
force (invasion in Spain) - 30,000 men lost by peasant
fighters (guerrillas)
28. The Big Reason
3. Napoleon invades Russia in 1812 and Alexander I orders a
policy known as the scorched- earth policy - killing of grain
and cattle - no food for enemy to eat
- Napoleon was successful until Moscow where the city was
destroyed while Napoleon was present - weakened and
attacked by the Russians - turned back with only 10,000
soldiers compared to the 420,000 he originally had due to
mostly hunger, cold, or the series of clashes they had with
the Russians
29. Europe vs. Napoleon
- Britain, Russia, Prussia and Sweden all
decided to take advantage of this defeat -
tries to bring up another army around 1813
- Is defeated once again and gave up his
throne in 1814 - exiled to Elba near Italy by
the leaders of Russia and Prussia
30. Napoleon Tries again….
- Louis XVI’s brother is brought to the throne
- worry among people that the “old ways”
would be brought back
- Napoleon takes this opportunity to make a
comeback - becomes emperor for a short
period of time - Britain and Prussian armies
defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo
(Belgium) (Known as the Hundred Days)
32. The Meeting of the Five Powers
- Britain, Russia, Austria, France and Prussia had
representatives meet to essentially set up
policies for all of Europe to insure stability -
most influential from Austria Klems von
Metternich
- felt that democracy was bad - due to Revolution
- wanted three goals of the Congress of Vienna
33. Three Goals of Metternich
1. Prevent future aggression from France by
surrounding the country with strong
countries
2. A balance of power so that no country could
“take over” or be a threat to each other
3. Restore the kings and queens to their
rightful place - royal families back on the
throne
34. The First Reason and Action
- United the Dutch Republic and the Austrian
Netherlands to create the Kingdom of
Netherlands - Switzerland now independent
- Joined 39 states of Germany to form the
German Confederation
- Genoa was added to the Kingdom of Sardinia
(Italy) to strengthen it
35. The Second Reason and Action
- Many felt they should weaken France, but
also felt that France should not be out right
powerless
- France was kept how it was - a diminished
power among the other European countries
- “balance of power”
36. The Third Reason and Action
- Many believed in legitimacy - thrones given
back to “rightful monarchs” - thought this
would stabilize “relations between nations”
- Everyone is happy!! No grudges against one
another!! - peace for about 40 years
- Various constitutional monarchies and
absolute monarchies sprang from the
Congress of Vienna
37. The Holy Alliance and Concert of Europe
- agreements to help each other out if a
revolution was to ever break out since many
in 1815 feared that the French Revolution
ideals would inspire others to do something
similar - Conservatives vs. Liberals
- Could not totally contain it and revolutions
would break out eventually in the mid - early
1800’s - (kind of failed)
38. Legacy of the Congress of Vienna and
the French Revolution
1. Helped increase the power of Britain and
Prussia while diminishing France’s power
2. The spreading of nationalism and the
“explosion” of new countries came, things
that the Congress tried to contain.
3. The French Revolution also brought
democracy more and more into the light -
was starting to become more accepted
