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King Louis XVI convened the Estates-General (Clergy, Nobility, Third Estate) to address France’s severe financial crisis. Causes:
-Massive national debt from wars (especially American Revolution)
-Inefficient and unfair tax system
-Food shortages and bread price inflation Effects:
-Stalemate over voting rules (“by order” vs. “by head”)
-Third Estate breaks away → formation of the National Assembly Significance:
This event marks the official beginning of the Revolution. -
After being locked out of their meeting hall, the Third Estate met in a nearby tennis court and vowed not to disband until France had a constitution. Causes:
-King resisted acknowledging the National Assembly
-Fear that reforms would be stopped Effects:
-Legitimized the National Assembly
-Created the first revolutionary constitution-writing body Significance:
A direct challenge to the king’s authority and a commitment to constitutional government. -
A Parisian crowd stormed the Bastille fortress to seize gunpowder and free political prisoners. Causes:
-Fear of a royal military crackdown
-Rising bread prices and anger at monarchy
-Symbolism of the Bastille as tyranny Effects:
-Guards killed; fortress dismantled
-King forced to recognize the National Assembly
-Parisian revolution spreads to the countryside Significance:
It became France's national independence day, symbolizing the fall of the old regime. -
A wave of panic swept the countryside; peasants attacked manors, burned feudal records, and revolted. Causes:
-Rumors of aristocratic plots to starve peasants
-Worsening famine
-Climate of fear following Bastille Effects:
-Peasants refused to pay feudal dues
-Directly pressured the National Assembly to abolish feudalism Significance:
Ended centuries-old medieval social structures. -
National Assembly voted to abolish feudal privileges, tithes, and noble exemptions. Causes:
-Pressure from peasant uprisings during the Great Fear
-Enlightenment ideas promoting equality Effects:
-Ended feudal rights
-Formally destroyed the feudal hierarchy Significance:
A revolutionary restructuring of French society—everyone became equal under the law. -
A foundational document establishing natural rights: liberty, equality before the law, property, security, resistance to oppression. Causes:
-Enlightenment philosophy (Rousseau, Montesquieu, Locke)
-Pressure to define the goals of the Revolution Effects:
-Provided ideological foundation for French democracy
-Became the model for future human rights documents Significance:
France's equivalent of a Bill of Rights; one of the most influential documents in modern political history. -
Thousands (mostly women) marched to Versailles demanding bread and political action; they forced the royal family to move to Paris. Causes:
-Extreme bread shortages
-Suspicion that the king opposed reforms
-Growing radicalization in Paris Effects:
-Royal family effectively became political prisoners in Paris
-National Assembly relocated to the capital Significance:
Shifted power permanently from Versailles to Paris; women demonstrated major political influence. -
Reorganized the Catholic Church in France under state control; clergy became paid civil servants. Causes:
-Revolutionaries wanted to break Church wealth/power
-Need to sell Church lands to pay national debt Effects:
-Deep split between “juror priests” and “refractory priests”
-Many Catholics turned against the Revolution Significance:
One of the Revolution's most divisive actions; helped trigger counter-revolutionary uprisings. -
King Louis XVI attempted to flee France but was captured at Varennes. Causes:
-King opposed the Revolution
-Pressure from émigrés and foreign monarchies Effects:
-Massive loss of trust in the king
-Push for a republic strengthened Significance:
Point of no return—royal authority was effectively destroyed. -
Austria and Prussia declared they might intervene to protect the French monarchy. Causes:
-Fear that revolution would spread to their own realms
-Pressure from French émigrés Effects:
-Increased nationalist rage inside France
-Helped push France toward war with Europe Significance:
A major step leading to international conflict. -
France became a constitutional monarchy with separation of powers. Causes:
-Tennis Court Oath and demand for a constitution
-Moderates seeking compromise with monarchy Effects:
-Limited royal authority
-Created Legislative Assembly
-Still failed to satisfy radicals or royalists Significance:
Shortest-lived constitution of the Revolution; soon collapsed due to rising tensions. -
France declared war on Austria, soon joined by Prussia, Britain, Spain, etc. Causes:
-Declaration of Pillnitz
-Revolutionary desire to spread ideals
-Need to unify the country Effects:
-Military failures deepened crisis
-Led to radicalization and overthrow of monarchy Significance:
Turned the revolution into a global conflict. -
Revolutionaries attacked the royal palace; Swiss Guards massacred. The king was suspended and imprisoned. Causes:
-King suspected of conspiring with foreign enemies
-Rising radical movement (Sans-culottes) Effects:
-Monarch’s powers removed
-Led directly to the declaration of the republic Significance:
Effectively ended monarchy in France. -
The Committee of Public Safety (especially Robespierre) used mass executions and surveillance to eliminate enemies. Causes:
-War emergency
-Internal rebellions (Vendée, Girondins)
-Radical ideology of virtue Effects:
-~17,000 executed legally; up to 40,000 dead
-Strengthened state power Significance:
Symbol of revolutionary extremism; debate over whether necessary or tyrannical. -
National Convention abolished the monarchy and established the First French Republic. Causes:
-Violence of August 10
-War threats and internal rebellion Effects:
-France moved into radical republican phase Significance:
Birth of the modern French republic. -
Radical campaign to eliminate Catholic influence: new calendar, destruction of churches, Cult of Reason. Causes:
-Anti-clericalism from Civil Constitution of Clergy
-Radical Jacobin ideology Effects:
-Alienated much of the rural population
-Increased counter-revolutionary resistance Significance:
One of the Revolution’s most controversial policies. -
The king was tried for treason and executed by guillotine. Causes:
Evidence of secret negotiations with foreign powers
Radical pressure Effects:
Europe horrified → more nations joined war
Intensified internal radicalization Significance:
Major turning point; monarchies across Europe saw the revolution as a threat. -
Period after Robespierre’s fall; dismantling of Terror institutions and rise of moderate governance. Causes:
-Desire for stability
-Reaction against extremism Effects:
-Jacobin clubs closed
-Economic liberalization
-Violent “White Terror” against former radicals Significance:
Transition toward conservative rule. -
Legal reform that drastically sped up the Revolutionary Tribunal’s executions: limited rights of defense and evidence. Causes:
-Robespierre’s desire to intensify Terror
-Suspicion of internal enemies Effects:
-Spike in executions
-Contributed to fear of Robespierre Significance:
Often called “the Great Terror”; key cause of Robespierre’s downfall. -
Robespierre and his allies were arrested and executed without trial. Causes:
-Fear he would turn on fellow revolutionaries
-Exhaustion with Terror Effects:
-End of Reign of Terror
-Moderates regained power Significance:
Pivotal shift away from radical Jacobin rule. -
Five-man executive created by Constitution of Year III. Causes:
-Need for stable moderate government
-Reaction to radical rule Effects:
-Corruption and inefficiency
-Relied on military (rise of Napoleon)
-Continued wars in Europe Significance:
Final government of the Revolution before Napoleon’s coup.