French+Revolution+and+Napoleon

Date: 1789-1815 By:Taylor Christensen, Emily Meyer, and Martha Heinrich









 **"Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained" --Duke of Wellington**



The French Revolution began because of the Economic Crisis, the unfair social structure, the tax reforms, the debt after the American Revolution, and the Ideals of Enlightenment. In the economic crisis, there was a lot of unemployment, inflation rose to sixty percent, and there were food shortages. The social structure was thought unfair by the bourgeoisie or middle class, who wanted more say as to what went on within the government. The tax reform was called for by the third estate when they were the only ones being taxed and they were the poorest of the three estates in France. The American Revolution doubled France’s debt and put France on the verge of bankruptcy. Then, the ideals of enlightenment were beginning to spread, which let the people of France come up with the idea that there could be a government run by and for the people. All of these things lead to the French Revolution, there were also many people who played their part in the revolution. In the beginning there was King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, neither really knew what they were doing and the French Revolution began under their reign. Maximilian Robespierre also known as “The Incorruptible,” was the main leader of the revolution. Then, there was also Jean Paul Marat who started The People’s Friend which was the newspaper of the revolution, but he was stabbed to death in the bath tub by Charlotte Corday. General Lafayette was a member of the National Guard of the People’s Army. The guillotine was invented and named after Dr. Joseph Guillotine who helped perfect the angle of the blade so that it would be the most humane. Finally, Napoleon Bonaparte took control of France in 1799 and began the Napoleonic Era. To go along with the many people there were also many events that shaped France during the French Revolution. On June 17, 1789, the National Assembly wrote a constitution for France. It was the first act of the Revolution. Then on the 20th that same month and year the Tennis Court Oath took place in which the people kept meeting until the King finally gave in and let all three estates meet together. The Storming of the Bastille took place on July 14, 1789, and that day became French Independence day. In the summer of 1789 the peasants rebelled against the nobles in the Great Fear. On October 5, 1789, six thousand women marched to the palace because of high food prices in what became known as the March on Versailles. On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was guillotined, and then the French Republic was formed. Then from July 1793 to July 1794, the Committee of Public Safety attempted to seek out enemies of the revolution in the Reign of Terror. Then on November 9, 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte took control of France ending the French Revolution.




 * __ 10 Important People __**
 * 1) ** ** Napoleon Bonaparte **- He was called the “good emperor,” he was also called the “little corporal” took control of France November 9, 1799
 * 2) ** ** Arthur Wellesley **-when he was there he drove out the French in the month of October in the year of 1800
 * 3) ** ** King Louis XVI **- He was ruler form 1774 to 1792; the French Revolution occurred during his reign married at the age of sixteen, and was married to Marie Antoinette.
 * 4) ** ** Queen Marie Antoinette **- She was called “Madame Deficit” was married at age of fourteen she tried to escape to Austria in the year of June 1791.
 * 5) ** ** Maximilian Robespierre **- He was called “the incorruptible,” he was smart and a good speaker. He was also the main leader of the French revolution at this time.
 * 6) ** ** Jean Paul Marat **- He was the leader of the Jacobins was also stabbed to death in the bath tub by Charlotte Corday.
 * 7) ** ** Admiral Horatio Nelson **- He was in the battle of Trafalgar in October 21, 1805 he also help defeat the French and Spanish fleets.
 * 8) ** ** Louis XVIII **- He was given the throne of France after napoleon died and once he got the throne the monarchy was restored.
 * 9) ** ** Joseph Bonaparte **- He was the king of Spain in during the year 1808 was also napoleons brother and was despised by the Spanish.
 * 10) ** ** General Lafayette **- He was a leader in the National Guard otherwise known as the people’s army supplied the Americans during our war.




 * __ 10 Terms __**
 * Estate **-three orders or classes, first estate contained the clergy, second estate contained the nobility, and third estate contained the peasants
 * Relics of feudalism **-or aristocratic privileges, were obligations that survived from earlier ages, these were things like payments of fees for the use of village facilities
 * Bourgeoisie **-or middle class, was another part of the third estate, made up about 8% of the population, which were about 2.3 million people
 * Sans-culottes **-ordinary patriots without fine clothes, they wore long trousers instead of breeches, it also means without breeches, they were mistaken for workers or poor people
 * Faction **-dissenting groups, two most important factions were the Girondins and the Mountain; both were members of the Jacobin club, large network of political groups
 * Elector **-individuals qualified to vote in an election, had to be owners or renters of property worth a certain amount, a requirement that limited their number to 30,000
 * Coup ** **d’état** -sudden overthrow of the government, led by the successful and popular general Napoleon Bonaparte, toppled the Directory, Napoleon seized power
 * Consulate **- a government by consuls, as in France from 1799 to 1804
 * Nationalism **-the unique cultural identity of a people based on the common language, religion, and national symbols, French used this in war
 * Tennis ** **Court** **Oath** -the third estate of France got together and would think of ways to get things equal between them and the other two estates



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**__Timeline__**
 * 1789**: French Revolution begins
 * 1791**: Olympe de Gouges writes declaration of rights for women
 * 1792**: National Convention establishes French Republic
 * 1793**: King Louis XVI is executed
 * 1795**: The Directory is formed
 * 1799**: Napoleon participates in coup d'etat that topple French Government
 * 1801**: Napoleon reaches agreement with the pope
 * 1802**: Napoleon made consul for life
 * 1804**: Napoleon is crowned Emporer
 * 1805**: British defeat French and Spanish at Trfalgar
 * 1812**: Napoleon invades Russia
 * 1815**: Duke of Wellington and his army defeat Napoleon at Waterloo



**Links** [|A Tale of Two Cities]-- This website is a free copy of the Book a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, that explains what happened in the Old Regime and leads into the begining of the French Revolution. [|Bourgeoisie]--This is an article from Encyclopedia Britannica that explains more indepthly what the bourgeoisie were in France. [|Queen Maire Antoinette]--This website has a short biography of Marie Antoinette and at the bottom it has different books and dvds that show or tell about her life. [|Declaration of the Rights of Man]--This website made by Yale has the articles from the Declaration of the RIghts of Man, that gave the freedom of speech, press, and religion in France during the French Revolution. [|Constituion of 1791]--This website has information about the first French constition in a couple easy to read paragraphs. [|Jacobins]--This website has information about the Jacobins who were a group of people during the revolution also known as radicals that wanted to speed up the revolution. [|Charlotte Corday]--This website goes more into depth about the murderer of Jean Paul Marat who was the leader of the Jacobins. [|Timeline of the French Revolution]--This webpage has a timeline of the French Revolution from 1795 to 1799. [|Napoleon Bonaparte]--This webpage has a couple paragraphs in a biography on Napoleon Bonaparte's life. [|Louvre]--This is the online database for the "greatest museum of Paris" which was constructed during this era in time.

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