Agenda11.23.10

Drill – do you think we all truly have equal rights?

Has anyone heard of the French Revolution?

The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789 - 1815The French Revolution BeginsChapter 11.1

Background to the Revolution1.France’s 3 Estates Still using feudal system in 1700s 3 social classes or estates:

1st estate = clergy. Few people owned 10% of land. Paid no taxes.

2nd estate = nobles. Owned 25-30% of land and paid no taxes.

3rd estate = everyone else (98% of population). Paid taxes.

- Divided by jobs, education and wealth- Included peasants and middle class merchants- Also included bourgeoisie (upper middle class

people who wanted to be nobles)

Problems in the 3rd Estate:▫Bourgeoisie: merchants, lawyers, bankers,

doctors, writers etc. Well-educated – liked Enlightenment ideas. Wanted to be treated like nobles.

▫Workers – cooks, shopkeepers, craftspeople – weren’t paid well and often went hungry when bread prices rose

▫Peasants = 80% of France’s population! Had little or no land, and had to work for the nobles.

•Peasants paid half of their income to nobles, the church and the government

•Peasants = very resentful of the clergy, the government and the nobility

The King and Queen of France• Marie Antoinette • Louis XVI

Causes of the Revolution Bourgeoisie liked Enlightenment ideas –

equality, liberty and democracy, hated Louis XVI and absolute monarchy

“The Third Estate is the People and the People is the foundation of the State. It is in fact the State itself…”

Economic crises = bad crops, higher prices, war debt etc.

From Estates-General to National Assembly

Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General to deal with France’s bankruptcy.

Third Estate demanded more power Third Estate declared itself the National

Assembly Wanted representative government Third Estate broke into a tennis court and

vowed to draft a constitution – known as the Tennis Court Oath

Storming the Bastille Louis XVI wanted to use force against the

National Assembly The 3rd Estate found out, panicked and

stormed the Bastille (a Paris prison). Chopped off the prison warden’s head,

freed the prisoners and demolished the building

Rebellion leads to Great Fear•Great Fear = Peasants, women and

people in the Third Estate just went nuts and killed a lot of nobles

•The mob of rioters eventually drove the king and queen out of Paris