The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789-1815

The French Revolution Begins Radical Revolution and Reaction The Age of Napoleon

The French Revolution Begins

Objectives: 1. Specify why social inequality and economic problems contributed to the French Revolution 2. Explain why radicals, Catholic priests, nobles, and the lower classes opposed the new order

Background to the Revolution

1789: the beginning of a new United States of America and the beginning of the French Revolution The French Revolution was more complex, more violent, and far more radical It created both a new political and social order

The causes of the French Revolution include both longrange problems and immediate forces French society was based on inequality: the three estates

The Three Estates

The First Estate consisted of the clergy and numbered about 130,000 people and were exempt from the taille (Frances chief tax) Parish priests were often poor and from the class of commoners Higher clergy came from aristocratic families

The Second Estate, the nobility included about 350,000 people They held many of the leading positions in the government, the military, the law courts, and the higher church ofces They were exempt from the taille

The Third Estate, or the commoners of society, made up the overwhelming majority of the French population This estate was divided by vast differences in occupation, level of education, and wealth

Peasants, (75 to 80 percent of the total population) Serfdom no longer existed on any large scale in France, but obligations were owed relics of feudalism Skilled craftspeople, shopkeepers, and wage earners

The *bourgeoisie, or middle class, was another part of the Third Estate; merchants, bankers, and industrialists, and professional people lawyers, doctors, and writers 8 percent of the population

Members of the middle class were unhappy with the privileges held by nobles Aristocrats and members of the bourgeoisie were drawn to the new political ideas of the Enlightenment Many were upset with the abuses by the monarchical system

Financial Crisis
The immediate cause of the revolution was the near collapse of government nances Bad harvests in 1787 and 1788 and a slowdown in manufacturing led to food shortages, rising prices for food, and unemployment

In spite of these economic problems, the French government continued to spend enormous sums on costly wars and court luxuries The government had also spent large amounts to help the American colonists against Britain Louis XVI was forced to call a meeting of the Estates-General to raise new taxesthe French parliament

From Estates-General to National Assembly

The Estates-General was composed of representatives from the three orders of French society: the rst and second held the majority despite the third estate holding the majority The 3rd wanted to establish a constitutional government and equal taxes The king and the 1st and 2nd maintained the traditional system

The 3rd estate rebelled and held a meeting in the Tennis Court, having been locked out of the assembly The storming of the Bastille Royal authority soon collapsed Popular rebellions emerged The Great Fear

The Destruction of the Old Regime

The establishment of the National Assembly One of the assemblys rst acts was to destroy the relics of feudalism, or aristocratic privileges

The Declaration of the Rights of Man

The National Assembly adopted the *Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizeninspired by the American Declaration, Constitution, and English Bill of Rights Reecting the Enlightenment, equal freedom was declared for all men

*Olympe de Gouges saw this as an incomplete declaration and penned the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizenwomen should have all the same rights as men The National Assembly ignored her demands

The King Concedes

He refused to accept the National Assemblys decrees on the abolition of feudalism and the Declaration of Rights

Church Reforms
The National Assembly seized and sold the lands of the Church The Church was secularized: bishops and priests were elected by the people The French government now controlled the Church

A New Constitution and New Fears

The National Assembly set up a limited monarchy but the Legislative Assembly would make the laws Afuent members of society were still elected and controlled France Many claimed the old order had been destroyed

War with Austria

The rulers of Austria and Prussia threatened to use force to restore Louis XVI to full power Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria in the spiring of 1792

Rise of the Paris Commune

Defeats in war and economic shortages resulted in new political demonstrations Radical political groups in paris organized a mob attack on the royal palace and Legislative Assembly They forced the Legislative Assembly to suspend the monarchy

A radical phase in the French Revolution emerged The *sans-culottes (without breeches) patriots without ne clothes took the lead in the radical movements Power was transferred from the Assembly to the Paris Commune

Objectives: 1. Specify why social inequality and economic problems contributed to the French Revolution 2. Explain why radicals, Catholic priests, nobles, and the lower classes opposed the new order

Radical Revolution and Reaction

Objectives: 1.Report how radical groups and leaders controlled the Revolution 2. Discuss why the new French Republic faced enemies at home and abroad

The Move to Radicalism

The sans-culottes sought revenge on those who had aided the king and resisted the popular will *Jean-Paul Marat, a revolutionary, published a radical journal called Friend of the People This publication, read by many, encouraged the rebellion further

The Fate of the King

The newly elected National Convention acted as the sovereign ruling body of France Lawyers, professors, and property owners National Conventions rst major act was the abolishment of the monarchy and establishment of a republic Factions split the Convention: All were members of the *Jacobin club

*Girondins represented the provinces and outside the city, fearing and supported the king *The Mountain represented the interests of the radicals, largely from Paris The latter condemned Louis XVI and sentenced him to death This execution created many enemies abroad

Crisis and Response

The Commune, another fraction, favored radical change and put constant pressure on the National Conventions to adopt ever more radical positions A foreign crisis also loomed an informal coalition of Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Dutch Republic took arms against France

The National Convention gave broad powers to a special committee of 12 known as the *Committee of Public safetylater run by *Maximilien Robespierre

The Reign of Terror

The Committee acted to defend France from foreign and domestic threats *Reign of Terror During the course of the Reign of Terror, close to 40,000 people were killed 16,000 people died under the blade of the guillotine

Crushing Rebellion
Revolutionary armies were set up to bring rebellious cities under the control of the National government Robespierre enacted harsh punishments to control the radical elements People from all classes were killed during the Terror

The Republic of Virtue

Under Robespierre, the title republic of virtue was given to the state Slavery was abolished in French colonies Price limits on goods considered necessities were establishedbut ultimately failed

A new order that reected reason, the National Convention pursued a policy of dechristianization The priests were encouraged to marry Notre Dame was converted to the temple of reason New Calender, 10-day weeks (the elimination of Sunday) and months were renamed France remained overwhelmingly Catholic

A Nation in Arms
To save the republic from its foreign enemies, the Committee of Public Safety declared for the mobilization of the nation The French raised a huge army, conquered the *Austrian Netherlands

The End of the Terror

Robespierre, who had become very powerful, was obsessed with ridding France of all its corrupt elements Robespierre was guillotined in 1794, the result of the National Conventions condemnation Jacobins lost power

The Directory
The National Convention reduced the power of the Committee of Public Safety A new constitution was established, 500 leaders were elected The new centralized power, the Directory, ruled with the legislature In 1799, a *coup detat led by a popular general, Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrew the Directory

Objectives: 1.Report how radical groups and leaders controlled the Revolution 2. Discuss why the new French Republic faced enemies at home and abroad

The Age of Napoleon

Objectives: 1.Summarize how Napoleon built and lost an empire 2. Discuss how nationalism spread as a result of the French Revolution 3. Describe how Napoleon was exiled rst to Elba, and then to St. Helena, where he died

The Rise of Napoleon

*Napoleon Bonaparte dominated French and European history from 1799 to 1815 I am the revolution

Early Life
Napoleon was born in 1769 in *Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea Received a royal scholarship to study at a military school in France Student of the French Enlightenment

Military Successes
Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks of the French army Made commander of the French armies in Italy, where he used speed, deception, and surprise to win a series of victories He attacked Britain indirectly by invading its colony in Egypt

Consul and Emperor

Napoleon aided the coup that overthrew the Directory The new governmentthe *consulatewas proclaimed Napoleon held absolute power, controlling the entire government 1802, he named himself ruler for life 1804, he crowned himself Emperor

Napoleons Domestic Policies

The idea of republican liberty had been destroyed by Napoleons takeover of power

Peace with the Church

Napoleon himself had no personal religious faith, but made an agreement with the pope He recognized Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the French people The Catholic Church was no longer an enemy of the French government

Codication of the Laws

Napoleons most famous domestic achievement was his codication of the laws The *civil code, or Napoleonic code preserved most of the gains of the revolutionequality under the law, choose a profession, religious toleration, abolition of serfdom

A New Bureaucracy
Development a bureaucracy of capable ofcials Promotion was based on ability, not rank or birth Napoleon also created a new aristocracy based on merit in the state service

Preserver of the Revolution?

In his domestic policies, Napoleon did preserve aspects of the revolution Napoleon shut down 60 of Frances 73 newspapersall manuscripts must be subjected to government scrutiny

Napoleons Empire
Building the Empire
When Napoleon became consul in 1799, France was at war with the coalition of Russia, Great Britain, and Austria Napoleons Grand Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies, trying to create a new European order French Empire created dependent states and allied states

Spreading the Principles of the Revolution Napoleon sought to spread some of the principles of the French Revolution He tried to destroy the old order of other nations The spread of French revolutionary principles was an important factor in the development of liberal traditions in these countries

The European Response Britains Survival

Napoleon hoped that his Grand Empire would last for centuries The British navys decisive defeat of a combined FrenchSpanish eet at Trafalgar in 1805 Economic blockade The Allied States resented Napoleons economic regulations

Nationalism
*Nationalism is the unique cultural identity of a people based on common language, religion, and national symbols Napoleon established Nationalism in France and to other regions: They were hated as oppressors, stirring patriotism

The Fall of Napoleon

Disaster in Russia
The Spanish debacle The Grand Army and Russia Russian forces retreated for hundreds of miles, burning their own villages The Grand Army discovered Moscow ablaze, lacking food and supplies Great Retreat

This military disaster led other European states to rise up and attack the crippled French Army Exile on the island of Elba The Bourbon monarchy was restored to France under Louis XVIII

The Final Defeat Napoleon escaped from Elba, rallying France to his side again Mustering another army, Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, Belgium He was exiled to the island of St. Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic

Objectives: 1.Summarize how Napoleon built and lost an empire 2. Discuss how nationalism spread as a result of the French Revolution 3. Describe how Napoleon was exiled rst to Elba, and then to St. Helena, where he died