The Three Estates
The three orders of France: the clergy, the nobility, and everyone else.
The First Estate
The clergy
The Second Estate
The nobility or the descendants of "those who fought" in the Middle Ages.
The Third Estate
The commoners of France that consisted of, prosperous merchants and lawyers as well as peasants, rural agricultural workers, urban artist, and unskilled day laborers.
The bourgeoisie
The comfortable members of the third estate, or upper middle class. Rose up to lead the entire third estate in the revolution.
Louis XV
Succeeded by his grandson, Louis XVI, France was in debt during and after his rule due to loss of 7 years' war to British
Louis XVI
The successor of Louis XV this king of France from 1774 to 1792 failure to grant reforms led to the French Revolution; he and his queen (Marie Antoinette) were guillotined (1754-1793).
The Estates General
A legislative body in prerevolutionary France made up of representatives of each of the three classes or estates; it was called into session in 1789 for the first time since 1614.
National Assembly
The first French revolutionary legislature, made up primilarily of representatives of the third estate and a few from the nobility and clergy, in session from 1789 to 1791.
constitutional monarchy
A form of government in which the king retains his position as head of state, while the authority to tax and make new laws resides in an elected body.
second revolution
From 1792 to 1795, the second phase of the French Revolution, during which the fall of the French monarchy, introduced a rapid radicalization of politics.
The Tennis Court Oath
On June 20, 1788 the delegates of the third estate, excluded from their hall because of "repairs," moved to a a large tennis court were they swore this famous deceleration.
the Bastille
On July 13, 1789, the people began to seize arms for the defense of the city, and on July 14 several hundred french people marched to this location to search for weapons and gunpowder.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Marquis de Lafayette, with the aid of Thomas Jefferson, wrote this document that used the language of the Enlightenment to declare the political sovereignty did not rest in the hands of a monarch but rather in the nation at large. It also stated that all men were to enjoy all rights and responsibilities and were entitled to freedom of religion, press, and to engage in any economic activity of their choosing.
The Rights of Women
Published by Olympe de Gouges it argued that women should enjoy such fundamental rights as the right to be educated, to control their own property, and to initiate divorce.
Vindication of the Rights of Women
Olympe de Gouges book would be inspiration for this book by Mary Wollstonecraft's that also pushed for women's reforms similar to the Deceleration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
Civil Constitution of the Clergy (Church)
In July 1970, the King Louis XVI was forced, to his horror, accept the passage of this legislation that basically made the Church a department of the state. Bishops were to be chosen by assemblies of parish priests, who themselves were to be elected by their parishioners.
the Directory
The final stage of the french revolution or the name of the government produced by the Thermidorians, the label for those who were opposed to Robespierre. It was led by an executive council of five men who possessed the title of director.
Napoleon Bonaparte
This young general, saved the Directory by putting down the rebellion in Paris. He later overthrew French Directory in 1799 and crowned himself emperor of France in 1804. Failed to defeat Great Britain, and his failure to invade Russia lead to his abdication in 1814. Returned to power briefly in 1815 but was defeated and died in exile.
Concordat of 1801
This agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII gave the pope the right for French Catholics to practice their religion freely, but Napoleon gained political power: his government now nominated bishops, paid the clergy, and exerted great influence over the church in France. (McKay)
Treaty of Amiens
This treaty between the British and the French in 1802 which allowed France to remain in control of Holland, the Austrian Netherlands, the west bank of the Rhine, and most of the Italian peninsula. A clear diplomatic triumph for Napoleon, and a sign of peace with honor and profit.
Battle of Trafalgar
On October 21 of 1805, Admiral Nelson of England died in this struggle between France that ultimately destroyed the French fleet and with it any hope of the French landing in England.
Battle of Austerlitz
After Austria, Russia, and Sweden joined Great Britain to form the Third Coalition against France, Napoleon scored a brilliant victory at this battle against the Austrians and the Russians in December of 1805. This battle caused Alexander I to pull back, and Austria accept large territorial losses in return for peace as the Third Coalition collapsed. (McKay)
Marie Antoinette
queen of France (as wife of Louis XVI) who was unpopular her extravagance and opposition to reform contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy; she was guillotined along with her husband (1755-1793)
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys.
First Coalition
France vs Spain, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire, Dutch, and Newfoundland, Austria France called war on Austria and Austria allied with these countries against revolutionary France; therefore, France called for a draft, drafting 800,000