French Revolution — Causes, Events, Legacy
The French Revolution: French Revolution — Causes, Events, Legacy
French Revolution — Causes, Events, Legacy
The French Revolution
What you'll learn
- France in 1789: three estates, fiscal crisis, Enlightenment ideas.
- Key events: storming of the Bastille, Declaration of Rights, Reign of Terror, Napoleon.
- Causes — political, social, economic.
- Legacy — ideas of liberty, equality, fraternity spread to rest of world.
Key concepts
France before 1789 — The Three Estates
| Estate | Who | Taxes | Privileges |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Estate | Clergy (priests, bishops) | Exempt | Owned 10% of land; collected tithe |
| Second Estate | Nobility | Exempt | Land, court positions |
| Third Estate | Everyone else (98% of population) — peasants, artisans, bourgeoisie | Paid all taxes | No political power |
Causes of the Revolution
Social causes:
- Rigid estate system; no social mobility.
- Peasants crushed by taxes, tithes to Church, feudal dues.
Political causes:
- Absolute monarchy under Louis XVI — no representative assembly (Estates-General hadn't met since 1614).
- Enlightenment ideas (Rousseau — social contract; Voltaire — reason and liberty; Montesquieu — separation of powers) challenged divine right of kings.
Economic causes:
- France bankrupt after wars (Seven Years' War, American Revolution support).
- 1788 harvest failure → bread prices soared; Paris poor couldn't afford bread.
Key events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 1789 | Estates-General called; Third Estate demands change |
| June 1789 | Third Estate forms National Assembly; Tennis Court Oath — "will not disperse until Constitution written" |
| 14 July 1789 | Storming of the Bastille — symbol of royal tyranny; start of revolution |
| Aug 1789 | Declaration of the Rights of Man — liberty, equality, property, sovereignty of people |
| 1791 | Constitutional monarchy established; Louis XVI's powers limited |
| 1792 | War declared on Austria and Prussia; Republic declared |
| 1793–94 | Reign of Terror — Robespierre and Committee of Public Safety; ~40,000 executed as "enemies of Republic" |
| 1799 | Napoleon Bonaparte takes power in coup; eventually becomes Emperor (1804) |
Key figures
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Louis XVI | King; weak, indecisive; guillotined 1793 |
| Marie Antoinette | Queen; symbol of royal excess; guillotined 1793 |
| Robespierre | Leader of Reign of Terror; guillotined by own allies 1794 |
| Napoleon Bonaparte | Military genius; spread revolution's ideas across Europe; defeated at Waterloo (1815) |
Legacy
- Liberty, Equality, Fraternity — slogan became global ideal.
- Ended feudalism in France.
- Inspired revolutions in Latin America, Europe (1848 revolutions).
- Declaration of Rights of Man influenced Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
- Showed that people could overthrow oppressive governments — changed political thinking worldwide.
Quick check
- Name the Three Estates and explain who belonged to each.
- What was the Tennis Court Oath?
- Why is 14 July 1789 historically significant?
- What was the Reign of Terror?
- How did the French Revolution influence the rest of the world?
Open the Practice tab for graded questions on the French Revolution.
Key Takeaways (TL;DR)
- What you'll learn
- Key concepts
- Quick check
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