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French RevolutionCauses of Revolution
Burden of debt
Burden of taxes, fees, and services on peasants
Urban poverty and unemployment
Resentment of privileges of nobles and clergy
Poor harvests
Enlightenment ideas
Failure of reform efforts
•
Cardinal de Fleury was brains behind French economy
•
Louis XV was weak and fun loving
•
 Things fall apart when Fleury dies
•
Madame de Pompador was Louis XV’s mistress
•
She spent a lot of Treasury money
•
She was called “Mistress Power”
•
Louis made a prophecy
o
“Apres moi, deluge”
o
Means- “After me, the flood”
•
Louis XVI succeeds the throne
•
He was poorly educated, shy, indecisive, and had bad political judgement
 
•
Marries Marie Antionette (Hapsburg Dynasty Austria)
•
She is young, immature, and unpopular with the French
•
Debt starts building when France supports America in American Revolution
•
French society divided into three estates
o
Estate determines status and rights under the law
First estate: Catholic clergy (1% of pop.) higher clergy (bishopsand cardinals) lower clergy (local priests)
Second estate: Nobility (2% of pop.) high positions ingovernment and military
 Third Estate: (97% of pop.) peasant, artisans, bourgeoisie, nopolitical power
•
First and second estates did not pay taxes
•
Estates were based on birth and third estate could never move up
•
Population pressure, inflation, financial crisis was occurring
•
Louis XVI needed money
•
Robert Turgot tells him to tax the 1
st
and 2
nd
estates
•
Louis XVI fires Robert
•
 Jacques Necker is new financial advisor
•
He is a swiss banker of the third estate
•
He misrepresents credit and gets huge loans
•
Eventually he tells king to tax 1
st
and 2
nd
estates
•
Crops are failing at the time
 
•
For the first time in 175 years French king calls the Estates General togetherin May 1789
•
1
st
estate: 300 seats, 1 vote in total
•
2
nd
estate: 300 seats, 1 vote in total
•
3
rd
estate: 600 seats, 1 vote in total
•
3
rd
estate wants a head count vote but the king refuses
•
 They get locked out of Estates General and go to Tennis Court and make Tennis Court Oath
o
 They will not disband until they write a Constitution
•
1
st
and 2
nd
estates agree with 3
rd
estate and all now want a constitution
•
King allows them to become National Constituent Assembly
o
Want a constitutional monarchy, king does not so he brings in troops
o
People of paris are afraid and begin to riot
•
 July 14, 1789 riot breaks out, “storm” the Bastille
o
Bastille was a prison and armory which represented Old Regime
 They kill Governor (leader of prison) and find no weapons
•
Spark of the French Revolution
•
“The Great Fear” was the spread of the Revolution from the City of Paris outinto French countryside
•
Peasants revolt against nobles at manors
o
Wanted to burn up debt records
•
Peasants refuse to pay taxes and fees known as feudal dues
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