NHHS 203

History of Europe 1789

to 1914
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Intoduction 2 Causes of the French

Revolution

3 Tutorial activities 4 Further research

TABLE OF CONTENTS cont…
Napoleonic

5 era/ Empire
1804-1814 6 The Congress
“System,”1814-1848

Bourbon
Restoration Louis The 1830 and

7 XVIII, Charles X
(1814-1830) 8 1848 Revolutions
across Europe.
 1 INTRODUCTION
 Generally, the French society was divided into
three classes: the First Estate - the Catholic
Church clergy, the Second Estate - the
aristocracy and the Third Estate - everyone else
(the bourgeoisie (middle class) and the
peasants). The classes were rigid, no mobility.
 The wealthy commoners -merchants, manufacturers,
and professionals called the bourgeoisie and
they aspired to influence politics to no avail.
 It was an autocratic monarchy led by King Louis
VI and his extravagant wife, Marie Antoinette.
 1 INTRODUCTION cont..
 The peasants some of whom owned land, but paid
levies and fees, and wished to see end of feudalism.
 By 1789, France had 26 million inhabitants, as such
there was a great demand for food. The third estate
suffered most.
 The situation was worsened by droughts of 1787/88
 Arguments for social reforms circulated.
 The French were more enlightened by the writings
of philosophers such as Montesquie, Voltaire and
Jean-Jacques Roussea
 1 INTRODUCTION cont..
 The French economic situation was affected by
inflation. Peasants were the most affected as
the prize of bread was unaffordable.
 This was worsened by France’s participation in
the American War of Independence as the country
borrowed money to sponsor the war. She became
bankruptcy
 Jacques Necker appointed as a finance minister
in 1788 to introduce economic reforms to arrest
the economic crisis. He introduced reforms which
made him unpopular with the nobility and the
 2 Causes of the French Revolution
 The bourgeoisie resented its exclusion from political
power and positions of honour
 The peasants were unhappy and unwilling to continue
with their burdensome situation i.e landless, suffered
taxation, paid rent, unfair feudal system
 The enlightenment by the philosophers such as
Montesquie – talked of equality as people
created as equals, Voltaire – church critique
and Jean-Jacques Roussea – social contract
between the ruler and the ruled. The philosophes of
had been read more widely in France than anywhere
 2 Causes of the French Revolution cont…
 French participation in the American war of
independence (1775-1783) had driven the
government to the brink of bankruptcy due to war
debts.
 Natural disasters e.g droughts or crop failures in
much of the country in 1788, coming on top of a long
period of economic difficulties, added to the existing
restlessness. The situation was worsened by the fact
that France was the most populous country in Europe,
 Despotic and incompetency of the French monarchy –
was unable to adapt to the political and societal
 3 Tutorial Activity

Activity
a. How far the French revolution of 1789 was mainly
due to economic factors?
b. “It was mainly as a result of the enlightenment
that the French had a revolution in 1789.” Do you
agree?
c. To what extent did the third estate contribute to
the outbreak of the French revolution in 1789?
 4 Research work

Research on events leading to the end of the French

constitutional monarchy.
 THANKS!
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