A Bloody Revolution The revolution lasted five years (1789-1794).

By the time it ended, sixteen thousand people were guillotined including the King and Queen, as well as the heads of successive phases of the Revolution, such as Danton and Robespierre. In the words of Mirabeau: "It is easier to start a revolution then it is to end one." A hot summer (1789) When the king did not respond to the storming of the Bastille and murders that accompany it, the people become aware of its power and will exercise it. The Great Fear In the provinces, peasants, emboldened, attack the castle to get the old documents- charters that list the rights of the lord. In many cases, castles were looted and burned. The lord and his family were massacred. It's called the Great Fear; violence sweeping the country. Many aristocrats are terrified and therefore leave and emigrate to Germany, Austria and Russia. The Abolition of Privileges (night of 4 August 1789) Frightened, and trying to save what can be saved, all three levels are vote for the abolition of privileges. All will now pay the same taxes. It seems to be a good decision, received with enthusiasm, but it remains that taxes must be collected. The king is forcibly returned to Paris (October 6, 1789) Throughout the summer of 1789, there is little bread. And what is even left is expensive because of taxes that must be paid to bring the flour in Paris. The people are hungry, and think that the king can abolish taxes and give them bread. So on October 6, a crowd of Parisians, led by women, turn on Versailles. At this point, a group forces the front door of the palace open. When the guards of the queen try to defend the door, they were massacred. The crowd screams that the king should be in Paris, under the eyes of the people and away from the influence of the court. They scream, "Kill the Austrian!" therefore the queen appears. It seems they have the perfect target but the people became quiet with a deep reverence for court. We even heard some yell, "Long live the Queen!" That day, in a long procession of crowned heads of the guards killed in the service of the Queen, a coach takes the royal family: The king, his younger sister, Madame Elizabeth, the Queen and their two children, Maria Theresa, eleven years old, and the oldest son, Charles, who is five years old. The king pretended to accept that his move to Paris is voluntary, but in reality he and his family are now prisoners of the people of Paris. They are housed at the Tuileries and Versailles will not see. The constitution and the constitutional monarchy (1790) Riots continue until the Assembly prepared a constitution. This constitution, which instills limited monarchy power for France, are similar to the English monarchy, and is presented to the king (July 14, 1790). Without conviction, and because it has no other alternative, he swears to respect it. The flight of the king and his arrest at Varennes (June 21, 1791) The king, very pious, does not accept, among other things, the civil constitution that the clergy appointed. The clergy also confiscated church property in favor of the government and attained the right to appoint priests and bishops. He and the Queen are outraged and try to escape and join the many emigrants who left France, among them the brothers of the king. Remember that Marie Antoinette was Austrian. Her brother was Emperor of Austria and offers his help. The royal family leave for Lorraine. (Lorraine is at that time, an Austrian province). The king is disguised as a servant, the queen his companion, and the oldest son as a girl. But when they stopped to change horses, they are recognized. A little further in Varennes, they are arrested. They are back in Paris in the middle of a howling mob that threatens them with death. It is from that time that the idea of a Republic begins to spread. France at war with Austria. The Republic is proclaimed. (September 21, 1792) The aristocratic emigrants formed an army with the Austrian army, threatening France with invasion and requires the king to resume his throne. While France declares war on Austria, and is in a situation almost hopeless: a revolution in and a war abroad. But the People's Army of the Revolution, after several defeats, wins the battle of Valmy and returns the military situation. Meanwhile, Danton, anti-royalist, has become one of the leaders. The animosity against the king rises. The Tuileries were attacked on 10 August by the Parisian militia who massacred all the staff and guards. The king, who narrowly escapes, places his family and himself under the protection of the Assembly. The Assembly members are terrified of the people and vote for the transfer of the royal family in the Temple prison. It was here that Marie Antoinette will, from her window, sees the head of her great friend, the Princesse de Lamballe. The king is informed of his deposition and the proclamation of the Republic September 21, 1792.

Judgement and execution of the King (January 21, 1793) The king, who is now an ex-king, is now known as Citizen Louis Capet. WHY Capet, when it is for the Bourbon dynasty? The first was King of France Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, elected by the barons in 987. (Clovis was king of the Franks, not king of France.) Giving the name of Louis Capet, the revolutionaries wanted to show that he did not take the throne of God, but an election. He is accused of plotting with the queen, against the revolutionary government and have tried to overcome the enemy. We will never know if all the accusations are true, but he was sentenced to death (by one vote) and guillotined January 21, 1793. Terror Called the Terror period lasting one year during which the government of the Revolution, fearing a revolution against the monarchy, said that any person accused is automatically guilty. The evidence is not necessary. If someone complains, saying that one day you whispered, "I regret the time of King ...", you are arrested, tried, sentenced to death and executed on the guillotine. Among the victims there Danton, who is afraid now of the excesses of the Revolution and who would halt them. It is condemned by his enemy Robespierre, he wants to step up repression against the French who have doubts about the Revolution. The guillotine (used for the first time in May 1792) It is a machine imported from Germany by Dr. Guillotin, who can run faster and convicts "without pain" by cutting off their heads. Every day during the Terror, carts loaded with convicts are at the foot of the guillotine. There is always (revolting detail) a crowd of curious onlookers who come to see executions, shouting and applauding when the knife fell and his head rolls to the basket. The execution of Marie Antoinette (Oct. 16, 1793) Since the death of Louis XVI, his family remained imprisoned in the Temple. Soon the Queen is transferred to the prison of the Conciergerie to await her trial. She will be convicted on vague charges. Like the king, she died very bravely, leaving two children orphaned. Madame Elizabeth, younger sister of the king was guillotined, too, a few months later. The end of the Terror and the Revolution: Execution of Robespierre (9 Thermidor, Year II or July 27, 1794) Throughout the Terror, Robespierre is absolute master of the Government. Other members are paralyzed by fear (with good reason: Many of them are condemned and executed on the charge of Robespierre). But his enemies, and there are many, preparing his fall. It is charged. All his colleagues turn against him and declared outlaws. He tries to escape, but the wounded a policeman. He has a broken jaw. Robespierre spent his last night lying on a table in the great hall of the Assembly. The public files by, insults him, spits on him. The next day he was taken to the guillotine and executed, with his brother and twenty-one members of his party, with cries of joy from the crowd. This is the end of the Terror, and it is the active end of the Revolution. But it will be difficult to return to a normal state. Temporary changes made by the Revolution Now, in principle, all men are equal before the law. And the government made a great effort to remove all traces of the past royalist and Catholic countries. Anything that reminds the kingdom is destroyed- statues, castles, monuments, and France loses much of its artistic partrimoine. (Versailles narrowly escaped destruction, but all the furniture is sold.) Statues of cathedrals are maimed, and the row of the kings of Israel, the facade of Notre-Dame de Paris, was destroyed because revolutionnairres, uninformed, believe that they are the kings of France. Religion is banned Completely first, and then, later, Robespierre recommends the worship of the Supreme Being, a vague divinity, creation of Rousseau. Notre Dame became the Temple of Reason, then barracks, became ammunition warehouses. It also dances. An effort of full equality In an effort to eliminate any distinction between the French Revolution decided that the terms Mr., Ms., mademmoiselle, as well as titles (Count, Baron, etc.). Are illegal. Everyone must be named as Citizens, and you the courtesy you gave way to equality. (In public, at least. It is likely that behind closed doors, they continue to keep the traditional forms of courtesy. Robespierre was one of those who wanted to abolish the most fiercely religion and forms of politeness. But it is said that the injured and condemned to death, lying on a table, he would have said: "Thank you sir, God bless you" to a spectator who gave him a tissue to wipe his blood. These innovations, which attack the most sensitive chords of the company, do not last. Religion quickly regained his rights, the traditional calendar will be restored after twelve years, and the forms of conversation are included.

Sustainable innovations of the Revolution The division of France into Departments Have you seen how France is divided then into Departments which replace the former provinces. It is a measure of the Revolution, that centralizes the new nation of Paris, rather than sue the provincial capitals. The metric system based on measurements taken from the physical world (for example, the meter is one millionth of a quarter of the circumference of the Earth), it offers fixed units such as meter, second, ampere (for the electricity), etc.. This system is now used worldwide The tricolor flag The tricolor replaces the three royal lilies. Its exact origin is unclear but it is said that La Fayette, who want a red and white. Standing with the king on the balcony of the Tuileries, he had first showed the people the red and blue colors of Paris, shout "Vive Paris!" Then he would have shown the white ribbon, the color of kings "Long live the king!" Finally, it would have placed the white between the red and blue and shouted "Vive la Nation!" After that, he would have formed a cockade of three tapes for attatcher in his hat. "La Marseillaise" was, originally, the Battle Hymn of the Rhine army, a march composed by Rouget de Lisle, an officer in the armies of the Revolution. But it is a group of partriotes, from Marseille to Paris, which has made him known. It is the national anthem of France. The words are warlike, and is often subject to change in favor of a more peaceful feeling.