Class Notes: The French Revolution
1. Background
Social Inequality
French society divided into three estates:
First Estate: Clergy (1% of population, owned 10% of land)
Second Estate: Nobility (2% of population, owned 25% of land)
Third Estate: Commoners (97% of population, heavily taxed)
Economic Crisis
Financial troubles due to wars and extravagant spending.
Food shortages and rising bread prices caused unrest.
Enlightenment Ideas
Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., Rousseau, Voltaire) promoted liberty,
equality, and democracy.
2. Key Events
Estates-General (1789)
Called by King Louis XVI to address financial crisis.
Each estate had one vote; Third Estate was underrepresented.
Formation of the National Assembly
Third Estate broke away and declared itself the National
Assembly.
Swore the Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789) to draft a new
constitution.
3. Revolution Escalates
Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)
Symbolic start of the revolution.
Parisians stormed the prison for arms and ammunition.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 1789)
Affirmed individual rights and the principles of liberty, equality,
and fraternity.
4. Radical Phase
Rise of the Jacobins
Radical political group led by Maximilien Robespierre.
Promoted a more radical agenda.
Reign of Terror (1793-1794)
Period of extreme political purges.
Thousands executed by guillotine, including King Louis XVI and
Queen Marie Antoinette.
5. The Directory
Establishment of the Directory (1795)
New government that replaced the National Convention.
Characterized by corruption and inefficiency.
6. Rise of Napoleon
Coup of 18 Brumaire (1799)
Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory.
Established himself as First Consul, ending the revolution.
7. Aftermath
Napoleonic Era
Spread of revolutionary ideas across Europe.
Reforms in France (legal, educational, administrative).
Legacy of the Revolution
Inspired future movements for democracy and human rights.
Set the stage for the rise of nationalism in Europe.
