Causes of the French Revolution

Study Notes

Financial Crisis: France was deeply in debt from wars and extravagance of the royal court
Social Inequality: Estates-General system divided society into three groups: clergy, nobility, and commoners, with commoners bearing the tax burden
Enlightenment Ideas: Spread of liberal ideas like liberty, equality, and democracy inspired the masses
Food Shortages: Crop failures and food shortages in 1788-89 increased discontent among the population

Estates-General (May 1789): Representatives of the three estates met to address financial crisis, leading to the formation of the National Assembly
Tennis Court Oath (June 1789): National Assembly members vowed to continue their work on a new constitution
Storming of the Bastille (July 1789): Symbolic event marking the beginning of the revolution
Great Fear (July-August 1789): Peasant uprisings and panic spread throughout the countryside
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 1789): Fundamental document defining individual liberties and sovereignty of the people
Reign of Terror (1793-1794): Period of violence and executions during which Maximilien Robespierre dominated the Committee of Public Safety
Coup d'état (July 1794): Robespierre's fall from power and eventual execution
Directory (1795-1799): Five-member executive council governing France until Napoleon's rise to power

King Louis XVI: Monarch at the start of the revolution, eventually executed in 1793
Queen Marie Antoinette: Symbol of the monarchy and perceived enemy of the revolution
Maximilien Robespierre: Radical Jacobin leader who dominated the Committee of Public Safety
Napoleon Bonaparte: Military general who seized power in 1799 and became Emperor of France

End of Absolute Monarchy: Establishment of a constitutional monarchy and later, the First French Republic
Spread of Liberal Ideas: Inspiration for similar movements and revolutions across Europe and the world
Rise of Nationalism: Development of modern nationalism and the concept of a nation-state

France was deeply in debt from the expensive wars with Britain and the extravagance of the royal court, with a debt of 5 billion livres by 1789
The Estates-General system divided society into three groups: the clergy (1%), the nobility (2%), and the commoners (97%), with the commoners bearing the majority of the tax burden
The spread of Enlightenment ideas like liberty, equality, and democracy inspired the masses, influenced by thinkers such as Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu
Crop failures and food shortages in 1788-1789, worsened by a severe winter, increased discontent among the population, particularly the peasants and urban workers

The Estates-General meeting on May 5, 1789, represented the first time the three estates had met since 1614, and marked the beginning of the revolution
The Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789, saw National Assembly members vow to continue their work on a new constitution, despite the king's orders to disperse
The Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, marked a symbolic end to the absolute monarchy and the beginning of the revolution
The Great Fear, a period of panic and peasant uprisings, spread throughout the countryside from July to August 1789

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted on August 26, 1789, defined individual liberties and the sovereignty of the people
The National Assembly adopted the Constitution of 1791, establishing a constitutional monarchy

The Committee of Public Safety, led by Maximilien Robespierre, dominated the government from 1793 to 1794, imposing a policy of terror and violence
The Reign of Terror saw the execution of King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and thousands of others, including aristocrats, commoners, and rivals
Robespierre's fall from power and eventual execution on July 28, 1794, marked the end of the Reign of Terror

The Directory, a five-member executive council, governed France from 1795 to 1799
Napoleon Bonaparte, a successful military general, seized power in the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799), marking the end of the Directory and the beginning of the Napoleonic Empire

King Louis XVI, the monarch at the start of the revolution, was eventually executed by guillotine in 1793
Queen Marie Antoinette, the Austrian-born queen, was a symbol of the monarchy and was executed by guillotine in 1793
Maximilien Robespierre, a radical Jacobin leader, dominated the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror
Napoleon Bonaparte, a military general, seized power in 1799 and became Emperor of France, ruling until 1815

The French Revolution ended absolute monarchy, establishing a constitutional monarchy and later, the First French Republic
The revolution spread liberal ideas, inspiring similar movements and revolutions across Europe and the world
The revolution developed modern nationalism and the concept of a nation-state, with the idea of a nation as a community of citizens with equal rights and a shared identity