French Revolution: Estates-General & Rising Tensions

• The French Revolution occurred in 1789 and was a major turning point in history.

Estates-General

• Louis XVI convened the Estates-General.
• During Louis XVI's reign in the late 18th century, France was an absolute monarchy based on enlightened despotism.
• This meant "Everything for the people but without the people."
• The Estates-General was a medieval assembly presided over by the king.
• Representatives from the nobility, clergy, and serfs attended.
• Serfs did not have the right to vote.
• The meetings were held in Versailles.
• 25,000 notebooks of grievances from the serfs were submitted for analysis.

Rising Tensions

• The Seven Years' War led to increased taxes, compounded by poor harvests due to bad weather, making the situation unbearable for the people.
• The Estates-General was unresponsive to these issues.

National Assembly

• Members of the Third Estate withdrew from the Assembly and gathered at a Paris tennis court, where they vowed to form a National Assembly and create a constitution.
• The king pursued the rebels in Paris.

Storming of the Bastille

• The Bastille, a prison, held rebels against the system and was stormed, burned, and destroyed by the people.

Abolition and Suffrage

• The National Assembly decided to abolish feudal rights, proclaim universal suffrage, and legalize a single tax.

National Constituent Assembly

• The National Assembly evolved into the National Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution, which was completed in 1791.
• The main principle was the separation of powers, with the three branches of government operating independently.
• The king retained executive power but was restricted.
• The Declaration of the Rights of the Citizen was established.

Legislative Assembly

• From 1791 to 1792, Louis XVI outwardly accepted the situation but secretly sought help from European monarchies to suppress the French Revolution.
• He attempted to flee but was apprehended at the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

Foreign Threats

• Austria and Prussia threatened Paris, initiating the Battle of Valmy.
• The revolutionaries resisted until the German forces retreated.
• In 1793, the revolutionaries executed King Louis XVI and later his wife, Marie Antoinette.
• This was done to signal that there was no turning back.