Political Revolution
The attempt to turn Enlightenment into action was opposed by the nobility, the church, and neighboring kingdoms.
A turmoil emerged a military genius and Napoleon Bonaparte restored order and extended French power across Europe.
Many members of the bourgeoisie disliked the privileges of the King and nobility. Members argued that people should be sovereign.
French men and women were farmers and they resented the feudal obligations when bad harvests in 1780s caused starvation and hardship.
King Louis XVI was one of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world. He ruled over 24 million subjects in his palace at Versailles.
After King Louis took the throne the French treasury always seemed nearly empty which caused the common people to be crushed by taxes while the nobility paid nothing at all.
In 1789, the French society was broken up into 3 Social classes
Second Estate- Consisted of the Nobility (2%)
Third Estate- Was everyone else, which was the majority of the French men and women (97%)
First Estate- Consists of the Catholic Church (1%)
King Louis had the First and Second estate vote together to cancel out the Third Estates proposals.
Third Estate tried taking matters into their own hands which made King Louis lock them out of the Assembly Hall. The Third Estate had to meet up on the tennis court and there they declared themselves to be the National Assembly. They took an oath to not expand until the Constitutional monarchy is established.
King Louis was frightened and had eighteen thousand troops defend his palace.
French Revolution Begins
After the Bastille uprising, King Louis decided that he should compromise with the Third Estate.
The "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" declared liberty for man and security.
However, it did not consider extending equality to Parisian women
Angry Parisian women marched to the Versailles and forced the King and his family to return to his palace in Paris.
King Louis tried to escape from France and hoped to get support from other European monarchs, but instead he was captured and held a prisoner in his own palace.
Under the Jacobins, the radical republican led by Maximilian Robespierre, the French Revolution went through its most violent and idealistic phase.
The Jacobin plan was to have perfect equality and transform society.
Robespierre imposed harsher dictatorship after Kings of Prussia and Austria declared war on France.
Though their methods were harsh, the Jacobins were successful in securing the republic, but the people in the provinces were angry with the radicalism and cost many Jacobins to lose their heads including Robespierre himself.