Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
WHAT WAS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THE EVENTS OF 1789? (The Tennis Court Oath (On…
WHAT WAS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THE EVENTS OF 1789?
The Summoning of the Estates-General
Each town was able to send a Cahier, with many asking for more than just reformed taxation, with some even wanting a new constitution
Though the cahiers were written by the educated members of the town, so it is likely that they reflected the views of the bourgeois more
Cahiers de doleances-With the meeting of the Estates-General, the people of France were able to send a list of ‘grievances’
The meeting of the Estates-General
Initially all would have an equal amount of deputies, but it was then decided that the Third estate would have double the normal amount
This implied there would be voting by head, granting the third estate the most power, but instead Louis XVI kept to voting by order, allow the deputies of the First and Second estates to always be able to overrule the Third
The Estates-General gathered to meet at Versailles on 5th May 1789.The First estate had 303 deputies, the Second with 282 nobles and the Third estate was represented by 578 deputies, most of which were lawyers
The Declaration of the National Assembly
The Third estate then ran out of patience, and inspired by the speeches of Mirabeau and Sieyes, they declared themselves the ‘National Assembly’, the representation of the French people
Two days later the First estate voted to join the Third in their assembly
Due to being distracted by his son’s death, Louis made no real decision with the Estates-General
The Tennis Court Oath
On 20th June, the Third estate arrived to find that the hall had been locked, with the Séance Royal being postponed
But the deputies saw this as an act of Louis to exclude the Third estate.So they decided to meet in a handball court (referred to as a tennis court)
To bring things under control, Louis called the estates back to a Séance Royal to present a package of reforms
Under the leadership of Mirabeau, the deputies took an oath against the king, declaring that France was to have a new constitution
But Louis continued with the Séance Royal, and was prepared to accept some reform, including the abolition of the lettre de cachet, freedom of the press, and even new taxation
But when he tried to dismiss the three estates, the Third refused in accordance with their oath.The next day, deputies from the Frist and Second estates joined the National Assembly
It wasn’t until 6 weeks later that Louis realised his mistakes and asked the First and Second estates to formally join the National Assembly
Revolt in Paris and the Storming of the Bastille
From this the protesters took gunpowder, as they had seized 28,000 muskets the day before from an arsenal.Though only seven prisoners were ‘liberated’, it still represented a major loss of power and control to the king
Alarmed by the violence, the Parisian Bourgeoisie established the Paris Commune to maintain order in a hope to protect their property.One of its first acts was to establish the National Guard, led by Lafayette, it was their job to prevent the revolt from running over into complete revolution and destruction
Fearing open revolt, Louis ordered troops to be placed in Paris and Versailles.Louis dismissed Necker on the 11th July due to his sympathies with the Third estate.Incited by speakers such has the Duc d’Orleans and Desmoulins, the Parisian crowds