Periods+of+the+French+Revolution

=Periods of the French Revolution =

**__The National Assembly:__**
The **Tennis Court Oath** took place when, after finding their meeting place doors locked, the representatives of the Third Estate went to an indoor tennis court and took a solemn oath not to leave until a new constitution had been drawn up. Some clergy and nobles joined them and they changed their name to the **__National Assembly__,** claiming they represented most of the people of France.

Faced with this situation, [|Louis XVI] reluctantly agreed to discuss changes and reforms with the representatives of the Third Estate and the National Assembly. However, the king did not want to share his power so he began bringing soldiers into Paris and Versailles, where the representatives were meeting (July 1789). Tradesmen, shopkeepers and poor people in Paris, known as the //**sans-culottes**// (because they wore the trousers of workingmen rather than the culottes of the nobles), were suffering badly because a bad harvest had raised the price of bread. They hoped the National Assembly would change things and help them. But on 14 July 1789, when a rumour spread saying that the king would use his army to close down the National Assembly, they revolted.

To learn more watch this video: "From the need for Reform to the Storming of the Bastille" media type="youtube" key="WWleYXIfVF0" height="344" width="425"

**__The Storming of the Bastille:__**
To protect the National Assembly, the sans-culottes formed a **National Guard**. They went to the Bastille to get weapons. It was a medieval fortress in the centre of Paris that was used as a prison and a weapons store. It was not very well defended, and the mob of sans-culottes had little difficulty in storming it. The prison was taken over and its commander was killed. **With the __Storming of the Bastille,__ the French Revolution had begun**.

The fall of the Bastille had an immediate impact, resulting in several important changes: The National Assembly issued a document called __**"The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen"**__.
 * 1) All over France, peasants attacked and burned the chateaux of nobles and took the land for themselves.
 * 2) The National Assembly abolished the privileges of the nobility such as exemption from taxes.

[|The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen] stated that: These ideas were summed up in the slogan of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
 * All power came from the people.
 * French people were not longer the king´s subjects but free citizens.
 * Their rights included "liberty, property, security and ressitance to oppression".
 * Citizens were guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equal treatment under the law.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man was an impressive document, but it did not provide bread for the hungry people of Paris. In October 1789, thousands of women marched from Paris to Versailles. They wanted the king and the National Assembly to move to Paris.

To learn more watch this video: "From the Storming of the Bastille to the Women´s March on Versailles" media type="youtube" key="RbDGS67K-No" height="344" width="425"

The sans-culottes went to Versailles where they forced the king and his family to move to Paris where they could keep an eye on them. While king Louis XVI himself remained popular with many people, his wife, Marie Antoinette, was loathed. She was an Austrian princess and was hated because she was believed to live in great luxury, not caring about the suffering of ordinary people. **The Royal Family moved to the Tuilerires Palace** in the centre of Paris. This event was very significan as it gave the sans-culotes greater control over both the king and the Assembly. The Royal Family remained in Paris throughout 1790. They were virtually prisoners, and the king was forced to watch as the National Assembly took away more of the powers that he believed were given to him by God.

Between 1789 and 1791, the National Assembly made many changes which reduced the power of the king and the privileges of the clergy and the nobles. In the National Assembly, a party called the **Jacobins** supported the idea of replacing the king with a Republic. Their leader was Maximilian [|Robespierre].

Many members of the National Assembly wanted to reduce the power of the Catholic Church. They were strongly influenced by Enlightenment writers who dismissed religion as superstition. So, in July 1790, the Assembly introduced [|"The Civil Constitution of the Clergy"]. Under it all convents and monasteries were closed and Church land was sold to pay the government´s debts. The government would now pay a salary to parish priests. All bishops and priests had to take an oath to accept the Civil Constitution. The Pope condemned the Civil Constitution and half of the priests of France refused to take the new oath, so they were killed.

King Louis XVI was unhappy because he did not like his loss of power and he was a deeply religious man who disliked the laws passed against the Church. By June 1791, king Louis decided to escape Paris. He intended to leave secretly an go to Holland (which at the time was ruled by his wife´s brother, Leopold). However, King Louis and his family were spotted in the town of Varennes. They were arrested and brought back to Paris where they were greated with outrage and hatred. After the __**Flight to Varennes**__, the people believed the king had intended to fight a war against his own people and he was therefore a traitor. The royal family´s attempted escape convinced many people that the king was plotting to overthrow the revolution and take back his old powers. They listened more simpathetically to the Jacobins who argued that France should get rid of the king and declare a republic.

To learn more watch this video: "From the Women´s March on Versailles to the Fear of the Enemies of the Revolution" media type="youtube" key="Xyj6KlxFF-E" height="344" width="425"

At the same time, the French Revolution horrified most of the kings and queens of other Europeans countries. They were determined to crush the Revolution before it inspired its own citizens to have similar ideas. So, from the very begining, revolutionary France was forced to fight wars against countries like Austria, Russia and Britain. However, the fear of enemies of the Revolution would unite the people inside France. In April 1972, France declared a war on Austria. At first, the war went badly for the French. Their armies were defeated. Rumours spread that the king and his advisors were secretly hoping for an Austrian victory. The war raised the price of food. The sans-culottes blamed the king. On 10 August 1792, a mob of 20,000 **attacked the Tuileries Palace** where the royal family lived. The royal family took refuge in the Assembly across the road. The Assembly suspended the king´s power. They set up a new parliament called the National Convention and ordered elections.

News of the war got worse. By September 1792, the enemy armies were getting near Paris. Fear gripped the city. People felt there were traitors everywhere. A mob attacked the prison where some nobles and priests were held and massacred them. This event was called [|The September Massacres.]

**__The National Convention:__**

 * When the National Convention met on 22 September 1792, it declared that the rule of kings was over and that France was a __Republic.__** The calendar was changed to reflect this.

The National Convention, led by Robespierre, said that the king was a traitor and that he should be tried. The trial began on 26 December 1792. During it,the court heard of letters that Louis XVI had written to foreign kings supporting their war with France. This convinced them of the king´s guilt. On 15 January 1793, the members of the Convention voted: a total of 693 deputies found him guilty and no one found him innocent. On 21 January 1973, Louis XVI was taken from prison for his execution. **Louis XVI was [|executed] by guillotine.**

To learn more watch this video: "From the War on Austria to king Louis XIV´s trial" media type="youtube" key="tCvOBZQqssk" height="344" width="425" The execution of Louis XVI caused outrage in most countries in Europe. By the spring of 1793 France was in serious danger. It was a war with Britain, Austria, Prussia, Holland and Spain. In France, also, there were also a number of revolts against the revolutionary government. The most serious was in the Vendée, a region in the west of France where most people were loyal to the Catholic Church and to the king.

**__The Reign of Terror:__**
To face this situation, the Convention set up a **Comittee of Public Safety.** It had 12 members, and Robespierrre and the Jacobins dominated it. Robespierre believed that a __**Reign of Terror**__ was needed to save the revolution from its enemies. A **Revolutionary Tribunal** was set up to deal with people considered "enemies of the Revolution". These included nobles, priests, and political opponents who opposed Robespierre´s policies. They passed the **Law of Suspects.** It listed people who could be arrested. People were encouraged to spy on their neighbours and to report them to the Tribunal. Many people were executed. One of its victims was **Queen Marie Antoinette**, who was executed on 16 October 1793. In total about 40,000 people were executed throughout France during the Reign of Terror.

To learn more watch this video:"From Louis XVI´s Execution to Queen Marie Antoinette Execution" media type="youtube" key="HTdk01BSjUQ" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="pYLnzAtQoTk" height="344" width="425" Robespierre´s policies needed the support of the sans-culottes. To please them, he instituted the **Law of the Maximum** to keep the food prices down. It fixed the maximum price a shopkeeper could charge for food.

Robespierre´s methods were harsh but successful. He raised a large army to defend France. This army defeated all the countries fighting against France and soon conquered some of them. The revolt in the Vendée was put down with great brutality. By the spring of 1794, the worst was over and the revolution was no longer under threat.

To learn more watch this video: "From Marie Antoinette execution to the Reign of Terror" media type="youtube" key="DtpMs80MDrw" height="344" width="425"

 To learn more watch this video: "Robespierre and the Reign of Terror" media type="youtube" key="wvzqZ2FC2xw" height="344" width="425"

Once the danger was past, moderate Jacobins wanted to end the terror but Robespierre refused to change. He increased terror and executed some members of the Convention who criticised him. The rest feared they might be the next for the guillotine. On 27 July 1794 they moved against him. When he rose to speak at the Convention, they shouted "Down with the tyrant!". The Convention then voted and decided to arrest Robespierre. He was executed the next day along with many of his followers.

To learn more watch this video: "The Reign of Terror" media type="youtube" key="vtIz86ajVDg" height="344" width="425"

**__The Directory:__**
After Robespierre´s death, the Reign of Terror ended. In 1795, a new more moderate five-man government called __**the Directory**__ was formed. The people longed for a return to peace and normal life. This new government continued the war, and by 1799, France had become the most powerful country in Europe. One of France´s most succesful generals was [|Napoleon Bonaparte]. He led an army which conquered Italy. His victories made him very popular throughout France.

**__The Consulate:__**
In 1799, Napoleon used his army to overthrow the Directory and make himself ruler of France. Napoleon´s coup d´état created a new government made up of 3 consuls who were each appointed for 10 years. The new government was known as __**the Consulate**__. The true power of the Consulate rested on the office of First Consul, the position to which Napoleon conveniently appointed himself. Napoleon modified some of the ideas of the French Revolution. He, too, stressed equality, but explained that liberty meant freedom of opportunity. He taught that people should obey their leader, who in turn ought to govern to the best of his ability for the good of the people. The principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man continued in effect, and the feudal system remained abolished, allowing peasants to keep their land. The French agreed as long as the peace and security was preserved.

To learn more watch this video: "Napoleon, the general that became emperor" media type="youtube" key="7U0A3LLraOk" height="344" width="425"

**__Napoleon crownes himself Emperor:__**
In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself as **emperor.** France has a new ruler. He was popular but, like king Louis XVI, he held all of the power in France in his own hands. **With Napoleon´s rule, the French Revolution ended.**