IMPORTANT PEOPLE
This "Sun King"’s successor was the French monarch overthrown during the Revolution.
Who is Louis XVI?
This social system divided French society into three rigid "Estates," with the Third Estate shouldering most of the taxes.
What is the Ancien Régime?
This July 14, 1789 event, involving the storming of a Paris prison, is often seen as the symbolic start of the Revolution.
What is the Storming of the Bastille?
The Revolution ended the rule of this long-standing French political system based on monarchy and class privilege.
What is the Ancien Régime?
This country was the home of the French Revolution.
What is France?
Known for her extravagant lifestyle, this queen was famously (though inaccurately) credited with saying, "Let them eat cake."
Who is Marie Antoinette?
This financial crisis, partly due to French involvement in this American conflict, left France deeply in debt.
What is the American Revolutionary War?
In 1789, members of the Third Estate took this famous oath, vowing not to disband until a new constitution was created.
What is the Tennis Court Oath?
This class gained more political power after the Revolution, as nobles lost privileges and land.
What is the bourgeoisie (or middle class)?
The French Revolution began in this year.
What is 1789?
This radical Jacobin leader led the Committee of Public Safety and oversaw the Reign of Terror.
Who is Maximilien Robespierre?
This document, a symbol of Enlightenment thinking, declared all men were born free and equal in rights.
What is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?
This period from 1793 to 1794 was marked by mass executions and political purges under Robespierre’s leadership.
What is the Reign of Terror?
This powerful institution saw its lands seized and influence greatly reduced during and after the Revolution.
What is the Catholic Church?
This famous slogan of the Revolution includes the words “Liberty, Equality,” and this third value.
What is Fraternity?
He defended the King during his trial and was later executed for it—his name became synonymous with early revolutionary moderation.
Who is Georges Danton?
Heavy taxes, rising bread prices, and economic hardship hit this group—about 97% of the population—the hardest.
What is the Third Estate?
In October 1789, thousands of women marched to this palace, demanding bread and forcing the royal family back to Paris.
What is the Palace of Versailles?
The Revolution inspired independence movements in these two regions, one in the Americas and one in Europe.
What are Latin America and Haiti?
This blade-heavy device became the Revolution’s most infamous method of execution.
What is the guillotine?
This military general rose to power near the Revolution’s end and would crown himself Emperor of the French in 1804.
Who is Napoleon Bonaparte?
This was the first meeting in 175 years, that helped ignite revolutionary demands for more representation.
What is the meeting of the Estates-General of 1789?
In 1799, the Revolution effectively ended when this military leader staged a coup and seized power.
Who is Napoleon Bonaparte?
The instability following the Revolution led to the rise of this authoritarian leader who would become emperor.
Who is Napoleon Bonaparte?
Before becoming emperor, this man was a general who gained fame during the Revolution.
Who is Napoleon Bonaparte?