The Ancien Régime
What were the three estates of French society?
Clergy, Nobility, and the Third Estate/Commoners.
Which war contributed significantly to France's financial problems?
The American War of Independence.
Which Enlightenment thinker is associated with the Social Contract?
Rousseau.
What oath did the Third Estate take in June 1789?
The Tennis Court Oath.
What does the term sans-culottes mean?
Without knee breeches.
Which estate made up most of the French population?
The Third Estate.
What were the Parlements?
High courts that had to register new laws and taxes.
Which thinker promoted the separation of powers?
Montesquieu.
What fortress-prison was stormed on 14 July 1789?
The Bastille.
Which political faction was more radical: the Girondins or the Montagnards?
The Montagnards.
What was the name of the tax paid to the Church?
Tithe
Why did the Parlements become a problem for Louis XVI?
They refused to register many financial reforms and taxes.
Which thinker strongly criticised the Catholic Church?
Voltaire.
What was the Great Fear?
A wave of panic and attacks by peasants in the countryside during 1789.
What happened to Louis XVI in January 1793?
He was executed by guillotine.
What was the Ancien Régime?
The political and social system of France before the Revolution.
What was the Estates-General?
An assembly representing the Three Estates that was called in 1789 to address France's crisis.
What is meant by the separation of powers?
Dividing government power between different branches to prevent abuse.
What were the October Days?
A march by Parisian women to Versailles that forced Louis XVI to move to Paris.
What was one major difference between the Girondins and the Montagnards?
Girondins were more moderate and favoured decentralised government; Montagnards were more radical and favoured centralised government.
Explain why many members of the Third Estate believed the system was unfair.
They paid most of the taxes but had little political power, while the First and Second Estates enjoyed privileges and tax exemptions.
Why did the voting system of the Estates-General create conflict?
Voting by estate meant the First and Second Estates could always outvote the Third Estate.
Explain one way Enlightenment ideas influenced the French Revolution.
They encouraged ideas such as liberty, equality, constitutional government, popular sovereignty, or opposition to absolute monarchy.
Why was the Flight to Varennes a major turning point?
It destroyed trust in Louis XVI and increased support for a republic instead of a constitutional monarchy.
How were the Girondins eliminated from power in 1793?
The Convention was surrounded by National Guardsmen and the Convention voted to arrest leading Girondin deputies.