Ze Revolution I
IDENTIFY Estates-General
The French parliament, made up of representatives from all three estates
France's population at the time of the French Revolution
27 million
IDENTIFY Tennis Court Oath
vow made by the Third Estate to meet until they had produced a French constitution
Describe the peasants' position within the Third Estate.
largest segment of Third Estate; 75-80% of total population; owned 35-40% of land
IDENTIFY Bastille
prison in Paris; was stormed and dismantled
How the French population was divided
into three orders, or estates
IDENTIFY the National Assembly
the new name of the Third Estate when it decided to write a Constitution
IDENTIFY the bourgeoisie or middle class
a segment of Third Estate; 8% of total population; owned 20-25% of land; included shopkeepers, merchants, bankers, industrialists, lawyers, those in public office, doctors, writers.
What prompted Louis XVI to call a meeting of the Estates General in 1789 for the first time in 175 years? (Last time the French Parliament / Estates General met was in 1614.)
The government was on the verge of complete financial collapse
IDENTIFY the Third Estate
everyone who was not in the First or Second Estates; commoners; this includes peasants, shop owners, skilled craftspeople, etc
Why did many Catholics become enemies of the Revolution?
The French government began to control the church, seized its lands, regulated the clergy, and required bishops and priests to be elected by the people and paid by the state
Explain a possible path to nobility for the bourgeoisie
By obtaining public offices, wealthy middle class individuals could enter the ranks of the nobility
LIST 4 causes of discontent in French society leading to the French Revolution (3 long-term and 1 immediate)
Long-term causes included 1) discontent in the way society was ordered, 2) increase in popularity of Enlightenment ideas 3) bad economy with food shortages, high food prices and unemployment; immediate cause of French Revolution was near collapse of government finances
IDENTIFY the Second Estate
consisted of nobility; composed of 350,000 or 1.3% of population; owned 20-30% of land; held many of the leading positions in government, military, law courts, higher church offices
Why did the kings of Austria and Prussia want to restore Louis XVI to full power?
they feared revolution would spread to their countries, but believed if Louis XVI returned to power in France, the old order would prevail.
Explain the relics of feudalism
Aristocratic privileges, or obligations of peasants to elite which survived from an earlier age; peasants paid fees to clergy to use village facilities such as flour mill, community oven, wine press, etc
IDENTIFY the Great Fear
Panic that spread through the French countryside after the storming of the Bastille in 1789; included peasant rebellions and fear of foreign invasions
IDENTIFY the First Estate
consisted of clergy; numbered 130,000 or 0.5% percent of total population; owned 10% of land
IDENTIFY Olympe de Gouges
French journalist; wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen in 1791 as a follow up to the National Assembly's 1789 Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen
IDENTIFY taille
France's chief tax which only the Third Estate were required to pay