Causes of the French Revolution
This 18th-century movement of intellectuals promoted reason and science, inspiring French people to question the absolute monarchy and unfair societal hierarchy.
The Enlightenment
On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries stormed this medieval fortress and prison in Paris to get gunpowder, an event now celebrated as France's national holiday.
The Bastille
In November 1799, General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the weak five-man government known by this title in a coup d'état
The Directory
Before winning its independence in 1804, the Caribbean nation of Haiti was a French colony known by this name.
Saint-Domingue
In Spain's colonial social hierarchy, this wealthy, educated class of people born in the Americas of European descent led most independence movements.
Creoles
Before 1789, French society was divided into three legal social classes known as this system.
Three Estates (or Estates System)
Locked out of their meeting hall in June 1789, the Third Estate met on a nearby indoor court and promised not to disband until they wrote a new constitution.
Tennis Court Oath
Enacted in 1804, this lasting legal reform established equality before the law for all men and remains the basis of French law today.
Napoleonic Code
Issued by King Louis XIV in 1685, this set of legal rules defined enslaved people in French colonies as "movable property".
Code Noir (or Black Code)
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
This 1808 European event served as the main spark for revolutions across Spanish America when Napoleon forced King Ferdinand VII to give up his throne.
Napoleon's Invasion of Spain
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
This specific royal tax on land was paid entirely by the 98% of the population in the Third Estate, while the clergy and nobility were exempt.
The Taille
Adopted on August 26, 1789, this foundational document stated that "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights."
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
On December 2, 1804, at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon broke tradition by placing this object on his own head.
Imperial Crown
August 1791's major uprising of enslaved people was planned during a secret Vodou ceremony held at this location.
Bois Caïman
On September 16, 1810, this creole Catholic priest rang his church bell and issued the Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores") to launch Mexico's revolt.
Father Miguel Hidalgo
By 1788, nearly 50% of the French government's spending went toward paying off this specific expense.
Interest on Old Debts
Ex: from wars like the Seven Years' War & American Revolution
During the Radical Revolution stage, this rapid-execution machine with a heavy falling blade was used to execute King Louis XVI and thousands of others equally.
The Guillotine
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Napoleon's massive 1812 military campaign against this country turned into a disaster when harsh winter conditions and destroyed crops forced his army to retreat.
Russia
A formerly enslaved man turned brilliant general, he wrote a 1801 constitution for Saint-Domingue before being captured and sent to prison in France.
Toussaint Louverture
Known as "El Libertador," this Venezuelan general helped free northern South America and created the large republic of Gran Colombia.
Simón Bolívar
Severe weather in 1788 caused crop failures that led to a massive shortage of this staple food item, forcing poor workers to spend 70–90% of their daily pay on it.
Bread
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Known as "the Incorruptible," this lawyer led the Committee of Public Safety and oversaw the Reign of Terror before being executed himself in July 1794.
Maximilien Robespierre
Following Napoleon's defeat, representatives of Europe's powers met at this 1814-1815 meeting to restore royal families and establish a balance of power.
Congress of Vienna
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian forces achieved their final military defeat of the French army at this historic November 1803 battle.
Battle of Vertières
Unlike its Spanish-speaking neighbors, this Portuguese colony achieved independence in 1822 when Prince Pedro declared himself emperor with little fighting.
Brazil