Causes of the Revolution
In 1774, which French monarch ascended to the throne and inherited a deeply indebted and unstable kingdom?
Who is Louis XVI?
Which 18th-century movement critiqued absolute monarchy, organised religion, and social inequality, inspiring many of the revolutionaries?
What is the Enlightenment?
The king who hesitated to implement reforms but eventually succumbed to the revolutionary demands.
Who is Louis XVI?
These rural peasants, fearing aristocratic plots and inspired by rumors of conspiracies, played a central role in the Great Fear of 1789.
Who are the peasants?
This financial crisis in the 1780s, exacerbated by France’s involvement in the American Revolution, led to significant debt and eventually the calling of the Estates-General.
What is France's national debt?
This Enlightenment philosopher argued for the separation of powers in government, influencing revolutionary thought on how to limit royal authority.
Who is Montesquieu?
The Queen of France, infamous for her lavish spending, was executed in 1793 as a symbol of the monarchy's excesses.
Who is Marie Antoinette?
The people, whose power was gradually eroded by revolutionary reforms, were the key social group involved in the Night of August 4, 1789, where they renounced their feudal privileges.
Who are the nobles?
In 1788, protests erupted in this French city, where citizens clashed with royal troops, marking a significant defiance against the monarchy.
What is Grenoble (and the Day of Tiles)?
This French philosopher’s idea of the "general will" in The Social Contract contributed to revolutionary calls for popular sovereignty.
Who is Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
This finance minister was dismissed in 1789 after trying to implement reforms to address France’s debt, signaling instability in the monarchy.
Who is Jacques Necker?
These well-off but non-noble members of society, including lawyers, merchants, and professionals, were key in forming the National Assembly.
Who are the bourgeoisie?
Which event on July 14, 1789, symbolized the beginning of the French Revolution and was a direct attack on royal authority and imprisonment?
What is the storming of the Bastille?
This powerful and widely debated document, created in 1789, declared the fundamental rights of citizens and challenged the absolute monarchy.
What is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen?
Known for his military leadership and support of the Revolution, this aristocrat became the commander of the French National Guard in 1789.
Who is Marquis de Lafayette?
This significant event in October 1789, involving women marching to Versailles, forced the royal family back to Paris and altered the power dynamic of the monarchy.
What is the Women’s March on Versailles?
The movement of 1789, marked by widespread panic and peasant uprisings, followed the storming of the Bastille and rumors of a conspiracy by the nobility to suppress the revolution.
What is the Great Fear?
Which social system, based on privileges and hierarchy, was under direct attack by revolutionary thinkers and leaders, especially after the Night of August 4, 1789?
What is feudalism?
This pamphleteer and clergyman was a key figure in pushing for greater representation for the Third Estate and later helped shape revolutionary policy.
Who is Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès?
This class of urban workers in Paris played a crucial role in the early stages of the Revolution, especially in the storming of the Bastille.
Who are the sans-culottes?