french+revolution+(chapter+1)

1. Before the French Revolution -Background info: · During the summer of 1789, many French citizens joined and carried out a revolution against the government. · Sick of the way their lives were, they used force and violence to change it. · Centuries-old laws and government systems were abolished. · Tithe – money (about 1/10 of earnings) given to clergy - French people and their society · French people had distinct social classes, and each classes had different financial situations. o (Peasant Family–people who made their living by farming) o (Town family–people who worked as shopkeepers, traders, etc.) o (Bourgeois family-middle class family with materialistic values.) o (Noble family-Family that holds titles such as Duke, Marquis, or Viscount to distinguish from commoners.) · According to French law, however, people did not belong to classes, but to estates. o (Clergy-people who work for the church.) o (Nobility-^look above) o (Everyone else-including peasants, town workers, and Bourgeois.) · The first and second estates had great privileges, unlike the others. · One of the privileges was that they did not have to pay certain taxes. · During the middle ages, they were granted the previliges, as nobility served as military, clergy gave education and religion. · However, by 1789, they were not as important as they have been during the middle ages. · The biggest difference between French classes were people’s wealth. · Most people in France were incredibly poor. · Many people couldn’t even find places to live, and their possessions were not worth anything. · Most people were poor, but they were also forced to pay for taxes. · There were two different kind of taxes – taxes paid directly to the government, and indirectly when buying certain goods. · In many direct taxes, the two estates officially or unofficially did not have to pay. · Even when they had to pay, they did not have to pay more than anyone else. · In addition, peasants had to pay money to their landlords. · Most French people did not know any other way of life, and they did not question the system. · However, a group of educated philosophers, journalists and scientists had a way of thinking called Reason. · They believed that no one can know something is true unless it is tested out. · Scientist Lavoisier became famous by how things burn. · He carried out a social/political experiment. · He also created and proposed reforms to better the lives of the poor. · __Among these were abolishing the land tax taille, giving pensions, and health care.__ · Voltaire was the most famous of the philosophes. · He did not approve of the power and beliefs that the French Church held. · He presented his views during the Calas affair. · Jean Calas was a Protestant living in a Catholic neighborhood. · One of his son hung himself, in his warehouse. · The Catholics gathered outside because of the body, starting rumors that Calas hung the boy because he wanted the boy to stay Protestant. · Magistrates accepted the rumor, and gave Calas a death sentence. · He was cruelly put to death, limbs smashed and strangled. · Voltaire thought of Calas as innocent, but wrongly convicted, just because of his beliefs. · Thanks to his campaign, Calas was found innocent and pardoned. · Voltaire campaigned to pardon Calas because he thought that it was wrong for the French society to have religious intolerance. · Thanks to the writings of the philosophes, many people began to change the way they thought. · They wanted the law to have mercy, with human rights. · The people began tolerating non-Catholics. · The most important was that they wanted change in the way France was governed; they wanted a say. - The government of France · Before the revolution, France was governed by King Louis the Sixteenth (written as Louis XVI). · __Unlike the King of Britain, (King George III), who shared his power with the parliament, Louis XVI was an absolute monarch.__ · Louis lived in the Palace of Versailles. · He lived with thousands of nobles, who served him as government officials, helping him run the country. · Mary Antoinette was the wife of Louis, and also the archduchess of Austria. · At first, Mary and Louis’s popularity, (when they married in 1770) were high, but their popularity decreased. · People disliked Marie Antoinette more, calling her Austrian bitch. · They especially hated her excessive spending, and especially because of her alleged infidelity. · She spent frivolously, creating a fake little village for herself. · Quote – “Perhaps by spending a little bit more, her majesty would have been able to get rid of the signs of poverty in the real villages for twenty or thirty miles around, and to improve honest people’s homes…To imitate, in an amusement garden, the suffering of your subjects seem to be making a game out of their situation.” – The Marquis de Bombelles. · However, she was defended by historians, as she settled twelve poor families into the hamlet. · Sealed letters were as unpopular as the government itself. · These sealed letters contained names of citizens, and it was a royal warrant ordering imprisonment or exile of a person. · It could also be used by ministers of the king. · 14,000 sealed letters were issued during Louis XVI’s reign. · The letters were for people who disagreed with the French government. · __The French government was severely in debt.__ · One of the reasons that they were in debt for several hundred years was because they spent more each year than received in taxes. · They were near bankruptcy, therefore decided to raise taxes. · Finance minister, Calonne, made a new plan for tax system. · Landowner taxes were planned to be established, however many nobles and clergymen had a problem with this. · Louis tried to enforce their taxes, introduce without approval. · The Assembly of Notables declared that Louis had to get Estaes General’s agreement to raise taxes. · Louis exiled the entire Parlement from Paris. · The people of France were angered by this, and protested (some violently) until Louis caved in. - The Estates General · Estates General met the king whenever he wanted to consult. · The third estates (everyone else) complained that voting system in the Estates General was unfair, because the nobles and clergy could easily outvote the third. · The king reluctantly had to agree to the demands of doubling the numbers in the Estates General and to give each member one vote each. · Another crisis growing in the countryside was food shortage. · Freak weather, (hail storm) destroyed many invaluable crops and food all over central France, followed by drought. · There was almost no harvest in 1788. · The weather continued to get worse, with extreme cold weather. · When the snow melted during spring, it caused a massive flood that destroyed farmlands. · The price of bread rose, and the poor families had to spend most of their earnings just on bread. · As the price of bread rose and no one spent money on clothes, shoes, candles, fuels, and other goods, unemployment also rose. · As poverty and hunger rose, the Estates General were asked to discuss certain complaints with the king. · __60,000 of “lists of complaints” were drawn up, showing that millions of French people were angry and wanted changes.__ · After drawing up the complaints, the people believed that the king was interested in their problems, and was going to put a stop to the problems. · When the Estates Generals met, the king ordered them to have separate meetings. The third estate was not happy with this order. · They refused to follow it, in fear of that if they do, the clergy and the nobles would outvote them. · They declared that they would only take part in Estates General only if notables and clergy joined them. · The clergy decided to join them. · In the following morning, the palace meeting hall was locked, with guards to prevent the third estate from entering. · They had to take shelter in the tennis court because of the rain. · They took an solemn oath that they would not stop until the way France was governed changed dramatically. · They refused to leave the royal sessions, and Louis, faced with strong determination, gave into their demands.