InNo+France+before+the+Revolution+p.+28-38+michellel2013+09.06.10

= =



= Revolution and Terror, 1789-1794 =
 * Revolution started at Versailles in 1789 and soon spread to different parts of France
 * Over the next five years it brought great changes to French society, and later to other countries
 * The revolution caused great changes and people had strong feelings about it
 * Many people were revolutionaries and welcomed these changes but even more people hated the revolution and tried their hardest to stop it

__** Revolution, 1789 **__
 * Setting up the National Assembly was great victory for the third estate
 * Louis lost control of the Estates General
 * Riots near Paris showed the risk of Louis losing control over the capital
 * Louis order 20,000 royal troops to move into the area around Paris
 * He said it was to keep order there but the people feared it was to break up the National Assembly
 * July 12th, news from Versailles said that Louis had fired the popular finance minister Neecker, and replaced him with another who opposed the third estate
 * People assumed that Louis was about to break up the National Assembly
 * The people looked everywhere for weapons to defend themselves against the king's troops
 * People searched for weapons for two days, and people even broke into stores to steal guns
 * On july 14th there were rumors that there were gunpowder in the Bastille, and old fortress at the east end of Paris


 * The Storming of the Bastille **
 * Parisians hated the Bastille because it had been a prison where prisoners were sent when given sealed letters
 * Everybody has heard scary stories of that place
 * The fortress to these people was a symbol of all that they hated about the king's power
 * They broke into the courtyard and threatened to blow up the gates with cannons
 * The governor decided to give in but the angry crowd would not hear of surrender, wanting to destroy this symbol of royal power
 * When the drawbridge was let down they charged inside, smashing anything in their way and killing defenders
 * They had the Bastille under their control by evening


 * Images of the Bastille **
 * Fall of the Bastille was on of the most famous events of the FR
 * It was a symbol of ordinary people winning over the power of their rulers
 * Their victory was recorded in many pictures and drawings
 * Many of these pictures showed the dramatic events that lead to the capture of Bastille
 * Other pictures showed what the crowd saw in the prison: rat-infested dungeons, people wearing iron masks
 * There were thousands of copies of these pictures and they were soon all over France
 * But are these images all accurate? a French historian said no


 * The King Loses Control **
 * Louis considered sending his army back to recapture Bastille
 * But his war minister said the soldiers would probably refuse to do so, therefore Louis had to give up control of Paris
 * To keep order in Paris, he allowed people to set up their own military force called the National Army
 * The leading officials of the third estate formed a new local government called the Paris Commune to run the city
 * Towns and cities all over France followed the example of Paris
 * Rioting crowds attacked town halls and forced out royal officials to set up their own communes and National Guard units


 * The Great Fear **
 * The violence then spread to the country side where many people were unemployed and starving
 * Farmers live in fear of gangs of wanderers who stole food from their fields and damaged their farms
 * When harvest time approached, rumor spread that nobles were trying to starve the people by hoarding grain, and also that nobles were paying gangs of wanderers to attack the farms and the peasants
 * The angry peasants therefore refused to pay their feudal dues
 * In many places they broke into their lord's homes and burned records of their dues
 * As violence spread, the fear of gangs increased
 * Villagers rang church bells to warn neighboring villages when they thought they saw gangs
 * Panic was spread to many parts of France
 * By late July the whole country was gripped by a "Great Fear"


 * The Assembly Begins its Work **
 * The National Assembly were scared of the peasants' violence and took drastic measures to end it
 * Night of August 4th, noble deputies one by one said they would give up their feudal rights
 * Feudalism was dead
 * The Assembly then issued "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen"
 * all men were free and equal in rights
 * should have right to speak and write freely
 * banned torture
 * changed laws of arrest and imprisonment
 * power in France belonged to the entire people, not just King


 * The Women March to Versailles **
 * Louis XVI refused to sign the decisions of the Assembly, so they could not become law
 * He brought more soldiers to Versailles to add to his body guard, but again it looked like he was going to break up the Assembly by force
 * When the news reached Paris, a bunch of market women got together and marched through the city to gather weapons
 * October 5th they marched to Versailles with weapons to protest, supported by National Guardsmen
 * Complained to Louis about high bread price and the extra soldiers in Versailles
 * Asked Louis to leave Versailles and live with them in Paris so they could keep an eye on them
 * At first he did not want to go, but changed his mind when the people smashed into the palace, killed two bodyguards, and threatened to kill the queen
 * Louis, Marie, and their oldest son moved to Paris and lived in the Tuileries Palace in the center of Paris

__** The King and the Assembly, 1789-1792 **__


 * Reforms of the National Assembly **
 * Deputies of National Assembly moved to Paris with the royal family
 * N.A made many new laws to change the way France was governed


 * The Reform of the Church **
 * Most people agreed with these reforms except for the Church reforms
 * Some people thought the Church had too much power, land, and money; and that many of the clergy lived unholy lives
 * But other people like Catholics see no reason to change it
 * Many Catholics protested when the N.A started taking land and money from the church
 * the Civil Constitution of the Clergy reduced the power of the church, and said that priests and bishops must be elected by other public officials
 * And that all clergy had to take an oath to be loyal to France and its laws
 * Over half the clergy refused to take this oath, saying the N.A had no right to interfere with Church affairs
 * The pope supported their protest
 * From then on the Church was divided into
 * those who took oath and supported the revolution
 * those who refused oath and opposed revolution


 * The Flight to Varennes **
 * Louis was unhappy with the Civil Constitution and sided with the priests who refused to take the oath
 * This again made it look like he opposed the revolution
 * People protested at the gates of the Tuileries Palace
 * Louis decided to leave France to get help form the French princes who left France and had built up armies just across the frontier
 * They also hoped for help from Marie Antoinette's brother
 * Wanted to invade France and take back their power
 * Escape was hard because there were guards at every gate of the palace to make sure they can't escape
 * They tried to sneak out one night but when they were almost to the frontier they were recognized and arrested at Varennes and was sent back to Paris


 * The Road to War **
 * The flight to Varennes was the first step of the road to war
 * Emperor Leopold promised to help Louis and Antoinette regain their liberty and power
 * Leopold called on all European kings to help Louis
 * Leopold had no intention of attacking France, he just wanted to support his sister and a fellow monarch
 * But people in France didn't know that and thought they would invade soon
 * Most people were convinced that war was inevitable
 * Louis wanted war because he believed the French armies would lose
 * People who opposed Louis wanted war also because they wanted to see whose side he was on
 * If he takes side of the invaders then they can de-throne him and make France a Republic

// -Why was it women who marched to Versailles to protest? // // -The couple times when Louis added soldiers to Versailles, was he actually trying to break up the Assembly like the people thought? //
 * // Questions //**

// This section of the chapter talks about the great changes brought to the French society and other countries during 1789-1794. The Revolution began in Versailles in 1789 with the National Assembly. Louis sent troops to Paris to keep order. People suspected the troops were going to break up the Assembly, and fear grew when Louis replaced the popular finance minister with one who opposed the third estate. People everywhere looked stole thousands of guns. Then there was a rumor that there was gunpowder at Bastille. The Parisians hated Bastille because it was where the prisoners were brought to and tortured. They also thought it was a symbol of the king’s power. They broke into Bastille and destroyed everything, then took control of it. The king begins to lose control, and allowed Paris to have their own military and they created their own local government. Other towns and cities followed their example. Violence spread to the countryside, and farmers feared gangs of wanderers who stole their food and damaged their farms. This was the “Great Fear”. To stop the violence, Noble deputies gave up feudal rights and dues, and they issued a “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen”. Feudalism was dead. Louis disliked the decisions, and it looked like he was going to break up the Assembly when he sent troops to Versailles. Women armed with weapons marched to Versailles to protests. They forced the king to move to Paris where they can keep an eye on his actions. The National Assembly also moved to Paris, and made new laws over the next 2 years, changing the way France was run. Catholics were unhappy with the laws that reduced the power of the Church. Soon, the entire nation was divided by the question of the Church and its power. Louis XVI decided to leave France to get help and take back his power. He tried to escape, but was recognized, arrested, and sent back to Paris. This escape was the first step onto the road to war. //
 * // Summary //**