French+Revolution+and+Napoleon

** 1790-1812 ** ** Kaylee, Eliza, Hannah **

The year 1789 began with a new nation called the United States of America and the French Revolution. The French Revolution was the most violent rebellion Europe had seen so far and was based on the fight for the rights of French society. Society during this time was divided into three catergories, or estates. The First Estate was only about 130,000 people. It consisted of the clergy, who were excempt from taille, or tax. The Second Estate consisted of the nobles. They played an important role in society since they held many leading positions in the government, military, law courts, and higher church offices. The last state, or the Third State were the commoners and made up the majority of France. The Third Estate included a wide variety of groups from financially stable to the poor. These groups were unhappy with the privileges the nobles had but they also shared a great deal with the nobles as well. Both groups were extremely upset with the monarch system and eventually this led to a drastic attempt to destroy the monarch. With the revolution starting the destruction of the Old Regime had also begun to unveil. On August 26, 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was established. The document went on to proclaim freedom and equal rights for all men. The National Assembly also set up the Constitution of 1791, which limited monarchy. With all the change happening European leaders began to fear that the changes would also spread to their countries. This led to a war with Austria. France was defeated early in the fighting.

After defeats in war and economic struggles the Paris Commune came into power. They had forced the Legislative Assembly to call a National Convention. Led by the minister of justice, Georges Danton, the sans-culottes sought revenge on the citizens who had followed the king. Many were arrested and massacred during this time. Disputes started to surface with the rise of crisis in 1792 and 1793. The National Convention gave broad powrs to a committee of 12 known as the Committee of Public Safety to try and get France back on track. This committe was lead by Maximilian Robespierre. He began what is known as the Reign of Terror. His committee had complete control and was taking over France. Close to 40000 were killed during the Reign of Terror, including the once queen Marie Antoinette. Along with the terror, the Committee of Public Safety took other steps to call order to France. They set up limited prices on goods and had begun to send out agents of the central government. The Reign of Terror continued until the death of Robespierre in 1794. With the end of terror, and executive committee came into power called the Directory. But in 1799, the Directory came to an end with a sudden overthrow in government led by Napolean Bonaparte. Napolean had seized power.

Napoleaqn was born in Corsica and had been destined for success from the very start. Throughout his teen and young adult years he rose quickly in the ranks of the French army. At the age of 24 he had already been named a general in the army. He took part in the overthow of government in Paris and recieved absolute power. Two years after the end of the previous government Napolean crowned himself the Emperor Napolean the First. His first move as emperor was to establish peace with the Catholic Church.In 1801 he made an agreement with the pope. The agreement recongnized the Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the French people. This made the Catholic Church an enemy no longer. Napolean also developed a centralized and powerfull administrative machine. He established a bureacracy of capable officials. He based his promotions of officials and also military on ability only which was what the middle class had wanted before the revolution. Napoleans also began conquests with his new changes beginning. He won over a grand empire and became known as the master of Europe. But Napolean's empire collasped as quickly as it had rose.This was due to Britain and nationalism. It started with a defeat in Russia and ended with Battle at Waterloo where France suffered a defeat against the British and Prussian armies. Napoleans reign officially came to an end in 1815. __**Terms:**__  Estate: The population of France was at 27 million and was divided into three different orders. Bougeoisie: The middle class, was another part of the Third Estate. It included an eight percent of the population or 2.3 million people. Faction: They were dissenting groups. The National COnvention spilt into two different groups. Elector: Had to be owners or renters of property worth a certian amount. They decided who the 750 members of the Legislative Body. Consulate: A new goverement. It was a republic that was proclaimed as the new goverment by Napolean. Nationalism: Unique cultural identity of a people based on common language, religion, and national symbols. Coup D'etat: A sudden overthrow of the goverment, led by Napolean Bonaparte and threw over the goverement and he became in charge. Relics of Feudalism: Aristocratic privileges, obligations that survived from an earlier. They included the payment of the fees. Sans-Culottes: Members of the Paris Commune during the French Revolution. They were ordinary partriots without fine clothes.

Historic Quote: "I killed one man to save 100,000." -Charlotte Corday
media type="custom" key="12312218" media type="custom" key="12312476" __**Timeline:**__ 1789: French Revolution begans 1791: Olympe de Gouges writes the declaration of rights for women 1792: National Convention establishes French Republic 1793: King Loius XVI is excuted 1799: Napoleon participates in coup d;etat that topples the French goverment 1801: Napoleon reaches agreement with the pope 1802: Napoleon made consul for life 1804: Naoleon is crowned the emperor 1805: British defeat French and Spanish at Trafalgar 1812: Napoleon invades Russia 1815: Duke of Wellington and his army defeat Napoleon at Waerloo



10 Most Important People:

 * 1) **__Maximilien Robespierre:__** Was a Extreme Revolutionary and gave many speeches before he shot himself in the jwa in a suicide attempt and was soon after guillotined by the revolutionaries that once followed him.
 * 2) __**Georges Danton:**__ Another Exreme revolutionary that also gave many speeches like robespierre but connected better with the people of France and did not meet as violent of a death as Robespierre.
 * 3) __**Charlotte Corday:**__ Stabbed Jean Paul Marat while he was recieveing his daily treatment for a rare skin condition, he was found in his bath tub. Corday then said,"I killed one man to save 100,000."
 * 4) **__Mary Antoinette:__** Also known as "Madame Deficit", spent her reign buying elegant dresses by the dozens and caring more about her extreme and elaborate hairstyles they the condition of her people.
 * 5) **__King Louis XVI:__** Was young and immature when crowned and like his wife extremely spoiled and went bankrupt quickly they then compensated for this by increasing taxes on the already poor peasants of France.
 * 6) **__Jean Paul Marat:__** Also known as "Friend of the People", was the leader of the Jacobins (the nickname for French Revolutionaries) and was later stabbed to death be Charlotte Corday.
 * 7) **__Napoleon Bonaparte:__** Took control of France as a dictator and crowned himself Emperor, his empire expanded to cover most of Europe and he achieved many things during this era including establishing the Napoleonic Code.
 * 8) **__Arthur Wellesely:__** The Duke of Wellington during Joseph Bonaparte's reign and drove the french out of Spain.
 * 9) **__General Lafayette:__** Was a good leader and lead the National Guard in France, this was also known as the People's Army.
 * 10) **__Joseph Bonaparte:__** King of Spain in 1808, Napoleon's brother was hated by the Spanish and was said to be just as spoiled as his Napoleon who ruled from 1805-1815.



For More Information: [|The French Revolution] -Another great cite for learning more about the French Revolution. [|Napoleon] -This cite contains some more information and articles onthe achievements of Napoleon. [|Mary Antoinette Biography] -This cite is one long biography about Mary Antoinette and her life. [|Maximilien Robespierre] - About the effect he had on the French Revolution. [|Georges Danton] -About the effect that Danton had on the French Revolution and a biography. [|The Declaration of the Rights of Man] -About the Declaration and an further explanation of its amendments. [|General Lafayette] -A biography of the general's life and the impact his leadership had on the war. [|Guillotine] -About why the guillotine was created and why. [|The French Revolution for kids] - Uses games and puzzles to help kids learn about the French Revolution.