Chapter 5: May-October 1789

• Events of the 4th May 1789?

  The opening of the Estates-General, which was the last great ceremony of the Ancien Regime
• Dress code for the Estates-General?

  The clergy wore red and purple cloaks and the nobility wore gold, whereas the third estate dressed in modest black
• Fleur de lis?

  The royal coat of arms
• What was not addressed in the first weeks of the Estates-General?

  No reform package was proposed, and the method of voting was not clarified
• Why did the third estate representatives refuse to be verified?

  They would have to meet in a separate area to be verified, and they only want to meet as a single unified body
• Sieyes' effect on the Estates-General?

  He argued that the third estate were the nation, and that they should have ultimate authority over France's decisions
• New name for the third estate?

  Sieyes enacted a vote (491-90) to change the third estate's name to the National Assembly on the 17th June 1791. In the following days, most clergy and some liberal nobles joined the National Assembly
• Louis' reform package for the Estates-General?

  Necker prompted Louis to make one. Marie-Antoinette and the comte d'Artois made sure it was not too radical
• What distracted Louis from the Estates-General?

  The death of the Dauphin on 4th June 1789
• Causes of the Tennis Court Oath?

  Louis had closed the meeting room of the National Assembly for renovation on 20th June 1789. The king did not communicate with the National Assembly, so they assumed he was blocking them. This fear was made worse by the guards which Louis had called to Paris
• Bailly?

  An astronomer who became President of the National Assembly and Mayor of Paris. He began to be seen as conservative and he retired after ordering the Champ de Mars massacre. He was executed in 1793 after refusing to testify against Marie-Antoinette
• The Tennis Court Oath?

  The National Assembly refused to disband until France had a new constitution
• Mercenaries?

  Professional soldiers without an allegiance. They fight for money
• Desmoulins?

  A lawyer who was active in politics. He was nicknamed the "Lantern Lawyer" after he announced his support for hanging nobles from lamp-posts. He was a deputy in the National Convention, but he opposed the Terror, and thus was executed
• Royal session of the 23rd June?

  Louis accepted a new land tax, but he didn't recognise the National Assembly and demanded the estates meet separately. The Assembly refused to leave when asked
• Escalation during the days after the June 1789 royal session?

  Desmoulins and other radicals stirred up anger in the Palais-Royal, which caused Louis to summon an extra 4800 troops to Paris
• The king's concessions on the 27th June 1789?

  He recognised the National Assembly and voting by head. This did not heal the rift between Louis and the Assembly, as he continued to send troops in Paris
• How many troops were in Paris by 4th July 1789?

  Just under 30,000
• Bread prices by setier?

  1749 - 18 livres

  1769 - 24 livres

  1789 - 30 livres
• Short-term causes of the storming of the Bastille?

  Necker was dismissed on the 11th July, and by 14th July bread prices had rose to their highest since 1715
• Bastille?

  A Parisian prison that was seen as a symbol of despotism by the working class locals
• How close were Paris and Versailles?

  20km apart
• Population of Paris in 1789?

  Around 600,000
• Common rumours in Paris in 1789?

  There was speculation surrounding grain hoarders and fear about lower wages
• What encouraged Enlightenment thought in Paris in the summer of 1789?

  The cahiers had stirred political passion, and the Palais-Royal offered a venue for political debate
• Electors?

  Third estate property owners who were able to vote for representatives in the Estates-General
• What Parisian institutions were established by electors days prior to the storming of the Bastille?

  The Paris Commune and the National Guard
• The National Guard?

  Established in 1789. It was composed of revolutionary soldiers, and it was run by Lafayette
• Why was the Bastille stormed?

  Parisians felt they needed to arm themselves, so they used the Bastille's gunpowder to make their muskets to work
• What did the king announce on the 17th July 1789?

  He wore a revolutionary cockade, reinstated Necker and recognised the National Assembly, Paris Commune and National Guard
• Les Invalides?

  A retirement home for veterans. It was raided for 32,000 muskets prior to the storming of the Bastille
• How many prisoners were in the Bastille when it was stormed?

  7
• Urban reaction to the Parisian events of July 1789?

  Angry mobs attacked magistrates, and local National Guards were set up
• Provincial reaction to the Parisian events of July 1789?

  Peasants believed that they would imminently become wealthy, and they refused to pay taxes. They tried to destroy their terriers in a naive attempt to rid themselves of their feudal duties
• Beliefs that fuelled the Great Fear?

  Stories circulated of brigands seizing grain from peasants, and nobles invading France from with foreign armies
• Areas of France untouched by the Great Fear?

  Alsace, Lorraine and Brittany
• How did the Assembly try to stop the Great Fear on 4th August 1789?

  They abolished feudalism. The Assembly hoped this would mean the peasants would resume paying their taxes
• Details of the abolition of feudalism?

  Feudal dues, hunting privileges, seigneurial courts, tithes, venality and provincial privileges were all abolished and everyone was eligible for ecclesiastical and military positions and had to pay the same taxes
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizens?

  An outline for a new constitution finalised on 26th August 1789. It highlighted Enlightenment ideas around the social contract and separation of powers
• Louis' response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen?

  He refused to accept it, which harmed his reputation. He made this decision partly due to familial pressure, but also because he hoped revolutionary factions would destroy the new government