CH 1 FRENCH REVOLUTION

• French Revolution started in 1789 in Paris, with people gathering and breaking down government buildings in search of arms
• The Bastille was hated as a symbol of the despotic power of the king
• Rumours of the King opening fire led to the armed fight where the commander of the Bastille was killed and prisoners were released
• French society in the late 18th century was divided into three estates: clergy, nobility, and the third estate dominated by peasants
• Peasants faced high bread prices due to food scarcity and low wages, leading to revolts
• A growing middle class emerged, including professions like lawyers and administrative officials, who believed in merit-based social positions
• Rousseau proposed a social contract between people and their representatives, while Montesquieu suggested a division of power within the government
• Louis XVI called for an assembly to pass new taxes, leading to the formation of the National Assembly
• The National Assembly abolished the feudal system and confiscated lands owned by the Church
• France became a constitutional monarchy in 1791 with limited powers for the monarch
• The Reign of Terror from 1793 to 1794 saw the execution of enemies of the republic, including Louis XVI
• The fall of the Jacobin government led to the rise of the Directory, paving the way for Napoleon Bonaparte's dictatorship
• Women played an active role in the revolution, demanding equal political rights and improvements in their lives
• The Jacobin regime abolished slavery in the French colonies in 1794, but Napoleon reintroduced it after ten years
• Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804, introducing laws like the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures
• The French Revolution's legacy included ideas of liberty and democratic rights, influencing colonised peoples to strive for sovereign nation-states