The French Revolution

The French Revolution Background: Louis XIV , King of France 1638-1715 Louis XIV was a great monarch, and he was capable of maintaining a strong kingdom because he never, in his entire life, doubted his right to be king. “L’ Etat c’est moi.” “I am the state.” Louis XIV of France ranks as one of the most remarkable monarchs in history. He reigned for 72 years. 54 of them he personally controlled French government. The 17th century is labeled as the age of Louis XIV. Since then, his rule has been hailed as the supreme example of a type of government – an absolute monarchy. During his reign France stabilized and became one of the strongest powers in Europe. His autocracy was indeed amazing, and truly an example of the kind. He lived and ruled as a king should have. Louis XIV became the ideal king, and many have tried unsuccessfully to live up to his glory. Versailles, The Palace (pronounced “ver-sai”) • Versailles was Louis XIV’s home. • It was built on the site of an old hunting lodge. • It is 12.5 miles south of Paris. • It was built out in the open countryside to show that the king of France needed neither walls nor moats to ensure his safety. • Louis XIV spent the equivalent of about a billion dollars, but the costs did not really matter, for Versailles symbolized the greatness of the King. • Versailles served as a dazzling and awe-inspiring setting for state affairs and for the reception of foreign dignitaries. The attention was not shared with the capital and the people of Paris, but was assumed solely by the person of the king. Three avenues converge on this palace, the middle one from Paris. Their axes intersect at the king's bedroom. While this may seem to be an eccentric idea, it illustrates Louis XIV's egocentricity and symbolically asserts his absolute power. His bedroom was also an audience chamber. The main palace was built from 1660-85. 36,000 workmen were employed to build the palace. In 1677 Louis XIV moved the court here. Le Petit Trianon, built from 1762 - 1768 Notes: Background for the French Revolution • Louis XIV was the best example of an absolute monarch. • He ruled France for 72 years, and for 54 of them he controlled everything. • He built the Palace of Versailles, and required all his nobles to live there. (43 words) Louis XVI Great-Great- Great Grandson of Louis XIV Ruled from 1774 - 1792 During the 1600s and up through Louis XIV’s reign, France was a divine-right monarchy. French society was divided into three estates, or classes. The First estate was the clergy. Although they made up less than 1 percent of the people, they owned 10 percent of the land. They were not only exempt, or free, from taxes, but they also received income from church lands. Church income was not divided evenly, however. Most went to high church officials, who were generally nobles. They wore robes of purple and scarlet velvet, trimmed with lace. On the other hand, parish priests lived simply and served people’s religious needs. The Second estate was the nobility. They made up about 2 percent of the people, and owned large areas of land. Nobles, too, were free from taxes. They lived off grants from the royal treasury and rents paid by the peasants. Some nobles spent their time at the royal court in Versailles, dancing, hunting and gambling. Others filled the highest posts in the government and the army. The Third Estate was everyone else in France. At the top of this class was the bourgeoisie – bankers, merchants, lawyers, doctors, manufacturers and teachers. Next were the city workers – artisans, day laborers and servants. At the bottom were the peasants, who made up more than 80% of France’s population. Members of the Third Estate had no power in the government. Yet, they paid the country’s taxes. They paid taxes on income, personal property, land, and crops. They paid sales taxes on salt, tobacco, and wine. Parents even paid a tax when a child was born. In addition, the peasants still paid feudal dues. Population Percentage First Estate - Clergy Second Estate - Nobles Third Estate - Bourgeoisie Third Estate -Peasants 1st. What is the third estate? Everything. 2nd. What has it been heretofore in the political order? Nothing. 3rd. What does it demand? To become something therein. Abbé Sieyès, What is the Third Estate? (1789) Notes: Background to the French Revolution: • 1600 – 1700: France was a divine right monarchy. • Society was divided into three estates (classes) – the clergy (1st estate), nobility (2nd estate) and everyone else (3rd Estate). • Only the 3rd Estate paid taxes, but they had no power in government. By the 1780s, the French government was in trouble. The major problem facing the French government was a lack of money. The French government had given so much help to the colonies during the American Revolution that it was almost bankrupt. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette added to the problem by spending money on jewels, hunting parties, horse races and balls. In fact, Queen Marie- Antoinette spent so much that France’s deficit, or shortage of money, increased. Marie Antoinette became known as “Madame Deficit” due to her spend-thrift ways. Portrait by Josef Hauzinger, 1775-'77 Marie Antoinette en chemise by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1783). In order to solve the country’s financial problems, the king wanted the clergy and the nobles to pay taxes. They, however, had not ever paid taxes and saw no reason to start. Finally, in 1788, Louis XVI called a meeting of the French legislature, the Estates-General, to help decide how to raise money. It was the first time that the legislature had met since 1614. In the past, each of the estates had met separately, with each casting one vote. What is the problem with this? The Third Estate wanted a bigger voice in government. The members of the Third Estate wanted the Estates-General to meet as a single body with each representative having a vote. They also wanted to have the same number of representatives as the other two estates together. In May 1789, the Estates-General met. The Third Estate was granted more representatives, but the other two estates refused to meet with it. So, the Third Estate and a small number of parish priests and nobles met as a separate body. They called themselves the National Assembly. The meeting of the Estates General May 5, 1789 in the Grands Salles des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles. When Louis XVI threatened to break up the National Assembly, its members swore not to do so until they had written a constitution for France. At last, the king gave in and ordered the First and Second Estates to meet with the National Assembly. Meanwhile, a series of uprisings took place throughout most of France. When the Estates-General was called to meet, most French people had high hopes for change. Before long, however, they began to fear that nothing would improve. The fall harvests had been poor, and food was scarce and expensive. A loaf a bread cost more than a day’s pay. The winter was so cold that water froze in front of fireplaces. Hundreds of thousands of city workers were unemployed. Peasants could only afford bread made of grain so coarsely ground that pieces of straw stuck in the loaf. The nobility, however, had no such problems. It was not unusual for the nobility to have 10 course meals. In addition, the presentation of the food was just as important as the taste and the quality of the ingredients. Many dishes had exotic foods and spices, such as kumquat fruit and yellow saffron. Notes: Causes behind the French Revolution • 1780’s:The French government was in debt, due to the aid they had provided the Americans for the American Revolution • 1788: Louis XVI wanted both the 1st and 2nd Estates to pay taxes • The 3rd Estate wanted a bigger voice in government. • 1789: The 3rd Estate was granted more representatives, but the other two estates refused to meet with them. • Food was expensive and scarce (due to poor harvests) • Thousands of city workers were unemployed. In Paris, mobs began to form. On July 14, 1789, a mob in search of weapons attacked and captured the Bastille. This was an old fort used as a prison. To the mob, it was a symbol of the unjust use of power of the monarchy. The mob then killed the mayor of Paris and set up a new city government. News of what happened in Paris spread. In the countryside, there were rumors that the nobles were planning to hire brigands to destroy the peasants’ homes and crops. So the peasants attacked and burned the houses of the nobles, and destroyed all records of feudal dues. The uprisings caused the National Assembly to act. To calm the people, it did away with the privileges of the clergy and nobles. Sketch by Jacques-Louis David, 1791 On August 27, 1789, the Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. It said that people “are born equal and remain free and equal in rights”. It said that the government’s right to rule came from the people, not from the Crown. It gave everyone the freedom of speech and the right to share in government. The ideas of equal rights and individual freedoms came mostly from the Enlightenment philosophers (Rousseau) and the Glorious and the American Revolutions.

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