TOPIC - FRENCH REVOLUTION

SUBJECT - HISTORY

CLASS - IX A

ROLL NO. - 9

TEACHER - MISS. SONA SINGH

BY ANSHUMAN SHARMA

The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period of political and social upheaval in the history of France just a few years after the American revolution. This period saw the end of the monarchy in France

One of the Revolution's most well-known events was the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789.

The Bastille was a castle where the royal family locked up those who did not obey them, often sentencing them to death .During French Revolution the France was divided into three classes called estates. Bastille was destroyed by the third estate, the lowest class in France. They set prisoners free , then they destroyed the building. Later they built a bridge from the bricks of the Bastille.

The third estate revolted because of the unfair social division. France was divided into three estates. The first was the Clergy, the second was the nobles and the third estate were of commons. The first estate contained the priest who governs the church . The second estate contained the noblemen also known as aristocrats. There were also the kings and the queens in this estate. Both these estates were very rich. The third estate was very poor, they contained the businessmen, court officials , artisans, peasants, workers, servants, and landless labour etc. They were given very less wages , that is also on irregular basis , then also they had to pay heavy taxes whereas the first and the second estate which were very rich were free from this burden.

Clergy

Nobles

Commons

First estate

Second estate

Third estate

LouisXVI of France LouisXVI was born on 23 August 1754. He was a member of a

bourbon family. Louis XVI was born to Louis-Ferdinand . Dauphin of France and grandson of Louis XV and his wife,

Marie-Josephe of Saxony, in 1754. His father died early when LOUIS was a child. LouisXVI was became the dauphin of

France . His parents were upset with him. His brother died at age of ten. His parents turned against him this made him shy.

When he was fifteen he married with Marie Antoinette. She was Austrian princess. At first, he was very popular but in

late 1780s he was hated by everybody, he had a very hesitant nature. Louis and his family attempted to flee in 1791.they were found near a small village near Paris. The National Convention arrested him and filed a case against

him . He was executed on January 21, 1793 by the guillotine.

In 1774,LouisXVI became the king of France. He supported the thirteen colonies of America to get there

freedom from the common enemy British. After the war France was in

great debt therefore LouisXVI had to increase the taxes of France to meet

the regular expanses of France such as the cost of maintaining army, the court, running government & universities. So he called for a meeting of the Estates-General, which was an assembly made up of people from all three estates. It

had not met since 1614. Louis XVI tried to make the first and second estates

pay taxes, but they refused. The third estate wanted more votes in the

Estates-General, since they were 98 percent of the people, but the king

refused. The third estate then called itself the "National Assembly".

Representatives from the national Assembly began work on a new constitution. After this, the king banned the third estate from the

Estates-General.

LouisXVIQueen Marie Antoinette of

France

Marie-Antoinette is taken to

execution, 1793,

Execution of Marie-Antoinette,

16th October 1793

At first this led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789. It was written by a young noble

named Marquis de Lafayette, who fought in the American Revolution. The Declaration was the start of a constitutional change that made

France a republic. The French Republic was supposedly based on the

slogan of 'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity', which meant that

everyone was supposed to be free, equal and across all countries be

considered the same, like brothers. But the leaders soon turned it into a Reign of Terror, where up to 40,000 people were put to death, including

Austrian-born Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI. The people that

were killed were people that supported the king, mainly from the first and second estates. They were

beheaded with guillotines during this change. The revolutionaries even tried to make a new religion and a

new calendar. The French revolution ended the monarchy in France, also

known as 'l‘ Ancien Régime', forever. However, before long

Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France and ended the

Republic..

NAPOLEAN BONAPARTENapoleon Bonaparte was born on 15

August 1769 in Corsica

He was a military and political leader who had a

significant impact on modern European history. He was a general during the French

Revolution.

He was a ruler of France as First Consul of the French Republic, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. trained in mainland France as an artillery officer, he rose to prominence as a general of the French Revolution, leading several successful campaigns against the First Coalition and the Second Coalition arrayed against France. In 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d'état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later he became Emperor of the French. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, he turned the armies of France against almost every major European power, dominating continental Europe through a lengthy streak of military victories—epitomized through battles such as Austerlitz and Fried land—and the formation of extensive alliance systems, appointing close friends and family members as monarchs and government figures of French-dominated states.

The disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon's fortunes .In October 1813, the In October 1813, the

Sixth Coalition Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at defeated his forces at Leipzig and invaded Leipzig and invaded

France, forcing him to France, forcing him to abdicate in April 1814 abdicate in April 1814 and exiling him to the and exiling him to the

island of Elba. Less island of Elba. Less than a year later, he than a year later, he

returned to France and returned to France and regained control of the regained control of the

government in the government in the Hundred Days prior to Hundred Days prior to

his final defeat at his final defeat at Waterloo in June 1815. Waterloo in June 1815.

Napoleon spent the Napoleon spent the last six years of his life last six years of his life

under British under British supervision on the supervision on the

island of Saintisland of Saint Helena. Helena.

WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTIONFrom the very beginning of the French revolution woman played an active role

in so many changes brought. Women hoped that their involvement would

pressurized the revolutionary government to introduce measures to

improve their lives. Most of the women of the third estate had to work hard to earn a living. Most of the women did not have access to education or job training. The daughters of the noble families were able to go to a convent

school. The wages of the women of the third estate were given less wages than men. To discuss & voice their interests women opened their own clubs about 60 clubs opened in different French

cities. THE SOCIETY OF REVOLUTIONARY & REPUBLICAN WOMEN were the

famous clubs. One of the most brave and revolutionary woman was Olympe

de gouges.