Global Cultures Unit 8 The French Revolution

Unit 8: The French Revolution: What the French Revolution Involved: ● The French people revolted against a monarchy that taxed them unfairly ● 1789-1799 ○ Began on July 14, 1789 ● Louis XVI was king when it started ● Marie Antoinette was queen during the revolution ● She gossiped and spent money on lavish things ● She was beheaded on October 16, 1793 ● Georges Danton was one of the first leaders of the revolution and is considered a huge help and leader in the war ● Jean-Paul-Marat was a journalist during this period of time ● He helped fight for poor people’s rights ● Olympe de Gouges made political pamphlets and believed that both genders should be treated equally. She was an author and a playwright ● He was president of the national convention ● Started with people storming the Bastille prison ● Ended with general Napoleon in 1799 ● Prior to revolution, french people divided into social classes called estates ● First Estate- church leaders ● Second Estate - nobles ● Third Estate - commoners ● The third estate paid the most taxes while the higher one's got a better quality of life and better treatment ● At the start of the revolution, members of the third estate established the national assembly, an assembly that demanded certain rights from the government ● They took control of the country and changed their name to the National Convention ● September 5th, 1793: Reign of Terror began ● On July 14, 1795, La Marseillaise was selected as the national anthem of France ● On November 9th, 1799, Napoleon formed the French Consulate and took control of the country ● End result was an entire new social structure for France ● Took away feudalism and the French monarchy ● Gave france more liberty and freedom