THE LEGACY OF

FRENCH
REVOLUTION
 INTRODUCTIO
N
1. KING LOUIS XVI – King of France in
1774

2. He helped America gain Independence

from Britain

. WHEN LOUIS BECAME KING,

HE GOT AN EMPTY TREASURE
DIVISION OF FRENCH
SOCIETY
HOW DID THE CHURCH TAKE
TAXES ?
1. The church collected TITHES from 3rd
Estate people.

2. Direct Taxes were called TAILLE.

3. INDIRECT TAXES were levied on

things of use like salt.
SUBSISTENCE CRISIS - FRANCE
 PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ERA

JOHN LOCKE : Two Treatises of Government – speaks against

the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.

JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU : The Social Contract –

Proposed a form of government based on a social contract between
people and their representatives.

MONTESQUIEU : The Spirit of the Laws – Proposed a division

of power within the government between the legislative , the
executive and the judiciary . His idea was based on the American
constitution and its guarantee of individual rights. This model of
government was put into force in the USA , after the thirteen colonies
declared their independence from Britain.
 Calling the Estates General

The King's attempt to

solve the financial
crisis. .
- removing some of the
nobles' tax exemptions.
However, the nobility saw
themselves as special, with
better blood, and entitled to all
of their class privileges
- The Parliament, a judicial organization controlled by the nobility blocked the
King's move
■ He was forced reluctantly to call a meeting of the Estates General in 1788.
 The Tennis Court Oath

20 June, 1789.
- Representatives of the third
estate assembled at the indoor
tennis court in Versailles.

- They declared themselves a

National Assembly. They
gave themselves the power
to pass laws on behalf of the
French people.
 Storming of the Bastille
14 July, 1789
-Due to severe winter,
the harvest was not
good. The price of bread
rose and hoarders
exploited the situation.
There was not enough
supply of their daily
bread. Angry women
stormed into the shops.
 FRANCE ABOLISHES MONARCHY AND
BECOMES A REPUBLIC

On 21 September 1792 it abolished the monarchy and

declared France a republic.

The National Assembly voted to imprison the royal family and extended the
right to vote to all men above the age of 21 years regardless of their
wealth. This newly elected assembly was called the Convention and it
abolished monarchy and France and declared it a republic.

King Louis was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of

treason. On 21 January 1793 he was executed publicly at
the Place de la Concorde.
 THE REIGN OF TERROR
The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre
followed a policy of severe control and punishment. All those whom he saw as
being 'enemies' of the republic - ex-nobles and clergy, members of other political
parties, even members of his own party who did not agree with his methods -
were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal,

Robespierre's government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and

prices. Meat and bread were rationed Peasants were forced to transport their grain to
the cities and sell it at prices fixed by the government The use of more expensive
white flour was forbidden, all citizens were required to eat the pa d'égalité (equality
bread), a loaf made of whole wheat) Equality was also sought to be practiced through
forms of speech and address Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame
(Madam) all French men and women were henceforth Citoyen and Citoyenne
(Citizen). Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or
offices Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters
began to demand moderation. Finally, he was convicted by a court in July 1794,
arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine.
 DID WOMEN HAVE A REVOLUTION?

Women came into the forefront on October 5,

1789, when they marched to Versailles and brought
King Louis the sixteenth back to Paris.The Society
of Revolutionary and Republican Women was
formed in 1793 to voice its opinion and grievances
against the constitution of 1791 which denied them
the right to vote.The eminent writer and political
activist, Olympe de Gouges opposed the
constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man
and Citizen of 1791. She later drafted the
Declaration of Rights for Women and
Citizen.Olympe de Gouges was charged with
treason and was guillotined on November 2,
1793.The revolution carried out by the women of
France triggered the international suffrage
movement, for the next two centuries. As a result of
this movement, in 1946, the women of France won
the right to exercise their franchise and equal
wages.
 THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
The National Convention in France passed a
bill Abolition of Slavery in the French
Revolution on 4 February 1794. However,
Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul,
repealed the law in 1802 as it had no natural
effect. The British prompted European
countries to forbid the slave trade, also known
as people’s trade and shipping, in 1815. The
slave trade continued prudently in Portugal,
Spain, and France.
The slave trade began in the seventeenth
century. French merchants sailed from the ports
of Bordeaux or Namtes to the African
coast,where they bought slaves from local
chieftains.
 CONCLUSION
In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself
Emperor of France. He set out to conquer
neighbouring European countries, dispossessing
dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed
members of his family. Napoleon saw his role as a
moderniser of Europe. He introduced many Laws
such as the protection of private property and a
uniform system of weights and measures provided
by the decimal system. Initially, many saw
Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom
for the people. But soon the Napoleonic armies
came to be viewed everywhere as an invading
force. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
Many of his measures that carried the
revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern laws to
other parts of Europe had an impact on people
long after Napoleon had left.
Thanks!
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