Table of Contents

What's Revolution?...... 4

Who Are the French??. 6

Quick Summary........... 8

Setting..........................

Key Players..................

Cause of Conflict.........

Conflict.........................

Resolutions/Effects.....

Glossary (defines the bold words)... 

What IS Revolution?

    Revolution can be described as a defiance to political authority in attempt to overthrow it. In simpler terms, it means to go against one's leader in hopes of a different leadership, or none at all, taking its place. Humans have rebelled in many different places throughout history.

   You may be wondering, "why would anyone want to do that?" There are several answers, actually, and we will have a closer look at them when we investigate the causes of conflict.

Based on the art in this image, how do you think the people on the 'bottom' felt about those above them? Why might they want to rebel?

Who Are the French??

    France is a country, a large body of land ruled by a distinct entity. The world is divided into countries, and many of them have been present throughout the past hundreds of years of human history such as England, Germany, or Austria. France also is one of these, The term "French" refers to people who are from France.

    France is located in Europe, which is a continent. Continents are large bodies of land that group the countries into general regions. Europe is located on the top left of the larger body of solid land, and France is located on the far left, a little behind the left-most body of land.

This is a map of France, and on the bottom left of the image is where it is located in proportion with the rest of Europe.

Quick Summary

The French Revolution was a violent release of pent up resentment between the socially elite and the common people (middle-to-lower class citizens who made up a majority of the population in early Europe) who suffered financially due primarily to heavy taxation. It started out relatively peaceful with attempts to reform the government through assemblies, but eventually broke out into violent conflict. A new constitution was formed but proved ineffective, causing the king to fall out of power and a new radical group to rule by instilling fear mainly through military enforcement during the Reign of Terror. This period ended with the execution of Maximilien Robespierre, marking the end of the revolution and leaving France in a vulnerable political state.

The storming of the Bastille is one of the most major points of the French Revolution, as the Bastille represented the idea of a powerful, suppressive government for many.

Setting

The French Revolution takes place in France and started in 1789, and it lasted for ten years. King Louis XIV was the ruler of France at the time- he had complete power over much of the French population, as did the church and nobility.  France had just finished several fights with other countries, and because of the high cost of weaponry and expendable troops, was in financial shambles. 'Enlightenment', which was a wave of new thinking that spread across Europe, was in the air as more and more people began developing ideas of bringing change to the 'all-powerful king' government that was in place.

Key Players

The ‘Ancien Regime’ in France split all French citizens into three different estates. The first and second held the most control in government:

- The First Estate consists of the French clergy, and were the highest ranking estate of France.

- The Second Estate Estate is comprised of the monarchy and nobility of France.

- The Third Estate  is the lowest socially ranked and majority of france. It consisted of middle class to common people who were often in poverty

- Louis XIV was the king of France during the time of the French Revolution. Not many people liked him as a leader primarily because of the issues that France was facing regarding money at the time. Later on, he resisted political reform and was eventually executed by a guillotine for his wrongdoings of his people during the Reign of Terror.

- Abbe Sieyes was a member of the French clergy who believed that a revolt against the monarchy was necessary. In 1789, he released a pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate?’ where he claimed that France could be governed by only the Third state without help from the other two, furthermore calling them “dead weight”. He is one great example of the many great minds who published works that influenced the ideas and overall shape that the revolution took.

Maximillien Robespierre was the head of the National Convention who believed in an extreme reform of France. As head of the governing assembly after the king had fallen out of power, Maximillien aimed to rule by instilling fear into the people. Many were arrested without proper hearings on mere suspicion, and some were even executed (most infamously Marie Antoinette). He was arrested and executed during what was called the Thermidorian Reaction.