The French Revolution

Causes of the Revolution

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How did the French Revolution lay the
foundations for modern democracies?
• Towards the end of the 18th century, the
people in France overthrew their government
in a major revolution
• The people called for “liberty, equality and
fraternity’
• The monarchy (Ancient Regime) was
dethroned; a different type of government was
established (Republic)

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• People were made aware of the need for
democracy
• Showed that people would not accept a
government that kept them in poverty and
without the opportunity to improve their lives
• It was an example of how people managed to
overturn a powerful government, and tried to
replace it with a better one, so that they could
be free, equal and share a sense of unity and
brotherhood with other people in their country

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 France- 1789 - What is a revolution?
• A time when great or dramatic changes happen
• Political revolution means a total change in the
system of government
• Dissatisfied people can see no other way of
bringing about change & therefore they rise up &
overthrow the leaders of their country
• They form a new government & bring in a new
system of ruling

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 Watch this!
Click on the link OR Copy and
paste the link into your Web OR Scan the QR Code to view
Browser. the video on your device.
• Watch the 6-minute video clip
to get a better understanding
of the period.
• What caused the French
Revolution? - Tom
Mullaney:
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=PBn7iWzrKoI

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The conditions in France that made a revolution
possible in 1789?

• It started because there were many things about

the political system and social structure that
people in France did not like
• France had economic problems, they were
bankrupt
• They were influenced by the spread of new
ideas about freedom and equality and ideas
about how countries should be governed
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1. The Political System
• In 1789 France was an absolute monarchy
• This meant that a king had total power and the right
to appoint all government ministers, and make all
decisions and laws
• In theory there was a form of parliament, the
Estates General, which consisted of elected
representatives (but the Estates General had not
met for 175 years)
• He ruled by making decrees (whatever he said was
law)
• He could even put people in jail without a trial
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• Louis XVI was king in
1789
• Inherited his position
from his grandfather
• They believed in the
Divine Right of Kings
• He was not a good
leader
• Educated people in
France began to
question the system of
absolute monarchy 8
KEY QUESTION: WHAT CAUSED THE OUTBREAK OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION?
SOURCE-BASED ACTIVITY:
SOURCE 3A: This source highlights the French Kings’ views of their political
power in France.
King Louis XIV (1643 – 1715): “I am the state”
King Louis XV (1715 – 1774): “We hold our crown from God alone”
King Louis XVI (1774 – 1792): “The power to make laws belongs
only to me”
These are statements made by French kings. France was an
absolute monarchy. This meant that the king had the right to make
all appointments, all decisions and all laws. He also had the right to
call meetings of the Estates General, the representative body of all
the people in France. However, this had not happened for 175 years.
It was only when France was facing a major financial crisis in 1789
that the king, Louis XVI summoned (called for a meeting of) the
Estates General.
Taken from: Nathan Barber, Peterson’s AP European History, 2006
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 Questions Tips and Hints
Read the source with understanding.
Read the caption/contextualisation of the source, it explains what the source is
about.
As you read, highlight concepts / terms e.g. absolute monarchy

3.1.2 Who, according to • According to the source:

the source, gives the you MUST use the
king the authority of information from the
source to answer the
rule? (1x2) (2) question
3.1.3 Within the context • Any concept that you will
of the source, define the be asked to define must be
concept, absolute done so within the context
monarch. (1x2) (2) of the topic you are
focusing on
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 2. The Economic Situation
• France’s economy was in a bad
state
• The country was in debt,
because France had been
involved in a number of wars
during the 18th century
• The government had borrowed
large sums of money to pay for
food, weapons and wages for
the army
• The lifestyle of the king, his
family and the royal officials also
cost a great deal
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•The government did not collect enough
money in taxes to pay for all of this
•Those with wealth- the nobles and the
church- did not have to pay taxes
•Taxes were paid by the middle classes and
the peasants, many of whom were
desperately poor
•The whole tax system needed to be
reformed (changed)
•On the eve of the revolution France was
bankrupt
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 3. The Social Structure
• French population was divided
into three groups or social classes
called “estates”
• First Estate was the clergy: people
who worked for the Roman
Catholic Church, main religion in
France
• Church owned a great deal of land
• Many of the high officials in the
Church were very wealthy
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• The nobles formed the
Second Estate
• Inherited their titles &
many special rights &
privileges
• Owned large pieces of
land
• Nobles held all the main
positions in the church,
the army and the
government

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•The rest of the people-98% of the
population- formed the Third Estate
•The bourgeoisie (middle class); peasants
+ urban workers; serfs
•They paid all the taxes
•They felt that it was their labour which
was supporting the whole system
•By 1789 they were very critical of the
privileges of the two upper estates
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The bourgeoisie, the business people like shopkeepers and
professional people like doctors or lawyers

Lived in the towns

Generally they were well-educated, and some were

wealthy

Although many of them were best qualified to play

leading roles in the state, positions of power were nearly
always went to the nobles
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 The Middle Class was frustrated…

• The middle class was frustrated by the lack of

opportunity and lack of political power
• They wanted the system to be based on merit
• They also criticised the lack of freedom of
speech
• & the laws which restricted trade
• There were many customs duties (taxes on
good coming into or going out of the country)

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•Criticism of the king or the Church
was not allowed
•The middle classes disliked the fact
that the law did not treat everyone as
equal
•Members of the Third Estate could be
sentenced to more cruel forms of
punishment than the other two
estates
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 The urban workers were
frustrated…

• France at that stage did not have many industries or

factories, so they were only a small number of
workers in the towns
• They were not well paid, and their living conditions
were poor
• The cost of living was rising, but their wages were
not
• There was growing anger among them about their
living and working conditions 19
 The Peasants were frustrated…
• Peasant farmers made up the largest section of the
population
• Some of them owned small farms, but most worked on
land owned by the Church and the nobles
• Most peasants were extremely poor, especially in years of
bad harvests
• In spite of their poverty, they paid most of the taxes in
France
• Historians have estimated that some of them paid up to
80% of their earnings in taxes
• Paid taxes to the government, to the Church & to their
landlords
• By 1789, many peasants were desperate
• Ready to take action to bring about change 20
Pre Revolution

A peasant family
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KEY QUESTION: WHAT CAUSED THE OUTBREAK OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION?
Source 3B : A French political cartoon, from 1789 captioned "You should hope
that this game will be over soon”. This picture shows a peasant carrying a
clergyman and a noble (this did not literally (really) happen.

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 Questions Tips and Hints
Have you read the caption/contextualisation of the source?
Have you studied the visual source?
3.2.2 What is the Message: interpret and
cartoonist’s message explain the message that the
regarding the social creator is trying to expose.
causes of the French • In the case of a visual
Revolution as source, you will have to
depicted in the explain what you see in the
source? (2x2) (4) picture – literal meaning, as
well as the symbolic
meaning of what you see –
the figurative meaning. 23
 4. • For centuries , people in Europe had
accepted the authority of the church
The • This idea of authority was known as
Spread of the “Divine Right of Kings”
New Ideas • 18th century philosophers began to
question these ideas
• Urged people to use reason and
science to think critically instead: Age
of Enlightenment
• Many of the philosophers were
critical of the government & social
structure in France
• Educated people began to follow
their ideas & read their books
• Possibility of change became possible
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 The Philosophers
• Criticised the church for being corrupt and
worldly
• Believed in freedom of speech
• Stressed the need for a parliament elected
by the people, independent judges
• Were imprisoned in the Bastille or went
into exile
• Their books were widely read
• Gave people access to new ideas –people
began to form their own opinions
• Regarded as a long term cause of the 25

revolution because many died before the

revolution broke out
 Jean Jacques Rousseau

• Was philosopher who had the most

influence
• Believed in the equality of all people
• That rulers were not chosen by God
• This is the basis for modern day
democracy
• His ideas were popular
• Liberty, Equality, & Fraternity the
slogan of the French Revolution, was
inspired by the writings of Rousseau
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KEY QUESTION: WHAT CAUSED THE OUTBREAK OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION?
Source 3C : This is an extract of a philosopher’s work. The Social Contract, by
Jean Jacques Rousseau. It was published in 1762 and was later banned by the
government
MAN is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself
the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they. How
did this change come about? I do not know. What can make it
legitimate (legal)? That question I think I can answer.

If I took into account only force, and the effects derived from it, I
should say: "As long as a people is compelled to obey, and obeys, it
does well; as soon as it can shake off the yoke, and shakes it off, it does
still better; for, regaining its liberty by the same right as took it away,
either it is justified in resuming it, or there was no justification for
those who took it away." …Nevertheless, this right does not come
from nature, and must therefore be founded on conventions.
Taken from:
https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/rousseau/soci
al-contract/ch01.htm Date Accessed: 23 February 2020] 27
 Questions Tips and Hints
Have you read the caption/contextualisation of the source?
Have you read the source with understanding?
3.4 Using the • Source Based Paragraph Writing:
information in the • A paragraph question will instruct you to
use the sources, as well as your own
relevant sources and knowledge to write a paragraph.
your own • This means that you read through the
knowledge, write a sources and see what information it gives
paragraph of about you with regards to the question that
EIGHT lines (about needs to be answered.
80 words) • The ‘own knowledge’ should be used to
help you elaborate on the information
examining the that the source gives.
causes of the French • Remember to only write ONE paragraph.
Revolution. (8) 28
 • New ideas about government also
The influence came from America
of the American • 1776 British colonists declared
their independence from Britain
War of • Wanted to be a separate country
Independence free from British control
• France sent soldiers to fight on the
Americans side against the British
• Some of the ideas of the French
philosophers were included in the
American constitution
• French soldiers returned to France
inspired by the ideas of democracy
they had experienced in America

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 Summoning
the Estates
General
• The king’s
advisors decided
that the only
solution to
France’s
(economic)
problems was to
call a meeting of
the Estates
General to try to
raise more taxes
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• The Estates General had not met for 175 years
• Caused a lot of excitement when it was
announced that they would meet in May 1789
• People all over France began to write out
cahiers or lists of their demands to give to their
representatives to take to the Estates general
• Great hopes that changes were about to take
place
• But hopes were dashed when they realised
that the proposed changes would not impact
them positively
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