French Revolution/Napoleonic Era
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eangelicchio94 on May 20, 2010
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51 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ancien Régime | the term used to refer to France and its government before the Revolution; also "the Old Regime" |
| Three Estates | the three societal bodies that split the population (king owned 60% of land) |
| Estates General | assembly of representatives from all three Estates to approve taxation on nobles imposed by King Louis XVI because of the debt he got France in. |
| Louis XVI | ruler during the "Ancien Regime," incompetent, indecisive ruler who spent money extravagantly, ignored his government advisers and didn't take time for the particulars of governing the country. |
| Marie Antoinette | the royal wife of Louis XVI, she was despised by the French people because she was from enemy Austria and often advised Louis XVI badly |
| National Assembly | Third-Estate delegates would pass laws and reforms in the name of the French people; moving towards equality and revolution |
| Tennis Court Oath | the Third-Estate delegates were locked out of a meeting at Versailles and pledged to stay in the indoor tennis house until a new constitution was written; nobles and clergy who wanted reform soon joined them and it was a great symbolic act |
| Storming of the Bastille | (14 of July, 1789)- a mob searching for gunpowder and weapons stormed the Bastille, a prison/armory, and seized the building, weapons, and ammunition; symbolic act that is seen as the start of the Revolution |
| Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen | reflected the influence of the Declaration of Independence: principles of the French Revolution: "men are born and remain free and equal in rights" *"rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression" *guaranteed citizens equal justice, freedom of speech, freedom of religion Rights of women were rejected |
| Civil Constitution of the Clergy | priests were to be elected and paid as state officials (state-employed), which greatly offended devout Catholics |
| Assignats | bank notes/bonds issued in the value of land, meaning that the money was backed by state-owned land instead of gold and silver |
| Legislative Assembly | formed because of food shortages and government debts; had the power to pass laws and declare war, but the King still had executive power to enforce laws |
| sans-culottes | a French term for the radicals; means "those without knee breeches," this form of dress (full trousers) signaled those who wanted revolution and great change in France |
| émigrés | a French term used for the conservatives; nobles and others who fled France and wanted to restore the old/Ancien Regime. |
| Guillotine | an efficient beheading machine used to execute tried and condemned people; was used on both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and on Georges Danton |
| levée en masse | mass rising of the army; short term draft of all able-bodied men in France to fight Prussia and Austria |
| Reign of Terror | (1993-94) period of time in France during the tyrannical rule of Robespierre; more than 40,000 people were executed during the Terror; time of no religion, dictatorship, and fear in France |
| Committee of Public Safety | created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured July 1793, formed the executive government of France during the Reign of Terror; supervised trials and executions; committee was responsible for thousands of executions |
| Maximilien Robespierre | the Jacobin leader who ruled during the Reign of Terror in 1793; ruled as dictator of France and set out to build a "republic of virtue" and changed the calendar, closed all churches, got rid of Sundays; |
| The Directory | bi-cameral (two houses) legislature, 5 executives, form of government taken up during the Thermidorian Reaction |
| Napoleon Bonaparte | the "Caesar" of the day; born in 1769, he was an army commander from Corsica; became first consul and sole leader of France and conquered most of Western Europe; was exiled twice to Ebla and then to St. Helena |
| Coup d'Etat | overthrow of a ruler, "Kick of the State" |
| Concordat of 1801 | Religious agreement with Pope Pius VII: established Church-State relationship; acknowledgement of the Church's influence over the people but not its power over the state; Strengthened Napoleon's base of Support |
| Napoleonic Code | comprehensive system of laws, like Justinian Code *Streamlined the laws and eliminated many injustices *Also limiting liberty and promoting authority over individual rights; *Curtailed civil liberties and made for greater state/government authority |
| Battle of Trafalgar | (1805) one of the most important battles of Western Europe; only major battle Napoleon lost, but the most important because Napoleon was forced to give up plans of British invasion; Horatio Nelson's British navy destroyed Napoleon's French fleet |
| Nepotism | favoritism to family members in governmental appointments (happened with Napoleon frequently) |
| Continental System | (Fr.) Napoleon set up a blockade to prevent trade between Britain and continental Europe *tried to wage economic warfare with Britain by cutting it off *policy was supposed to make continental Europe more self-sufficient *policy was supposed to make continental Europe more self-sufficient |
| Orders in Council | (Br.)- forbid anyone to trade with France in response to Napoleon's Continental System; British were better able with their Navy to cut off the French; led to the War of 1812 |
| Impressments | the stopping and searching of a ship because of suspicions of escapees, ammunition, etc. the forcing of escapees into service; British blockades and French blockades would stop ships and seize other ships and force civilians into their country's navy |
| Peninsular War | (i.e. Iberian Peninsula) 1808- Napoleon sent invasion through Spain to get to Portugal; Spanish protested because they were afraid Napoleon would threaten the Catholic Church; Napoleon then removed Spanish King and replaced him with his brother, Joseph (nepotism) |
| Nationalism | feelings of national pride of the people; inflamed feeling in Spain in peninsular war; loyalty to country against Napoleon; not just for ones own country |
| Guerrilla Warfare/Insurgency | small bands of Spanish peasant fighters struck at French; worked in small groups to ambush the French troops and then fled to hiding; hard to catch and fight against |
| Russian Campaign | (June-Dec 1812) Russian Czar Alexander I refused to stop selling to Britain, so Napoleon invaded because of broken alliance; it was his biggest failure, losing more than 350,000 troops and having to return back to France defeated by the cold |
| Elba | where Napoleon was exiled to in 1814 after surrendering to Frederick William II of Prussia and Alexander I of Russia; Island in the Mediterranean; Napoleon escaped back into France easily for The Hundred Days |
| Bourbon Restoration | period where the monarchy was restored in France; Bourbon Dynasty returns with Louis XVIII (brother of Louis XVI) |
| King Louis XVIII | assumed throne of France after Napoleon was exiled but was unpopular with the subjects because he made hints of rolling back the Revolutionary changes, worrying the French people and providing enough incentive for Napoleon's welcome return |
| The Hundred Days | (March-June 1815)- Napoleon's last bid for power; Napoleon returns and is Emperor again for 100 Days; Europe allied against France and eventually took down Napoleon and exiled him again |
| Battle of Waterloo | (June 1815, Belgium)- defeat that ended Napoleon; Duke of Wellington led British vs. French/Napoleon; Russia arrived and Napoleon's troops gave way |
| St. Helena | where Napoleon was shipped by the British after Waterloo; where he died in 1821 (farther away from Elba and more difficult to access) |
| Congress of Vienna | 1814-15, 5 major powers came together to figure out how to reestablish order and collective security (national security in Europe); led by Metternich, gave a lot of power to Austria-Hungary |
| The Great Powers | Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, Russia |
| Klemens von Metternich | foreign Austrian minister, guided Congress of Vienna, one of the most influential representatives there with three goals: balance of power, containment, and restoration of monarchies |
| Balance of power | goal of Congress of Vienna: ensuring that no country was more powerful than another; made sure France was not powerful enough to take over again |
| Concert of Europe | named so for the harmony of nations it accomplished; a series of alliances devised by Metternich that ensured that nations would help each other if revolution broke out |
| Conservatism | supportive of the monarchy, skeptical of change, believed government should hold all the power; embraced the "status quo" of how things were. |
| Creoles | Latin-American born colonists; generally well-educated, led revolts |
| Peninsulares | Spanish-born colonists: had more rights/ were wealthier than creoles |
| Liberalism | believed in liberty, freedom, and change by reforms; wanted a more democratic/republic government by the people |
| First Estate | Clergy = 1% of population, owned 10% of land, paid no taxes, not state employed |
| Second Estate | nobles = 2% of population, owned 20% of land, exempted from taxes |
| Third Estate | the lower class= everyone else; bourgeoisie, working class, peasantry = 97% of population, owned 10% of land, paid all the taxes (tithes, taxes to the king, etc.) huge majority was major part of discontent |
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