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French Revolution Glossary A-Z
::
Ancien Régime
Ancien régime is Fench for Old Rule,
also translated as Old Order, and refers
to the government, the political and social
order of France before the Revolution.
::
Committee
of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety was established
on April 6, 1793. There were 9, and later
12, members of this committee, who were to be re-elected
each month.
The National
Convention thought it would be a good idea to set up
this committee in order to be able to more
effectively coordinate measures against foreign
and domestic threats.
First president of
the Committee was
Georges
Danton, who was a
moderate. Too moderate, people thought, and in
July 1793, he was replaced by
Robespierre and
other men of Robespierre's caliber.
Power thus
centralized in the hands of a few
radicals, the Committee became bigger than
its creator and introduced the Reign of Terror. Georges Danton himself ended up on
the guillotine in April 1794.
The power and
importance of the Committee of Public Safety
faded after Robespierre's execution in July
1794.
However, it still
had power over matters regarding foreign affairs
and war. In March 1796, for example, the
Committee decided to make Napoleon commander of
the army of Italy.
::
Consulate
The Consulate was the French government from
1799 to 1804.
Officially, three consuls (
Napoleon,
Emmanuel-Joseph
Sieyès, and Pierre-Roger Ducos) were in power.
Unofficially, Napoleon was the only one in
charge.
In 1804, Napoleon
decided to drop the pretense and declared
himself emperor.
::
Directory
The Directory (French: Directoire) was
the French government from November 1795 to
November 1799. It had been created by the
National Convention, which prepared its
constitutional foundation.
The Directory had
two chambers: The lower house, also called the
Council of Five Hundred, or Conseil de Cinq-Cent,
with 500 delegates, and the Council of Elders,
or Conseil des Anciens, with 250
delegates.
The 500 were to
suggest laws, the 250 were to approve them.
Executive authority was in the hands of five
directors, elected by both chambers. These
directors were Barras,
Rewbell,
Lareveillère,
Letourneur,
and Carnot.
The Directory was
a complete disaster because it was corrupt and
had no teeth, i.e. it could not implement or
enforce its own decisions.
Napoleon was
behind the coup that ended the Directory on
November 9-10, 1799. The Consulate became the new government of
France.
::
Émigrés
French aristocrats who emigrated because of the
French Revolution and who tried to re-establish
their power from abroad.
:: Girondists
A Girondist, or Girondin, was a member of the
moderate republican party of France from 1791 to
1793. Their policy was also referred to as
Girondism.
It's leaders were
the deputies from Gironde, a department located
in southwestern France. See map
Gironde
Department, France 1790
:: Jacobins
A Jacobin was a member of the radical Jacobin
Club, the most famous political group of the
French Revolution, associated with extreme views
and violence. The Jacobins led the French
Revolutionary government from mid-1793 to
mid-1794. Their goal was absolute equality.
The Jacobins
started out calling themselves the Society of
the Friends of the Constitution (from 1789
to 1792) and then switched to become the
Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Liberty and
Equality (from 1792 to 1794.)
The name Jacobins
derives from their club house, a former convent
of the Dominicans, who built it near the church
of Saint Jacques (Saint Jacobus or Saint James)
in Paris.
One of the Jacobin
leaders was
Maximilien
de Robespierre. Another famous
member of the Jacobins was
Napoleon.
In the National
Convention, the Jacobins were known as the
Montagnards.
:: La Plaine (The Plain)
La Plaine were those deputies in the National
Convention who were seated on the floor and
had the majority. Members of La Plaine were mostly moderate.
At first, La
Plaine voted with the Girondins, but later, when it
came to Louis XVI's execution, with the
Montagnards. In the end, they acted against the
Montagnards and against the Committee of Public
Safety.
:: Montagnards
A Montagnard (French for Mountain Main)
was a Jacobin in the National Convention, and so
called because they were seated on the higher
benches at the convention.
::
National Convention
The French National Convention (Convention
Nationale) was the government of France from
September 21, 1792 until October 26, 1795.
The National
Convention replaced the Legislative Assembly (Assemblée
Législative,) which had been in session from
October 1, 1791, to September 20, 1792.
This assembly, the
National Convention,
consisted of 749 elected deputies. They met for
the first time on September 21, 1792, and
immediately abolished the monarchy. The very
next day they established the republic.
Altogether, the
National Convention issued 15,414 decrees.
National Convention — Timeline & Factions:
- From September 1792 to May 1793, the National
Convention was dominated by the power struggle
between the Montagnards and the Girondins.
- The Girondins
lost and the Montagnards dominated the National
Convention from June 1793. They set up the
Committee of Public Safety, which dominated the
National Convention until July 1794.
- The Reign of
Terror ruled from September 5, 1793, to July 27,
1794, during which a suspect had no rights
whatsoever and people were executed by the
bunch.
- The Committee
became too radical for many moderate members of
the National Convention from the center, also
called The Plain (La Plaine) and was toppled by
the latter. After the overthrow of the
Committee, the Girondins were recalled to the
convention.
The National
Convention was replaced by the Directory in
November 1795.
:: Sansculottes
A Sansculotte was a supporter of the French
Revolution from the poorer or lower class.
Culottes
were knee-breeches worn by the upper classes.
The lower class wore pantalons, or long
trousers. Sans is French for without.
The Sansculottes were associated with an extreme
radical and militant view. Hence, it was also
possible to run into people from the upper class who shared
these views and called themselves Sansculottes
while wearing culottes.
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La Liberté ou la Mort ! – Liberty or
Death!
French Revolution 1789–1799
The French Revolution is also called The Revolution of 1789.
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Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood
was one of the mottos in the French Revolution. Such honorable
goals, however, could not prevent the gruesome Reign of Terror.
The Revolution also introduced the
guillotine, the infamous device for decapitation, in 1792.
Image Above
La Liberté ou la Mort ! – Liberty or Death
Gouache by Jean-Baptiste Lesueur,
who lived 1749-1826, and who created this artwork around 1792.
Formerly attributed to Pierre-Etienne
Lesueur.
Underneath it reads on the left:
"LE CRIS FRANCAIS / Des Citoyens de
tous états se rencontrant dans les rues / se réunissoient, et
poussoient ensemble le terrible cris de / La Liberté ou la Mort."
And on the right it reads:
"Départ pour les frontières d'un
Citoyen / Volontaire, accompagné de sa femme, de ses / enfants et
d'une parente son cousin Le / serrurier porte le Havresac."
In other words:
The French cry / Citizens of all
estates come together in the streets / they gather and shout out
unitedly the terrible cry of / Liberty or Death.
A citizen's departure to the frontiers
/ A volunteer, accompanied by his wife, his / children and a
relative his cousin The / locksmith carries the knapsack.
Musée Carnavalet
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What Caused the French Revolution?
France was broke. Which lead to the question, Who should come up
with the money — the clergy, the nobility, or the common people?
Which lead to the question, Shouldn't these three social groups be
treated equally when it comes to paying taxes? Which lead to the
question, If everyone is equal, what's a king doing in France?
The immediate cause of the French Revolution was France's financial
crisis after having supported the
American Revolution against
Britain. But revolutions are never as simple as that.
In a nutshell, the French Revolution was the result of many economical and social
problems. People were done with the monarchy and wanted a change. Ironically, the monarchy returned to power in 1814 with
Louis XVIII.
Before the French Revolution, France looked like this on a map:
France before the
Revolution
Click to enlarge
The Revolution Builds
After supporting the Colonists in the
American Revolution
(1775-1783,) France
faced serious national debts. Representatives of clergy, nobility,
and the common people (also called the Third Estate) met at Versailles to discuss their options.
Conflict of interests made negotiations impossible. The deputies of
the Commons finally declared they were prepared to proceed alone,
and, on June 17, 1789, formed a
National Assembly.
The king,
Louis XVI, was not pleased and locked them out of their meeting hall.
This prompted the Commons to occupy Louis' indoor tennis court,
taking an oath not to leave until a written constitution had been
accepted. The date? June 20, 1789.
On July 10, 1789, the National Assembly was renamed
National Constituent Assembly.
On July 11, 1789, the king fired his popular finance minister,
Jacques Necker.
The Tennis Court Oath, June 20, 1789
Le Serment du Jeu de Paume, le 20 juin 1789
In the center standing on a table is the astronomer
Jean-Sylvain Bailly, who was
appointed president of the Third Estate on May 5, 1789. He reads the
text of the oath.
Oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, who lived
1748-1825.
Musée Carnavalet
What Started the French Revolution?
A mob stormed the
Bastille
prison in Paris and demanded from the guards to hand over the arms
and ammunition that were stored there.
The guards refused, the mob
wouldn't take a no for an answer and captured the prison, thus proving that power resided with the people.
The days of the
ancien régime were over.
La Prise de la
Bastille (The Storming of the Bastille)
by
Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel, 1789
Bibliothèque
Nationale de France
Image
Above
Illustrated in the
center of the painting is the arrest of
Bernard
Rene Jourdan, the Marquis de Launay. He was the
last governor of the Bastille. The mob had him lynched later that day.
The Storming of
the Bastille took place on July 14, 1789.
Here is more on the
Bastille
and what it stood for.
The Great Fear of July 1789
Rumors of a conspiracy by the king and the aristocracy prompted
peasants to pillage and burn the houses of nobles and to destroy
feudal records.
This became known as the Great Fear of July 1789. These
developments led
to the abolishment of the feudal regime and the adoption of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
One of the new laws of this Declaration seized lands from the Roman
Catholic Church in order to pay the national debt. Additionally, the
church was subjected to severe reorganization.
Pope Pius VI was not amused.
King Louis didn't show himself cooperative and the people of Paris
decided to pay him a visit at his castle at Versailles, forcing the
royal family to relocate to the Tuileries Palace at Paris. These were the
October Days (October 5 and 6, 1789.)
CENTRAL
EUROPE 1789
Click map to enlarge
The French Revolution Runs Its Course
All in all, the year 1790 seemed more harmonious for the French, especially with a
draft of the constitution in their pocket, and with patriotic events
like the
Festival of the Federation
being held etc.
But
Louis XVI made a big
mistake in 1791, when he tried to flee the country.
This act showed everyone, who still had doubts, that Louis secretly
desired that the Austrian and Prussian armies would help him restore
absolutism. He was caught, forced to return, and the little
credibility that he had left was gone for good.
Meanwhile, the monarchies of neighboring nations were alarmed by the French
Revolution.
In France, war was desired by royalists and revolutionists alike
because they believed it would rally the nation to their respective
causes.
France declared war against Austria in 1792 and the
French Revolutionary Wars began.
Originally, France experienced reverses, and these made the
French population susceptible to the ideas of extremists. The revolution
turned radical.
The French Republic was proclaimed. The king was tried for treason
and executed. Countless arrests of royalist and supposed
sympathizers followed.
The news of the advance of the
Coalition added panic to radical.
The killing of more than a thousand political prisoners within six
days became known as the September Massacres and indicated what was
still to come.
July 28:
Liberty
Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix
Louvre
Image Above
This painting was created by Delacroix
in 1831. "July 28" refers to July 28, 1830, which puts it in the
middle of the
July Revolution.
The July Revolution was fought for three days — from July 27 to July 29,
1830.
How does this painting relate to the
French Revolution?
Let the smart people from the Louvre
explain:
The allegory
of Liberty is personified by a young woman
of the people wearing the Phrygian cap, her
curls escaping onto her neck. Vibrant,
fiery, rebellious, and victorious, she
evokes the Revolution of 1789, the
sans-culotte, and popular sovereignty. In
her raised right hand is the red, white, and
blue flag, a symbol of struggle that unfurls
toward the light like a flame.
...
The towers of
Notre Dame represent liberty and
Romanticism — as they did for
Victor Hugo — and
situate the action in Paris. Their position
on the left bank of the Seine is inexact,
and the houses between the Cathedral and the
river are pure products of the painter's
imagination.
...
This realistic and innovative work, a symbol
of Liberty and the pictorial revolution, was
rejected by the critics, who were used to
more classical representations of reality.
...
It is now
perceived as a universal work — a
representation of romantic and revolutionary
fervor, heir to the historical painting of
the 18th century and forerunner of Picasso's
Guernica in the 20th.
And if you are wondering why Liberty couldn't get her shaving
together, or why the other guy lost sock and pants,
go to the
official site of the Louvre and
read all about it.
Back to the French Revolution of 1789.
The Reign of Terror
Extreme revolutionary actions triggered counterrevolutionary unrest.
This, in turn, was met with even more brutality.
Under the Reign of Terror, between April 1793 and July 1794, the
Revolutionary Tribunal had 2,625 persons guillotined. Among them was former
Queen Marie Antoinette.
Many died in prison or were killed without trial. Meanwhile, the
revolutionary government launched a mass military recruitment and
became victorious at war (the
French Revolutionary Wars.)
The Reign of Terror, now spearheaded by
Robespierre, kept
gaining momentum. Soon Robespierre himself was guillotined.
Resistance broke out in form of the White Terror led by the
royalists.
The
Directory, notorious for its corruption, became the new
revolutionary government. This government maintained power for the
remaining four years of the Revolution.
1769 - 1789
France
What Ended the French Revolution?
By a coup, on November 9-10, 1799,
Napoleon
became First Consul of France and proclaimed the
end of the Revolution. This also
ended the
Directory.
And here's a map of Paris during the Revolution:
MAP OF PARIS DURING
THE REVOLUTION
Click to enlarge
Key Events of the French Revolution — Brief
Timeline
1789, May 5 - The Estates-General (États
généraux) opens session at Versailles.
1789, June 17 - Formation of the
National Assembly. Unofficially, the
Revolution has just begun.
1789, June 20 - Tennis Court Oath.
Declared goal to switch from absolute
monarchy to constitutional monarchy.
Hence, a written constitution was
needed.
1789, June 27 -
Louis XVI
orders the clergy and the nobility to
join with the Third Estate in the
National Assembly.
1789, July 14 - Storm of the
Bastille.
The Revolution officially begins.
1789, August 4 - Abolition of privileges
and the feudal regime.
1789, August 26 and 27 -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,
a draft of a constitution.
1789, October 5 and 6 - The royal family has
to move from Versailles to Paris.
1790, July 14 - Festival of the
Federation (Fête de la Fédération)
1791, June 21 - The king and his family
try to flee
the country. They are caught at Varennes
and brought back to Paris.
1791, July 17 - Champs-de-Mars Shooting
(Fusillade du Champs-de-Mars)
1791, August 27 - Austria and Prussia
issue their
Declaration of Pillnitz in
which they call on all European monarchs
to aid in the restoration of the French
monarchy.
1791, September 13 - King Louis XVI
accepts the new constitution. The next
day, he signs it in front of the
National Assembly.
1792, April 20 - War declaration against Austria. The
French Revolutionary Wars
begin.
1792, June 13 - Recall of the Girondin ministers
1792, August 10 - Storming of the Tuileries. Overthrow of the monarchy. France is now a
republic.
1792, August 13 - The royal family is thrown into the Temple
prison.
1792, September 2-6 - September Massacres
1792, September 21 - Formal abolition of the monarchy. The
National
Convention is the new
government of France.
1792, September 22 - Proclamation of Republic
1792, December 25 -
Louis XVI
signs his
Last Will
1793, January 21 - Execution of
Louis XVI
1793, March 11 - The
Wars of the Vendée
begin.
1793, June 2 - Fall of the Brissotins (Girondins)
1793, June 24 -
Constitution of the Year I
1793, July 13 -
Charlotte Corday, a
Girondin, assassinates Montagnard leader
Jean-Paul Marat in his bath.
The Assassination of Marat by Charlotte Corday
Oil on canvas by Paul Baudry, who lived
1828-1886
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
1793, September 5-July 27, 1794
The Reign of
Terror
1793, September 10 - The National
Convention decrees the Revolutionary
Government until peace is restored.
1793, September 17 - The
Law of Suspects
is passed, which authorizing the
creation of revolutionary tribunals to
try those suspected of treason against
the Republic and to punish those
convicted with death.
1793, October 5 - The Gregorian calendar was replaced by the French
republican calendar.
1793, October 16 - Execution of
Marie Antoinette.
1793, December 4 - The National Convention confirms the creation of
the Revolutionary Government by passing the
Law of 14 Frimaire, year II.
1793, June 8 -
Festival of the Supreme Being (Fête
de l’Être Suprême)
1793, June 11 - Beginning of the Great
Terror
1794, July 28 - Execution of
Robespierre
1795, October 26 - Inauguration of the
Directory
1795, October 31 - Constitution of the year
III.
1796, April 10 - Beginning of the
Italian Campaign.
1797, September 4 - Coup d'état of 18
Fructidor, year V. Encouraged by Napoleon, the Directory
eliminates the royalists from the government.
1798, May 11 - Coup d'état of 22 Floréal,
year VI. The Directory invalidates half of all elections
to eliminate the Jacobins.
1798, July - Beginning of the
Egypt Campaign.
1799, November 9
Napoleon takes power
(Coup d'Etat du 18 Brumaire.)
The Revolution ends. The Directory is
replaced by the
Consulate.
Here is a different
French
Revolution Timeline,
illustrating the revolution in the stream of
time alongside the American Revolution and
the American Civil War.
And here are the detailed timelines:
French Revolution
Timeline: 1789
French Revolution
Timeline: 1790
French Revolution
Timeline: 1791
French Revolution timelines for the years
1792-1799 are included in the French
Revolutionary Wars timelines:
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1792
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1793
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1794
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1795
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1796
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1797
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1798
French Revolutionary
Wars Timeline - 1799
See also
Governments
of France
And maybe
Forms of Government
More French Revolution Maps
1789 France
1789 Paris
1789
Revolutionary Paris
1789
Versailles
1790 France
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