Update lessons for the third years - 2022

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Today

Fast French Revolution

At the end of the lesson you will know/be able to…

• name the three estates
• able to deduce the interests of each group and what the effects are on the others groups 

Consequences?

• The rise of commerce and cities 
• The rise of citzenry and independent cities
• The Renaissance and a changing world view
• The scientific revolution
• Thinking about state and society in the Enlightenment

The preparation of the meeting

• People of France could write down their complaints in cahiers de doleances
• 300 members of the first and second estates
• 600 of the third estate

3a. The third estate had many grievances. But not all third estate groups had the same grievances. Choose which groups were most affected by the following problems:


1. not enough land

1. peasants
2. city workers
3. bourgeoisie
4. all three groups

3b. no influence in politics

1. peasants
2. city workers
3. bourgeoisie
4. all three groups

3c. low wages

1. peasants
2. city workers
3. bourgeoisie
4. all three groups

3d. bad harvests

1. peasants
2. city workers
3. bourgeoisie
4. all three groups

3e. high taxes

1. peasants
2. city workers
3. bourgeoisie
4. all three groups

3f. very difficult to get a noble title (but could get one for enough money)

1. peasants
2. city workers
3. bourgeoisie
4. all three groups

Opening of the change

• Who: the Estates - General, a meeting of the three Estates
• When: (start) beginning of May 1789
• Why: discuss the taxation system in France 

Which estate(s) wanted the paying of taxes to be equally divided between the estates?

1. The first estate
2. The second estate and the first estate
3. The third estate
4. The third estate and a part of the first estate

The voting was also a problem. Why?

1. Voting per estate would leave the third estate in the minority
2. Voting per head would leave the first estate in the minority
3. Voting per head would leave the second estate in the minority
4. Voting per estate would leave the first AND second estate in the minority

Leaves the Third Estate disappointed 

The Tennis Court Oath

June 1789

• The 3th estate starts their own meeting: The National Assembly.
• A part of the 1st and 2nd estate join because they understand the problems of the people.
• In the oath they swear they will not go home until there is a new constitution.

While talking

In 1789, the French people had simply had enough of food scarcities and the social inequality in their country. The ‘arrogance’ of the nobility and the luxurious lifestyle at Versailles made the people even angrier. They formed an army and called it the National Guard. 

In July 1789, hundreds of Parisians gathered together and plundered and destroyed food depots, hospitals and armouries. On July 14th, the National Guard stormed the Bastille, a state prison where the government stored ammunition. The storming of the Bastille is considered the start of the French Revolution

At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty, housing only seven prisoners: four forgers; James F.X. Whyte, a "lunatic" imprisoned at the request of his family; Auguste-Claude Tavernier, who had tried to assassinate Louis XV thirty years before; and one "deviant" aristocrat, the Comte de Solages, imprisoned by his father using a lettre de cachet (while the Marquis de Sade had been transferred out ten days earlier).

What do you see? 

Meanwhile in the countryside

• The peasants heard of the outbreak of violence in Paris 
• Between the 17th of July and the 3rd of August a wave of violence went over France
• Peasants believed the higher classes starved them on purpose
• They killed hundreds of people and set the houses of the nobility on fire

Morgenstimmung Grieg

La Nuit des Sacrifices

To gain back control over France, the National Assembly decided to take drastic measures. On August 4th and August 5th 1789, ‘La Nuit des Sacrifices’ took place. This was an important event because it heralded the start of social revolution in France. After the Great Fear, feudal rights were abolished.

Now all people of France were equal and everyone was called citoyenne (‘citizen’). With these measures, the estates system came to an end. It also ended the absolutism of the French king. The period of time in which the French king had absolute power is known as the Ancien Régime.

What is the Ancien Régime?

1. When only ministers had power
2. When only the king had power; absolutisme
3. Everybody had an equal say in how the country was run; democracy
4. The third estate had no influence on the rule of the land. Only the first and second estate

Which keywords are the core of the Ancien Regime?

1. The estate sytem and feudalism
2. Middle Ages and the nobility
3. The estate system and absolutism
4. The estate system and superstition

Added to that....

• Two weeks after the abolition of feudal rights the National Assembly established the

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

• liberte, egalite and fraternite

The Declaration of Man and the Citizen was inspired on...

1. The Plakaat van Verlatinghe
2. The Declaration of Independence

The basis for the Declaration of Independence was....

1. the ideas of the Enlightenment
2. the Plakaat van Verlatinghe
3. the ideas of the Ancien Regime

What was the most interesting fact/thing/titbit you learned in this lesson?