Ep. 173: The French Revolution – Top 6 Facts
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and in today's episode we will be stepping back to the late 1700s around the time of the first execution by guillotine which was the 25th of April 1792 and will be on the French Revolution.
The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1799 and transformed France from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy and further derivations as it evolved.
Prior to the revolution under the Ancien Regime France was divided into three estates, which were the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners, whilst the King was considered part of no estate.
The revolution started in earnest in 1789 where the Bastille was stormed in July and was followed by the March on Versailles in October. This was brought about by a financial crisis, inequality, and the overstepping of power of both the monarchy and the church.
When King Louis XVI tried to flee with his wife Marie Antoinette and their family, in an attempt to lead counter-revolutionary forces at the castle fortification at Montmedy, both were captured and subsequently tried for treason leading to the beheading of both. This unleashed the Reign of Terror where thousands would be killed as enemies of the revolution.
The revolution ended in 1799 when Napoleon took power in a coup and he began his rule as First Consul and later Emperor.
Today’s mnemonic will be on the top six facts about the French Revolution
So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anonymous_-_Prise_de_la_Bastille.jpg
Wikipedia Summary
The French Revolution (French: Révolution française [ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz]) was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789, and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in November 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy,[1] while its values and institutions remain central to modern French political discourse.[2]
The causes of the revolution were a combination of social, political, and economic factors which the ancien régime ("old regime") proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and widespread social distress led to the convocation of the Estates General in May 1789, its first meeting since 1614. The representatives of the Third Estate broke away, and re-constituted themselves as a National Assembly in June.
The Storming of the Bastille in Paris on 14 July was followed by a series of radical measures by the Assembly, among them the abolition of feudalism, state control over the Catholic Church, and a declaration of rights. The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, and military defeats following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792 led to an insurrection on 10 August. The monarchy was replaced by the French First Republic in September, and Louis XVI was executed in January 1793.
After another revolt in June 1793, the constitution was suspended, and adequate political power passed from the National Convention to the Committee of Public Safety, led by the Jacobins. About 16,000 people were executed in what was later referred to as Reign of Terror, which ended in July 1794. Weakened by external threats and internal opposition, the Republic was replaced in 1795 by the Directory, and four years later, in 1799, the Consulate seized power in a military coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte on 9 November. This event is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period.
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Execution_robespierre,_saint_just....jpg
Mnemonic
French Revolution – Top 6 Facts Mnemonic – FRaNK MoB
(Picture a Frenchman called Frank leading the mob during the French Revolution)
1. French Revolution was from 1789 to 1799
2. Reign of Terror was from 1793 to 1794
3. Nepoleon Bonaparte took power in 1799
4. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed in 1793
5. March on Versailles in 1789
6. Bastille was stormed in 1789
Five Fun Facts
1. The cause of the revolution was due to a number of factors. Firstly, the French government were facing a fiscal crisis after many wars, secondly the high price of bread and low wages which also harboured a resentment for the absolute rule by royalty and the nobility, thirdly the Third Estate lacked the rights and privileges of the First and Second Estate and had to pay additional taxes, and finally, the Roman Catholic Church, who owned most of the land in France imposed a tax on crops which became unaffordable.
Now it is fair to say that the French Revolution caused enormous fear among the French. People were going around and completely losing their heads! This stress was magnified even further for the King and Queen who were running the show, but once it was over, it was definitely a weight off their shoulders!!
2. The storming of the Bastille on the 14th of July, 1789 was primarily caused by the fear that King Louis XVI was about to suspend France’s newly constituted national assembly after the sacking of Jacques Necker who was the Director-General of Finances. This, along with the lack of individual rights and representation in government. It was also thought that the King had ordered his troops to surround Paris and attack and thus the Bastille was stormed as it contained weapons.
3. The Women’s March on Versailles on 5th October 1789 was spontaneously organised by women in the marketplaces of Paris. They were outraged by the high price and limited availability of bread. They Marched all the way to the Palace of Versailles where thousands besieged the palace and expressed their concerns. This forced the King and his family to return to Paris and deal with the inequalities of the common people.
4. The execution of King Louis XVI in 1793 came after he was convicted of treasonous acts. These acts included declaring that the National Assembly to be unconstitutional, attempting to escape France, and conspiring with foreign monarchies to restore his power. He was guillotined on January 21st, 1793, while his wife, Mary Antoinette remained imprisoned. She eventually went to trial later that year in October and was also convicted of high treason along with immorality and executed by guillotine.
5. The central figure in the Reign of Terror between 1793 to 1794 was Maximilien Robespierre. He and eight other leading Jacobins set up the committee of public safety. He believed that fear would expedite the revolution and no one was safe, not even Jacobins. It is believed that 16,594 were executed with the guillotine, 10,000 to 12,000 were executed without trial, and 10,000 had died in prison. All this killing though soon backfired and the committee turned on him and sentenced him to death by guillotine without a trial.
6. Napoleon came to power due to the reputation he had established during the French Revolution. He overthrew the French Directory Government and established the French Consulate in which he rigged the election to be elected. This was not enough for Napoleon though declaring himself an Emperor a few years later in 1804.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:French_Revolution-1792-8-10_w.jpg
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. What did the Second Estate comprise? Options are The Clergy or The Nobility
Q.2. What type of government did the Constitution of 1791 create? Options are a Republic or a Limited Monarchy
Q.3. What did the Tennis Court Oath establish? Options are the Third Estate would accept the tax burden in return for freedom from feudal contracts, or that the National Assembly would not dissolve until they had created a constitution
Bonus Q. To which country were Louis XVI and his family trying to escape to when they were captured?
Bonus Q. In which year was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen issued? Options are 1789 or 1795
Mnemonic Recap
French Revolution – Top 6 Facts Mnemonic – FRaNK MoB
(Picture a Frenchman Frank leading the mob during the French Revolution)
1. French Revolution was from 1789 to 1799
2. Reign of Terror was from 1793 to 1794
3. Nepoleon Bonaparte took power in 1799
4. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed in 1793
5. March on Versailles in 1789
6. Bastille was stormed in 1789
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. What did the Second Estate comprise? Options are The Clergy or The Nobility
A. The Nobility
Q.2. What type of government did the Constitution of 1791 create? Options are a Republic or a Limited Monarchy
A. A Limited Monarchy
Q.3. What did the Tennis Court Oath establish? Options are the Third Estate would accept the tax burden in return for freedom from feudal contracts, or that the National Assembly would not dissolve until they had created a constitution
A. That the National Assembly would not dissolve until they had created a constitution
Bonus Q. To which country were Louis XVI and his family trying to escape to when they were captured?
A. Austria. Which is where Mary Antoinette came from but they only made it as far as Varennes, hence The Flight to Varennes
Bonus Q. In which year was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen issued? Options are 1789 or 1795
A. 1789
Word of the Week
abstergent
[ ab-stur-juhnt ]
adjective
cleansing
Example
You could say that the French Revolution was the abstergent change that was required from the oppression and tyranny of the monarchy.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://chatgpt.com/c/677cf92a-4554-8010-bc48-7db6f4550784
https://kids.kiddle.co/French_Revolution
https://www.britannica.com/summary/French-Revolution-Timeline
https://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/quiz/
https://upjoke.com/french-revolution-jokes
https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/flight-to-varennes/