When was the Flight to Varennes?
Between June and July 1791
Why did Louis XVI try to escape from Paris?
- Imprisonment - trapped in their palace since 1789
- Pressure from the Queen - she wanted to restore monarchical rule
- Opposition to the reforms - resented the reduction in his authority
- Underestimated the support for the revolution
- A counter revolution seemed possible - idea of quashing the revolution by force
What were the consequences of the Flight to Varennes?
- Louis XVI had shown that he didn’t really support the revolution
- Louis XVI was now seen by many as a traitor
When was the Champs de Mars?
July 17 1791
What was the Champs de Mars?
A large crowd of poorer Parisians gathered to support a republican petition
Wanted a state that does not have a king
Paris Commune sent Lafayette and the National Guard to disperse the crowd - killed about 50
Suppressed the mob extremists and allowed moderates in the Assembly to draft the constitution
The Flight to Varennes encouraged non-republicans in the Assembly to what?
Finalise the constitution
What examples show that the Royal Family did not support the Constitution?
Marie Antoinette contacted her brother Leopold II - asked him to help quash the revolution with force
Louis wanted to appoint monarchist ministers - Louis appointed Feuillants, his supporters (angered reformers)
What were the Feuillants?
A political group that split from the Jacobins in 1791 (as they supported a republic)
Feuillants wanted a constitutional monarchy, but they were seen as royalists
Over 800 of them were executed with the fall of the monarchy
Why did the Legislative Assembly start to decline?
- Not democratic enough - only few were able to vote under its rules
- Inexperienced membership - very few members from the more experienced first and second estates
- Divided Assembly
The Assembly was divided into 3 groups, what were they?
- Feuillants - those who supported the Constitution and a limited monarchy
- Jacobins - those who opposed the monarchy and wanted a republic
- Plains - those without a clear political view but usually voted with the jacobins
From late 1791, what events made war increasingly likely?
- Foreign aggression - Marie Antoinette’s brother called for an attack to save the royal family
- Emigré royalists - were gathered at the French boarder, urged foreign powers to take action
- King’s veto - uses his veto to support the counter-revolution
- Girondins in the Assembly - leadership in the legislative assembly was increasingly controlled by Girondins, who sought war against the counter-revolutionaries
When did Louis use his veto?
Nov 1791 to overrule legislation
He vetoed a decree calling for the death penalty for emigrés assembled on the boarder
He vetoed a decree that every non-juring clergyman must take a civic oath within 8 days or lose their pension
Why did Louis replace his ministers with Girondins in April 1792?
Feuillants opposed war with Austria
Girondins wanted a war
The terrible winter in 1791-2 caused riots among the menu people
Replacing the ministers was an attempt to restore order
What factors in 1791-2 made the Assembly distrust Louis XVI?
The Nov 1791 vetoes
The appointment of Feuillant ministers
When did France declare war on Austria?
20 April 1792
Why did the invasion of Austria and Prussian troops have disastrous effects for the Royal Family?
- Riots in Paris - troops caused disturbances, anger directed towards King.
- Brunswick Manifesto - supporter of Marie A, the manifesto promised to kill Parisians if the royal family was harmed.
Why were Parisians angered by the Brunswick Manifesto?
It amounted to foreign interference in French affairs
Why did tensions in Paris increase in late July 1792?
The arrival of the radical Federes
They were revolutionaries from France’s provinces
They were supposed to defend Paris, but instead were vocal about the removal of the King
What actions did the king take in June 1792, that angered the revolutionaries?
- Vetoed laws that would disband his military and create a national guard
- Louis dismissed the popular Girondin Interior Minister Roland
- Louis refused to reinstate Roland to placate the mob
Who was Robespierre, and what were his revolutionary beliefs?
He was a prominent speaker in both the Assembly and the Jacobin club
He earned the reputation of a radical
He opposed the declaration of war in April 1792
But in July 1793 he joined the Committee of Public Safety which supervised the war effort
When did the Sans-Culottes set up the Revolutionary Commune?
9 August 1792
What was the Revolutionary Commune?
Originally formed to govern the city in 1789
Taken over by the Sans-Culottes in 1792
Jacobin majority
Became an important revolutionary body during the Terror
What was the journée?
10 August 1792 - Demanding an end to the monarchy
Around 20,000 Sans- Culottes march to the Tuileries palace
Accompanied by Federes and the National Guard (from the more revolutionary Paris sections)
Well planned and king forced to seek sanctuary at the Assembly
Nearly all the Swiss Guard were murdered
What were the September Massacres?
A wave of killings in Paris (2–7 September 1792) and other cities in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution.
There was a fear that foreign and royalist armies would attack Paris and prisoners would be freed and join them.
Radicals called for preemptive action to kill prisoners before they would be freed.
Around 1,300 prisoners were killed.
233 were Catholic Priests who refused to accept the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
