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[[Image:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|Capture of the Bastille.]]

[[Image:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|Capture of the Bastille.]]

'''The French Revolution''' was a 1789 revolution which is oft-quoted as the beginning of the modern era.  In fact a set of several revolutions in a period of unprecedented turmoil, it saw the rise of [[Robespierre]] and the [[Reign of Terror]], a chaos wherein thousands were [[guillotine|guillotined]] for political leanings and moderatism.  

'''The French Revolution''' was a 1789 revolution which began the modern era.  In a sequence of upheavals, it saw the downfall of King [[Louis XVI]], rise of [[Robespierre]] and the [[Reign of Terror]], a chaos wherein thousands were [[guillotine|guillotined]] for political leanings and moderatism.  

The French Revolution was very [[atheism|atheistic]] in nature, as radicals outlawed the Church and tried to establish a [[Cult of Reason]] in its place.  The Revolution also saw the rise of extreme [[rationalism]].  It inspired fear into European moderates like [[Edmund Burke]], who realized it was proof of the danger of [[liberalism]] run amok.

Radicals saw the Catholic Church as the enemy and promoted in its place a [[Cult of Reason]].  The Revolution emerged in part from the [[rationalism]] of the[[Enlightenment]] which distrusted all established institutions.  It inspired fear into European monarchs and aristocrats as well as conservative intellectuals like [[Edmund Burke]] in Britain, who mobilized to fight the Revolution, and finally succeeded in 1815.

Before the Revolution, France had three levels in its social system: The First, Second, and Third Estates.  The [[First Estate]] was about 1% of the population, but it controlled 10% of the land.  The First Estate consisted of the clergy, and they did not pay any taxes.  The [[Second Estate]] was about 2% of the population and they controlled 20% of the land.  These were the nobility, and they too paid very little taxes.  The [[Third Estate]] was everyone else, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch.  This overtaxing was a major cause of the [[French]] Revolution.

Before the Revolution, [[France]] had three levels in its social system: The First, Second, and Third Estates.  The [[First Estate]] was about 1% of the population, but it controlled 10% of the land.  The First Estate consisted of the clergy, and they did not pay any taxes.  The [[Second Estate]] was about 2% of the population and they controlled 20% of the land.  These were the nobility, and they too paid very little taxes.  The [[Third Estate]] was everyone else, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch.  This overtaxing was a major cause of the [[French]] Revolution.   

The leaders of the Third Estate were the upper middle class, especially lawyers; they are called the [[bourgeoisie]].  They were educated in the ideas of the [[Enlightenment]], most importantly [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].  Rousseau's book, "The Social Contract" supported a [[direct democracy]].  The social contract spoke against titles for nobility and demanded complete equality for all people.

The leaders of the Third Estate were the middle class, called the [[bourgeoisie]].  They were educated in the ideas of the [[Enlightenment]], most importantly [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].  Rousseau's book, "The Social Contract" supported a [[direct democracy]], rather that the republican government that had been adopted in [[America]].  The social contract spoke against titles for nobility and demanded complete equality for all people.

French Revolutionary ideals, especially thanks to Napoleon, later inspired liberal and democratic movements of the 19th Century.

==Chronology of the French Revolution==

==Chronology of the French Revolution==

Several costly wars, the War of Austrian Succession (1740-8), the Seven Years War (1756-63) and the American War of Independence (1778-83), had reduced the government to the verge of bankruptcy. The deficit for 1786 would be 112 million ''livres'', nearly a quater of total income. Due to the poorly organised taxation system it was impossible for the King and his finance minister to make up the deficit without serious reforms. In 1787 he called a meeting of 144 leading nobles, the Assembly of Notables, to attempt to persuade them to pay tax in return for increased powers. The nobles refused his requests and were supported by the local assembly; the Parlement de Paris.  

 

Several costly wars, the War of Austrian Succession (1740-8), the Seven Years War (1756-63) and the American Revolution (1778-83), had reduced the government to the verge of bankruptcy. The deficit for 1786 would be 112 million ''livres'', nearly a quater of total income. Due to the poorly organised taxation system it was impossible for the King and his finance minister to make up the deficit without serious reforms. In 1787 he called a meeting of 144 leading nobles, the Assembly of Notables, to attempt to persuade them to pay tax in return for increased powers. The nobles refused his requests and were supported by the local assembly; the Parlement de Paris.  

The King withdrew his demands at this challenge to his authority, which was greeted by thousands taking to the street to celebrate. When troops were ordered to "Get some lead into the bastards' backsides", they fired into the air instead. In hindsight this can be seen as the start of dissent. It is notable that the initiators of this unrest were the upper classes, who had little reason to think there was any thirst for revolution. In April 1787, [[Calonne]] resigned in disgrace and the middle classes, strengthened by the protests, began to demand the Estates-Generale, a Parliament in which they would be represented.

The King withdrew his demands at this challenge to his authority, which was greeted by thousands taking to the street to celebrate. When troops were ordered to "Get some lead into the bastards' backsides", they fired into the air instead. In hindsight this can be seen as the start of dissent. It is notable that the initiators of this unrest were the upper classes, who had little reason to think there was any thirst for revolution. In April 1787, [[Calonne]] resigned in disgrace and the middle classes, strengthened by the protests, began to demand the Estates-Generale, a Parliament in which they would be represented.