Third Estate- Commoners. They were divided by differences in occupation, level of education, and wealth. A representative committee of the common people. Another part of the Third Estate was artisans, shop keepers, and wage earners in the cities.
First and Second Estates- The First Estate consisted of the clergy. Rich were higher up and stemmed from aristocracy and the poor were parish priests. 130,000 people. The Second Estate consisted of nobility. They were divided into the nobles of the robe, gaining an office, and nobles of the sword, family line. Had most positions in military, church, and government. Were exempt from taxes, however, the church agreed to pay a contribution every 5 years.
Abbe Sieyes- Wrote “What is the Third Estate?” Argued that lower classes were more important than the nobles, and that the government should be responsible to the people. The Royal Council responded by doubling the size of the Third Estate’s representative body in the Estates-General.
Tennis Court Oath- The oath that the representatives of the Third Estate took this oath when they were on their way to a meeting to find themselves forbidden to enter Versailles. They then went to a nearby tennis court and vowed that they would never disband under they had proper representation and a final draft of the constitution.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens- The charter of basic liberties that reflected the ideas of the Enlightenment and owed much to the American Declaration of independence and American State Constitutions
Georges Danton- Leading figure in the first stages of the French Revolution, the first President of The Committee of Public Safety. Mountain- Led by Robespierre and Jaques Danton. Another half of the former Jacobins, the Mountain was more radical than Girondists. (called the Mountain because they sat in the highest seats in the Assembly Hall.) Mountain voted and got its way and King Louis XVI was executed on January 21st, 1793.
Civil Code- Recognized the equality of all citizens, the right of individuals to choose their professions, religious toleration, and abolition of serfdom and feudalism.
Austerlitz- the site of the decisive defeat of a combined French and Spanish fleet by the British navy in1805.
Richard Arkwright- Developed the water frame in 1769. Lost his patent rights and other manufacturers used his invention freely.
Methodism- Efforts of factory owners in early Industrial Revolution to impose a new set of values were frequently reinforced by new evangelical churches. Methodism emphasized that people “reborn in Jesus” must forgo immoderation and follow a disciplined path. Laziness and wasteful habits were sinful.
Great Exhibition of 1851- Britain organized the world’s first industrial fair in 1851. It was housed at Kensington in London in the Crystal Palace. Foreign visitors came. Displayed Britain’s wealth to the world, symbol of Britain’s success.
Continental System- Blockade imposed by Napoleon blocked Britain from continental Europe, cutting them off from trade and communication and causing damage to their economy.
Ireland’s Great Hunger- The potato blight in 1845 struck potato crops with a fungus that turned the potatoes black. Because potatoes were a major part of Ireland’s diet, this event drastically reduced the population.
Luddites- followers of Kind Ned Lud, critics of the Industrial Revolution who refused to believe in or use technology. They destroyed looms and factories.
Chartism- working class movement for political reform. Strove to transform Britain into a democracy. Demanded universal manhood suffrage, vote by a secret ballot, equal electoral districts, annual elections, and the elimination of property qualifications for the payment of stipends to members of the Parliament.
Enclosures- the movement to fence in open fields in order to farm more effectively, at the expense