The French Revolution

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The French Revolution
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• France was divided into three groups of people.
• The clergy
• The nobility
• The workers and peasants

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• The clergy and the nobility didnt have to pay
  taxes even though they had more money!
• The workers had to support the other two groups.
• What do you think this picture is supposed to
  show?

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(No Transcript)
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This is King Louis the Sixteenth and his wife
Marie Antoinette.
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King Louis the Sixteenth

• Louis was not a very popular king. People did not
  like him very much.
• He lived in a beautiful palace near Paris called
  Versailles.
• He liked spending money and having a good time.

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Queen Marie Antoinette

• People did not like his wife either.
• She spent lots of money and bought a new dress
  nearly every day.
• She also liked having her hair done and would
  wear big ornaments in her hair that were very
  tall.

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This is Versailles Palace
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People thought that the king wasted money when
they were very poor. Can you think of another
king that we know about like that?
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Louis was also helping America to fight a war
against Britain and that was very expensive.
People thought it was a waste of money.
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France was nearly broke. Louis had to do
something quickly. He decided to try and tax the
nobility.
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• The Nobility thought that they were special.
• They were not going to pay any taxes!
• They called a meeting of Parliament and decided
  to stop the king.

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The Parliament was called the Estates
General.They met a in May 1789.
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The Parliament

• Everyone was there, the clergy, the nobility and
  the Third Estate, the workers and peasants.
• The biggest group was the third group.
• They wanted to count votes by how many people
  were in a group not by how important the person
  was.

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• When the King said No, they decided to make
  their own Parliament.
• They called it the National Assembly.
• Louis was cross. He ordered the room where they
  were going to meet to be locked so that they
  couldnt get in.
• They decided to meet on a Tennis Court instead.

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• What do you think will happen next?