Abby+Simmons

=The French Revolution =

The Storming of Bastille
The Storming of Bastille took place on July 14, 1789. This is known as the start of the French Revolution. Bastille was a prison that symbolized the king’s absolute power over France. At the time of the storming, only a few guards were guarding Bastille. The crowd of revolutionaries was not big enough to impress the guards, and they were not worried. However, they did try to stall so that more guards could come and help them defend Bastille. The crowd and the guards tried to negotiate, but the negotiations ended when a group of revolutionaries entered the Bastille. The guards were ordered to fire, killing hundreds of people. When the extra guards did show up, they changed the course of the revolt when they chose to fight alongside the mob of revolutionaries. At 4:00 PM, the guards of the Bastille surrendered and let the people enter the Bastille. The guards were then violently killed. The Storming of Bastille was the start of the French Revolution.
 * @http://bastille-day.com/history/Storming-Of-The-Bastille-July-14-1789 **



Important Dates of the French Revolution
The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799. Here are some key events of the Revolution, as from emersonkent.com: “__1789, June 17__ - Formation of the National Assembly. Unofficially, the Revolution has just begun. __1789, June 20 __ - Tennis Court Oath. Declared goal to switch from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Hence, a written constitution was needed. __1789, July 14 __ - Storm of the Bastille. The Revolution officially begins. __1789, August 26 and 27 __ - Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a draft of a constitution. __1791, September 13 __ - King Louis XVI accepts the new constitution. The next day, he signs it in front of the National Assembly. __1792, April 20 __ - War declaration against Austria __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1792, August 10 __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> - Storming of the Tuileries. Overthrow of the monarchy. France is now a republic. __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1792, September 2-6 __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> - September Massacres __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1792, September 21 __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> - Formal abolition of the monarchy. The National Convention is the new government of France. __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1792, September 22 __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> - Proclamation of Republic __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1793, June 11 __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> - Beginning of the Great Terror __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1799, November 9 __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> -Napoleon takes power. The Revolution ends. The Directory is replaced by the Consulate.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">For more dates of the Revolution, visit **@http://www.emersonkent.com/wars_and_battles_in_history/french_revolution.htm**

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The fashions of France during the French revolution were unchanging. The women and men had no time to care about what was currently “in” for fashion. Aristocrats were more focused on staying alive, while the poorer people were determined to kill as many aristocrats as they could. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Women were looking more for comfortable clothes than fashionable ones. The sleeves of the dresses came down to the elbow, and the gowns were made with short bodices down to the waist. The skirt hung plain from the waistline. They stopped wearing hoops under their skirts. Little to no trimming was used, making the dresses very simplistic, yet they were decorated with symbols of patriotism, such as red, white, and blue stripes. Women began to wear their hair low in front with clusters of curls in the back. They no longer wore powder in their hair, considering it the look of the aristocracy. For the first time in years, hair was shown as its natural color. Women would also wear a tricolored cockade in their hair. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Men began to wear darker colors, such as black. Cloth and leather began to replace the silk and velvet they had previously been wearing. All embellishments, such as ruffles and laces, disappeared because they were thought to look too “aristocratic.” The breeches were lengthened so that they cam down to the ankle. They became known as pantaloons, yet they were not a new invention in the world of fashion. The knee breeches became formal wear, and the pantaloons were the more casual choice of dress for men. Men abandoned powdered hair, and instead showed their natural colors. Men adorned their hats with the tricolor cockade. ====== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**@http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/costume-11.shtml** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**﻿**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Fashion of England** **﻿**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In England during the French Revolution, fashion was changing, but only slightly. Their ideas of fashion differed from the French views. The French would actually draw caricatures mocking England’s fashion choices. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Women and men all wore powdered wigs, and there was a sort of competition between the people of England to see who could achieve the tallest wig. The wigs were powdered, of course. Hats posed a problem. The wigs were too large for hats to be worn on, so the hats were made smaller and smaller. The hats were actually then never worn, merely carried in the hand or under the arm. Simple folding fans were also extremely popular. They had many uses. They could be used to conceal a blush or stifle a yawn. Fans were also used simply to cool the face of the person using it. It became a fashion icon, for the handles could be made from bone of ivory, and delicate scenes could be painted on them. Walking sticks with gold or silver knobs were carried by men and women. For men not in the military, they replaced the sword that had been worn at their side. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Women’s dresses had overskirts puffed out. The stuffing used was loosely crumpled paper which would make odd rustling noises whenever the wearer moved. An underskirt was worn as well, usually in a contrasting color to that of the overskirt. Dresses with panniers were short and usually showed the wearer’s shoes and ankles. However, the life of panniers was short, as they fell out of style quickly. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**@http://www.americanrevolution.org/clothing/clothing4.html**



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**History of the Guillotine**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The horrid beheading device known as the guillotine was actually used centuries before the French Revolution. Some examples of the guillotine, such as the Italian Mannaia and the Scottish Maiden, have been well documented and may predate the French guillotine by almost 500 years. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dr. Joseph- Ignace Guillotin is credited as the inventor of the guillotine. However, Dr. Guillotin simply came up with the idea for the guillotine as a more just way of capital punishment. His idea was scoffed at first but later the National Assembly adopted it in 1791. The document that made decapitation by this mechanical device was signed by many people, including Louis the 16th while he was still the king of France. It is ironic that the King of France authorized death by beheading because this is the same method of execution that his wife, Marie Antoinette, would be killed. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dr. Antoine Louis, the secretary of the National Academy of surgery, also signed the document to make the guillotine the proper method of execution. He was then put in charge of making the guillotines that were to be used in France. He hired a German harpsichord maker named Tobias Schmidt to help him construct the guillotine. This pair was actually the inventors of the modern guillotine used to behead aristocrats during the French Revolution. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**@http://boisdejustice.com/History/History.html**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Marie Antoinette**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Marie Antoinette was born a princess and an archduchess in Austria in 1755. She was the fifteenth daughter of Maria Teresa, Empress of Austria. Maria Teresa was known for strategically arranging her children’s marriages in ways to benefit the Austrian Empire. She arranged the marriage of Marie Antoinette to Louis the XVI, the crown prince of France, to create an alliance between the two countries. When Marie Antoinette turned fourteen, she was wed to Louis the XVI, and was to become the next queen of France. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, Marie Antoinette was not happy being the wife of Louis XVI. He was homely, awkward, and nothing like the dream prince she had imagined him to be. Marie Antoinette had never met Louis XVI in person until the wedding ceremony. Their personalities were completely different. He was shy and quiet and devoted his life to the hunt and building clocks in his workshop. She, on the other hand, possessed a passion of the arts, dance, fashion, and French nightlife. Marie Antoinette was bored with Louis XVI, and so she spent less time at the French court and more time with her small clique of French nobility. She showered the members of her clique with lavish gift, and threw herself into a life of extravagance. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After Marie Antoinette and Louis the XVI had children, Marie decided to settle down. She stopped spending so extravagantly. Unfortunately, her popularity with the people of France had fallen, no matter how much she tried to aid the poor of her country. However, her small acts of charity were hardly noticed. She is remembered for her quote, “Let them eat cake,” when she was told of the widespread starvation of France. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Marie Antoinette was executed on October 16, 1793. As she was climbing the steps to the stage of the guillotine, she accidentally stepped on the foot of the executioner. Her reply was also her last words ever spoken, "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose." Marie Antoinette was beheaded and her body was thrown in an unmarked grave. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**@http://www.marie-antoinette.org/biography/biography_english/** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**@http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/execution_marie.shtml**

Louis XVI
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Louis the XVI was born on August 23, 1754 in Versailles, France. Louis XVI was the crown prince of France. He married Marie Antoinette of Austria in 1770. He succeeded his grandfather, Louis XV, as king of France in 1774. Unfortunately f ﻿ or Louis XVI, he inherited a looming financial crisis just as democratic government was growing in appeal. He was said to have been a non- forceful king, doing nothing but pleasing his extravagant wife. The monarchy in France was abolished in 1792, and Louis was brought to trial for crimes against the people. His sentence was death by guillotine, and he died on January 21, 1973.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">@http://www.answers.com/topic/louis-xvi-of-france **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Napoleon Bonaparte
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. His parents were Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte. Napoleon is remembered as a historical figure and a legend. He decided on a military career when he was a child, winning a scholarship to a French military academy when he was fourteen. Napoleon is one of the greatest military commanders the world has ever known. His military conquests threatened the stability of the world. However, he has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror. He was the man who took control of France after the end of the French Revolution. One of his highest achievements was his supervision of the revision and collection of French laws into codes. These new law codes included some of the freedoms gained by the people of France during the French revolution. Napoleon also centralized France’s government by appointing prefects to administer the regions of France. He died on May 5, 1821. It is unsure if he was murdered on this date, or if he died of natural causes.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">@http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html **
 * @http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/napoleon_bonaparte/index.html**

Versailles
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Up until the French Revolution, Versailles had been the seat of power for France. During the French Revolution, the palace was deserted, for the king was forced to transfer to Paris by the demands of the people. Before the palace was completely abandoned by the power of the monarchy, Marie Antoinette lived her last days in Versailles before she was executed. The Palace of Versailles was allegedly one of the reasons that the people revolted against the power of the monarchy. The palace was ransacked and robbed of some of its art after the royal family had been forced to move to Paris. Luckily, most of the art was transferred to the Louvre museum. After the queen had been executed, the Palace of Versailles virtually became the start of the democracy.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">@http://versaillesinfo.com/revolution.html **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Author of //The Scarlet Pimpernel//**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The author of the famed novel //The Scarlet Pimpernel// was Baroness Emmuska Orczy. She was born in Tarna-Örs, Hungary. Her parents were Baron Felix Orczy and his wife, Countess Emma Wass. After rebellious peasants destroyed their farm in Hungary, the family moved from Budapest to Brussels and then to London. Baroness Orczy learned to speak English by the age of fifteen. Baroness Orczy was educated in convent schools in Brussels and Paris, as well as a few art schools in London. She met her husband, Montague MacLean Barstow, while studying at the Heatherby School of Art. They were married in 1894. Orczy found her fame in 1903 with the stage version of //The Scarlet Pimpernel//. The play ran for four years. The bestselling book also inspired several film versions in later years. Baroness Orczy wrote many great works of literature, but //The Scarlet Pimpernel// remains her most famous work. Baroness Orczy worked actively as a writer until her eighties. She also completed an autobiography before her death. She died in London on November 12, 1947. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**@http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/orczy.htm**