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French Revolution: Background Information

-//Causes//: a. France took place in wars, such as the Seven Years’ War in Europe and the American Revolution. 1.This causes a drain in the treasury and puts the country in debt, weakening the psyche of the French and causing mental distress. b. Louis XIV spends some of France’s money on himself and his wife, buying an extravagant palace and royal robes. c. France was in a time of “highly secularized enlightment”, and the idea of “divine right of kings” seemed fallible, and did not give Louis XVI the right to rule. d. France’s legislative body demanded the nobility and clergy, who were exempted from paying taxes, to finally starting paying taxes due to the fact that the nation was in shambles. They would also have to forfeit their privileges. e. Due to this fact, the French bourgeoisie, middle-class, became infuriated and rebelled.
 * Overview:**



//Storming of Bastille-//1789
 * peasants stormed Bastille, the prison that was symbol of absolutism that France had been suffering from for so long; symbol of brutality and totalitarian
 * ten foot thick walls, ninety foot high towers; guarded by canon, eighty soldiers, six hundred musketoons
 * mob obtained thirty-two thousand rifles from another prison, but no ammunition
 * went to get ammo from Bastille, but couldn't get through such large forces
 * intimidating cannons were discovered to be unloaded, prompting the people to storm
 * a few young people went on roof of adjacent store and jumped in courtyard of prison and dropped drawbridge
 * took cannon and Governor of Bastille surrendered
 * seven men saved from prison, but meant absolutism is over and started revolution



-The entire French Revolution was about finally achieving equality between all of the classes and removing all oppression. -//Effects//: a. No French ruler would reverse the property and rights acquisitions, which were gained during the revolution. b. A new tax system was created that completely left out privilege and status. c. The breakdown of the church and feudal contracts freed people from fees and any past obligations.

-Charles de Calonne was appointed controller general of finances and was asked to evaluate the situation and propose a solution to the government. -//Situation//: a. Tracking any government transactions was difficult due to the fact that independent accountants were put in charge of various tasks such as the acquisition and distribution of government sums. b. This left the back door open for corruption. These accountants can dip into these government funds for their own use. c. The government would not agree to across-the-board taxation. -Calonne proposed a plan where the nobles would have to pay new taxes or agree to give up their exemption for the old taxes. The nobles disagreed with his plan which would have been successful. -Calonne was fired and the bourgeoisie rebelled. Shortly after, so did the peasants. -The poorest people in all of France continued to pay increasing taxes, while the nobility refused to yield to the government’s demands. The peasants were forced to pay taxes to their lords as well and had a labor obligation, forcing them to continue working. -The economy declined even further when people rioted due to the lack of food.
 * Financial/Economic Conditions (In-Depth):**



-Even though the clothing worn in France made a fashion statement, it also sent a social and political message. Clothing created another way of identifying people in a certain class, and their political affiliation. -Clothing simply divided and categorized people into their rightful place in society. -A specific clothing or article would act as a political device, and this would emphasize a person's political status/affiliation. -This would then mount the tensions already present between the classes.
 * Fashion:**



-The bourgeoisie were influenced by the nobility and tried to imitate them whenever possible. -People in the bourgeoisie class tended to be very wealthy. However, this wealth was nothing without status, which they sought, but did not acquire. -People began to be evicted from their homes, due to rising rent and increasing taxes. -Bread was becoming scarcer and this caused the prices to rise. -Since many of the French people were used to buying bread, they continued to do so. It would now take most, if not all, of their wages to pay for this bread. -The Church began to hand out bread and milk to the peasantry. -Due to the hailstorm in 1788/1789, there was a poor harvest, and most crops were destroyed.
 * Lifestyle:**



Charles Dickens: Background information

__Literature__ In his lifetime, Charles Dickens wrote several different books. Some of the more famous ones are __Oliver Twist,__ __A Christmas Carol,__ __Dombey and Son,__ __The Battle of Life,__ __The Chimes,__ __David Copperfield,__ and __A Tale of Two Cities.__

Many books he based on his own experiences. For example, __David Copperfield__ was written about his own childhood and the character Dora was based on his first love, Maria.

He wrote books until the year he died, his last book was a murder mystery, __The Mystery of Edward Drood__, which he was not able to finish.

His book __David Copperfield__ caused many social reforms in the 1800s because it brought the horrors of factories to the attention of the government.

Today, his writing influences many different authors, new novels, and the way Christmas is celebrated.

Throughout his lifetime, Charles Dickens wrote well over 40 novels



Charles Dickens Biography
 * Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Portsmouth in Hampshire on February 7, 1812.
 * He was the second of eight children.
 * His father was John Dickens, a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and his mother was Elizabeth.
 * He enjoyed spending time outside as a child, and also read, enjoying the novels of Henry Fielding and Tobias Smollett.
 * Because of his family's moderate wealth, he was able to have some private schooling at William Giles's School in Chatham.
 * His father was imprisoned due to unimpeded spending.
 * The prison his father went to was the eventual setting for one of his works, called __Little Dorrit__, which has the character's father imprisoned.
 * Before his father was imprisoned, Charles, who was twelve years old at the time, had started working ten hour days at Warren's Blacking Warehouse.
 * He was paid the wage of 6 shillings per week.
 * His wage helped pay to support his family and their lodgings.
 * The strenuous, unregulated, and frequently cruel work conditions of factory workers, particularly children, had a strong impact on Dickens.
 * Some of his essays and books were attempts to try to get people to become aware of the crude conditions of the factories.
 * Dickens met his first love, Maria Beadnell in 1830, but her parents disapproved of the relationship, so they sent her to school in Paris.
 * Dickens died on the 9th of June 1870, age 58



Works Cited  "Charles Dickens Facts." Facts About Historical Figures. 12 Jan. 2010 .

"The French Revolution." __Http:www.fsmitha.com/h3/h33-fr.html__ . 2002. Frank E. Smitha. 12 Jan. 2010 .

"The Origins of the French Revolution." The History Guide. 2000. Steven Kreis. 12 Jan. 2010 .

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The French Revolution (1789–1799).” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 12 Jan. 2010.

"The storming of the Bastille." eSSORTMENT . 2002. Pagewise. 12 Jan. 2010 .

"Parisian Fashion in the Time of the Revolution." France in the Age of Les Miserables. 12 Jan. 2010 .

Charles Dickens's Works- A Partial List. 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. .

Charles Dickens Biography//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. .