Enlightenment
Age of reason when thinkers called for the use of reason to analyze and improve society.
Coup d' etat
Quick seizure of power.
First Estate
Clergy
Second estate
Nobility
Third Estate
Peasants, city workers, bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
Middle Class
Estates General
Lawmaking group which included the First and Second Estate, and then the Third Estate
Animist
A person who attaches souls or spirits to natural objects.
Napoleonic Code
A unified set of laws spread throughout the Empire.
Tithe
French tax
Directory
The new government set up by the revolutionary leaders in France.
Congress of Vienna
A meeting of European leaders which returned conservatives to power after the fall of Napoleon.
Reign of Terror
A period (1793-1794) when brutal measures were taken to eliminate enemies and critics of the revolutionary republic set up in France.
Declaration of the Rights of Man
French constitution patterned after the United States Constitution.
Bastille
Louis XVI's royal prison which was attacked on July 14, 1789.
Guerilla
Sabotage and harassment of occupying forces. Means "little war" in Spanish.