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Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (1748-1836), commonly known as Abbé Sieyès, was a French clergyman and political writer, who became a leading voice in the Third Estate during the French Revolution (1789-99). Sieyès played instrumental roles in both...
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Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
Portrait of the Abbé Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (1748-1836), a leading figure of the Third Estate during the Estates-General of 1789 and the subsequent formation of the National Assembly. Oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, 1817. Fogg Museum...
Definition
Coup of 18 Brumaire
The Coup of 18 Brumaire (9-10 November 1799) was a bloodless coup d'état in France that overthrew the government of the French Directory and replaced it with the French Consulate. The coup brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power and, in the view...
Definition
French Consulate
The French Consulate was the government of the First French Republic from 10 November 1799 to 18 May 1804, spanning the last four years of the Republic's existence. Headed by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) as First Consul, the Consulate served...
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What is the Third Estate?
What is the Third Estate? was a seminal pamphlet written by Abbé Emmanuel-Joseph Sièyes (1748-1836) in the months preceding the Estates-General of 1789. The pamphlet argues that the Third Estate (commoners) constitutes an entire nation itself...
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Abbé Sieyès, as a Member of the National Convention
Abbé Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (1748-1836) as a member of the National Convention during the French Revolution (1789-99), engraving by François Bonneville, 1797.
Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris.
Definition
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was a meeting of the three estates of pre-revolutionary France: clergy, nobility, and commons. Summoned by King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) to deal with financial and societal crises, it ended with the Third...
Definition
French Directory
The French Directory, or Directorate (French: le Directoire), was the government of France from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, a period that spanned the last four years of the French Revolution (1789-1799). The Directory was unpopular...
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King Victor Emmanuel III
A photograph of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III (r. 1900-46), taken between 1924 and 1934.
Definition
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was a follower of Jesus of Nazareth who buried him in his own tomb after the crucifixion. In the gospels, Mark and Luke identified him as a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council in Jerusalem. The location of Arimathea...