The "Great Fear" (French: la Grande Peur) occurred in July and August of 1789 in France at the start of the French Revolution. Rumors spread among the peasantry that nobles had hired brigands to march on villages and destroy the peasants' new harvest, adding to this was the lack of good harvests (due to freak weather) beginning in 1787. 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... i heart kate young The French Revolution was a period of major political and social change in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to... The nobility (la noblesse) in France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period had specific legal and financial rights and prerogatives (the first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under Louis XI of France after 1440), including exemption from paying the taille (except for non...

In response, peasants ransacked the châteaux of the nobles, burned documentation recording feudal obligations, or compelled those nobles they found in residence to renounce their feudal rights. Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ...

Causes and Course of the Revolts

As the French historian Georges Lefebvre demonstrated, the revolt in the countryside can be followed in remarkable detail. The revolts had not only economic but political causes, pre-dating the events in Paris and Versailles in the summer of 1789. As Lefebvre commented, "To get the peasant to rise and revolt, there was no need of the Great Fear, as so many historians have suggested: when the panic came, he was already up and away." The rural unrest can be traced back to the spring of 1788, when a drought threatened the prospect of the coming harvest. Storms and floods also destroyed much of the harvest during the summer, leading to a fall in seigneurial dues and defaults on leases. Frosts and snow damaged vines and wrecked chestnut and olive orchards in the south. Vagrancy became a serious problem in the countryside and in some areas, such as the Franche-Comté in late 1788, peasants had gathered to take collective actions against the seigneurs. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Capital Besançon Land area¹ 16,202 km² Regional President Raymond Forni (PS) (since 2004) Population  - Jan. ...

In early 1789, the king's financial minister Jacques Necker was warned that the countryside risked a general uprising, and in April peasant uprisings were increasingly organised and anti-seigneurial in character. Demands were made for the cancellation of harvest payments and the restoration of rights, such as that of grazing. The drawing up of the Cahiers de Doleances and subsequent elections contributed to the general expectation of reform. The political temperature rose drastically in July, with news of events in Versailles and riots in Paris and elsewhere contributing to rumors of plots to starve the people. The great numbers of strangers on the roads seeking work could also be taken as brigands in the pay of an unpatriotic aristocracy. In five different regions, peasants began to arm themselves, ringing church bells to warn of danger, and took to attacking the symbols of the seigneurial regime, reclaiming tithes and grain. Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (September 30, 1732 – April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance minister of Louis XVI. // Necker was born in Geneva, Switzerland. ... The Cahiers de Doleances (or simply Cahiers as they were often known) were the list of grievences written up by each of the three Estates in France, between March and April of 1789. ...

The panic began in the Franche-Comté, spread south along the Rhône valley to Provence, east towards the Alps and west towards the centre of France. Almost simultaneously, a panic began in Ruffec, south of Poitiers, and travelled to the Pyrenees, towards Berry and into the Auvergne. The uprising coalesced into a general 'Great Fear' as neighbouring villages mistook armed peasants for brigands. Although the main phase of the Great Fear died out by August, peasant uprisings continued well into 1790, leaving few areas of France untouched (Alsace, Lorraine and Brittany remained largely untouched).^[1] The Rhônes course. ... Coat of arms of Provence Provence (Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Italian border. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ... Location within France Poitiers (population 85,000) is a small city located in west central France. ... Pic de Bugatetin the Néouvielle Natural Reserve Central Pyrenees The Pyrenees (Spanish: Pirineos; French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés; Basque: Pirinioak) are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. ... Berry was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on March 4, 1790. ... Auvergne coat of arms Auvergne (Occitan: Auvèrnha) was the name of an historically independent county in the center of France, as well as later a province of France. ... (New région flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Strasbourg Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Departments Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... Lorraine coat of arms location of the Lorraine province Lorraine (French: Lorraine; German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. ... Brittany has an expansive coastline Flag of Brittany (Gwenn-ha-du) Historical province of Brittany région of Bretagne, see Bretagne. ...

Although the Great Fear is usually associated with the peasantry, all the uprisings tended to involve all sectors of the local community, including some elite participation, such as artisans or well-to-do farmers. Often the bourgeoisie had as much to gain from the destruction of the feudal regime as the poorer peasantry.^[2][3].

Borat also had a huge effect on the great fear when he slayed all the jews in France and robbed Louis XVI. He also forced himself on many French Women.

Chronology and centres of revolt

• Franche-Comté (from late 1788, and especially 19-31 July 1789)
• Dauphiné (Feb-June and from 27 July 1789)
• Provence
• Hainaut and Cambrésis (riots in Cambrai on 6 and 7 May 1789)
• Lower Normandy (21 July-3 August 1789)
• Mâconnais (26-31 July 1789)
• Alsace (c. 20 July 1789, witnessed by Arthur Young at Strasbourg
• South West (December 1789-March 1790, over 100 châteaux attacked as a response to the seigneurs attempts to collect tithes on a successful harvest.)^[4]

and they all died horrbily Capital Besançon Land area¹ 16,202 km² Regional President Raymond Forni (PS) (since 2004) Population  - Jan. ... Flag of the Dauphiné Dauphiné is a former province in southeastern France, roughly corresponding to the present départements of the Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. ... Coat of arms of Provence Provence (Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Italian border. ... The virtually independent county of Hainaut emerged from chaotic conditions at the end of the 9th century as a semi-independent state, at first a vassal of the crown of Lotharingia. ... The Archdiocese of Cambrai comprises the greater part of the département of Nord of France. ... Cambrai (Dutch: Kamerijk) is a French city and commune, in the Nord département, of which it is a sous_préfecture. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... The Mâconnais region is the southern limit of the Burgundy region in France(Bourgogne in French). ... Arthur Young (September 11, 1741 - April 12*, 1820) was an English writer on agriculture, economics and social statistics. ... City flag City coat of arms Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Alsace Department Bas-Rhin (67) Intercommunality Urban Community of Strasbourg Mayor Fabienne Keller  (UMP) City Statistics Land area¹ 78. ...

Ergotism

Historian Mary K. Matossian argued that one of the cause of the Great Fear was consumption of ergot, a hallucinogenic this in effect led to the general unrest of the nobility of France. Species About 50, including: Claviceps africanum Claviceps fusiformis Claviceps paspali Claviceps purpurea Ergot is the common name of a fungus in the genus Claviceps that is parasitic on certain grains and grasses. ... Hallucinogenic drug - drugs that can alter sensory perceptions. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Albert Goodwin, The French Revolution, London, UK: Hutchinson Univ. Library, 1970 ed, 71. ISBN 0091050219.
2. ^ Peter M. Jones, The Peasantry and the French Revolution, Cambridge, 1988, ch. 3
3. ^ Wiliam Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, 114-5.
4. ^ Jones, 1988

• Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: exploring the French Revolution - Social Causes of the French Revolution