Decline+of+the+Aristocracy+in+W.+Europe

Hannah Chiu Discuss the decline of the aristocracy in Western Europe. When did the decline occur, what forms did it take and what factors caused it?

FACTORS The French Revolution Napoleon I/III Nicolas II American Revolution Industrialization Enlightenment Liberalism Joseph II Peter the Great World War I Lenin/Marx/Stalin

FORMS Universal Male Suffrage The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen The Destruction of the Three Estates Agricultural Revolution The Glorious Revolution English Civil War Abolishment of Serfdom Socialism/Communism

In early Europe, the aristocracy had garnered the most rights over the years; they could vote, avoid taxes, were literate, and had servants. After the Enlightenment in the 18th century, peasants began demanding more rights as French philosophers began theorizing equal rights for all men. Another event was the French Revolution which destroyed the concept of the Estates General and allowed universal male suffrage under Napoleon I.