Hello and welcome to a history of the United States, episode 163, The French Revolution, Part 1.

So begins phase four of our series.

Phase 1 covered 1607 to 1677. Phase 2 took the narrative to 1763, and phase 3 continued up to 1789. Phase four will go to 1815,

with the close of the War of 1812. It's going to be an incredibly exciting period to cover.

After years of going back and forth between London and the Americas due to our divided narrative,

it'll be nice to finally leave Europe behind for a while and really focus on the United States.

So of course, I'll be opening this section of the narrative in France.

The French Revolution has a good claim to be the most significant political event in world history.

Its shadow has dominated the centuries that have followed, never mind what it was originally

like at the time, and working a way through it would be one of the greatest challenges that

the newly formed United States would face. The Bourbon France that allied with the United States

against Brisson disappeared, becoming the first French Republic and then the Empire of Napoleon.

In a nice bit of symmetry, this period of European history also closes in 1815 with the Battle of Waterloo

and the Second Bourbon Restoration. As we cover the

Washington administration, and then those of Adams, Jefferson and Madison, we're going to need to be

familiar with what is going on in France. Therefore, we're going to start this section of the narrative

with a brief detour of France, from 1788 to 1800.

Not too in depth. Believe me or not, I am going to restrain myself and keep this high level.

Right, let's begin. The French monarchy was broke. Not broke as in broken, although with Louis XVIth at the helm,

you could argue that too. They had no money. The treasury was empty. Raising funds had been difficult

for years. The taxation system, if it can even be called that, was a tangled mess inherited from

the feudal era, including such factors as noble privileges

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