Egypt/France

1. Compare / Contrast Louis XVI and Mubarak. The same- Both of them were taken out of power due to a revolution. Both had complete political power; Mubarak a dictator and Louis XVI an absolute monarch. Both had violent riots break out against them during their reign. Louis appointed his friends that were nobles into places of power around him as Mubarak kept his friends in high positions also. Differences- Louis did not attempt help the economy of France but Mubarak tried to help the economy. Louis was executed but Mubarak was just thrown out of power. Louis XVI did not allow others to run for power, Mubarak ran in elections with other but won them all.

2. In each case, WHY were the people protesting? (Cite primary sources). In the French Revolution, people were protesting mostly because of unfair taxes. The third estate, or common people, were the only estate being taxed, and they were the estate with the least money. The other two estates were the clergy and nobility and neither had to contribute to the lessening of the countries debt. The third estate, the largest estate, joined together to revolt against the first two estates.

- http://sourcebook.fsc.edu/history/constitutionof1791.html

- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html

- http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/turgot/reflecti

- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1789platiere.html

In Egypt, Mubarak had been suppressing the rights of the people. He had become a dictator and outlawed and protesting against his reign. He used to the military to protect himself from riots and shut down ways of communication for Egyptian people such as the Internet. The People had enough and began to protest and he stepped down.

- http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/egypt

- http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-11-egypt-protests

- http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/11/133675132/live-blog-latest-on-events-in-egypt

3. What role did women play? In France, women were still unable to receive and education and had limited rights. Women joined together and revolted against their oppression. Improvement were seen in small steps, especially after The Declaration of the Rights of Women was published. Women in the Revolution did not play a huge role but instead gained rights from the years after the Revolution itself. In Egypt, there are a large amount of women activists protesting in the streets along side the men. Women had been abused by governmental people which added to their list of reason to revolt. There were women's rights groups established and still being established now.

4. What concerns are their about the current situation in Egypt? How might they relate to the days following the fall of Louis XVI? One concern is that some of the people have reported on twitter that they now will stop protesting to rebuild the government and economy. The concern is that the Vice president and military may take full power and a new dictatorship will arise. This can relate to days after the fall of Louis XVI because people did not want a new absolute monarchy to rise. A new absolute ruler did come about in Robespierre and the Terror took place. After it all blew over, the Republic failed and an Emperor came to power.

5. How did/are people express(ing) their views? In both Revolutions, the common people revolted because they felt under appreciated and taken advantage of. In Egypt people marched around the presidential palace, burned buildings, and refused to stop until Mubarak stepped down, and he finally did. In France, the third estate created the National Assembly, protested violently with guns, marched on Versailles, and attended the Estates General when they were banned from it.

6. Are the current protests violent? Yes, the protests are violent in Egypt are violent. Buildings have been burned and large fights have broken out. To try and maintain control the military has been using weapons, bombs, and fire to keep protestors back up until the resignation of Mubarak. The people gathered in an unusually large amount and stormed one of Cairo's major squares.

7. What do people on the ground in Cairo think is going to happen now? (Directly contact reporters and bloggers in Egypt via Twitter during this class period). People are excited that the Revolution got Mubarak out of power and are rejoicing. Reporters are saying that an election will be held for a new president, but until then, the vice president will reign with military aid. I was unable to come in contact with anyone at the scene, put from generic posts this is what I was able to find.

8. Based on your study of the French Revolution and your current observations of the situation in Egypt, what do you think are possible outcomes? How are the possible outcomes in Egypt alike or different with outcomes in France -- both in the short and long term. I think that a possible outcome is that the Vice President will take control and become a dictator as Mubarak was and as Robespierre was a absolute ruler in the French Revolution. He will become power hungry and the Revolution will have to try and force him out of office as they had with Mubarak. This will cause more violence and protests along with turmoil for the entire country as the Terror did in France.