French and Egyptian Revolutions

1. Louis XVI vs Mubarak

Similarities:

• They were both absolute rulers of their countries. 
• Both rulers were originally appointed and thought of well. 
• Both rulers became strongly disliked and most people in each country wished to have the rulers out of power. 
• Both had people revolting and this caused some casualties. 

Differences:

• Louis XVI's rule was ended because he was found guilty of treason and was executed, but Mabarak's rule ended because he stepped down and transferred the power to someone else, due to protests. 
• The Egyptian revolution's main goal was to get Mabarak out of office. The French revolution had other goals, and having Louis XVI executed was just another result. 
• The Egyptian Revolution was much shorter than the French Revolution; the Egyptian lasted for a matter of days, whereas the French one lasted for ten years. 
• Much fewer people died in the Egyptian Revolution than the French Revolution. 

2. Why the people protested:

French Revolution:
The French Revolution started because the people of the Third Estate wanted more food and more land, because they had the most people in their party and were not receiving adequate amounts of these things. The Third Estate protested by writing pamphlets, marching, riots, etc. France was losing lots of money. Though the initial goal was not to remove their ruler, the people decided that it would be best for them to have someone else in charge. The Third Estate also even made a list of things that they felt were wrong or needed to be changed, a list of rights, in a way (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/cahiers3.html), and a declaration of rights (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp).
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1789platiere.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sieyes.html

Egyptian Revolution:
The Egyptians began protest because they sought to remove their leader, Mubarak, from his position. He had become a dictator and ruled the people for thirty terrible years, with a largely corrupted government. There was also lots of poverty and unemployment. Egyptians believed that if they were able to get Mubarak out of the way and get someone else into power, their lives would improve.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121322143201645.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/hosni_mubarak/index.html?inline=nyt-per

3. The role of women in each revolution:

Both revolutions caused some change in the treatment of women; they became a bit more respected. 

French Revolution: 

• The women didn't have the opportunity to play much of a role, they were only beginning to become part of politics at this point in time. 
• The women marched on Versailles in attempt to get the royal family to come back to Paris. 
• Olympe de Gouges wrote a declaration about the right of women, and this greatly pushed forward women's rights in politics. 
• During the revolution, France tried to move towards gender equality. They were one of the first to do so. 

Egyptian Revolution: 

• Both genders have even rights, but the men are mostly the ones planning things. The women just help out and go to protests and riots and such. 
• Many women wrote blogs or used other media to protest. They used propaganda to promote their revolution. 
• They protested in Tahrir Square. 
• They keep connected and broadcast using twitter and other forms of media. 
• While they not take as much part in fighting or violence as the men do, the women are not afraid.
• They also raised awareness about sexual harassment.  

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/04/133497422/Women-Play-Vital-Role-In-Egypts-Uprising

4. Concerns about the current situation in Egypt, and how it relates to the fall of Louis XVI:

While Egypt is happy that they have gotten what they wanted and removed Mubarak from power, the revolution may not be over. There is dispute over power, and still much tension although the initial goal has been reached. The transfer of power could still make for a bumpy road. In the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was removed from power, they people thought that it was all over. However, the Terror still came afterwards. It was a period of a lot of killing and no peace at all. Egypt could be in a bad situation, because something like the terror could happen, or another dictator could come into power. 

5. How people expressed their views in each revolution:

French Revolution:
People in the French revolution expressed views through lots of writing. Pamphlets were the best way back then to spread the word around of things that were going on and things that were going to happen. Pamphlets also were used by women to protest about their rights. People also marched, which was a great way to express views, and not violent. Though their protests did lead to the Terror, France was much better off in the end. Finally, people attended meetings and such of things like the Estates General, and there they expressed their views.
Egyptian Revolution:
People of Egypt wrote about their feelings as well, but not in pamphlets. They used blog sites to write about their feelings and twitter was abuzz with news from Egypt. The Egyptians, like the French, also had marches, like the one on Tahrir Square. There were some violent protests as well, including burning, but it seems to have worked out well thus far. 

6. Are the current protests violent?

There are not really any protests going on currently in Egypt. They have recently caused their dictator to resign, and now the people are celebrating. However, there were both some violent and non-violent protests. Things like marching are not violent, but they still get a point across. There was some burning and riots, but the violence in Egypt is nothing compared to what has been seen in other countries. The Egyptians escaped from the revolution with only around 302 casualties. This is nothing, especially compared to the 16,000-40,000 killed in the French Revolution. 

7. What people in Cairo think is going to happen now:

If people think that there is more bad to come, they do not show it, because currently there is nationwide celebration going on in Egypt due to the removal of the dictator. People do not seem to concerned with what is too come, they are very satisfied with what has already happened, and are much more calm now that Mubarak is gone. Reporters and people on the streets are saying that everyone is now happy and celebrating. People also believe that a whole new government will be put in place. The people are proud of what they have done. 

8. Predicted possible outcomes, and how they relate to France: 

I believe that the situation in Egypt should go fairly smoothly from now on. I think that there will still be a few struggles and maybe some fights and confusion, but the people will work through it. They have worked too hard to stop now, and they know it. Even if the people are not happy with what the government becomes, they will fight for what they want. Egypt is a strong country to be able to have done what they did. Things are looking good, and I believe that there is a very good chance that a great government will be created and the Egyptian's lives will greatly improve, just as they wished.