-
Louis XVI made King
King Louis the 16th became king in 1774. He was a weak leader and had trouble making decisions. Also, his wife, Marie Antoinette was despised by the French people because she came from long-hated Austria. She also spent money like crazy while the price of bread rose above the means of the people. -
Tennis Court Oath
The deputies congregated in a nearby indoor real tennis court where they took a solemn collective oath not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established. -
Fall of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille starts the French Revolution. A Parasian mob of eight thousand men and women stormed the Bastille in search of weapons and ammunition. De Launay realized that he could not hold them off and surrendered. The mob was angry that they had lost 98 attackers and they executed De Launay. -
The Great Fear
The Great Fear occurred in the summer 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. In response, peasants sacked the castles of the nobles and burned important documents. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
A Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was passed by the National Assembly.The nobles were forced to give up their special privileges from the Old Regime. This statement of revolutionary ideals gave all people the promise of the protection of their natural rights. It also granted all men the right to equal justice, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. -
Legislative Assembly
The National Assembly then disbanded and created the Legislative Assembly. This new assembly had the power to make laws and declare war on other nations. The new assembly soon split as some people wanted more freedom or liberties. -
The National Convention
It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic. It was succeeded by the Directory. Important members of the original Convention included Maximilien Robespierre of the Jacobin Club, -
King Louis XVI is executed
Former King of France Louis XVI was executed by guillotine. The National Convention had taken power a few months earlier. -
Reign of Terror
Robespierre killed 40000 people using the guillotine. -
Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the National Convention.
