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The Estates General called by King Louis XVI
IIn July 1787 Comptroller-General Lomiene de Brienne, asked the Parliament du Paris to register the tax on property of all three estates. The Parliament refused and France entered a year of intense conflict between the royal government and the parliaments. On July 5, 1788, with the government at a standstill, and in spite of his misgivings, Louis XVI gave in to the demands of the nobility and issued an edict calling the Estates General to meet in May 1789. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The National Assembly, consisting of members of the Third Estate, was created June 17 1789. Three days later, when they arrived to the courts, they were shocked to discover that King Louis XVI had locked them out. They gathered around at a near by tennis court and oath of solidarity and unity swearing that they will "never cry to the King, and to meet quietly when the circumstances demand, until the constitution of France is happily singing." -
The Storming of the Bastille
A mob stormed the bastille, the medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille which represented royal authority "power" in the center of Paris. While the prison only contained seven prisoners at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution, and it subsequently became an icon of the French Republic. -
The Declaration of the Right of Man and Citizen
The Declaration of the Right of Man and Citizen was announced. Earlier in August 1789, the National Assembly had written its first act, abolishing feudalism, and therefore liberating peasants from "seigniorial obligations" (eg. tithes, labour service, manorial dues). The Assembly announced a document that reflected ideas of hope and of the enlightenment the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. -
Recogniztion of the National Assembly
The king formally recognizing the national assembly
Following the violent up rises in the rural areas and the storming of the Bastille, France seemed to be falling into chaos, Louis XVI had little alternative but to recognize the National Assembly. -
The Passing of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The nationalization of Church lands was the first step in state control of the Church. On July 12, 1790 the National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy to bring the clergy under government control. Clergy would now be elected by all citizens and their salaries paid by the state. The clergy were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, essentially it required the clergy to acknowledge the supremacy of the French government over the Pope. -
King Louis XVI's Desperate Move
The king tried to leave in a desperate move on June 20th, 179, he tried to flee to Austria with his family. By taking this action he was deserting a state of which he was the head to seek temporary refuge in a hostile country. He was later apprehended at the boarder, he was then sent back to Paris. Public opinion which earlier had been willing to accept and even love the king as a constitutional monarch, now began to turn against him. -
Execution of Louis XVI
The former Louis XVI, now simply named Citoyen Louis Capet (Citizen Louis Capet), was executed by guillotine at 10:15am on 21 January 1793 on the Place de la Révolution, former Place Louis XV, now called the Place de la Concorde. After he was executed, some of the citizens who witnessed the beheading ran forth to have their clothes soaked in the late King's blood, dripping from his head -
The Reign of Terror
During this time, as the violence escalated between the Girondins and the Jacobins over the struggle for power, it resulted in the execution of 16,000 French citizens who were deemed to be "enemies of the revolution". Those sent to the guillotine include Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Princess of Lamballe. The Reign of Terror came to an end with the execution of Robespierre in 1794. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
Jacobin controlled and the "Reign of Terror" started. This was an attempt to destory the internal enemies of the Revolution and a response to fear of losing the war. -
The Execution of Robespierre
Robespierre, who accused of setting himself up as a dictator, was arrested in July 1794. He was later executed that month along with with twenty-one others in a public ceremony. The Jacobin rule ended.
