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Three Estates
As wages were being cut and the price of bread went increasingly high, the third estate needed to stand their ground. Being the common people and most of the population, bread was their only way to survive; it was their main diet that was affordable to them. Since it was taken away, they rioted against the nobles violently, knowing that they wouldn't survive long without their bread. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was really a random act made by the delegates of the Estates General. Indeed, the delegates were about to have one of their secret meetings, but they realized that their meeting hall was locked and guarded. They had feared that the king was shutting them down. So to further keep their meeting a secret they moved to a near by, inside tennis court where they swore to always stay together and keep justice. -
Estates General
On this date, King Louis the XVI called for a meeting in Versailles for the Estates General. The reason for the assembly was for the government to be regulated. In these times, since the Thrid Estate was being treated terribly, there were riots for this social class. They burned down nobles' houses and caused violence. To stop this, they held the Estates General to try to make things right. -
National Assembly
On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate annoucned themselves to be the National Assembly. Being 98% of the population, the common people thought that they should have some power in the government. It seemed right for the people to decide their own government, which made a Republic. -
Storming the Bastille
At this time, Paris took the power from the National Assembly. 800 Parisians gathered at Bastille. They wanted weapons and gunpowder. When the commander refused, the crowd went wild and killed him along with five guards. King Louis wondered if it was a revolt, but was told specifically that it was a revolution. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
Having been made to model the American Delclaration of Independence 13 years ago, the Declaration of the Rights of Man had almost the same idea. It demanded natural rights which were "liberty, property,and security." -
Women March on Versailles
A large group of women marched to Versailles and shouted "bread!" the whole way. They refused to leave until the king and queen returned to Paris. Indeed, these women were mothers who didn't have enough food to feed their children. They were tired of the king ignoring their needs, so they went to fetch him. -
Louis XVI's failed flight
Louis XVI had devised a plan to escape the problems of France. He, his wife and children went in a coach at night disguised as servent commoners. The attempt failed as a person with a coin with the king's face on it ruined their disguise. The family was escorted back by soldiers and faced the angry crowd. -
Constitution of 1791
France decided to change their absolute monarchy to a limited monarchy. To do so they made the Constitution of 1791. They made a Legislative Assembly that could creat laws, decide issues of war and peace and collect taxes. Though they abolished guilds and didn't allow worker unions. -
Storming the Tuilerie's Palace
An angry mob decided to attack King Louis XVI in the Tuilerie palace. Being warned of this attack, King Louis took his family to the Legislative Assembly building. He let his guards and servants fight for him, but none were spared; only 300 to 900 soldiers survived. The king's cooks, etc all perished. -
National Convention
Since France overthrew their old monarchy, they elected a National Convention. It provided a new constitution. The convention had 749 people elected for it. Following the people's demands, it eventually made a republic. -
Death of a King and Queen
During the early Republic conventions, King Louis was on trial for being a traitor. He was convicted and sent to his death. In the public square of Paris Louis ascended the scaffold and tried to speak, but his voice wasn't heard amist the pounding drums. He was then Beheaded. His wife, Marie Antoinette was exceuted with dignity after Louis, in October. -
Maximilien Robespierre
Known as the "incorruptable", Max was a tough lawyer and politician who fought for the Commitee of Public Safety. His goals were religious toleration, and abolishing slavery among other things. He encouraged the beheading of criminals publicly. -
Committee of Public Safety
The threats that attacked France were frightening and constant. To fix this, the convention created a committee of public safety. It consisted of 12 members and its goal was to save the revolution. French soldiers invaded the Netherlands and Italy spreading "freedom fever". -
Reign of Terror
40,000 people died during the Reign of Terror. 15% were nobles and clergy, another 15% were of themiddle-class. The others were common people in riots against the Republic. Some of these people were innocent and were falsely accused or mistaken for another convicted person. -
Robespierre Excecuted
The Reign of Terror ended adruptly when it decided to take the life of its maker; Robespierre. He was arrested on July 27, 1794. And the moment his head and the heads of the other radicals fell, the deaths in the Reign of Terror slowed downed. -
The Directory
This stage of the French Revolution was the second to last stage. This system elected 750 legislators who controlled local authotities in the central government. It was also a time for new laws in the French Reolution. -
Election of 1797
As the Directory went on, it faced many threats. Corrupt leaders failed to face the problems and therefore, failed to do anything about these threats. Prices of bread were still raising which angered the people. Also, the Catholics felt that they had lost their power in the church. In this election, the constitutional monarcy won the seats in the vote. -
Napoleon Bonaparte
Ever since he was 9 years old, Napoleon was training to be in the military. Further on in his life, at 20 years old, he was a lieutenant. Two years later, Napoleon climbed his way higher and nameed himself the First Consul. At the end of his success however, he was failing in his fights with Britain and other countries. He was then exiled to in island were he escaped only to fail and be exiled again.