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Parliament implements the Stamp Act.
The act taxes many items in the American colonies such as legal documents, diplomas, pamphlets, newspapers, almanacs, dice and playing cards. The act was violently opposed by colonists. -
Great Britain passes the Tea Act.
The act allowed the East India Company to ship tea directly from China to the American colonies instead of using Britain as a midpoint. This gave the East India Company a monopoly on tea, which upset many American merchants. -
Boston Tea Party
Boston men threw the tea of the East India Company into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act. As a response, Great Britain passed the Coercive Act, which curtailed local elections and increased the power of the royal governor. -
The first Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
Radical members of the Congress argue against making concessions to the crown. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
British regulars and American militia and Minutemen clash at the at Lexington and Concord in Massachusets. The battle starts after British regulars attempted to conficate American munitions. -
Period: to
The American Revolutionary War
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Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense.
The pamphlet calls for Revolution, Republican government and argues against an island controlling the American mainland. His pamphlet sold 120,000 copies in a few months. The pamphlet convinces many moderates to suppot independence from Great Britain. -
The French government starts to finance the American rebels.
France is forced to finance the debt created by its involvement in the American Revolution by borrowing money. This caused the national debt to soar. -
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The document was written by Thomas Jefferson and boldly attacked the tyrannical acts committed by King George III. It is significant because it dissolved the ties between Great Britain and America. -
French volunteers start to arrive in the American colonies to aid the Revolution.
Marquis de Lafayette quickly becomes one of Washington’s most trusted generals. The events are significant because it demonstrates that Europe is starting to become involved in the Revolutionary War. -
The French government offers a formal alliance with the United States.
This demonstrates that the American state is starting to recieve recognition from European states. -
The Battle of Yorktown Ends
Cornwallis surrenders the British garrison in Yorktown, Virginia andfter being surrounded by American and French land forces and the French fleet. This was the last major battle in the American Revolution (although minor skirmishes continued until the signing of the Treaty of Paris). The event is significant because it ensured that the American colonies would gain their independence. -
The Treaty of Paris was signed.
The treaty officially ended the American Revolutionary War. It granted America its independence and gave the US control of the territory between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River. -
The French government attempts to pay off its debt by raising taxes.
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Louis XVI’s minister of finance revives an old proposal to impose a general tax on all land.
The minister also calls for provincial assemblies to approve taxes. -
The harvest of grain is extremely poor and the price of grain and bread skyrockets.
Families need to spend the majority of their wages on bread. Due to this, the purchase of consumer goods declines. Many members of Paris fear the dismissal of moderates ministers and rumors that the king will sack Paris become common. -
Louis XVI calls for a special session of the Estates General.
This is the first Estates General called since 1614. This is significant because it demonstrates that LLouis XVI was becoming increasingly desperate to fix France's financial problems. -
The American Constitution is Ratified
The document created a central government that was built on a framework of checks and balances. The document was criticized for not having a bill of rights, although one was officially added to the Constitution in 1791. -
The first Estates General since 1614 is formed following a nation wide election.
Conflict erupted as the Third Estate attempts to create a general meeting. Eventually, Louis XVI attempts to dissolve the Estates at gun-point. -
The Creation of the National Assembly
The Third Estate is joined by a few local parish priests and votes to call itself the National Assembly. This demonstrates that Louis XVI was losing control of the political situation of France. -
The Oath of the Tennis Court
The delegates of the Third Estate are removed from their assembly hall. They occupy a tennis court and vow not to disband until France has a new, liberal constitution. -
The Storming of the Bastille.
Several hundred French civilians storm the BAstille in France and capture the arms stored within. As a result, Louis XVI officially lost control of Paris and was unable to dissolve the National Assembly. -
The National Assembly Dissolves Serfdom
Peasants attacked feudal manors and burned documents tying them to their lord’s land during the Great Fear. As a response, the National Assembly dissolved serfdom. As a result, the pheasants attempted to protect their gains. They became a force for stability in the countryside. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
The National Assembly issues the Declaration of the Rights of Man. It protected individual liberty and representative government. -
7,000 French Women Storm Versailles
They attempted to find and kill Marie Antoinette for her supposedly immoral and frivilious behavior. She was saved by the intervention of the MArquis de Lafayette. This demonstrated that the monarchy had effectively lost control of France. -
Edmund Burke published Reflections on the Revolution in France
The book was heavily critical of the French Revolution. In the book, Burke defended the monarchy and inherited privilege. -
King Louis XVI agrees to a constitutional monarchy.
The king remained the head of state, but all lawmaking power was given to a national assembly. -
The new French representative body reconvened.
The National Assembly dissolved itself to maintain stability in France. The new body was made up largely of the young and educated. The new representatives were much less cautious than their predecessors. -
France declared war on Francis II, the Habsburg monarch in charge of Austria.
The war went poorly and the French military retreated after its first encounter with enemy forces. Massive volunteer armies were used to save France from invasion. -
Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
The book argued for women’s right and equality between the genders. -
France was proclaimed a republic following the suspension of the king’s royal privileges.
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The Metric System is Adopted
The National Convention introduced the simple and uniform metric system to France to replace the jumble of weights and measures that varied between French provinces. This helps to unify France. -
Louis XVI is sentenced to death by the National Convention.
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Peasant uprisings start in Paris.
The rioters demand government action to ensure that they had daily food. The Mountain joined with the rioters and used the oppertunity to elimenate the Girondists from power, giving the Mountain control of France. -
Period: to
The Reign of Terror
During the reign, the Committee of Public Safety tried tens of thousands of people for political crimes. Forty-thousand people were executed (often by guillotine) or died in prison. The reign was used as a political tool to silence and eliminate dissenters. -
The Levee en Masse
800,000 soldiers are conscripted in the French army to help fight off enemies of the revolution such as Britain. The soldiers were well trained and armed. They also outnumbered the armies of enemy nations four to one. -
A new constitution is written for France
The new constitution establishes the Directory, which was elected by electors voted for by the general public. The Directory allowed many conservatives to come to power in France. -
The Thermidorian Reaction
Robespierre is executed and wealthy lawyers retake control of the French government from poor, city protestors. The event is significant because it represents the en of the Reign of Terror and the most radical phase of the French Revolution. -
Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power in France.
He ousted the Directory and later dissolved the legislative branch at gunpoint. This is significant because it demonstrates that France transitioned from a weak group of dictators to a single strong dictator. -
The Treaty of Luneville was signed.
The Treaty of Luneville was signed. In the treaty, Austria recognized French rule of Italy and Western Germany. -
Napoleon and Pope Pius VII sign the Concordant of 1801.
It allowed French Catholics to worship freely, but gave the French government the ability bishops and pay the clergy. -
Napoleon defeats the Austrians and the Russians at the Battle of Austerlitz and the Third Coalition collapsed.
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The Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon’s plan to invade England is halted after the Battle of Trafalgar. The superior British navy defeated the French navy, which made a large-scale naval invasion impossible. -
Napoleon united many German kingdoms and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire.
The event is significant because it demonstrates the influence Napolean had on Europe. -
France occupied Madrid after a coalition of Catholics, patriots and monarchists rebelled against French attempts to make Spain a protectorate.
This demonstrates that Napolean's hold on Europe was starting to be undone. -
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia starts.
The invasion ends in A French defeat and over 500,000 French causalities.This is one of the greatest military defeats in human history. -
Napoleon is defeated by the Quadruple alliance and exiled to St. Elba.
The Bourbon Dynasty is restored and Louis XVIII becomes the new king of France. This signifies that the effects of the French Revolution were coming to an end. -
Napoleon escapes from Elba and conquers France.
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Period: to
The Hundred Days
Napolean attempts to reconquer Europe. The event is significant because it damaged the generous terms the COngress of Vienna gave the defeated French. -
The Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. He is permanently exiled to St. Helena off the coast of Africa. This marked the official end of the French Revolution.