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Louis XVI becomes King
Louis XVI becomes King after King Louis XIV dies. King Louis XVI marries Marie Antoinette of Austria in 1770. Marie is 18 when she becomes Queen. Louis is absorbed in family life and enjoys hunting and mechanical arts. -
France has problems
There is a lack of money in France, poor taxing, wants to tax nobility and clergy but they resist, bank refuses to lend money to the government, crop failures, bread shortages, so Louis decides to call the Estates General. -
The Tennis Court Oath
Members of the 3rd Estate are locked out of the meeting hall by the King so they move to a near by tennis court. They take an oath to "Never to separate" until France has a constitution. -
The Storming of the Bastille
The rioting poor had broken into an army and stole 28,000 rifles but they had no gunpowder. On July 14th, 1789 people storm Bastille to free prisoners, remove cannon, and get gunpowder. -
Women March to Versailles
Hunger is the driving reason behind the people's anger. A rumor spreads around Paris that the King and Queen are hoarding grain. An angry mob walks 12 miles to Versailles and demands the King and government to move to Paris.
