French Revolution & Napoleonic Era Timeline

By 12Ridhi12
  • Excessive spending & poor harvests cause a financial crisis

    Excessive spending & poor harvests cause a financial crisis

    War debt, royal extravagance, and food shortages push France toward collapse. The crisis forces the monarchy to seek new taxes, triggering political confrontation.
  • First & Second Estates join the National Assembly

    First & Second Estates join the National Assembly

    Clergy and nobles support the Third Estate. Revolutionary legitimacy grows, weakening royal control.
  • King Louis XVI calls the Estates-General

    King Louis XVI calls the Estates-General

    Representatives of the three estates meet to address the crisis. Unequal voting enrages the Third Estate and sparks revolutionary action.
  • The Great Fear

    The Great Fear

    Peasants attack nobles amid panic and rumors. Feudalism collapses under popular pressure.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

    Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

    Revolutionary principles of liberty and equality are declared. Absolutism is ideologically dismantled.
  • The Tennis Court Oath

    The Tennis Court Oath

    The Third Estate vows to create a constitution. This transforms a financial dispute into a revolutionary movement challenging royal authority.
  • Storming of the Bastille

    Storming of the Bastille

    Paris crowds seize a royal prison and weapons. Violence spreads revolutionary momentum nationwide.
  • Women’s March on Versailles

    Women’s March on Versailles

    Women demand bread and accountability from the king. The royal family is placed under revolutionary surveillance.
  • Constitution of 1791 establishes a constitutional monarchy

    Constitution of 1791 establishes a constitutional monarchy

    Limits royal power while retaining the king. Louis XVI’s resistance increases radical opposition.
  • Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria

    Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria

    France enters war to defend revolutionary ideals. War accelerates radicalization and internal violence.
  • Robespierre’s Reign of Terror

    Robespierre’s Reign of Terror

    Mass executions enforce revolutionary loyalty. Fear discredits radical rule and destabilizes France.
  • Louis XVI is executed

    Louis XVI is executed

    The king is executed for treason. Monarchy ends, and revolutionary extremism intensifies.
  • The Directory is installed

    The Directory is installed

    A five-man executive takes power. Weak leadership enables military dominance in politics.
  • Napoleon’s coup d’état overthrows the Directory

    Napoleon’s coup d’état overthrows the Directory

    Napoleon seizes power as First Consul. Revolutionary government gives way to authoritarian stability.
  • Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo

    Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo

    Coalition forces decisively defeat Napoleon. The Napoleonic Era ends and monarchies are restored.