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General Estates meeting
Assembly gathered by king Louis XVI to solve France's financial crisis -
Tennis Court Oath
Assembly deputees meet in a tennis court and swear to not separate until France is given a constitution -
Storming of the Bastille
Revolutionaries stormed and took over the Bastille prison. It was a symbol of royalty, arbitrary justice and authoritarism -
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Great fear
Rumors of royal authoritites striking back against revolutionaries started spreading. In response peasants armed themselves and attacked manor houses and burnt all official documents -
Abolition of privileges and end of monarchy
French nobles lost all their privileges, and feudalism was abolished. It was officialized with the August Decrees, published by the assembly -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
French citizens stop being king's subject and have their first fundamental human rights. Women and children are excluded -
October days
Parisian women protest and riot, and start marching to Versailles. They kidnap the king and force him to sign the Abolition of Privileges and to agree with the Revolution -
The escape of the royal family
Louis XVI and its family attempt to flee Paris in order to get to Austria and get help to stop the Revolution. Unfortunatly they get caught and head back to Paris. They are juged for treason -
Constitution of 1791
It was the first written constitution in France's history. Basic concepts were the establishment of a constitutional monarchy and popular sovereignty -
War with Prussia
France declares war on Prussia after being threatened by the Prussians and other monarchys. This was an attempt to contain revolutionary ideas -
Brunswick Manifesto
"If you touch a hair on the king's head, we will destroy Paris". This said Brunswick, Prussian army's commander, to french revolutionnaries. This confirms the alliance between Louis XVI and other european powers -
Capture of the Tuileries palace
Armed revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries palace and arrested the King. This was the event that put a definitive end to monarchy in France -
Battle of Valmy
It was the first revolutionnary victory ever, against the Prussians. This victory marked the start of the First French Republic -
Beheading of Louis XVI
At the Place de la Concorde, the King Louis XVI is executed by revolutionnaries, after being juged -
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Reign of Terror
It started with the arrestation of the Girondins by the Montagnards, accused of not being firm with the new constitution. With the Suspects Law, created by Robespierre, all enemies of the revolution were killed. More than 20.000 executions. The Reign of Terror ended with the arrest and execution of Robespierre -
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The Directory
A new constitution was adopted in August 1795. The Directory was instaured (a five member comittee who ruled the country), and the -not really- universal suffrage was replaced by a censitary one. It ended wih Napoleon's military coup -
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The Consulate
Regime created by Napoleon after the fall of the Directory. It had a democratic appearance, but it wasn't. They were 3 consuls, Napoleon was one of them. He signed many peace treaties (the Concordat, peace with Austria, Prussia, UK...) and make adopt the Civil Code. -
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Industrialization
(The dates are approximate since it didn't have a formal start or end)
This period was the transition to new manufaturing ways in the world, with the "discovery" of machines and steam powered engines -
Napoleon becomes emperor
Napoleon crowned HIMSELF, in presence of the Pope, emperor of the French, -
Peak of French Empire
In 1811 Napoleon controlled nearly every part of Europe (except Portugal). The French Empire was at its peak. -
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Restoration
Period in which the monarchy returned to France after Napoleon's first abdication. It was separate in two parts with the comeback of Napoleon (the 100 days). The first monarch to rule was Louis XVIII -
First Abdication of Napoleon
After many military defeats, and with the constant rise of nationalism, Napoleon is forced to abdicate. Then he goes to exile in Elba Island, in Italy -
Congress of Vienna
After Napoleon's fall, the european powers divide and draw the new borders of Europe. -
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The 100 days
During 100 days, Napoleon came back form exile to try and "save" France again and restablished the empire -
Battle of Waterloo
In Belgium, Napoleon was crushed by the british in his last battle. This defeat leads to Napoleon's second abdication. He was exiled to Saint Helena Island, where he died in 1821 -
Chios massacre
After proclaming their independence, the Greeks are raid by the Ottomans and suffer a ferocious repression. They were longly discriminated for being christians. -
The Four Ordonnances
Charles X, the new king of France, publishes four ordonnances which deleted all of liberties. In fact, Charles X government was very authoritary -
July Revolution
Charles X ordonnances released a three-day revolution in which parisien people revolted against the King and fighted for their liberty. This revolution marked the failure of Charles X authoritary measures -
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Victorian Era
Period in which Queen Victoria I reigned. She controlled 20% of world's territory and was marked by the quick expansion of the British Empire -
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First Opium War
Britain started smuggling opium in China because they ran out of silver. China demanded for silver to pay in commercial exchange. This resulted in a war between China and the UK -
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The Second Republic
After the Springtime of the Peoples, a new republic is formed -
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The Springtime of the peoples
A series of political uprisings break out in Europe, The rising nationalism and desire of independence undermine the order established by the Congress of Vienna, and lead to the creation of new nation-states -
Coup Louis-Napoléon
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's nephew, staged a military coup in order to overthrow the French Second Republic and instaure the Second Empire -
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Second Empire
Napoleon III tried to imitate Napoleon I establishing an authoritary regime. Gradually, he increased his own power in order to become a precursor of dictator. He started colonizing Africa and Asia -
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Second Opium War
France joined Britain in this war to fight China because it had economic interests. It happened almost by the same reasons as the First Opium War -
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Franco-Mexican War
France launched a military intervention in Mexico to depose Benito Juarez' revolutionary government and to impose a French monarchy to help its profits -
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Franco-Prussian war
War between Prussia and France because Napoleon III wanted to follow his uncle's steps. Unfortunately, Germany won and France lost Alsace-Lorraine -
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Third Republic
New government established after the Second Empire's defeat at the Franco-Prussian war -
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Scramble for Africa
All the European powers were getting out of ressources, thanks to industrialization. So they started seeking in Africa. At some point, all the continent was occupied and this created many tensions -
Fashoda incident
France and Britain's colonies were separated by no man's land. To reunite this two territories, the french and the british sent expeditions, who coincidentally, met at the same point: the population of Fashoda. The french troops withdraw and there was no conflict. -
Murder of Franz-Ferdinand
The heir to Austro-Hungarian throne, archduke Franz-Ferdinand was shot by a Serbian nationalist at Sarajevo. This triggered a series of war declarations who ended in World War I -
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World War I
The first major global conflict starts after the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand. More than 14 million people died during this conflict who opposed France, UK, Russia against Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary