-
Meeting of the Estates General
What: Representatives from each of 3 French Estates, Clergy, Nobility, and Pheasants, gather together. Though the Third Estate is much larger than the First and Second, each estate is only allowed one vote. This allowed the First and Second Estates to band together and cancel out the vote of the Third Estate.
Effects/Impact on History: Before this the Third Estate was not very unified as a result of the diversity of the group, but afterwards the Third Estate was unified and separated. -
Storming of the Bastille
What: The Third Estate was consistently going hungry due to the heavy taxes issued by the French Government. Getting tired of this treatment, a mob attacks and storms the Bastille in order to get food and weapons.
Effects/Impact on History: The Storming of the Bastille boosted the moral of the Third Estate and helped the revolt to gain momentum. Later, the Bastille was disassembled completely by the Third Estate. -
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
What: The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen was a list of basic rights. It consisted of many Enlightenment Ideas, among them the concept that all men are equal.
Effects/Impact on History: The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen helped to spread Enlightenment ideas to other parts of the world. It also helped to abolish the French Monarchy. -
March on Versailles
What: A crowd of people, mostly women march to the Palace of Versailles to address the food shortages the Third Estate was having problems with. The mob of people at the palace began to riot and demanded that the Royal Family come to Paris, to which the king and his family complied.
Effects/Impact on History: Due to the March on Versailles the French Government was relocated to Paris. Also, though the palace was maintained in case, the Royal Family never returned to Versailles. -
Gens De Colour demand equal rights from France
What: The Gens De Colour, or free people of color, in the colony of Saint Domingue request that the French Assembly give them equal rights as the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen states that all men are equal. They are well established and many of them have salves of their own.
Effects/Impact on History: This helped to partially lay a foundation to bypass the race distinction between free people. It also was a request later granted by the French Government. -
The French National Assembly granted free Blacks full French rights in Saint Domingue
What: The French National Assembly ruled that free Blacks in Saint Domingue had full French rights, however the governor of the colony refused to grant these rights. This caused a revolt lead by Vincent Oge and Jean-Baptiste.
Effects/Impacts on History: The revolt was caused the unification of the white slave owners in the colony, who quickly defeated it. This also squashed what little opposition to French control was present. -
The Colony of "Saint-Domingue" is Abolished
What: After slaves overthrew the colony, they sent 3 white, mulatto, and black representatives to Paris. After the National Assembly heard their arguments they agreed to abolish slavery.
Effects/Impacts on History: As a result of the abolishment of slavery in Saint Domingue, slavery was also abolished in the rest of the French Colonies. This sparked some conflict as some of the colonies refused to comply or only partially complied. -
Beheading of King Louis the XIV
What: King Louis beheaded after being charged with and convicted of conspiracy . He and his wife Marie Antoinette were arrested after attempting to flee to Austria.
Effects/Impact on History: The beheading of King Louis was the official end of the French Monarchy. It also caused other countries to develop more fair governments for fear of a revolt. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
What: The Reign of Terror was a period where those who didn't support the revolution were executed by the Committee of Public Safety. Near the end the right to a public trial was denied and the jury was only allowed to rule death or freedom.
Effects/Impact on History: Due to the Reign 17,000 were executed and many were imprisoned. Many of the major figures of the time were killed during this time, and afterwards those imprisoned were freed. -
French Forces admit defeat to the Slave Armies and evacuate their forces
What: After freedom was granted by the National Convention, Napoleon attempted to reinstitute it. This resulted in slave revolts, and in Saint Domingue the slaves defeated the French armies.
Effects/Impact on History: The defeat of the French resulted in the creation of the republic of Haiti. This was the first successful slave revolt. -
Napoleon is Emperor
What: Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor, becoming the first French Emperor in a millennium. This comes after aids the territorial expansion of France, creating the French Empire.
Effects/Impact on History: France's territory grows drastically after Napoleon is crowned Emperor. Napoleon also established the Napoleonic Code during his time as Emperor.