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Enlightenment thinkers
The enlightenment thinkers played a major role in the french revolution as the ideas and thoughts on liberty and justice were the backbone of the freedoms wanted by the people. Some of the major thinkers were even leaders of the revolution and their ideas of how peoples rights should be treated are still thought of and are still influential to this day. Extra links on the subject:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/ -
publication of Leviathan
The publication of Leviathan was a major moment in the history of the Enlightenment and the French revolution. The book is about the relationship between citizen and church and how the church should respect the people. Many important ideas about freedom and liberty were also said like that man has the will to do anything he wants and he can under liberty. The book made many think of Hobbes as a thinker of positivism.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Leviathan-by-Hobbes -
King Louis XIV dies.
King Louis XIV was also known as the "Sun King" and had ruled over France for 74 years. He brought many things to France like gold and honor. His succession, King Louis XIV was to sadly, lead to great country he created into chaos and King Louis XIV would be a major problem in the revolutionary ideas. Links for extra reading:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France -
King Louis XVI Becomes king.
King Louis XVI was a weak king and his actions of helping the Americans create a new country and have lavish parties caused France to be broke. The peasants and middle class were starting to get taxed more and more while the higher ups on the pyramid were paying little to no taxes what so ever. King Louis XVI couldn't keep the people happy and he was at the forefront of the French Revolution. More links to read:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XVI -
The General Estates Meet
The general estates is a meeting where all classes meet to talk about policies. before this the estate hadn't been called for over 100 years and voting was flawed. Each point was given to every class of people with the king having one point, clergy having 1 point and the rest of the population having 1 point. The working class wanted reforms but with the flawed voting they never got their way.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/estates-general-1789 -
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French Revolution
The French Revolution was a major event in the history of france and it lead to the creation of Frances first Republic and to the Napoleonic war. The revolution ideas stemmed from 3rd estate which made up 98 percent of the population and they were taxed very heavily and work very hard which lead to frustration and anger. The spendings of Marie Antoinette and the weak king Louis XVI lead the people to behead and create a republic. Extra readings
https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a oath made by a group of people who wanted equal taxes among all classes. When they went to the building in Paris they meet at it was blocked. They then found an empty tennis court where they all took an oath to keep meeting until the ideas that they wanted for France were meet. The ideas included but weren't limited to, equal rights, equal taxes, and much more. Link for extra reading
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Sylvain-Bailly -
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille was a major moment in history as it lead to the creation of Frances first republic and the holiday is still celebrated to this day. The storming was from fear that the king was going to slaughter the people of France and the people raided a old prison for guns and ammo. The storming was also good to keep the kings newest guards, Swedish soldiers hired to keep the peace from trying to hurt the revolution. -
The Start of the Great Fear
The great Fear was a time of civil unrest between the social classes and lead to riots killing and destruction of french documents. The fear also lead people to strike out against the higher levels of estates and it caused the king and others to hire troops to keep the calm in France. https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Fear -
Publication of the Rights of Man
The rights of man is a document outlining the rights liberty and freedoms of all within France. the document was created by the 3rd estate and was created to ensure the rights and liberties of all and so the 1st and 2nd estate cannot use them any longer. The estate is a large milestone in the pursuit of liberty. The ideas were mostly taken from the recent constitution created by the United States. Extra reading
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp -
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Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was when the slaves of the island rose up and took the island for themselves. The island was largely held by france but other countries also had stakes on the island and wanted it for themselves. After defending the island from others a civil war broke out in which the north won. The island also had debts for being independent which took a couple hundred years to pay off.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Haitian-Revolution -
Slave Revolt of St. Dominique
The revolt of the slaves was first of many events to revolution. The slave population was over 5 million with only 33,000 french colonist which allowed the slaves to easily take the island away from the french but in time other European powers would come and try to take back the lands that the french lost. More info on the topic
http://abolition.e2bn.org/resistance_46.html -
French Republic is formed
The revolution was just a revolution but its creation marked a turning point in history. The problems and people created from this creation will change the course of history. The creation was lead by the 3rd estate and they start to move France in a direction no one saw coming.
Extra reading/Source for pics
https://www.britannica.com/place/France/The-First-French-Republic -
King Louis XVI is killed
The killing of King Louis was a huge upset in Europe as Austria pledged to burn Paris if the king was hurt. But if the revolutionaries kept the king alive he would be the first person to be reinstated as king and he would punish the people of France. His death was a huge step towards liberty.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France -
Outlaw of Slavery
Slavery was major business in french colonies and was in place as colonisation was happening. But after the publication "The Rights of Man" it became clear that if all men are equal then slavery should not exist. When slavery was outlawed the haitian revolution joined sides with the french to keep the Spanish and English off the island.
Extra Reading: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199730414/obo-9780199730414-0253.xml -
The Directory takes control of France
The Directory was a governing body after the reign of terror. The governing body decide on almost all aspect of French life. Its main job was to keep any radicals from taking over the country again and seeing the rebuilding and wins of france against the rest of Europe. The Directory biggest problem was that it was very corrupt and many people were doing semi illegal things. Extra reading
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Directory-French-history -
The Beginning of The War of Knifes
The War of Knifes took place in Haiti and was a civil war that was between Toussaint Louverture and Andre Rigaud. The civil war was mostly in the south because of Toussaints larger number of troops and quickly defeated Andre with his vast army. Extra links for reading:
http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/history/revolution/revolution1.htm -
Napoléon stages a coup d’etat
A coup d'etat was a take over of the government by Napoléon. The coup was pretty easy for Napoléon as he was very popular among the French public as he had won many battles against nations. His take over once finished created the French Empire as he declared himself emperor of the France.He had absolute power but called himself an emperor to avoid being killed.
More readings on the topic
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/French_Revolution,_The -
New Constitution is Put in Place, Revolution is Over
The new constitution wasn't really for the people but was disguised as one so that the the Consulate would gain absolute power and that power would be given to Napoleon. The consulate wa really a military dictatorship run by Napoleon and it was overwhelming successful in gaining popularity. After being voted in 1800 Napoleon after this period would have absolute power over France.
Extra reading:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Constitution-of-the-Year-VIII -
L’Ouverture is proclaimed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of St. Domingue
L’Ouverture claim came after the War of Knives and the defeat of the south. Many people didn't like his claim to commander, like Napoleon who sent troops to retake the island and some of L’Ouverture close allies even joined against him in his supreme claim. But Napoleon underestimated his strength and lost the battles.
Extra readings
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Toussaint-Louverture -
L’Ouverture put in prison by the French
The imprisonment of L’Ouverture was impart of two major reasons. The first reason was he declared himself leader for ever and a lot of people didn't like that. Even though he did get freedom the people didn't want a king. The second reason was the French really didn't want to lose the island as it was very rich and they sent troops to overthrow L’Ouverture.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Toussaint-Louverture -
Dessalines creates the flag of Haiti
The flag of Haiti was a flag that was created after the revolution and civil war that was in the wake of the French Revolution. The flag is a flag with red and blue strips that has a cap that symbolizes freedom. The middle area is also the coat of arms for Haiti.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Haiti -
Dessalines proclaims Haiti’s independence
Haiti's independence took a very long time, with countless countries trying to take control to a civil war and a dethroning of an absolute monarchy. Haiti's biggest challenge though was its debt to the french who made it pay off so much debt that they stopped paying for it, in 1942.
Extra reading
https://today.duke.edu/showcase/haitideclaration/declarationstext.html -
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Revolutions of Latin and South America
The Revolutions of Latin and South America were also in the wake of Revolutions back in Spain and France and when France invaded Spain the latin colonies started to work to independence. The main person who freed the latin people was Simon Bolívar who helped in many revolutions across Latin America
https://www.biography.com/political-figure/simon-bolivar -
Mexico declares independence from Spain
Mexico's declaration from Spain was in the wake of the invasion of Spain by the french. The main person who declared independence was father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and he was a priest and got an army together and started raiding towns and villages and tried to take the capital, but suffered severe deaths and was captured soon after.
More info on the topic
independenthttps://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/independence-from-spain.html. -
Simon Bolivar arrives at Merida, Venezuela
Simon Bolivar known as "The Liberator" for his actions in helping the Latin states rule was a big deal as he was going to help the Independence movement against Spain. His invasion of Venezuela is where he got his nick name the liberator and its where he is most remembered. He failed the first time in invading but the second time was successful and he created The Republic of Colombia. https://web.archive.org/web/20040723082305/http://www.crystalbeach.com/history.htm -
Battle of Boyaca
The Battle of Boyaca was a major battle that allowed for the creation of New Granada. The battle was started by a small rebel force surprising the Spanish and wining a couple fights. Then the Spanish forces were cut off and were forced to surrender and Bolivar captured 1,600 Spanish troops. After the battle he set u a provisional government and put himself and his other commander in charge. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Boyaca -
Peru declares independence
Peru's declaration was also from the Spanish after the invasion of Spain by France. The movement was lead by San Martin and he requested aid from Simon Bolivar but when he declined, he soon lost power which allowed Simon to move in and take control of the rebellion. After the battle of Junín Peru independence was safe and a new country was formed. But problems was far from over as it took years to transition to a modern state. https://www.britannica.com/place/Peru/Achievement-of-independence -
Gran Columbia formed
Gran Columbia was a major state that included Colombia, Valenzuela, Panama, and Equator. The state was short lived, with it only existing for about 15 years after the wars for Independence. Its first leader was Simon Bolivar also known as the liberator. He was a dictator and with many problems facing the country Valenzuela rebelled in 1828 and after the death of Simon Bolivar Gran Columbia was dissolved with him. https://www.britannica.com/place/Gran-Colombia
