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Deficit Spending
Louis XIV caused France to be in major debt by having the palace built. His heirs that ruled after him just made the debts worse. In the 1780s, bad harvests made the cost of food rise even more. -
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General
France was very close to being bankrupt.. There were riots and everything was out of control. Louis XVI didn't know what to do, so he summoned the Estates-General to meet at Versailles. The next year, Louis had the estates write their grievances. The Third Estate named themselves the National Assembly. Their meeting hall was locked up, so they had a meeting on an indoor tennis court and took the Tennis Court Oath. They vowed to do whatever was necessary until they established a constitution. -
Parisians Storm the Bastille
More than 800 Perisians gathered outside of the Bastille. This was a place that was used as a prison. The people thought there were weapons inside and demanded the commander to hand them over. He refused and started shooting at the mob. Many people were killed in the riot. The group of people broke through and killed the commander. It caused the fall of the Bastille. This day is still celebrated today as a day of independence. -
Threats From Abroad
The king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria made the Declaration of Plinitz, which said the monarchs would intervene to protect the French monarchy. -
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National Assembly Acts
National AssemblyIn an all night meeting on August 4th, nobles in announced that feudalism was being abolished. They no longer had special privileges. Later in August, the Assembly made the Declaration of Man and the citizen. This basically said that all men were equal in rights. On October 5th, six thousand women marched 13 miles to protest at Versailles. They forced the royal family to move back to Paris. -
Monarchy is Abolished
Citizens were rioting. They killed the king's guards, prisones, priests, nobles and prisoners. About 1,200 people were killed. The king was executed. A new legislative body called the National Convention met and abolished monarchy. In place, they established the French Republic.
