French Revolution

By zbrocken
  • Period: to

    French Revolution

  • Convening the Estates General

    Louis XVI decided to restart the Estates-General, an ancient assembly consisting of three different estates that each represented by a part of the people. If the Estates-General could agree on a tax solution, it would be supported.The clergy and the nobility, were tax-exempt, so it was unlikely they would agree.

  • Tennis Court Oath

    The king locked their meeting hall, so the assembly met on a tennis court. They pledged not to leave until they adopted a constitution.

  • Storming of the Bastille

    The Paris mob wated to arm themselves due to foreign troops in the streets of Paris. They first attacked the Invalides fortress, doing so they got 30,000 muskets. Then they moved on to the Bastille, an old prison. The mob attacked the Bastille and released the seven prisoners inside. Louis XVI recalled the popular Jacques Necker in due to what had occured.

  • Great Fear

    The Great Fear spread across the country. Once the revolutionaries got control of the people of Paris, people in surrounding areas began to demand cheaper bread. Civil unrest started in the countryside, with alot of peasants attacking manor homes. Aristocratic property was destroyed by the peasantry. From July 20, 1789 to August 5, 1789, hysteria spread across the country, but gradually ended

  • Declaration of the Rights of Man

    Its a document that said everyman is a French man and equal. It was influenced by the era’s greatest minds. The French people embraced the declaration, while the king and many nobles did not. It effectively ended the ancient regime and ensured equality for the bourgeoisie.

  • Women’s march to Versailles

    Rumors spred that Louis XVI stepped on the flag of France. Women lead a march to Versailles to demand bread. The mob forces the royal family to return to Paris with them. Louis XVI signs the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

  • Louis and Marie’s flight to Varennes

    Marie Antoinette was convinced that the family should flee Paris. With the help of a loyal friend, Count Axel von Fersen, an escape was organized. When they reached Varennes, they were recognized and National Guardsmen escorted them back to Paris through jeering crowds.

  • Constitution of 1791

    France needed a constitution for the the state to funtion properly. Many officals didn't want one, however it was nesseray for a rewriten mordern and practial one, Consecutive committees of the assembly, staffed mainly by lawyers worked hard to construct the document. The monarchy was preserved, with conventional aspects, but royal power was carefully restricted. Louis became the first 'functionary' of the state.
    Even after all the hard work the Constition only lasted for eleven months

  • National Convention

    Assembly that governed France during the most critical period of the French Revolution. The National Convention was elected to provide a new constitution for the country after the overthrow of the monarchy. The Convention had 749 deputies, including businessmen, tradesmen, and many professional men. Among its early acts were the formal abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic.

  • Brunswick Manifesto

    The Brunswick Manifesto threatened that if the French royal family was harmed, then French civilians would be harmed.

  • The Terror or Reign of Terror

    A part of the war characterized by a wave of executions of the enemies of the state. Directed by the Committee of Public Safety, the Revolutionary government's Terror was essentially a war dictatorship, instituted to rule the country in a national emergency.

  • Directory

    The Directory became France's executive power. There were five members, or directors, and each was elected by the Council of Ancients and the Five Hundred. It was effective in its first years, but then corruption and self-service set in.

  • Napoleon Bonaparte takes over

    This is when Napoleon staged a coup and took power.

  • Concordat of 1801

    It is a agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte & Pope Pius VII that reestablished the Roman Catholic Church in France.

  • - Louisiana Purchase

    A territory of the western United States extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains between the Gulf of Mexico and the Canadian border. It was purchased from France, for $15 million and officially explored by the Lewis and Clark expedition.

  • Napoleonic Code

    Law of France, based largely on common sense rules instead of on legal theories or principles. It consists of five major codes: (1) Civil code, (2) Code of civil procedure, (3) Penal code, (4) Code of criminal procedure, and (5) Commercial code. Derived from Roman law, it was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte.

  • Napoleon becomes Emperor

    Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, and made Josephine Empress. His coronation ceremony took place in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, at a large expence. at the ceremony, Napoleon surprised everyone by not allowing the Pope to crown him. Instead, he placed the crown on his own head, and then crowned Josephine Empress. A few months later, Napoleon crowned himself again, this time with the iron circlet that symbolized the rule over all of Italy.

  • Battle of Trafalgar

    This was a naval battle between the British and the Spanish. The British won, with Half-Horatio Nelson dying in the battle.

  • Continental System

    This was a trade embargo against Britain made by Napoleon.

  • Peninsular War

    This was a war between France and allied powers of Britain, Spain and Portugal. The allies won.

  • Invasion of Russia

    This was when Napoleon and a lot of his allies invaded Russia, but Russia destroyed him and forced him to retreat.

  • Exile to Elba

    Napoleon is exiled to Elba after Paris is captured by the Prussians.

  • Battle of Waterloo

    After napoleon escapes Elba he attacked Britain and Prussia.

  • Exile to St. Helena

    Napoleon is kicked out of France again and is exiled to the island of St. Helena.