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Representatives from the three Estates meet at Versailles
The first estate was the clergy; the second estate, the nobility, and the third estate the commoners. -
Louis XVI calls for the Estates General to meet.
The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. -
Louis XVI calls for the National Assembly to meet to create a constitution
What did Louis XVI do to the National Assembly?
After Louis XVI's failed attempts to sabotage the Assembly and to keep the three estates separate, the Estates-General ceased to exist, becoming the National Assembly. -
The people of Paris storm the Bastille
Bastille, was attacked by the people. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy's dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed. -
Louis has the Third Estate locked out of the Estates meeting
Louis locked the third estate out of the meeting because they were demanding more power in the government because they made up 97% of the population in France. -
Third Estate takes the Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate, which had the most representatives, declared itself the National Assembly and took an oath to force a new constitution on the king. -
The women of Paris arrest Louis XVI and take him back to Paris
The revolutionaries forced Louis XVI and his family to return to Paris and removed the little remaining authority he still had.