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The opening ceremony began on 5 May. Louis XVI, opened the session reviewing the circunstances that had led to the convocation, and what he expected from the Estates General. Necker,Minister of Finances, talked about the economic situation. The budget deficit was 56 million. Necker claimed that new taxes would be enough to make up for the deficit, but but the Commoners dissatisfied with such a mediocre discourse, and decided to take things into their own hands. The Revolution had begun... -
Built in 1686, this sports hall was privately owned. The royal family, and especially the king, played real tennis here, a type of ball game that was a predecessor of tennis. On 20 June 1789 the Commoners made the famous Oath of the Real Tennis Room here, and on 7 "Brumaire" of the year ll (28 October 1793), a decree in the Convention procured the room for the French nation. -
The National Assembly took this name on 9 July 1789, to reflect its self-appointed mission to write a constitution for France. The mission faced numerous crises (economical, political and social) until it was cancelled and replaced by the legislative assembly at the end of September 1791.
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It was an iconic conflict of the French Revolution. On July 14, 1789, fears that King Louis XVI was about to arrest France’s newly constituted National Assembly led a crowd of Parisians to successfully besiege the Bastille, an old fortress that had been used since 1659 as a state prison. As a victory by Parisians over the king’s power, the event quickly became a symbol of a revolutionary struggle. -
The August Decrees, were a set of 19 articles passed by the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution which abolished feudalism in France and ended the tax exemption privileges of the upper classes. Although not without flaws, the passage of the decrees was a significant achievement of the Revolution. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen came into existence in the summer of 1789, born of an idea of the Constituent Assembly, which was formed by the assembly of the Estates General to draft a new Constitution, and precede it with a declaration of principles. In its preamble and its 17 articles, it sets out the “natural and inalienable” rights, which are freedom, ownership, security, resistance to oppression it recognizes equality before the law and the justice system. -
The flight to Varennes is the name given to the royal family’s failed escape from Paris in June 1791. Dissatisfied with the course of the revolution, King Louis XVI acceded to suggestions that it was time to flee the capital. Though well hatched, the plan failed and the royal family were arrested at Varennes. Their capture was humiliating both for the king and the moderates who supported a constitutional monarchy, a system that now seemed unworkable. -
Replacing the National Constituent Assembly, the Legislative Assembly was the governing body of France between October 1791 and September 1792. The Legislative Assembly inherited government at a time when there were grave doubts about the intentions of the king and the workability of the new constitution. It also had its own internal weaknesses, most notably a lack of political experience and questions.
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The Legislative Assembly of France declared a revolutionary war on Austria on April 20th 1792. the Assembly’s declaration sais taht deliberating on the formal proposition of the king, considering that the Court of Vienna in contempt of treaties, has not ceased to grant open protection to rebel Frenchmen, that it prompted and took concerted action with several European powers against the independence and safety of the French nation -
The Storming of the Tuileries Palace, was a defining moment in the French Revolution that saw the armed revolutionaries of Paris invade the residence of King Louis XVI of France and the massacre of his Swiss Guards. The event effectively abolished France's monarchy, ushering in a new phase in the Revolution. -
The National Convention was a single chamber assembly in France from September 20, 1792, to October 26, 1795. It replaced the Legislative Assembly and founded the First Republic after the Insurrection of August 10, 1792. It was the first French assembly elected by universal male suffrage without distinctions of class.
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In 1792, after his attempted escape from Paris and the establishment of the National Convention, Louis was tried for treason. The trial, characterized by political motivations , culminated in a narrow vote for his execution. Finally, on January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed, a decision that solidified the power struggle between the Jacobins and the Girondins. This event intensified the violence of the revolution, setting the stage for subsequent political upheaval and conflict within France. -
As a leading figure of the Jacobin Club and a dominant force in the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre was instrumental in establishing the Reign of Terror, a period marked by political purges and widespread executions aimed at maintaining revolutionary fervor and control. Some members of the National Convention, fearing they had been marked out for execution, denounced Robespierre, declaring him to be an outlaw on 27 July 1794. And on that day, he and 21 of his supporters were executed. -
Established in response to the chaotic and bloody Reign of Terror, the Directory sought to restore stability to France by resurrecting the initial revolutionary principles of 1789. The French Directory was the government of France from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, a period that marked the last four years of the French Revolution. The Directory was unpopular, despite military successes, and faced economic crises and social unrest.
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The French Consulate was the government of the First French Republic from 10 November 1799 to 18 May 1804, marking the last four years of the Republic's existence. Ruled by Napoleon as main Consul, the Consulate served as a bridge between the French Revolution and the First French Empire. During this period, Napoleon consolidated his power while slowly moving in the direction of authoritarianism. He secured support with his victory at the Battle of Marengo and with the Peace of Amiens.
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On December 2, 1804, Napoleon crowns himself emperor and launches expansion campaigns for his Empire. After occuping Vienna, Napoleon wins his most renowned victory over the Russians and Austrians in 1805. As the Empire and the Napoleonic Wars expand, more and more forces begin to rise up against the French Empire causing disturbs and wars like the battles of Austerlitz or Leipzig. After some Napoleon defeats he is exiled twice to diffent islands until the empire falls on June 28, 1815.
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This battle involved French and Spanish fleet and
British fleet. The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on October 21, 1805, was a pivotal naval engagement during the Napoleonic Wars. As Napoleon thought to invade Great Britain, he aimed to deceive the British into thinking the French-Spanish fleet would raid the West Indies, thereby allowing them to gain control of the English Channel. However, British Admiral Lord Nelson, commanding a smaller fleet, executed a bold strategy that confused Napoleon. -
The Battle of Austerlitz, involved the Grande Armée facing off the forces of Francis II, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Tsar Alexander I, and Napoleon. Napoleon destroyed the main Austrian army in October 1805, before taking Vienna in mid-November. The Russian generals didn't even attempt to defend Vienna, preferring to retreat towards Olmutz, to meet Russian and Austrian reinforcements. -
The Battle of Leipzig was the climax of the German War of Liberation. During 1813, Allied generals had defeated some of Napoleon's Marshals but had failed against Napoleon himself at Lutzen and Bautzen. The three-day Battle of Leipzig, a series of converging Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish assaults against the Grande Armee, would see Napoleon defeated and subsequently forced to fight a defensive campaign in France in 1814. -
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 between Napoleon’s French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. The decisive battle of its age, it concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon’s imperial power forever.