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Marriage of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
King Louis XVI of France (at the age of 20) marries 14 year old Marie Antoinette. After inheriting a large amount of debt from his grandfather, Marie’s spending only deepened the debt. -
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French Revolution Timeline
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Estates-General held in Versailles
The Estates-General was an assembly in which the representatives from all three estates came together to approve a new tax on nobility. The clergy of the Roman Catholic Church made up the first estate. The nobility made up the second estate. The bourgeoisies, workers, and peasants made up the third estate. -
National Assembly Created
The National Assembly was created by the third estate. The third estate created this group in order to pass laws and reforms in the name of the French people. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath took place. This oath was created after the third estate delegates were locked out of a meeting room, broke down a door to an indoor tennis court, and pledged to stay until they had created a new constitution. Some nobles and clergy joined the third estate delegates and King Louis stationed his army around Versailles, in response. -
Storming of Bastille
In fear of King Louis using military force to dismiss the National Assembly and that French citizens were to be killed, weapons were gathered. A mob searching for weapons stormed the Bastille (a Paris prison.) This mob then attacked several prison guards, and paraded the dead men’s heads around the city. -
The Great Fear swept through France
The Great Fear was a wave of senseless panic in which peasants terrorized the nobles, broke into manors, and destroyed contracts to the land. Then in October, 1789, thousands of women rioted over the price of bread. They demanded that the National Assembly take action to provide bread. Their anger quickly turned against King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. These women broke into the palace and killed some of the guards. The women demanded that the king and queen must return to Paris. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen Created
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen stated that all “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” This declaration allowed all people (mainly men) to share the same rights. -
National Convention took office
The National Convention, a new governing body, took office. This new government abolished monarchy and declared France a republic. All adult male citizens were also given the right to vote and hold office. -
KIng Louis XVI executed by guillotine
King Louis XVI of France was found guilty of treason and executed by guillotine. King Louis XVI was found guilty of nearly thirty-three different crimes, such as allowing French citizens to die at his hands, and making the country’s debt even worse. Therefore, he was tried, found guilty, and beheaded. -
Maximilien Robespierre became leader of France.
Robespierre’s main goal was to wipe out every trace of France’s past. He changed the calendar by each month only having 30 days each, and renamed the months. He also removed Sundays. Robespierre created the Committee of Public Safety to rid France of its enemies. He executed over 1,000 “enemies” (anyone that opposed his ideas) through the use of the guillotine. His French reign soon began to be known as the “Reign of Terror.” His reign only lasted one year, and was executed by the guillotine. -
Napoleon Bonaparted gained power
Napoleon Bonaparte, a very intelligent man, took the power away from the Directory with a coup d’etat and negotiated peace treaties with Russia, Sweden and Austria. Then in 1802, he declared himself dictator of France, created the Napoleonic Code, as well as the Bank of France. In 1803, he declared himself emperor of France and wished to take over the nearby European countries. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar occurred between Britain and France, near the coast of Spain. Here, a naval battle broke out, and it was Napoleon’s first major battle loss. The British fleet split the French fleet in half and many French ships were captured. -
French army invaded Russia
After Russia refused to stop selling grain to Britain, Napoleon decided to invade Russia. His army of nearly 420,000 troops marched into Russia to attack. The Russians had burned fields to leave nothing for the French, through the scorched-earth policy. Napoleon and his troops fought in Russia until November, when the cold weather and lack of food began to take a toll on the French troops. The French retreated back to France, and only 10,000 of the once 420,000 French troops, had survived. -
German and Prussian troops march through Paris
German and Prussian soldiers marched through Paris. Napoleon wished to fight, but other French men refused. Napoleon surrendered, and he was banished to Elba (a small island off of the coast of Italy) for life. He managed to escape from Elba on March 1, 1815 and returned to France. He was eagerly greeted by the French, and quickly regained the title of emperor of France. -
First conference of the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference held for European governments to get together to create peace. Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain and France attended this conference. Here, Austrian Prince, Klemens von Metternich, helped to provide new ideas as to what should happen. New independent states, Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland were established. It was decided that no country could overpower another. The monarchs that lost power to Napoleon, were granted their thrones once again. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo (in Belgium) was a battle between the British allied with the Prussians, against the French. The French were defeated, and Napoleon’s last chance of being the emperor of Europe, was destroyed. Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena for life. Six years later, in 1821, Napoleon died of stomach cancer.