French Revolution

  • Estates General Meeting

    Estates General Meeting
    Jaques Necker helped start the first meeting of the three estates in 175 years do discuss current problems and solutions. However the third estate is locked out of this meeting at the last minute, upsetting the entire middle and lower classes of France.
  • National Assembly Formed

    National Assembly Formed
    After the common people were locked out of the estates general meeting, the formed what they called the "National Assembly". They thought that because they were the majority of people in France (about 95%) then their opinions and rights should matter just as much as the first and second estates of France.
  • Tennis Court Oath Declared

    Tennis Court Oath Declared
    The third estate, after being locked out of the estates general meeting, went to the local tennis/handball court, and held their ground there. They then made the agreement that they were going to write a constitution with basic rights for the common people.
  • Storming of the Bastille

    Storming of the Bastille
    The Bastille was a prison, after getting muskets, another part of their revolution was getting gunpowder, which they had in the Bastille. The people tore down the Bastille, took the gunpowder, killed all of the guards, and paraded around with the leaders head on a pike. This spread the news of the revolution even more.
  • Declaration of the Right of Man Written

    Declaration of the Right of Man Written
    The third estate then wrote a list of basic rights that they requested, called the "Declaration of the Rights of Man". This gave equal taxes to all people, fewer advantages for the king and queen, equal representation among all people, and put an end to tyranny.
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    Legislative Assembly makes laws in France

    New laws began to be passed as the revolution continued, this continued completing the third estate goals such as equal rights and taxes.
  • Execution of King Louis XVI

    Execution of King Louis XVI
    After King Louis and Queen Antoinette are discovered trying to leave the country to go to Austria, the King is charged with treason and is sentenced to death by guillotine.
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    Committee of Public Safety governs France

    The Committee of Public Safety was a group of 12 people that led the reign of terror. The name caused them to not be feared by the public an created the idea that what they were doing was for the general good of the country.
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    Dechristianization

    Led by Robespierre, the people of France began to eliminate Christianity entirely. This would continue the elimination of all old ideas.
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    The Reign of Terror

    The Reign of terror was the mass killing of any people believed to be against the revolution. It was very strict, any person not being enthusiastic about the revolution, praising the old monarchy, or even using the old language could be charged with treason and killed. This was justified with the belief that as long as you achieve your goal, it doesn't matter how you get there.
  • Execution of Maximilien Robespierre

    Execution of Maximilien Robespierre
    Robespierre began acting mad with power. He based an entirely new religion around himself, killed an astonishing number of innocent people, and made the people of France paranoid. His execution by the people ended the Reign of Terror.
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    The Directory controls France.

    The Directory was a group of 5 people who led for the 5 years after the revolution. They were not good leaders, however they did a good job of preventing revolts and wars, basically holding down the fort until another leader stepped up.
  • Napoleon takes over in coup d'etat.

    Napoleon takes over in coup d'etat.
    Napoleon seized power of France, ending the poor rule of The Directory. They drove out the members of the national legislature with a large army, and established themselves, three consuls, as the leaders of France.
  • Napoleon signs Concordat with Catholic Church

    Napoleon signs Concordat with Catholic Church
    This was an agreement signed between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII to establish the Roman Catholic Church as the main religion in France, this contradicted the beliefs of the revolution.
  • Napoleon crates Napoleonic Code

    Napoleon crates Napoleonic Code
    Napoleon created a new system of laws called the Napoleonic Code. It gave more power to the church, and restricted the basic rights of average citizens of France such as freedom of speech and press.
  • Napoleon crowns himself emperor of France

    Napoleon crowns himself emperor of France
    Napoleon decided to make himself emperor of France, he was very arrogant, and began to make decisions about what the country and army should do by himself.
  • Napoleon dies after he is banished to island of St. Helena

    Napoleon dies after he is banished to island of St. Helena
    Napoleon began sending men on expeditions and into wars that they had little chance of winning, and after losing many battles and men, Napoleon was banished to the island of St. Helena by his people where he died.