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Built the Palace of Versilles
Louis XIII wanted to show France could produce things just as well as Italy. It was built in a region of France and was a royal château. -
King Louis: Moved the Capital from Paris to Versailles
Louis XVI hoped to attain more control of the government from the nobility and to distance himself from the population of Paris. It was moved only 13 miles outside of Paris. -
King Louis XVI married Marie Antoniette
Marie was 14 and Louis was 15 when they became wedded. France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, which was their longtime enemy. -
Written: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The basic principle of the Declaration was that all “men are born and remain free and equal in rights”. Which this was specified as the rights of liberty, private property, the inviolability of the person, and resistance to oppression. -
Period: to
French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of major social upheaval. It appeared to thoroughly change the relationship between the rulers and those they governed. -
Tennis Court Oath
The members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath, in the tennis court, which had been built in 1686. The vote was "not to separate and to reassemble wherever necessary until the Constitution of the kingdom is established". -
Bastille is Stormed
The main reason why the rebel Parisians stormed the Bastille was to get ammunition and arms. This armed the Parisian rebels, allowing the possibility of a successful offensive attack. -
Women's March on Versailles
They ransacked the city armory for weapons and marched to the Palace of Versailles. The crowd besieged the palace. -
King Louis XVI is executed
Unwilling to give up his royal power to the Revolutionary government, Louis XVI was found guilty of treason and condemned to death. He was only 38 years old. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror began when Robespierre declares Terror "the order of the day." They were to also take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution. -
Napoleon launches a Coup d'Etat on the weak & corrupt Directory
The coup d'état that overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. -
Period: to
Napoleon as Emperor
After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d'état, he crowned himself emperor. Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire. -
Creation of the Napoleonic Code
The resulting Civil Code of France marked the first major revision and reorganization of laws since the Roman era. The Civil Code addressed mainly matters relating to property and families. -
Napoleon crowns himself as emperor
Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, and made Josephine Empress. His coronation ceremony took place in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris around December. -
Defeat in Russian Campaign
The Russian army refused to engage with Napoleon's Grande Armée of more than 500,000 European troops. They simply retreated into the Russian interior. Russia lost more than 200,000. -
When he was exiled
Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France, abdicates. The Treaty of Fontainebleau is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
Battle of Waterloo
At Waterloo in Belgium, Napoleon Bonaparte suffers defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington. This brought an end to the Napoleonic era of European history.
