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May 5th, 1789 Meeting with Estates General
The heads of each estate of France met to discuss issues in their lives. Because nothing was accomplished, the 3rd Estate left the government to make their own government. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a dramatic act of defiance by representatives of the non privileged classes of the French nation during the meeting of the Estates-General. -
The Storming of Bastille
A state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. When the prison governor refused to comply, the mob charged and, after a violent battle, eventually took hold of the building. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The French National Constituent Assembly issued the Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen. Which defined individual and collective rights at the time of the French Revolution. -
Womens March on Versailles
Concerned over the high price and scarcity of bread, women from the marketplaces of Paris led the March on Versailles. This became one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, eventually forcing the royals to return to Paris. -
Execution of King Louis XVI
Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. -
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period where many first, second, and third estate members were targeted and executed. As a result, paranoia and mistrust spread across the people of France. -
Maximillian Robespierre's execution
After a year of harsh rule by Robespierre, many of the revolutionary leaders had had enough of the Terror. They turned on Robespierre and had him arrested. He was executed, along with many of his supporters, by guillotine. -
Napoleonic Code is established
Napoleonic Code, French Code Napoléon, French civil code enacted on March 21, 1804, and still extant, with revisions. It was the main influence on the 19th-century civil codes of most countries of continental Europe and Latin America. -
Napoleon Crowns himself emperor
Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor and made Josephine Empress. His coronation ceremony took place on December 2, 1804, in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, with incredible splendor and at considerable expense. -
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Peninsular War
At Vitoria, Spain, a massive allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish force under British General Arthur Wellesley routs the French, effectively ending the Peninsular War. -
Napoleon and his men march on Russia
The result was a disaster for the French. 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. The Grande Armée did not have the supplies or the distribution networks required for such a long march. -
Napoleon is exiled to Elba
Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
Napoleon dies
Napoleon was subsequently exiled to the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa. Six years later, he died, most likely of stomach cancer, and in 1840 his body was returned to Paris, where it was interred in the Hotel des Invalides.