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King Louis XVI calls the Estates-General
King Louis XVI issued a royal edict that called upon the Estates-General to assemble. The congregation had not been called upon since 1614 and was needed to vote upon financial reform to address France’s desperate state deficit. Primary grievances by the French people regarded taxation. When the Estates-General assembled, the First Estate represented 100,000 Clergy (303 delegates), the Second Estate 400,000 Nobility (282 delegates), and the Third Estate 25 million Frenchmen (578 delegates). -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate gathered in an indoor tennis court outside of the Palace of Versailles after being locked out of a voting chamber at the Estates-General. This was due to the Third Estate protests of the unfair representation in the congregation, as they were to represent 25 million Frenchmen with one vote. On the Tennis Court, 576 of 577 representatives took an oath declaring a new constitution for France shall be written, sparking the French revolution and creating the National Assembly. -
The storming of the Bastille
The Bastille, an armory, fortress, and political prison in Paris was stormed by 900 armed, insurgent Frenchmen and 60 French guards. Bastille represented a place of monarchical abuse of power, as it housed much of France’s military capabilities and political prisoners. Angered by King Louis XVI’s regressive tax system, Frenchmen sought to gather over 30,000 muskets from the armory and free its 7 prisoners. Nearly 100 Frenchmen were killed and the monarchical figures began to flee France. -
The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
France’s National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen to promote French civil rights under the New Republic and serve as a model for global human rights documents. Drafted by Sieyes, Lafayette, and Thomas Jefferson, this document served to protect individual rights and lay foundations for citizenship, such as passive versus active, and republicanism. However, it failed to recognize the status of Frenchwomen and the abolition of slavery in French colonies. -
The Women’s March on Versailles
A crowd of French Women began rioting in the marketplaces of Paris due to the high prices of bread. Soon associated with Revolutionary attitudes, this march grew into a mob 10,000 French citizens marching to the Palace of Versailles to confront the monarchy, particularly Queen Marie Antoinette. They attempted to siege the palace, killing several guards and displayed their heads on pikes. This persuaded the monarchy to return to Paris and address the growing Revolutionary sentiment. -
The Constitution of 1791 sets up a constitutional monarchy in France
The French Constitution of 1791 sought to replace the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Regime with a republican constitutional monarchy. Authored by the National Assembly, its The Declaration on the Rights of Man was made the preamble for the Constitution and the drafting of the constitution used delegates from each of the Three estates to assemble its articles regarding rights, liberty, and sovereignty. The constitution was then accepted by Louis XVI and refined France's government. -
The Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria
The National Assembly of France declared war on Emperor Leopold II’s successor, Francis II, leader of Austria. The emerging revolutionary government saw Austria as a threat to their sentiments, as it supported the French monarchy. Emperor Leopold IIand Frederick Wilheim II of Prussia signed the Declaration of Pillnitz in August of 1791 to support France’s monarchy, with France seeing this as supporting the crown and a rejection of Revolutionary efforts, this invading the Austrian Netherlands. -
King Louis XVI is executed at the guillotine
King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on Revolution Square in Paris after he had been unanimously condemned by the National Convention. King Louis was granted a final confession and Last Mass but declined to say farewell to his family. His carriage was then processed throughout Paris for over an hour prior to his execution by 80,000 revolutionaries. His final words were drowned out by the sound of drums, with witnesses only claiming to hear him shout “I am lost!” -
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Robespierre's Reign of Terror
When Maximillian Robespierre’s Reign of Terror ruled over France, it was so named for its 16,594 public executions by guillotine and mass suppression of anti-revolutionary thought. Headed by Robespierre's Committee of Public Safety, the Reign of Terror sought to silence any dissent towards the Revolutionary, Jacobin government that had emerged during the French Revolution through anti-monarchical and pro-secularist sentiment. It ended with Robespierre himself being executed by the guillotine. -
The Directory is installed
The Directory was installed in France to replace the Committee of Public Safety and sought to reconstruct the French government as the Jacobin Reign of Terror came to an end. It encouraged French foreign conquest in nations such as Belgium and did poorly in helping the French economy recover, as inflation spiked with little production. As the French military became more powerful, the Directory began to lose influence and was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 and abolished in 1799. -
Napoleon is declared First Consul
Napoleon Bonaparte led the military coup, Coup of 18 Brumaire, against the French Directory and declared himself First Consul of France. The anti-Jacobin Directory was losing popularity as France’s economy collapsed and military General Bonaparte was emerging as a national symbol. Napoleon used his consulate position to merge a military dictatorship with authoritarian power, introducing the Napoleonic Era. He held a referendum in 1800, in which 99.9% of voters granted him full consulate power. -
Napoleon is defeated by Horatio Nelson
At the Battle of Trafalgar, Napoleon was defeated by Horatio nelson and his British Royal Fleet. Nelson died during this battle, but his technique of blockading the French out of the harbor of Cadiz proved successful. Napoleon had been moving through the Mediterranean to breach a British blockade and Nelson was to prevent any further progress. Despite Nelson’s vulnerable ship and unorthodox method, Britain emerged, with only 5 surviving French ships and Napoleon’s plans for an invasion destroyed -
The Continental System is implemented
Napoleon enacted the Berlin Decree in response to a British blockade of France in May of 1806. This decree was essentially an embargo, as it forbade France and its allies from importing any British goods. British exports to Europe dropped from 55% to 25% between 1806 and 1814, but the Continental System had few drastic effects on the British economy. Smuggling of British goods continued in Europe and Britain was able to dominate the Atlantic trade with North and South America. -
Napoleon is exiled to Elba
Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba. In the Treaty of Fontainebleau, allied forces against napoleon declared he be exiled for the destruction caused by his Napoleonic Wars and violation of an oath to restore peace in Europe. Prior to his exile, Napoleon attempted to commit suicide, but was unsuccessful and was sent to the Tuscan island while his wife and children were exiled to Austria. He escaped in February of 1815, beginning his Hundred Days reign. -
Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo
Napoleon’s army was defeated by an army of the Seventh Coalition outside of Waterloo, Belgium. Led by the Duke of Wellington, the Seventh Coalition army was primarily composed of British and Prussian forces and was able to decisively defeat Napoleon, killing nearly 25,000 of his French forces. Napoleon was able to advance into Belgium but his attacks upon British Infantry and Cavalry proved unsuccessful. Waterloo was the last of the Napoleonic Wars and ended Napoleon’s Hundred Days reign.
