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King Louis XVI calls the Estates General
This was the first meeting of the Estates General since 1614. With Louis XIV and XV's excessive spending and overall horrible reigns, they put Louis XVI and the absolute monarchy to eventually be dissolved by the Constitution of 1791. The First Estate, the Catholic clergy were very upset with the church hierarchy, as some parishes lived in extreme poverty but some lived luxurious lives. The nobles were also political divided as only one third of the nobles actually wanted political change. -
The Great Fear
This happened when the poorest members of the Third Estate were panicking because they thought that the King and the Second Estate were going to attack them to rid of their newfound political influence. With all the chaos, eventually the Third Estate raised an army against the medieval Bastille. This along with the Storming of the Bastille, led the National Assembly to adopt the DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE CITIZEN in their government. -
The Tennis Court Oath
After Louis XVI called the Estates General to meet to bring out reforming France, it failed as the Third Estate was the most represented than the other two estates so they did not have enough votes for the representatives. As a result, the main representatives of the Third Estate assembled at an indoor tennis court and vowed not to leave unless they came up with a fairer constitution for France. Louis forced the First and Second Estates to join with the Third Estate as the National Assembly. -
The Storming of the Bastile
The Bastille was a medieval jail that held numerous arms. The Third Estate was furious that Louis XVI fired the previous financial adviser and they knew that it would be eventual when the king would sack the city. Although the Bastille was heavily fortified and guarded and losing 98 people who entered, eventually the prison surrendered to the people. This resulted in the king losing Paris and his right to rule. -
Constitution of 1791
As a result of the highly disastrous and oppressive meeting of the Estates General, the average French men take matters into their own hands. The National Assembly would be the new name for meetings that French men attended; this consisted of 83 compartments of equal size for each district. Women also had improved rights: they could seek divorce, inherit property, and get money for illegitimate children from their fathers. This also effectively made France into a constitutional monarchy. -
King Louis XVI gets executed
King Louis XVI, even if he had been a great king, it was not enough to counteract, the state of the economy, Louis XV left France in. In addition, another horrible action Louis XVI was that he dismissed a financial adviser that was actually sympathetic to the Third Estate. That action resulted in the people rising up and attacking the Bastille. -
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Robespierre's Reign of Terror
There was a lot of civil wars happening at France at the time. As a result, the Directory, punishes any person who could be a threat to their government (anyone from the Three Estates). One of the people executed as a result of the Terror was Louis XVI for high treason (he and his family attempted to escape to Austria). Another aspect of the Terror was the de-Christianization of France.They attempted for force priests to take an oath to the state and nationalize their lands. -
Napoleon overthrows the Directory
Napoleon Bonaparte was part of the coup of 18 Brumaire that overthrew the Directory. The Directory had become corrupt with the five man group that was a part of it. This led to the Reign of Terror which killed thousands of people that they perceived as a threat to the Directory. Napoleon later became a Consul of the three person Consulate. In 1802, Napoleon passed a law to make himself consul for life. -
Napoleon is declared Emperor
This event took place in the Notre Dame Cathedral at Paris. As Catholic Monarchs need the pope to supervise coronations, Pope Pius VII gave him the crown, but Napoleon put it on his own head. When he overthrew the Directory, he became Consul for life which eventually became Emperor of France. -
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The Continental System is Implemented
Napoleon decreed in Milan and in Germany that allies, dependents, and neutral allies cannot trade with Britain. This resulted in hurting English businesses and factories, but also resulted in many European countries dependent on trade to collapse. One of the countries that still traded with England, was Russia, a dependent ally of France, which would later lead to a battle fought between Russia and France. -
Napoleon is defeated in Russia
The main cause France's invasion of and Russia was the Continental System. This resulted in Russia's economy severely weakening, which would only be fixed with trade with Britain. Napoleon assembled an army of 600,000 men, which would march into Moscow. However, Alex I pulled his men and burned many towns, preventing France from getting resources. France failed miserably in this invasion, and lost more than 90% of his army.Russia andother countriesfight against Napoleon inthe Battle of Leipzig. -
Napoleon is defeated at Leipzig
France's army numbered at 185,000 troops. While Austrian, Prussian, Swedish, & Russian forces numbered at 320,000 troops. Napoleon later retreated from Russia and attempted to conquer Germany,which failed. With severe fight and more than 100,000 casualties on both sides, it was an Allies victory. This victory would later mark the end of the Napoleonic era in Europe. -
Napoleon is exiled to Elba
After Napoleon’s failed invasion of Russia, this depleted more than 90% of his troops. Afterwards, Russia, Sweden, Prussia, & Austria all fight against Napoleon, which leads to the end as they force Napoleon of the throne. Although, Napoleon advocated for his son to get the throne after him, the Quadruple Alliance denied it and exiled him to Elba. -
Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo
After Napoleon’s exile to Elba, he left the place to go fight against the rest of Europe one last time. Although at the beginning of the battle, Napoleon won several invasions against the Prussians. When the Duke of Wellington’s well-trained troops entered the Battle, he joined with the Prussians to create a double-front fight for France which would lead to the end of Napoleon’s defeat and abdication. This time, Napoleon would be exiled to St. Helena with his closest allies to stay out of France
