French Revolution

By 137ravenpaw

  • Calling of the Estates General

    The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobles (Second Estate), and the common people (Third Estate). Summoned by King Louis XVI to propose solutions to his government's financial problems

  • Third estate declares itself the National Assembly

    Its members had been elected to represent the estates of the realm: the 1st Estate, the 2nd Estate and the 3rd Estate. The Third Estate had been granted "double representation"—that is, twice as many delegates as each of the other estates—but at the opening session on May 5, 1789 they were informed that all voting would be "by power" not "by head", so their double representation was to be meaningless in terms of power. They refused this and proceeded to meet separately.

  • Storming of the Bastille

    The Storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris, France, on the afternoon of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress, armory, and political prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the center of Paris.

  • Nobles surrender there privileges.

    The peasant outbreaks made a strong impression on the Assembly. Some liberal nobles in that body set the example of giving up their feudal rights. Amid the wildest enthusiasm, men weeping and embracing each other, one noble after another gave up some exclusive privilege. Finally a decree was passed which aimed at abolishing the entire feudal system.

  • Flight of Louis XVl

    The royal family had to evacuate to the Tuileries Palace after Versailles had been attacked by another mob. They increasingly felt themselves prisoners and by 1791 they decided that they must escape the capital. Louis believed that most people in the countryside were still loyal to him and the idea was to head north-east to Montmédy, near the frontier with the Austrian Netherlands, where they could be protected by troops led by royalist officers.

  • Declare war on Austria

    Revolutionaries wanted war because they thought war would unify the country, and had a genuine desire to spread the ideas of the Revolution to all of Europe. On April 20, 1792, the Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria.

  • Abolition of the Monarchy

    The French monarchy was later restored several times with differing levels of authority.

  • Execution of Louis XVl

    The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. It was a major event of the French Revolution.

  • Napoleon seizes power

    Napoleon Bonaparte took power in France on November 9th/10th 1799. The coup of 18/19 Brumaire in the Year VIII of the republican calendar is generally taken to mark the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of Napoleon Bonaparte's dictatorship. The Corsican had returned from Egypt on October 9th.