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Convening the Estate General
The king agrreed to convene the estates general -
Tennis Court Oath
A pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members of the 3rd estate who were kept out of a meeting of the estates general on June 14, 1789. The oath signified the first time that the French stood oppostie the king, Louis XVI. -
Storming of the Bastille
The bastille was a medevial fortress and prison that represented royal authority in Paris. A mob of craftsmen anf salesmen stole around 28,000 weapons but found no powder. But they knew there was powder at the bastille, so they decided to attack it. All of the 7 prisoners were released, and the governor was killed. Symbollically, this was the starting point of the French Rev. -
Great Fear
Occured in France at the start of the French Revolution. Was a period of panic and riot by the peasants and others among rumors of an "Aristocratic conspiracy" -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
A document that states the individual and collective of all the estates of realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural rights" which is that all natural rights of man are valid at all times and in every place. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by law. -
Women's March to Versailles
One of the earliest and most signifigant events of the French Revolution. It began with women in French market places were rioting over the price of bread, which was incredibly high and the scarcity of bread. Aftter many encouraged them to riot, they did. They stole weapons from the city armory and march to the Palace of Versailles. They successfully pressed their demands for bread onto King Louis XVI for cheaper and easier access to bread. -
Louis and Marie Try To Escape France
They attempted to flee France to Montmedy but were captured in a village called Varennes and returned to France only to be put in the Temple Prison. -
Constitution of 1791 is drafted
The first written constitution of France. It was created after the collapse of the Absolute Monarchy.
A code of civil law, applying to the entire kingdom. -
National Convention
A single chamber assembly that took place in France. It succeeded the legislative assembly and also founded the 1st republic. It held legislative and executive powers in France during the first years of the French First Republic -
Reign of Terror Begins
A period of violence that occured after the onset of the French Revolution inflicted by conflict between rival political factions, the Jacobins and the Girondins. Was marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution". The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with 16,594 executed by guillotine and another 25,000 in summary executions across France. The gullotine became the national symbol of the revolutionary cause. -
The Directory Takes Power
Was a body of 5 directors that held executive power in France after the NAtional convention. A type of government that is still used in Switzerland. Was the 2nd to last stage of the French REvolution.