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Upon its completion in 1682, Louis moved in, and changed the capital from Paris to Versailles to escape the turmoil Paris was subject to. He invited all of the aristocracy to live with him on the grounds, not because he liked them, but because he could control them. -
The building of the palace was an expression of power and authority. The place was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. -
France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, its longtime enemy. -
The French Revolution was a period of major social upheaval that began in 1787 and ended in 1799. It sought to completely change the relationship between the rulers and those they governed and to redefine the nature of political power.
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In the Tennis Court Oath, the National Assembly swore not to stop meeting until France had a constitution. This commitment to imposing a constitution on France was a threat to the power of the monarch. -
a mob approached the Bastille to demand the arms and ammunition stored there, and, when the forces guarding the structure resisted, the attackers stormed the prison and released the seven prisoners held there. -
The document was written by Marquis de Lafayette with the help of Thomas Jefferson. It outlined the natural and legal rights of French citizens and limited the power of King Louis XVI. -
They complained over the high price and scant availability of bread, marching from Paris to Versailles. -
Louis XVI was found guilty of treason and condemned to death. -
A period of state-sanctioned violence and mass executions during the French Revolution. France's revolutionary government ordered the arrest and execution of thousands of people. -
This overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate. -
For the first time in history, a purely rational law should be created, free from all past prejudices and deriving its content from “sublimated common sense” -
Whilst working to stabilize France, Napoleon also sought to extend his authority throughout Europe. Napoleon's armies conquered the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, occupied lands, and he forced Austria, Prussia, and Russia to ally with him and respect French hegemony in Europe.
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According to legend, during the coronation he snatched the crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII and crowned himself, thus displaying his rejection of the authority of the Pontiff. -
The only major battle of the campaign ended with a territorial gain for Napoleon but at a very high cost. Napoleon's army eventually reached a Moscow abandoned and destroyed by the Russian army based on the scorched-earth policy. -
It concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon's imperial power forever. -
Died from stomach ulcer.