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King Louis the XVI calls together the Estates General.
King Louis the XVI calls together the Estates General for the first time in 175 years. The Estates General consisted of 3 estates each one representing a different group in society. After bad harvests and costly wars King Louis the XVI needed the Estates General to vote on raising taxes. -
The Third Estate declares itself the Nationa Assembly
The Third Estate is made up of everyone who is not in the clergy or a noble. After being locked out of the meeting place of the Estates General the members of the Third Estate go off to a tennis court and declare themselves as the National Assembly. -
The Tennis Court Oath
After entering the tennis courts the National Assembly starts to create a written constitution. They all swear not to leave the tennis court until their constitution is put into action by the king. -
Storming of the Bastille
A mob of angry French citizens begins to form in Paris. When the mob learns of the King advancing his troops towards Paris the mob begins to grow in strength and anger. The mob then moves toward the Bastille and takes over the fort/prison. The mob then proceeds to tear down the Bastille. -
The Declaration of the RIghts of Man and Citizen
The National Assembly issues the Declaration of the Right of Man and Citizen as a way to change the ways of France. The document says that all men are equal and that everyone had certain unalienable rights. The document greatly resembled the US Constitution. -
Women march on Versailles
The women's march on Versailles or better known as the October march was basically a big group of angry women going to complain to the king. The women were marching to Versailles to complain about the high cost of bread and how they could not feed their children. The women did get what they demanded and the King and queen moved to Paris. -
National Assembly issues Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy lowered the Catholic Church"s status to be below the French government. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy also said that to be a part of the clergy elections had to be held and oaths would have to be taken. It also helped to settle the chaos from church lands being taken. -
Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was where King Louis XVI and his family tried to escape France and flee to Austria. The family was caught in the town of Varennes and were taken back to Paris. This then caused all of the citizens to lose all hope in the Monarchy. -
France declares war on Austria and Prussia
King Louis XVI did not want to declare war on Austria and Prussia in any way. Due to the kings ability to be easily persuaded the King would declare war on the two countries. The National Assembly were really the ones responsible for starting the war in the first place. -
The September Massacres
The September Massacres was a time where the people of the revolution went around to all of the prisons in Paris and killed all the people. They did this because they were worried that royalists would come and free the slaves and stop the revolution. -
The Creation of the Committee of Public Safety
The National Convention creates the Committee of Public Safety in April of 1793. The committee was used to create terror in the citizens. This directly caused the Reign of Terror and the made figure head of the Reign was Maximilian Robespierre. -
The Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat was a very large catalyst in the anger of the revolutionaries. Marat's newspaper was very radical and supported the death of people to move the revolution forward. Charlotte Corday came to France and stabbed Marat killing him instantly. -
The Execution of King Louis XVI
After his attempted escape from France the king had lost the little trust that the people had in him. He was arrested and put on trial. King Louis XVI was convicted with treason and was sentenced to death by the guillotine. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a time where there were of 40,000 people killed. The people that were killed were all suspected of treason and supporting the Royalists. It was a time of unjustified violence in France which was led by Maximilien Robespierre. -
The Execution of Maximilian Robespierre
Maximilian Robespierre was executed by the guillotine on July 28, 1794. He was executed because the people began to fear that he was gaining to much power and thinking of himself as a king. His death also ended the Reign of Terror which he had started. -
The Creation of the Directory
The Directory was created by the new French Constitution in 1795. The Directory was a five person committee that ruled till 1799 when Napoleon overthrew them. The Directory was not ver good at solving problems and they ended up being the main reason for their demise. -
Napoleon Gains Control of France
In November 1799 Napoleon and the coup of 18 Brumaire overthrow the French Directory. Napoleon establishes a new form of government that has a three member consulate. Napoleon then declares himself to be the first consul and becomes the leading political figure in France. -
Napoleonic Code
Before the Napoleonic Code there were different laws across France and there was no one set of laws. The Napoleonic Code was created to have all of France under one single set of laws. The code Simplified court systems, centralized schools, improved sanitation systems and created unalienable rights for all citizens.
