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On July 14 1789 the Paris mob, hungry due to a lack of food from poor harvests, upset at the conditions of their lives and annoyed with their King and Government, stormed the Bastille fortress (a prison). This turned out to be more symbolic than anything else as only four or five prisoners were found.
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In its preamble and its 17 articles, it sets out the “natural and inalienable” rights, which are freedom, ownership, security, and resistance to oppression; it recognizes equality before the law and the justice system and affirms the principle of separation of powers.
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The Estates-General met at Versailles on May 5, 1789. They were immediately divided over a fundamental issue: should they vote by head, giving the advantage to the Third Estate, or by estate, in which case the two privileged orders of the realm might outvote the third?
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The Tennis Court Oath was a key moment that set off the French Revolution. On June 20, 1789, the Tennis Court Oath was taken. There, the men of the National Assembly swore an oath never to stop meeting until a constitution had been established.
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The madness quickly became related to the activities of revolutionaries seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France. A mob grew and ransacked buildings throughout France.
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In November 1792, a secret cupboard containing proof of Louis' counter-revolutionary beliefs and correspondence with foreign powers was discovered in Tuileries Palace. He was brought to trial for treason and executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793.
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Reign of Terror - World History Encyclopedia
The Reign of Terror, or simply the Terror (la Terreur), was a climactic period of state-sanctioned violence during the French Revolution (1789-99), -
On July 27, 1794, Robespierre and a number of his followers were arrested at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd.
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Enacted on March 21, 1804, the resulting Civil Code of France marked the first major revision and reorganization of laws since the Roman era. The Civil Code (renamed the Code Napoleon in 1807) addressed mainly matters relating to property and families.
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Napolean named himself Emporer to gain prestige in international royalist and Catholic circles and to lay the foundation for a future dynasty.
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Frustrated by Portugal's defiance of his Continental Blockade against trade with Great Britain, Napoleon ordered General Jerot to march French troops over the Pyrenees. On November 30, French troops entered the Portuguese capital of Lisbon and closed the country's ports to English ships.
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On June 24, 1812, the Grande Armée, led by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, crossed the Neman River, invading Russia from present-day Poland.
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Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba.
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Napoleon died at age 51.