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Meeting Of The Estates General
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. -
Storming Of The Bastille
Occurred in Paris, France, on the morning of July 14th 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained just seven inmates at the time of its storming but was a symbol of the abuses of the monarchy: its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution. -
Execution Of King Louis XVI
A major event of the French Revolution. King Louis XVI was beheaded by the guillotine on January 21st, 1793 in Paris, France. After being tried for numerous treason charges by the court, Louis was sent to his death. -
Beginning of the Reign of Terror
A period of violence begins just after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between two rival political factions, the Girondines and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "Enemies of 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. -
Execution of Maximillien Robespierre
Maximillien Robespierre was executed by the guillotine on July 28th, 1794 without any fair trial. His brother and 12 other followers were also executed the same day directly after Robespierre. -
Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor
On the Sunday of December 2nd, 1804 the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French took place at the Notrre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. This event has been said to mark "the instillation of modren empire", representing a "transparently masterminded piece of modern propaganda". -
Battle of Waterloo
A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher. -
Napoleons 2nd Abdication and Exile
Napoleon exiled to St. Helena in 1815. After his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, Napoleon retreated to Paris where he was forced to renounce his throne in April of 1814. The European powers exiled him to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. -
Congress of Vienna
A conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September 1814 through June 1815. The objective of the Congress was to provide a long-term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
