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The Meeting of the Estates General
King Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General because the French government was having financial problems. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath vowing "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". -
The Creation of the Guillotine
Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed that the French government adopt a gentler method of execution that was quick and painless. Also so it is offered to everyone. -
Storming of the Bastille
A fortress that was the state prison held only seven inmates was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy's dictatorial rule. The mob destroyed the Bastille brick by brick. -
Panic in Paris
The gathering of troops around Paris provoked insurrection. The Parisian rabble seized the Bastille. In the provinces the peasants rose against their lords, attacking châteaus and destroying feudal documents. -
The March on Versailles
An angry mob of nearly 7,000 working women armed with pitchforks, pikes and muskets marched in the rain from Paris to Versailles demanding bread. The then knock down the door killing the guards and tearing apart the queen's bed. -
Flight to Varennes
King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution. They escaped only as far as the small town of Varennes, where they were arrested after having been recognized -
The King is dethroned!
The formal end of the monarchy that occurred six weeks later was one of the first acts of the new National Convention. They also were petitioned to dethrone the king. -
Monarchy is Abolished
In 1789, food shortages and economic crises led to the fall of the French monarchy. (See also, The March on Versailles) -
The Execution of the King
One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Charlotte Corday assassinates Marat
Jean Paul Marat, "The Friend of the People" is stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, a Royalist sympathizer. -
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Reign of Terror
It was a period of violence that was started by conflict between the Girondins and Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of thousands of people including the king and queen -
The Queen's Last Breath
Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason and incest of her own son. Her hair was cut off and executed by guillotine joining the fate of her husband -
Fall of Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre is overthrown and arrested by the National Convention. Robespierre encouraged the execution of more than 17,000 enemies of the Revolution. -
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Directory
group of five men who held the executive power in France -
The Passing of Napoleonic Code
Napoleon enacts a new legal framework for France,the first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family, and individual rights. -
The Coronation of Napoleon
In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon the crown that the 35-year-old conqueror of Europe placed on his own head. -
Exile to Elba
In the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Napoleon is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
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The Congress of Vienna
Was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich, and held in Vienna -
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100 Days
Napoleon arrived in Paris after escaping from exile on Elba, and the date of the return of Louis XVIII to Paris.
