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The people of Paris supported the Assembly's proposals and, on July 14, they stormed the Bastille. Louis XVI was frightened by the situation and, in autumn, accepted the National Assembly. In august Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was approved, which recognised the rights, individual freedoms and equality of all citizens.
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Driven by the moderate bourgeoisie, who aspired to abolish the Ancien Régime, elect a parliament by selective suffrage and establish a constitution
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The Austrian army invaded France and Louis XVI fled Paris, but he was arrested
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Based on the separation of powers, national sovereignty and legal equality, though the king reserved the right of veto. Census suffrage was also introduced, giving the vote to people with a certain level of wealth. The royal family and the privileged classes did not accept the changes and asked absolute monarchies in Europe to help restore absolutism.
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Austrian army entered France and reached Paris
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The Girondins, controlled the Republic. A new assembly, the National Convention, was elected by universal male suffrage.
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The radical bourgeoisie, encouraged by the working classes, proclaimed the Republic and began a transformation into a democratic and equal society with universal male suffrage and social laws.
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They mprisoned the royal family and a republic was declared and the second phase of the Revolution began.
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Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were convicted of treason and executed. In response to the king's death, monarchies in Europe formed an absolutist coalition against France. Inside the country, counter-revolutionary revolts broke out and the former privileged classes organised royalist plots.
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A new constitution that recognised popular sovereignty (universal male suffrage) and the right to social equality was enacted. The executive was led by a Committee of Public Safety, which gave power to the Jacobin leader Robespierre.
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To stop conspirators. Freedoms were suspended and people opposed to the government were either imprisoned or revolutionary courts ordered their execution by guillotine (Law of Suspects).
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To satisfy the demands of the sans-culottes (photo). Prices and salaries were controlled (Law of the Maximum), the assets of counter-revolutionaries were distributed among the poor, Church lands were sold and education became compulsory.
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In June 1793, the Jacobins, endorsed the demands of the popular sectors and seized power.
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The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the Revolution and it entered its third and final phase. Jacobin laws were cancelled and exiles from the Reign of Terror were encouraged to return
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The new constitution granted executive power to a collegial government, known as the Directory, and restored census suffrage.
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The Directory was permanently unstable because it faced opposition from the aristocracy, which sought to re-establish the monarchy and recover its privileges, and the common people, who supported the return of the Jacobins. In this context of crisis and war against the absolutist powers, general Napoléon Bonaparte organised a coup in 1799 that ended the Directory.
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In 1799, Napoleon was named consul, and the Consulate's rule began. This was a period of autocratic and authoritarian rule. Napoleon aspired to put an end to the political instability of the Revolution, consolidate some of the revolutionary principles and promote economic recovery through a government that represented the interests of the bourgeoisie.
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It did not include the separation of powers or a declaration of rights. Liberties were very limited and censorship was imposed to control public opinion. The state was organised into departments that were run by prefects who implemented government policies. The public finance sector was reformed, and state schools (lyceés) were created to educate an elite of civil servants
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His large army and the use of new military tactics enabled him to defeat most European monarchies
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After this victory the French troops seemed unstoppable.
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Joseph Bonaparte, one of the emperor's brothers, was made king
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It extended from Germany to Spain. France now controlled most of Europe.
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The revolt in Spain against a foreign king (Joseph Bonaparte) marked the decline of the Napoleonic Empire.
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The imperial armies were finally defeated in Waterloo by Great Britain and Prussia.
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Napoleon abdicated after the defeat and was sent into exile on the island of Saint Helena, where he died.
