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Formal opening of the Estates General
The last grand ceremony of the Ancien Régime was a meeting of the three estates of pre-revolutionary France which occured on Versailles and principally marked the start of the French Revolution. This was called the procession of the Estates General which was announced and summoned by Louis XVI. 1200 French deputies arrived there for the event. The King called a meeting of the Estates General when he wanted advice on certain issues. The Estates General ended in 1789. -
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National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was an assembly in the old Kingdom of France formed by the National Assembly on the 9 of July, 1789 during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on the 30 of September, 1791 and was succeeded by the Assembly. The National assembly was created when the king refused to give them more power and the Third Estate created its own group. They began to meet on a regular basis and continued carrying the country without the help of the king. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a key moment that finished with the French Revolution. On the 20 of June, 1789, the Tennis Court Oath was taken. There, the men of the National Assembly swore a pact of never stopping meeting until a constitution had been established. It was a compromise of union presented in 1789 between the 577 deputies of the third estate so they don’t have to separate until they provided France with a Constitution, facing pressure from the King of France Louis XVI. -
Storming of the Bastille
A state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive group of people due to the conditions of their lives and because of the annoyment with their King and Government. People were out of control so they stormed and seized control of the medieval armory, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At that time, the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. -
The August Decrees
They were nineteen decrees/articles which abolished feudalism, other privileges of the nobility, ended the tax exemption privileges of the upper classes and seigneurial rights made on the 4–11 August, 1789 passed by the National Constituent Assembly, which had been formed from the three estates of pre-revolutionary France during the Estates-General of 1789 during the French Revolution. It was a significant success of the Revolution and a major step toward the ending of France absolute monarchy. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen came into existence in the summer of 1789, which marked the beginning of a new political era, approved by the French National Constituent Assembly. This is one of many of the fundamental documents of the French Revolution in terms of defining personal and community rights which are freedom, ownership, security, resistance to oppression, the equality before the law, the justice system, and affirms the principle of separation of powers. -
The Flight to Varennes
The escape from Varennes was a very important and significant event of the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their family unsuccessfully escaped from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution under royalists officers concentrated at Monmedy. They escaped only to the small town of Varennes-en-Argonne, where they were arrested after having been recognized at their previous stop. The escape failed and they returned to Paris. -
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Legislative Assembly
The National Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France during the years of the French Revolution, replacing the National Constituent Assembly. It establishes as an article of the constitution that the legislature can’t make no law on the status of unfree people in the colonies except at the specific request of the colonial assemblies. It provided the focus of political debate and law-making. Finally, the National Constituent Assembly dissolved the 30 September, 1791 -
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1st French Republic
First French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. This period was characterized by the downfall and abolition of the French monarchy, the establishment of the National Convention, the founding of the Directory, and finally the creation of the Consulate and Napoleon's rise to power. This confirmed the removal of King Louis XVI as king. In the history of France, the First Republic, sometimes referred as the “Revolutionary France”. -
The Assembly declares war on Austria
France and Austria had a bad relationship in the second half of the 1700s. They were allies, but they were both battling for the control over European lands. Marie Antoinette heard rumors that the Girondins were planning a military attack on Austria. She warned her brother Leopold and later, the Girondin minister pushed for war on Austria.
Then, the Austrian people were defeated by the French armies in The Netherlands. -
Storming of the Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was stormed when armed revolutionaries were increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy in Paris. The conflict led France to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic during the French Revolution. This was a day of rebellion which put an end to the reign of Louis XVI, which is why it is also known as the "second revolution".
Louis XVI was sentenced to death and executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793. Tensions accelerated dramatically. -
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National Convention
The National Convention was created to replace the failed political changes after the fall of the monarchy and to replace the failed political changes after the fall of the monarchy. It was the main institution of the First French Republic. It was an elected assembly of a constituent nature that concentrated executive powers. They reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners and initiated elections for a new legislative body. -
Execution of Louis XVI
He was brought to trial for treason and executed publicly by guillotine in the “Plaza de la Revolución” in Paris. His wife Mary Antoinette, was executed in the same way, in the same place nine months later. This was one of the most important and significant events of the French Revolution. -
Execution of Robespierre
He was arrested and killed on July 28, 1794 along with twenty-one of his followers. His death was followed by a reaction that destroyed the revolutionary government, which was replaced by the more conservative Directory. Tired of his oppressive leadership, a group of revolutionary leaders staged a coup in July 1794, seizing control of the Committee and arresting Robespierre. The next day "the incorruptible" died in the guillotine. -
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Directory
The French Directory was the five-member governing committee in the French First Republic from 1795 to 1799 during the four last years of the French Revolution. On November of 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte carried out a coup that ended the Directory, which was the last form of government of the French Revolution. This coup, which principally intended to end the corruption of the previous government and favor the interests of the new bourgeoisie, led him to receive the title of Emperor of France. -
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The Napoleonic Era
Napoleon was a dictator that ruled for 15 years with the ambitions of establishing a solid dynasty with France and to create a French-dominated empire. He was mostly all the time in wars and conflicts. The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It’s classified as the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, with the first being the National Assembly, the second the Legislative Assembly, and the third the Directory. -
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The Consulate
This period was one of authoritarian rule, but also of energetic state-building, during which Napoleon established institutions and principles. The Consulate was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup. During this period, Napoleon Bonaparte, established himself as the head of a more authoritarian, autocratic, and centralized republican government in France while not declaring himself only ruler. -
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The Empire
The first French Empire was the monarchical government that was established by Napoleon Bonaparte after the dissolution of the First French Republic in 1804.
The French Empire conquered most of Western and Central Europe, as well as owning numerous colonial domains and states, and by 1812, Napoleon already controlled all of Western and Central Europe with the exception of Great Britain and Portugal. -
Battle of Trafalgar
This battle was a naval battle that began on the part of Napoleon for his plan to conquer the United Kingdom and that took place on October 21, 1805 initiated by the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia, Naples and Sweden to try to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte and dissolve the existing French military influence in Europe. The battle took place off the coast of Cape Trafalgar in Cádiz and is considered one of the most important of the 19th century.
The French Empire fought against Spain. -
Battle of Austerlitz
The battle of Austerlitz faced on December 2, 1805 Napoleon's 68,000 troops who defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians under the control of Alexander I and Mikhail Kutuzov in what is now the Czech Republic. This battle was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, as the First French Empire won after almost nine hours of difficult combat and brought the end of the War of the Third Coalition by signing the Treaty of Pressburg. -
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was the greatest confrontation of all the Napoleonic Wars and the most important battle lost by Napoleon Bonaparte. In this battle they faced each other between approximately 185,000 French troops and others under Napoleon's control, and approximately 320,000 allied troops, including Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish armies, under Prince Carl Philip control. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was a combat that took place on June 18, 1815 in the province of Waterloo, currently in Belgium. In this battle, the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, faced British, Dutch and German troops, led by the Duke of Wellington. The French army was defeated by the British and Prussian armies; With this defeat, the 23-year war between France and the European allied states ended and marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.