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Louis XVI calls for the Estates General to meet.
The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. -
Representatives from the three Estates meet at Versailles
Louis XVI opened the session with a speech in which he reviewed the circumstances that had led to the convocation, and what he expected from the Estates General. -
Third Estate takes the Tennis Court Oath
When the Third Estate gathered to meet on June 20th, they found the doors to their meeting hall locked and guarded. Fearing a royalist conspiracy, the Third Estate responded by gathering in a nearby tennis court. There they pledged not to disband until the nation had drafted and implemented a constitution -
Louis XVI has the Third Estate locked out of the Estates General meeting
The Third Estate wanted to have equal rights to the other two estates. Sent forces to arrest Third Estate after they were locked out of their meeting place and relocated to the Tennis Courts. Once Louis XVI heard this, he sent forces to arrest them. -
The women of Paris arrest Louis XVI and take him back to Paris
Peasants all across France were struggling under his rule and sided with the revolution more than with Louis XVI. The revolutionaries forced Louis XVI and his family to return to Paris and removed the little remaining authority he still had. -
Louis XVI calls for the National Assembly to meet to create a constitution
He ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France. -
The people of Paris storm the Bastille
a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob -
French Republic established
After a long period of debate about how the new constitution will work, the French Revolution takes a radical turn when revolutionaries arrest the King -
Reign of terror begins
Following the King’s execution, France goes to war with various European powers. -
The Directory takes power
A new regime – the Directory – takes power in France in 1795.