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The Estates General was assembled by King Louis XVI to find a solution to the financial crisis in France. The Estates- General was made up of Three Estates. The First Estate was the clergy, The Second Estate was the nobility and The Third Estate was the commoners or common class.
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On June 17, the Third Estate renamed their group the National Assembly. They redefined themselves as being an estate of the people. The First and Second Estate were invited to join but the newly formed assembly would conduct affairs with or without them.
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Members of the Third Estate, which represent commoners and the lower clergy, meon the Jeu de Paume, an indoor tennis court, in defiance of King Louis XVI’s order to dismantle the group. They took the historic Tennis Court Oath, which they agreed not to disband until a new French constitution had been adopted.
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Parisian revolutionaries and troops attack and destroy the Bastille, a royal fortress and prison that represented the tyranny of the monarchy. This dramatic action signaled the beginning of the French Revolution, a decade of political turmoil in which King Louis XVI was overthrown.
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The Great Fear, also known as French Grande Peur, in the French Revolution, was a period of panic and riot by peasants and others in retaliation of rumors of an “aristocratic conspiracy” by the king and the privileged to overthrow the Third Estate.
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The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The October March, The October Days, or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march among women was in protest to King Louis XVI of France to fix the economic crisis and great food shortages.
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The Constitution of 1791 was completed the National Assembly which sets up a constitutional monarchy in France. The constitution redefined the organization of French government, citizenship, and the limits to the powers of the government.
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Revolutionaries in France wanted war because they thought war would unify the country, and would spread the ideas of the Revolution to all of Europe. King Louis wanted the war in order to change the French Revolution so that it would favor him. The Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria.
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King Louis XVI was executed with a guillotine one day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention. He was beheaded in the Place de la Revolution in Paris.
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Maximilian Robespierre and The Committee of Public Safety led the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was one of the most violent events during the French Revolution when approximately 40,000 people were executed by guillotine. Anyone who was against the revolution was at risk of death.
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The Directory of France is an executive governmental body that ruled France under five directors from 1795 to 1799. The Directory was developed after The Reign of Terror. With military successes in Europe and the Middle East, the Directory was able to finally unify the French people. The Directory however was said to be filled with corruption.
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During the Napoleonic Wars, the Continental System was an attempt by Napoleon to cripple Britain. By creating a blockade, he had planned to destroy their trade, economy, and democracy. This plan backfired and Napoleon lost control of the seas and goods became scarce as a result.
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The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations was fought by the armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon at Leipzig, Saxony. The battle involved over 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe at the time.
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After defeats in Trafalgar in 1805 and in Russia in 1812, Napoleon's reign as Emperor ended and was exiled to the island of Elba, a small island off the coast of Italy.
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After being exiled to the island of Elba, Napoleon escaped to France and formed a new Grand Army. Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena where he spent his final years.
