-
The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. -
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. As a peaceful king, he declared himself “the people’s greatest friend”. Necker claimed that new taxes would be enough to make up for the deficit, but the Commoners, who were only too aware of the country’s expectations, were dissatisfied with such a mediocre discourse, and decided to take things into their own hands. -
King Louis locked the third estate out of the meeting because they were demanding more power in the government because they made up 97% of the population in France. -
the members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath in the tennis court which had been built in 1686 for the use of the Versailles palace. -
He ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France. -
a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy's dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed. -
Following the Women’s March on Versailles, the royal family was forced to return to Paris. They remained virtual prisoners in the Tuileries, the official residence of the king. Louis XVI became emotionally paralyzed, leaving most important decisions to the queen. At her insistence, Louis committed himself and his family to a disastrous attempt of escape from the capital to the eastern frontier