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Building the Palace
In the year 1661, King Louis XIV spent nearly 100 million dollars building his palace in Versailles. This palace was located away from the capital of Paris. This was to maintain the royal family's privacy. -
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The Events of the French Revolution
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King Louis XIV dies
King Louis XIV died leaving France in debt. He was known as the longest-reigning king in European history. -
The Royal Wedding
Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette of Austria. Louis was only 15 and Marie was only 14. Their marriage was arranged so Austria and France could become allies. Marie was a very pretty girl who liked attention and cared little about politics. Louis was a shy boy and easily persuaded. -
The Meeting
King Louis called together a meeting of the Estates-General. He wanted to discuss taxes and the country's financial state. This was the first meeting of the Estates-General in nearly 175 years. The reason the country was so badly in debt was because of the royal family's tremendous amounts of spending. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was made by the General Assembly. They agreed to continue meeting everyday until their constitution was signed by their king. This constitution gave more rights to the people of the third estate. The third estate were poor people such as peasants and farmers. -
Storming the Bastille
The medieval fortress, the Bastille, represented the royal authority. Because the people were not happy with the king, they stormed the Bastille and took it over. Prisoners were kept at the Bastille. The people wanted gunpowder and weapons. But they also wanted to prove that they were serious about the revolution. -
Declaration of Rights of Man
The Declaration of Rights of Man was approved by the General Assembly. The writers of the document modeled it after America's Declaration of Independence. They believed that all men should be treated equally. They also wanted to do away with the first, second, and third estates. They thought everyone should be evenly taxed and not just one social class. -
Guillotine
The guillotine was a device used for beheading people. The people believed the device should be used for all forms a punishment. It was also said that this wasy a painless way to kill criminals. -
The Beheading of a Queen
On this day, Marie Antionette was put to trial. She was found guilty and sentenced to death. The form of execution was by the guillotine. She was guilty of abandoning her own people and many other crimes. -
Robspierre
Robspierre was sentenced the gullotine. Robspierre was considered an outlaw for he was trying to destroy the French government. He was sentenced to death along with many other men.
