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Meeting of the Estates-General
The Estates-General is meeting called when representatives the three estates (church, nobility, and commoners) to solve France's problems. The one in 1789 was to deal with France's economic woes. It ended with the Third Estate getting very upset about the poor treatment they recieve. -
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French Revolution
The French Revolution was caused because of the first and second Estates mistreatment of the third Estate. They caused a revolution to give the people the power, and many people died because of it, including their King. -
National Assembly is formed
The National Assembly was created by the third Estate. They were furious about the conclusion of the Estates-General, and decided to have their own meeting place. They claimed to be working for the King's best interest, though Louis still wanted to use force to defeat them. They took an oath on the King's indoor tennis court that they would never separate until their goals were reached. -
Women's March on Versailles
Children were going hungry because of the King, and the women of France were not happy about this. They marched towards Versailles, King Louis' home, and demanded that he and his administration move to Paris. Over 7,000 women joined the march -
Execution of King Louis XVI
After being kept prisoner for a long time, King Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette tried to escape to Austria. They were caught and sent back to Paris. Eventually, a court hearing was set up to decide Louis' fate. The verdict was unanimous; he was to be executed. His wife shared the same fate with him in October. -
Start of the Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was started by Robespierre and the Jacobins. During this time, France's goal was to purge its internal enemies. If someone claimed that a person wanted the old regime to come back, the victim would be placed in court and probably get executed via guillotine. As many as 40,000 prisoners may have been executed.
