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Tennis Court Oath
The 3rd estate of the Estates General met in a commercial tennis court and swore an oath declaring they would remain until France had a constitution. It is an important moment in the history of France because it marks the beginning of the French Revolution. The Tennis Court Oath was the moment the majority of the population of France began to take control of the country. -
Storming of the Bastille
The Bastille was a prison that held gun powder and arms as well as 6 or 7 prisoners. A large crowd gathered at the prison and tried to organise a handover of the gunpowder but the Governor of the Bastille refused so they broke into the prison courtyard and the prison guards opened fire and killed around 100 of the crowd. The crowd was almost defeated until some defected royal regiment guards blew open the doors and the governer surrendered. -
Women's March to Versailles
A crowd of around 7000 (mainly) militant working women of France marched to the King's Palace in Versailles demanding the price of bread and food be brought down and that people who were unpatriotic towards the Revolution be punished. The Women's March on Versailles was one of the turning points of the French Revolution. It showed that the women of the Third Estate was a force to be reckoned with. -
Flight To Varennes
The Royal family attempted to escape revolutionary France to Austria, where the royals were promised a safe haven. King Louis XVI planned to form an army of counter-revolutionaries to take back France. However this plan failed as he and his family were captured in Varennes, The trust of the French people in Louis dissolved as a result of this and suspicions were raised about the threat of a royalist counter-revolutionary plot. This helped radicalize the revolution. -
Champ de Mars Massacres
crowds gathered to sign a petition for a republican constitution (and deposition of the King). Things got out of hand and they turned on 2 suspicious individuals. The National Guard was called in and 50 people were killed plus many more injured. This created more distrust by the revolutionaries in Lafayette and shows the beginning of two separate revolutions. The original revolution which began in 1789 and a new, more radical one which aimed at making France a republic. -
Storming of the Tuileries
The popular movement (sans-culottes) marched into the Kings Tuileries Palace and demanded that he wear the red bonnet (symbol of the revolution) and toast the nation. Though reluctantly, he did so. The crowd also demanded that he end his veto powers and recall Girondin ministers (a more radical revolutionary party). He calmly refused these and the crowd dispersed. This event signified the end of the monarchy in France and started the official trial of the king. -
The formation of the Insurrectionary Commune
The 48 local councils of Paris merged into one radical body - a virtual parliament. They demanded to be recognised as the governing body/parliament for the working people. This proved to be the effective end of the French Bourbon Monarchy. -
Overthrow of the Monarchy
The Insurrectionary Commune organised 20,000 people for a demonstration against the King. Louis had only 900 Swiss guards plus another 700 royalist guards and 2000 National Guards whose loyalty was doubtful. As the crowd marched and called for the overthrow of the King, the National Guards switched sides and joined the demonstrators. The National Assembly and King, fearing for their lives, recognised the commune and agreed to set up a new parliament elected by universal male suffrage. -
September Massacres
It caused by the imminent threat of invasion by Austrian/Prussian forces and the paranoia and terror as a result. People formed vigilante groups and briskly condemned around 1200 prisoners to death on suspicion of counter-revolutionary planning. The September Massacres served as a way for the revolutionaries of France to not only strike out against those whom they felt had wronged them, but also as a means for them to make a preemptive show of force against the advancing Prussian army. Read mor -
Republic is declared
The National Convention was set up, elected by universal male suffrage to provide a new constitution after the deposition of the King. It first met on September 21 1792 and on the next day proclaimed France a Republic. -
Death of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette assumed the title of Queen of France and of Navarre when her husband ascended the throne upon the death of Louis XV in May 1774. She was finally tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal on 14 October. Unlike the king, who had been given time to prepare a defence, she was given less than a day. Nine months after her husband's execution, Marie Antoinette was herself tried, convicted of treason, and executed by guillotine on 16 October 1793. -
The Constitution of 1795
The Constitution established the Directory, and remained in effect until the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799) effectively ended the Revolution and began the ascendancy of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was more conservative than the abortive democratic French Constitution of 1793. The Constitution of 1795 established a liberal republic with a franchise based on the payment of taxes
