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Storming of Bastille
More than 800 Parisians assembled outside of Bastille, a grim medieval fortress used as a prison for political and other prisoners. The crowd demanded weapons and gunpowder that they believed to be stored there. The commander of the Bastille refused to open the gate and opened fire on the crowd. Many people were killed, but finally the Parisians broke the defenses. They killed the commander, five guards, and released the prisoners, but no weapons were found. The Bastille was a symbol to the peop -
Meeting of the National Assembly
Peasant uprisings and the storming of the Bastille stampeded the National Assembly into action. On August 4, in a combative all-night meeting, nobles in the National Assembly voted to end their own privileges. They agreed to give up their old manorial dues, exclusive hunting rights, special legal status, and exemption from taxes. -
The Women of Paris Marching on Versailles
On October 5, about six thousand women marched thirteen miles in the pouring from Paris to Versailles. They demanded to see the King. The women refused to leave Versailles until the King met their most important demand¬¬–to return to Paris. -
The Royal Family Processing from Versailles to Paris
On October 6, the crowd, with the king and his family set out for the city. At the head of the procession rode the women. The royal family when at Paris, lived in the Tuileries palace. For the next three years, Louis was a virtual prisoner. -
The Unsuccessful Flight of the Royal Family
One night in June, a coach rolled north from Paris to the border. Inside sat the king, disguised as a servant, the queen dressed as a governess, and the royal children. The attempt failed and soldiers returned the Royal Family back to their palace in Paris. To moan, Louis’s dash to the border showed that he was a traitor to the revolution. -
The Declaration of Pilnitz
The failed escape of the king brought further hostile rumbling from abroad. In August, the King of Prussia and the emperor of Austria issued the Declaration of Pilnitz. In this document, the two monarchs threaten to intervene to protect the French Monarchy. The declaration may have been mostly a bluff, but revolutionaries in France took it seriously and prepared for war. -
The Constitution of 1791
The National Assembly completed its main task by producing a constitution. The Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries. A new Legislative Assembly had the power to make laws, collect taxes, and decide on issues of war and peace. To make government more efficient, the constitution replaced the provinces with 83 departments of roughly equal size. To moderate reformers, the constitution seemed to complete the revolution. -
The Formation of the Legislative Assembly
In October, the newly elected Legislative Assembly took office. Faced with crises at home and abroad, it survived for less than a year. Within the Assembly, several hostile factions competed for power. All of this caused a war that began in 1792 and last on and off until 1815. -
The Formation of the National Convention
Backed by Paris crowds, radicals took control of the Assembly. Radicals called for the election of a new legislative body called the National Convention. Suffrage was to be extended to all male citizens, not just to property owners. -
The Execution of Louis XVI
The Convention put Louis XVI on trial as a traitor to France. The King was convicted by a single vote and sentenced to death. On a foggy January morning, Louis mounted a scaffold in a public square in Paris and was then beheaded.
