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The king was in trouble. The nobility was not happy with his attempt to tax their estate. Nobility wanted to pass the cost once again on the Third Estate.
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King Louis XVI calls body into session to approve a new tax on the third Estate. The Estates General had not met in 175 years.
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A mob of rebels stormed the French military fort in search of weapons to fuel the revolution. The storming of the Bastille served as a symbol for the revolution.
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The educated bourgeoisie were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers. They wanted change in the government, and declared themselves the National Assembly.
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After the initial violence of the Bastille, the French people were afraid that the king would punish everyone. Rumors spread of massacres, yet the peasant violence continued,
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The members of the third estate refused to leave the court until they had drafted a new constitution for France.
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Peasant dues to their landlords were cleared. Changes were made so that the First Estate could not bypass laws. People began drafting a new government.
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man laid the principles of the French revolution, focusing on Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Inspired from the English Bill of Rights and the American Declaration of Independence, it used many ideas from Enlightenment thinkers.
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7,000 women walked from Paris to Versailles. They demanded bread, and broke into the palace, forcing the King to leave and return to Paris.
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The King and Queen attempted to flee Paris because they were worried of their safety. They were recognized soon after, and were returned to the Tuileries Palace.
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The new constitution changed the government. Although it kept the monarchy intact, the new constitution severely limited the power of the king.
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The new Legislative Assembly gave citizens broad voting rights. Taxpayers over the age of 25 were allowed to vote.
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The Brunswick Manifesto warned against the harming of the Royal family, and declared that any harm would start a war. Austria sent 50,000 troops to the French border, which resulted in a war, and a defeat for France.
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A mob of peasants stormed Tuileries Palace and killed the guards. The King and Queen were captured, demoted to commoners, and were sent to prison.
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Revolutionary Government votes to abolish the monarchy and establish the first Republic. The Royal Family is imprisoned.
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France turns the tide of war and takes the offensive against the foreign invaders: Austria and Prussia, who are aiming to protect the monarchy.
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The king was placed on trial, and condemned to death. He was placed on a guillotine after an attempt to prove his innocence, and executed.
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As an attempt to tighten its grip over France, the National Convention tried to set up the Committee of Public Safety to manage the French military. It immediately drafted able men aged 18-45
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Under this law, anyone who doubted or opposed the Revolution was arrested and promptly executed.
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Robespierre, one of the starters of the Reign of Terror, was captured along with many of his supporters, and was executed, ending the Reign of Terror.
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The Constitution was written where voting rights were restricted, The government body called the Directors, made up of 5 people, was created, but proved ineffective.
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Napoleon Bonaparte, a national war hero, created a coup d'etat and overthrew the Directory in order to take power of France forcefully.
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Napoleon used a plebiscite to find oput that French voters wanted him to be the emporer of the French Empire.
