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The French Revolution
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The Estates General
The King called this meeting for the first time in hundreds of years, to clean up the whole system. This angered many people and made then resent King Louis XVI -
Tennis Court Oath
The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. The only person who did not sign was Joseph Martin-Dauch, a politician who would not execute decisions not sanctioned by the king. They made a makeshift conference room inside a tennis court located in the Saint-Louis district of the city of Versailles, near the Palace of Versailles. -
The Storming of the Basille
A mob stormed the bastille, the medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille which represented royal authority "power" in the center of Paris. While the prison only contained seven prisoners at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution, and it subsequently became an icon of the French Republic. -
The Declaration of the Right of Man
The Declaration of the Right of Man and Citizen was announced. Earlier in August 1789, the National Assembly had written its first act, abolishing feudalism, and therefore liberating peasants from "seigniorial obligations". The Assembly announced a document that reflected ideas of hope and of the enlightenment the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. -
Recogniztion of the National Assembly
The king formally recognizing the national assembly following the violent up rises in the rural areas and the storming of the Bastille. France seemed to be falling into chaos, Louis XVI had little alternative but to recognize the National Assembly. -
The Passing of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The nationalization of Church lands was the first step in state control of the Church. On July 12, 1790 the National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy to bring the clergy under government control. Clergy would now be elected by all citizens and their salaries paid by the state. The clergy were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, essentially it required the clergy to acknowledge the supremacy of the French government over the Pope. -
King Louis XVI "Escape"
The king tried to leave in a desperate move on June 20th, 1791, he tried to flee to Austria with his family. By taking this action he was deserting a state of which he was the head to seek temporary refuge in a hostile country. He was later apprehended at the boarder, he was then sent back to Paris. Public opinion which earlier had been willing to accept and even love the king as a constitutional monarch, now began to turn against him. -
Execution of Louis XVI
The former Louis XVI, now simply named Citoyen Louis Capet (Citizen Louis Capet), was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793 on the Place de la Révolution, former Place Louis XVI, now called the Place de la Concorde. After he was executed, some of the citizens who witnessed the beheading ran forth to have their clothes soaked in the late King's blood, dripping from his head. -
The Reign of Terror
During this time, as the violence escalated between the Girondins and the Jacobins over the struggle for power, it resulted in the execution of 16,000 French citizens who were deemed to be "enemies of the revolution". Those sent to the guillotine include Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Princess of Lamballe. The Reign of Terror came to an end with the execution of Robespierre in 1794. -
Reign of Terror
Jacobin controlled and the "Reign of Terror" started. This was an attempt to destory the internal enemies of the Revolution and a response to fear of losing the war. -
The Execution of Robespierre
Robespierre, who accused of setting himself up as a dictator, was arrested in July 1794. He was later executed that month along with with twenty-one others in a public ceremony. The Jacobin rule ended.
