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For the first time since 1614, the monarch called the Estates-General (les états généraux) — an assembly representing France's clergy, aristocracy, and middle class – to rally support for these policies and quell a mounting aristocratic insurrection.
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The Third Estate gathered in a nearby indoor tennis court to take the "Tennis Court Oath" (serment du jeu de paume), promising not to disperse until constitutional reform was achieved. (Pic: https://sheg.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/styles/content_image/public/assessment/3c17942r.jpg?itok=UNr0UBqQ) -
On July 14, rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to seize gunpowder and guns; many regard this incident, which is now marked as a national holiday in France, to be the beginning of the French Revolution. (PIC: https://cdn.historycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/french-revolution-delacroix.jpg) -
The Champ de Mars Massacre was a clash between people and National Guard soldiers in Paris. Civilians were petitioning for the destruction of the monarchy, outraged by Louis XVI's failed attempt to depart Paris and radicals in political clubs.
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The more moderate views in the Assembly were repeated in France's first written constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy with the king having royal veto power and the capacity to designate ministers.
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The Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National Convention, which declared the end of the monarchy and the establishment of the French republic the next month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists slaughtered hundreds of suspected counterrevolutionaries. (PIC: https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/swissguards.jpg) -
For high treason and crimes against the state, King Louis XVI is sentenced to death by guillotine; his wife Marie-Antoinette was sentenced to death nine months later. (PIC: https://cdn.britannica.com/40/167640-050-28FD9BA4/execution-Louis-XVI-1793.jpg) -
To safeguard their monarchy against the Revolutionary threat of republics, continental European kingdoms went to war with France. The British objectives were more complicated: they wanted to maintain the European balance of power in order to prevent France from dominating the continent.
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Thousands of alleged radicals were guillotined over the course of a ten-month period. Many of the assassinations were carried out on orders from Robespierre, who presided over the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his death on July 28, 1794.
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The National Convention, which was mostly made up of Girondins who had survived the Reign of Terror, passed a new constitution that established France's first bicameral legislature. A five-member Directory nominated by parliament would be in charge of the executive branch. (PIC: https://cdn.britannica.com/87/216787-050-12A76224/Arrest-of-Maximilien-Robespiere-9-Thermidor-year-II-July-27-1794-French-Revolution.jpg)
