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France's Debt and Starvation
France was sinking into debt. Food prices were sharply increasing. Louis XVI was only making things worse through lavish spending. This was the final straw that caused starving people to desire change.
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The National Assembly
At the meeting of the Estates General, the Third Estate decided to do something about the imbalance of power the other two estates held over them. The Third Estate voted to create a National Assembly. This began the end of absolute monarchy. This is one of the most important events of the French revolution because it was the first stand the Third Estate took against the French monarchy and nobles.
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Three weeks after August 4, 1789, the National Assembly came up with a document of ideals they wanted to put into place. This statement guaranteed a list of rights French citizens should have. Some of these statements include freedom of speech and freedom of religion. This is an important event because this laid out the rights of citizens, which had not been acknowledged before.
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The Great Fear
The Great Fear began when suspicions arose that the king was building up an army to attack the peasants. As a result, peasants attacked noble houses and destroyed binding legal papers. All this attacking eventually led to a riot in October 1789, where Parisian women attacked Versailles and dragged the royalty out to Paris. This is important because the royalty never returned to Versailles.
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France's Factions
The Legislative Assembly of France was literally split over how to handle problems such as food shortages. People that held different views on the government sat on different sides of the hall. Radicals sat on the left side, moderates sat on the center, and conservatives sat on the right side. This is an important event because it led to the creation of left-wing, moderate, and right-wing political terms.
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Louis's Failed Escape
After he learned of the change in relationship between church and state, Louis realized his power as a monarch was shifting. As a result, his advisers suggested he leave France to keep his family safe. However, when Louis tried to escape France in June 1791, he was caught and brought back to Paris. This event is important because it depicted the king being at the mercy of his own government.
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Reign of Terror
In France, there were several different opinions about the French revolution. Robespierre tried to fix this by beheading others less radical than him. He guillotined enemies of the revolution. This was an important event of the French revolution because it showed that not every revolution is perfect, as this was a time period of dictatorship and death.
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Napoleon Gains Power
In November 1799, Napoleon took advantage of a weak Directory to become ruler of France. He then set up a banking system and prevented the Church from controlling national affairs, among other changes. He even attempted to conquer Europe, eventually controlling Switzerland and parts of Italy. This was one important event because Napoleon made changes to his country and gained a lot of land for France.
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The Russian Invasion
Due to Russia's continued sale of grain to Britain, Napoleon attacked Russia. He invaded Moscow, only to find the city already destroyed. When he decided to retreat back to France, the Russian army attacked his army, killing many of Napoleon's soldiers.
This event was one of the most important because it was one of Napoleon's major losses and decimated his army.
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Napoleon's Defeat
When Napoleon escaped his banishment to Elba, he built up an army very quickly. He decided to attack Britain. However, Britain held its ground and was joined by the Prussian army, and together they forced Napoleon's forces to retreat. Soon after, Napoleon was exiled again and never returned to France. This was an important event because it signaled the end of the reign of an influential ruler of France. Link text
