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National Assembly in power
National Assembly, French Assemblée Nationale, any of various historical French parliaments or houses of parliament. From June 17 to July 9, 1789, it was the name of the revolutionary assembly formed by representatives of the Third Estate; thereafter (until replaced by the Legislative Assembly on Sept. 30, 1791) its formal name was National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée Nationale Constituante), though popularly the shorter form persisted. -
Estates General called to session
Estates-General, also called States General, French États-Généraux, in France of the pre-Revolutionary monarchy, the representative assembly of the three “estates,” or orders of the realm: the clergy and nobility—which were privileged minorities—and a Third Estate, which represented the majority of the people. -
Tennis Court Oath
On June 20th, 1789, the members of the French Estates-General for the Third Estate, who had begun to call themselves the National Assembly, took the Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume), vowing "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". It was a pivotal event in the early days of the French Revolution. -
Storming the Bastille
On 14 July 1789, a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy's dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed. -
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Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The October March, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplace. Encouraged by revolutionary agitators, they ransacked the city armory for weapons and marched to the Palace of Versailles. The crowd besieged the palace, and in a dramatic and violent confrontation, they successfully pressed their demands upon King Louis XVI. -
Escape Attempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
The royal party were held until next day when orders arrived to send them back to Paris. It was widely believed that the Austrians had organised the royal escape. The royals were sent to prison and the National Assembly proclaimed France a republic. Louis and Marie-Antoinette were tried for treason and both were found guilty. He went to the guillotine in January 1793 and she met the same fate in October. -
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Legislative Assembly in power
The Legislative Assembly (French: Assemblée législative) was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to 20 September 1792 during the years of the French Revolution.It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention. The National Constituent Assembly solved itself on 28 September 1791. Its successor body, the Legislative Assembly,operating over the liberal French Constitution of 1791. -
Overthrow of the Monarchy
The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was one of the defining events in the history of the French Revolution. The storming of the Tuileries Palace by the National Guard of the insurrectional Paris Commune and revolutionary fédérés from Marseille and Brittany resulted in the fall of the French monarchy. -
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National Convention in power
National Convention assembly that governed France from September 20, 1792, until October 26, 1795, during the most critical period of the French Revolution. The National Convention was elected to provide a new constitution for the country after the overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792). Among its early acts were the formal abolition of the monarchy (September 21) and the establishment of the republic (September 22). -
Execution of Louis XVI
The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution ("Revolution Square", formerly Place Louis XV, and renamed Place de la Concorde in 1795) in Paris. It was a major event of the Revolution. -
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Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror lasted from September 1793 until the fall of Robespierre in 1794. Its purpose was to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
On 21 September 1792, the monarchy was abolished. After a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793. -
Execution of Robespierre
He is perhaps best known for his role in the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. ... As part of his attempts to use extreme measures to control political activity in France, Robespierre later moved against the more moderate Danton, who was accused of corruption and executed in July 1794. -
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The Directory is in power
Directory, the French Revolutionary government set up lasted from November 1795 to November 1799. The lower house, or Council of Five Hundred, consisted of 500 delegates, 30 years of age or over, who proposed legislation; the Council of Ancients, consisted of 250 delegates, 40 years of age or over, who held the power to accept or veto the proposed legislation. A Director had to be at least 40 years old and to have formerly served as a deputy or minister; a new one was chosen each year. -
Napoleon comes to power
The coup of 18 Brumaire brought General Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France, and, in the view of most historians, ended the French Revolution. ... This occurred on 9 November 1799, which was 18 Brumaire, Year VIII under the French Republican Calendar. -
Napoleon confirmed as "first consul for life"
During this period, Napoleon Bonaparte, as First Consul, established himself as the head of a more authoritarian, autocratic, and centralized republican government in France while not declaring himself sole ruler. Due to the long-lasting institutions established during these years, Robert B. Holtman has called the Consulate "one of the most important periods of all French history." Napoleon brought authoritarian personal rule which has been viewed as military dictatorship. -
Napoleonic Code enacted
Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code (French: Code Napoléon; officially Code civil des Français, referred to as (le) Code civil) is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. It was drafted by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force on 21 March 1804. -
Holy Roman Empire abolished; "Confederation of the Rhine" created in its place with Napoleon as leader
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine. -
Continental System begins
Continental System, in the Napoleonic wars, the blockade designed by Napoleon to paralyze Great Britain through the destruction of British commerce. The decrees of Berlin (November 21, 1806) and Milan (December 17, 1807) proclaimed a blockade: neutrals and French allies were not to trade with the British. -
Napoleon has his brother, Joseph, crowned king of Spain
Joseph Bonaparte, original Italian Giuseppe Buonaparte, (born January 7, 1768, Corte, Corsica—died July 28, 1844, Florence, Tuscany, Italy), lawyer, diplomat, soldier, and Napoleon I’s eldest surviving brother, who was successively king of Naples (1806–08) and king of Spain (1808–13). -
Napoleon abdicates and agrees to exile on Elba
On this day in 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
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Napoleon's "Hundred Days"
Hundred Days, French Cent Jours, in French history, period between March 20, 1815, the date on which Napoleon arrived in Paris after escaping from exile on Elba, and July 8, 1815, the date of the return of Louis XVIII to Paris. The phrase was first used by the prefect of the Seine, comte de Chabrol de Volvic, in his speech welcoming the king. -
(Second) restoration of King Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII fled and a Seventh Coalition declared war on the French Empire, defeated Napoleon, and restored Louis XVIII to the French throne. Louis XVIII ruled as king for slightly less than a decade. The Bourbon Restoration regime was a constitutional monarchy (unlike the ancien régime, which was absolutist).