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Price of Consumer Goods Increases
In the 1700's the price of consumer goods increased much faster than wages, which left urban groups with a lot less buying power. -
New Nobles Created
In the 1700's, around 6,500 new nobles had been created by appointment. -
Early Life of Napoleon
Napoleon was born in 1769 in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean. And even though his father came from a minor nobility in Italy, his family was not rich. -
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The Bad Harvests
Bad harvests during this timespan and a slowdown in manufacturing led to food shortages, rising prices of food, and unemployment. -
The French Revolution Begins
1789 marks the beginning of the French Revolution -
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The French Revolution and Napolean
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Louis XVI Calls Meeting of The Estates-General
On the eve of the French Revolution, the French economy was in crisis. So, with France on the verge of financial collapse, Louis XVI called a meeting of representatives of all three of the Estates to raise new taxes. -
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National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath
On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate declared that it was the National Assembly and would draft a constitution. Three days later on June 20, it's deputies arrived at their meeting place, only to find the doors were locked. They then moved to a nearby tennis court and said they'd continue to meet until a new constitution was made. The oath that they swore was known as the Tennis Court Oath. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
On August 26, the National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Inspired by the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and the American Declaration of Independence, this charter provided basic rights such as liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. -
New Constitution
The New Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy. There was still a king, but a Legislative Assembly made the laws. Only active citizens could vote and all other citizens were considered passive. They still had the same rights but just couldn't vote. In June 1791, the royal family attempted to flee Paris but were captured and brought back. And on October 1791, the Legislative Assembly amended the constitution to try the king if he turned against his nation. -
War With Austria
The rulers of Prussia and Austria threatened to restore Louis XVI to full power. So, the Legislative Assembly decided to attack first and declared war with Austria in the Spring of 1792 -
Rise of Paris Commune
In the Spring of 1792, angry citizen protested food shortages and defeats in war. Paris radicals decided the fate of the revolution and declared themselves a commune. The French Revolution was entering a violent stage and Members of The New Paris Commune captured the king. They then forced the Legislative Assembly to suspend the monarchy and called for a National Convention. -
The First Republic
In September 1792, the National Convention began meeting. The Convention was tasked with crafting a new constitution but it was also a ruling body of France dominated by lawyers, professors, and property owners. And their first major step was to abolish the monarchy and establish the French Republic. -
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Napoleon's Military Success
Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks during his time in the army. In 1792, he became a captain and two years later, a brigadier general. In 1796 he was promoted to a commander of the French armies in Italy. And after winning a series of battles in Italy, and defeating the armies of the Papal States and their Austrian allies, France gained control of northern Italy and returned home a hero in 1797 -
Coalition
After Louis XVI's death, a coalition between Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Dutch Republic prepared to attack France. And by Spring 1793, the coalition was ready to attack and it seemed that the revolution would be destroyed. -
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Reign of Terror
From 1793 to about 1794, the Committee of Public Safety took control of the government. To defend France from threats, the Committee adopted policies that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. -
The Fate of the King
In 1793 the Mountain convinced the Convention to pass a decree condemning Louis XVI to death. -
End of Terror
By summer of 1794, the French had defeated a lot of it's enemies. This led to less of a need for the Reign of Terror however, it continued. But in June, the Law of 22 Prairial was passed. This gave Robespierre more power. But on July 28, Robespierre was executed and after his death the Reign of Terror came to a halt. -
The Revolutionary Army
In less than a year, the French government had raised a huge army of over a million soldiers. It was the largest army Europe had ever seen and even conquered the Austrian Netherlands. -
The Directory
To keep any political group from gaining control, the Constitution of 1795 set up to houses. A lower house and an upper house. And under the new constitution, an executive committee of five known as the Directory was created. However, the Directory faced enemies on both conservative and radical sides. -
Napoleons Seize of Power
To stay in power, the Directory relied on the military. But one military leader turned on the government. And in 1799 the successful general, Napoleon Bonaparte, crushed the government in a coup d'état, or sudden overthrow of government, and assumed control. -
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The Age of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte was the center of French and European history from 1799 to 1815. His empire rose and fell and spread ideologies of nationalism throughout Europe. -
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Building of an Empire
In 1799, when Napoleon became consul, France was at war with the European Coalition of Russia, Great Britain, and Austria. But in 1802, a peace treaty was made. However, this didn't last very long when a war with Britain arose in 1803. Slowly, Britain was joined by Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Prussia. In a number of battles at Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, and Eylau, Napoleons army was victorious over Austria, Prussia, and Russia. And from 1807 to 1812, Napoleon was the Master of Europe. -
Peace With The Church
In 1801, Napoleon came to an agreement with the pope of the Catholic church. This agreement recognized Catholicism as the majority religion of the French people and in return, the pope wouldn't ask for the church lands that were seized during the revolution. -
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Consul and Emperor
In 1802, Napoleon was made consul for life. However, two years later, he appointed himself Emperor Napoleon I. -
The Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory for $15 million to the United States. The territory ran from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. And from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. This was marked as the greatest sale of land in history. -
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New Nobles in France
From 1808 to 1814, Napoleon created an estimated total 3,200 new nobles. Around 60 percent of them were military officers, and the rest were civil service or state and local officials. -
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Defeat in Russia
In June of 1812, and army of around 600,000 soldiers marched into Russia. Napoleon depended on the Russians being defeated quickly. But the Russians didn't want to fight. Instead they retreated across their land burning villages as they went so Napoleons army couldn't get food. But when a fight broke out at Borodino, Napoleons army claimed a swift victory which cost many lives. But when the army finally arrived in Moscow, they found the city burned to the ground forcing them to retreat in 1813 -
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The First Exile of Napoleon
After the retreat from Russia left the French Army with about 540,000 less soldiers when they arrived back in Poland, European countries saw this as an opportunity to take back France. And in March of 1814, Paris was retaken. Napoleon was exiled soon after to the island of Elba. And the French monarchy was restored to the brother of the executed King Louis XVI, Louis XVIII. -
Napoleons Second Exile
After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled once again to the small island of St. Helena where he remained in exile until his death in 1821. -
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The Last Defeat of Napoleon
The new king of France didn't have much support. The French were not ready to give up the power of their empire just yet. So, when Napoleon returned to France, soldiers were sent to capture him. But when they prepared to fire upon him, no one could. The soldiers ended up siding with Napoleon and on March 20, 1815, Napoleon and his soldiers marched into Paris. Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia, pledged to defeat Napoleon. And at Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815, Napoleon suffered defeat.
