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Louis XVI is crowned King of France
Louis XVI, who was the last of the bourbon monarchs. He ruled France for 19 years. In 1793 he was executed for treason during the French revolution. -
The American revolution
England was at war with it's colonies in America. France who was also an enemy of England (though they weren't at war with each other) decided to finance the Americans in an effort to weaken England. -
The calling of the Estates General
France is in a bit of pickle, they're going bankrupt, the people are hungry, and the king's popularity is steadily declining. As a result, Louis XVI decides to call the Estates General which, at the time; hadn't met in a 100 years -
The formation of the National Assembly
The third estate saw how bad they were being misrepresented, so they formed the National Assembly. They demanded that the King make financial and economic reforms. -
The Tennis Court Oath
Storming out of their usual meeting hall, The representatives of the third estate and supporters of the National assembly move to a nearby tennis court. At the tennis court they swore to never separate until France established a just constitution. King Louis XVI eventually convinced the first and second estate to join the National assembly -
The Storming of the Bastille
The Bastille, both a prison and a armory was stormed and captured by revolutionaries. This event was the spark that lit the fires of revolution in France. -
French Women Force Louis XVI to leave Versailles
A gigantic mob of women and other Parisians march on the King's palace(Versailles). Upon their arrival they demanded that the King give them bread and food. The Kings then hands over the baker, but the mob still isn't satisfied the break into the palace and enter ht Queen's quarters. Louis and his family narrowly escaped the hoard of angry Parisians. -
Declaration of war against Austria
Hoping to unify France and spread the idea of democracy, the National assembly declares war on Austria. France was fairly successful in this conflict. -
The National Convention is formed
The National Convention was assigned the task of creating a new constitution for France after the overthrow of the monarchy. They also took part in getting rid off Robespierre. -
Louis XVI is executed
After being captured while trying flee the country, Louis XVI writes letters of distress to neighboring countries telling them to invade and restore the monarchy. But he is caught and accused of treason. He was executed publicly via guillotine. -
The Reign of Terror
The goal of the reign of terror was to weed out the enemies within. Many innocent French people were executed during this period. Maximilien Robespierre was the head of the Committee of Public Safety which organized all of the executions until he was executed in 1794. -
The Directory is formed
The Directory was set up by the constitution that was created by the national convention in order to solve France's problems. However it only lased four years really didn't help France progress. This led to the rise of Napoleon. -
Napoleon takes power
after seeing that the directory hadn't accomplished anything, Napoleon decided to launch a coup de'tat and overthrow the Directory. Things went swiftly and he came to power without shedding a single ounce of blood. Napoleon Did many things for France such as establishing public schools, creating a national bank, and conquering most of Europe, in fact, France became the biggest empire since the Romans. -
Napoleon invades Russia
In 1812, Napoleon decided to take his conquest to Russia. This was his worst mistake, almost all of his troops had succumb to freezing and starvation. This is the beginning of his downfall -
The Battle at Waterloo
Another grave mistake, Napoleon tries to invade Prussia. The Prussians launch a surprise attack on his troops forcing Napoleon's army to retreat and later be defeated. He was later exiled to St Helena.
