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Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General at Versaille
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The third estate boldly declared that it was the national assembly and would draft a constitution.
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About 900 parians gathered in the courtyard of bastille and old fortress used as a prison and armory.
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The national assembly decided to abolish legal privileges of the nobles and clergy.
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The royal family attempted to flee France in disguise.
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The new legislative assembly met for the first time and amended the constitution to allow for trying the king if he turned against the nation.
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The legislative assembly decided to strike first declaring war on Austria.
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Angry citizens demonstrated to protest food shortages and defeats in the war. Paris radicals again decided the fate of the revolution.
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The mountain convinced the convention to pass a decree condemning Louis XVI to death.
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The French armies began to fall, back and the coalition was poised to invade.
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Roughly a year during 1793 and 1794 the Committee of Public Safety took control of the government.
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After the death of Robespierre, the Jacobins lost power and more moderate middle-class leaders took control. The Reign of Terror came to a halt and the Law of 22 Prarialwas repealed and the release of prisoners began.
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The law of 22 Prairial was passed which gave Robespierre more power to arrest and execute enemies of the revolution.
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In less than a year the new French government had raised a huge army and it had over a million soldiers.
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To keep anyone political group from gaining control, the Constitution set up two legislative houses. A lower house, the Council of 500, drafted laws. In an upper house of 250, the Council of Elders accepted or rejected proposed laws.
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The successful and popular general Napolean Bonaparte toppled the Directory in a coup d'etat a sudden overthrow of the government.
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Napoleon Bonaparte's brought the French Revolution to an end when he came to power.
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The British were great sea power and controlled the Mediterranean. By 1799 the British had defeated the French naval forces.
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In Paris Napoleon took part in the coup d' etat of 1799 that overthrew the Directory and set up a new government the consulate.
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Napoleon came to an agreement with the pope, which recognized Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the French people.
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Seven law codes were created but the most important was the Civil Code or Napoleonic Code.
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Napoleon was the master of Europe. His Grand Empire was composed of three major parts the French Empire, dependant states, and allied states.
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Napolean also created a new aristocracy based on meritorious service to the nation. Napoleon created about 3200 nobles. Nearly 60 percent were military officers, while the rests were civil service or state and local officials.
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Thousands of soldiers starved and froze along the way of the retreat. Fewer than 40000 of the original 600000 soldiers arrived back in Poland.
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This military disaster led other European states to rise up and attack the crippled French army. Paris was then captured. Napoleon was soon sent to exile on the island of Elba off the northwest coast of Italy.
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At Waterloo in Belgium Napoleon met a combined British and Prussian army under the Duke of Wellington and suffered a bloody defeat.
