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National Constituent Assembly
It was effectively the legislature of France for two years during the early stages of the French Revolution. King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General to approve a set of monetary reforms that had been rejected. The members of the Third Estate demanded double representation, but the membership did not agree. The Third Estate had more power and voting. If the First Estate and the Second Estate agreed on something, then they could force its approval, so the vote would be a simple 2-1. -
Formal opening of the Estates General
Louis XVI opened the session with a speech in which he reviewed the circumstances that had led to the convocation, and what he expected from the Estates General. Necker, the Minister of Finances, concerned the economic situation in the kingdom, and he claimed that new taxes would be enough to make up for the deficit. But the Commoners were dissatisfied with such a mediocre discourse, and decided to take things into their own hands. This marked the start of the Revolution. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a key moment that set off the French Revolution. The National Assembly, also known as the Third Estate, were excluded and scattered from their regular meeting place (meeting hall at Versailles) by King Louis XVI and they met at a nearby indoor tennis court. Here they took an oath never to separate until a written constitution had been established for France. -
Storming of the Bastille
An iconic conflict of the French Revolution. Fears that King Louis XVI was about to arrest France's newly constituted National Assembly led a crowd of Parisians to successfully besiege the Bastille, an old fortress that had been used since 1659 as a state prison.
As a victory by ordinary Parisians over a prominent representation of the king’s coercive power, the event quickly became a symbol of revolutionary struggle. -
The August Decrees
After the storming of the Bastille, the National Constituent Assembly adopted 19 decrees which abolished feudalism in France and ended the tax exemption privileges of the upper classes.
This decision took place in the context of the Great Fear. While the decrees dampened the unrest of the Great Fear, violence continued for a year. Under the original decree, peasants were supposed to pay for the release of seigneurial dues. Most refused and in 1793 the obligation was canceled. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The monarchy was restricted, and all citizens had the right to participate in the legislative process. So, the French National Constituent Assembly issued the Declaration which defined individual and collective rights at the time of the French Revolution. This helped to form the foundation of the French Revolution, in hopes of ending the monarchy and establishing a democracy in France, and Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests outlawed. Also, there were many proposals. -
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Legislative Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly created a constitution committee, which drafted a constitution. This provided for a Legislative Assembly. It implemented new reforms to help create a society of independent individuals with equal rights, such as new legislation about divorce. It ended when the Revolutionary War and its impact created a radicalism that eventually overthrew the monarchy and made the Legislative Assembly redundant. And it was replaced by the National Convention. -
The Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes describes the royal family's (King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette and their children) failed attempt to escape their house arrest in Paris. They were tracked down and arrested the next day and returned to the capital. The flight to Varennes was a turning point in the French Revolution because it exposed the king's lack of confidence (Honore Mirabeau) and the infeasibility of the newly implemented constitution. It was elaborated in large part by Alex von Fersen. -
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1st French Republic
The National Convention executes Louis XIV, sparking the French Revolutionary Wars. The years 1793-1794 mark the Reign of Terror with mass executions. Robespierre is overthrown but the reputation of the French Revolution diminishes. In 1795, the Directory was established. Napoleon emerges as a military leader. He fell off the Directory in 1799 establishing the Consulate. He established an authoritarian government supported by the military presence and the Napoleon Code (Concordat with the Pope). -
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National Convention
The National Convention was a legislative body that ruled France during the most radical stage of the French Revolution. It replaced the National Constituent Assembly and the Legislative Assembly. Was the first government to be republican. Radically expanded political participation, but also led to much violence. And, was created as a successor (Legislative Assembly) after the storming of the Tuileries Palace. This violent attack on the royal family was carried out by dissatisfied urban workers. -
The Assembly declares war on Austria
Marie Antoinette heard rumors that the Girondins, now part of the king's ministry, were planning a military attack on the Austrian Netherlands. She warned her brother Leopold. The Girondin ministry pushed for war on Austria in spring 1792. At their urging, the Legislative Assembly declared war. They declare war on Austria, to spread the revolution and destroy other monarchies. -
Storming of the Tuileries Palace
The revolutionaries of Paris invade the residence of King Louis XVI and massacre his Guards. This ushering in a new phase in the Revolution. A reconciliation had been made between Louis XVI and the revolutionary government.The first weeks of the French Revolutionary Wars resulted in loss, and blamed the king. In the Demonstration of 20 June 1792, revolutionaries first stormed the Tuileries.
The Storming of the Tuileries is significant for putting more power into the hands of the sans-culottes. -
Execution of Louis XVI
A secret cabinet containing evidence of Louis's counterrevolutionary beliefs and his correspondence with foreign powers was discovered in the Tuileries Palace. One day after being found guilty of conspiring with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine on the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Execution of Robespierre
Robespierre and a number of his followers were arrested at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution, where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd.Robespierre's fall coincided with the end of the social measures he had taken in favor of the poor (the law of the maximum general measures), and the triumph of economic liberalism. -
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Directory
It was a fatal experiment in weak executive powers; was created in reaction to the puritanical dictatorship that had existed under the Reign of Terror, and it would end up yielding to the disciplined dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Directory suffered from widespread corruption.
When the Directory came into power, it was faced with many problems including widespread famine, civil war... There was also a struggle for power within the directory between royalists and radical revolutionaries. -
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The Napoleonic Era
In this era General Napoleon Bonaparte extended his empire and power throughout Europe. From his rise to power as consul in 1799, to the defeat of France at the Battle of Waterloo and his exile in Saint Helena in 1815, Napoleon exported French revolutionary ideas across the continent: the "Napoleonic Code". The main facts: consulate, first empire (in 1804 Napoleon served as emperor, but in 1814 Napoleon was abdicated), first Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy and the return of Napoleon. -
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The Consulate
Napoleon's coup in 1799 gave power to a trio of consuls.
The Consulate regime was established by the constitution of the Year VIII that Napoleon Bonaparte had approved and by which, the Executive Power was exercised by the three consuls already mentioned, of which Napoleon Bonaparte was designated as "First Consul", being the one who in reality accumulated all the power. He tried to restore stability through reforms: Authorization for the return of emigrants, decreeing amnesty... -
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The Empire
The Napoleonic Empire was an imperial state created by the French soldier Napoleon Bonaparte. That coronation led to war with several states in Europe, especially Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, who wanted to prevent French expansion. These wars are called Napoleonic wars or coalition wars. These wars are called Napoleonic wars or coalition wars.
Bonaparte wanted France to become the leading European power. In 1810, the Napoleonic Empire reached its maximum expansion. -
Battle of Austerlitz
It was the first engagement of the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon's most significant victories. His 68,000 soldiers defeated 90,000 Russians and Austrians under the command of General M.I. After eliminating an Austrian army, the French forces managed to take Vienna.
The French emperor did not leave any reference work on his strategic thought but his proclamations, orders to armies, his correspondence and his manuscripts show the coherence of his system. -
Battle of Trafalgar
It established British naval supremacy for more than 100 years. The battle also shattered Napoleon's plans to invade England. Nelson led Britain to victory over a combined French and Spanish fleet, but was shot and died during the battle.
The origin of the Battle of Trafalgar dates back to May 1803, when the British, angry with Napoleon and his will to dominate all of Europe, resumed hostilities against France despite the peace they had signed only a year before. -
Battle of Leipzig
Leipzig was, in terms of numbers of troops engaged and amount of artillery, the biggest battle of the Napoleonic Wars. Separate but coordinated armies of Russians, Prussians, Swedes, and Austrians. The battle developed when Napoleon seized the Leipzig position, intending to divide his opponents and attack them one by one. But it was not to be, and it was the decisive defeat of Napoleon, which resulted in the destruction of what remained of French power in Germany and Poland. -
Battle of Waterloo
The French army, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, was defeated by the British and Prussian armies in the Waterloo War. The defeat ended the 23-year war between France and the allied European states. The decisive factor that tipped the balance in favor of the allies was the unexpected arrival of von Blücher's troops, who were supposedly delayed because of the rain. Napoleon had not counted on their arrival in time for the battle and had not prepared a plan for that eventuality.