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Creation of the National Assembly
With the creation of the National Assembly, the revolutionaries of the Third Estate finally established a foothold in French politics. Soon after, they created a better, more stable system, and eventually deposed the French King entirely. -
The Storming of the Bastille
The Bastille was a prison, armory, and fortress located within France. It was widely known to have held political prisoners and opponents of the King. The fortress, which had never been taken before, was stormed and dismantled by a mob of peasants, who saw it as a symbol of the King's oppressive reign. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The members of the Third Estate, after being locked out of the hall in which the first two Estates were meeting, moved to a tennis court nearby. there, they swore to create a new national government (the National Assembly) and not to separate until the deed was done. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
The signing of this document was a landmark in the French Revolution and the struggle for human rights as a whole. It declared, among other things, that all men were created equal, and ended slavery in the French West Indies. -
Invention of the Guillotine
(the precise date of the guillotine's invention is not known, but it was preported to have first been seen late in 1789) The guillotine was the main killing device used by the revolutionary French forces. -
The Women's March on Versailles
A large group of women, along with some children and men, began a long walk toward Versailles in October. They stood outside of the Palace and repeatedly called to the king for bread to feed their families with. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a document that, in effect, made the Catholic Church bow to the wishes of the French Government. It also stripped the First Estate of their powers and tax exemption. -
Flight to Varennes
The Royal family's Flight to Varennes was attempted during the night of the 20th of June, 1791. They managed to come within 30 kilometres of their goal, but as soon as they were recognized, all was lost. -
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French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of massive military campaigns designed and executed by the French in order to both prevent the Royal Family's retaliation for the killing of Marie Antoinette, and to gain some control and power. -
The September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of killings that occurred in late summer of 1792. Many of the revolutionaries thought that the prisoners would be freed and would help the king. As such, they murdered several thousand of them, including some 200 priests that refused to help reorganize the church. -
King Louis XVI's Execution
With the execution of the last King of France, the revolutionary forces finally felt that their goal of recreating the French Government was finished. However, it dismayed many Royalists, and they caused violence all throughout France -
The Creation of the Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety was created by Maximilian Robespierre in April of 1793. It acted as the de facto executive branch for the newly formed Revolutionary Government, and as such led most of the executions during the Reign of Terror. -
Death of Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat, one of the foremost figures of the French Revolution and advocate for death to the enemies of the revolutionaries, was murdered by a young Royalist named Charlotte Corday. -
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The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a timespan lasting from September of 1793 to July 1794. during this time, some 16,500 people were beheaded by the device known as the guillotine. The death toll was even higher in places like Vendee, where over 450,000 were killed in a bloody civil war. -
Maximilian Robespierre's Execution
Robespierre, one of the most vicious yet influential leaders in the French Revolution, was executed without a trial by guillotine on the 28th of July, 1794. -
Creation of the Directory
The French Directory was the governmental system set up after the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. It was a group of five men who, essentially, acted as the main executive branch for the newly formed French Republic government. -
Napoleon gains power
Napoleon's seizing of power marked the end of the revolutionary French Republic and the beginnings of the Napoleonic French Empire. It later backfired on him horribly, through several military mistakes. -
Death of Napoleon
Napoleon, the famous military leader who took control of France twice and executed a series of sweeping military campaigns, died on the 5th of May, 1821, of a stomach ulcer. He was 51 at the time of his death.
