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Estates General convened by the King
The Estates General was an assembly of all 3 estates of France. May 5, 1789 was the first time since 1614 that the Estates General had been called into session. It had no power, unlike the British Parliment; it was not required to approve royal taxation. -
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The French Revolution: Through Napoleon's Rule
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Tennis Court Oath
This document was signed by 576 of 577 members of the 3rd estate, who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates General. They met inside of a tennis court located in the Saint-Louis district of Versailles, and from there called themselves the National Assembly. -
Storming of the Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress/prison located in the heart of Paris, that represented the city's royal authority. Although it only contained 7 inmates, the middle class formed a huge mob in order to free the prisoners as a form of revolt against the king. -
National Assembly decrees abolition of feudalism
Feudalism is a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service labor. In this process, the National Assembly took away the 1st (Roman Catholic clergy) and 2nd (nobility) estates' rights. -
National Assembly decrees the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen stated that all people are equal and undenied their natural rights of life, liberty, and fraternity (brotherhood). The document did not however, include women and slaves under its terms. -
Women's March for Bread to Versailles
In the marketplaces of Paris, women started to riot over the high price and scarcity of bread. The riot grew into a mob of thousands, as the women attacked the city armory for weapons and marched to the palace of Versailles, and pressed their demands to King Louis XVI. The next day, the crowd had the King and his family exiled to Paris. -
Abolition of nobility and titles
This event occured after the issue of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, in which it was decided that equality and fraternity overpowered the nobility. -
Black citizens of French colonies granted equal rights
In February 1794, the National Assembly issued the Universal Emancipation decree, freeing all slaves. This was due to the actions and demands from a group by the name of the Society of Friends, an abolitionist group of white men and women, -
Beginning of Legislative Assembly
It was the legislature of France from October 1-September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making. The Legislature was made up of two groups; the bourgeoisie (Feuillants) and democrats (Jacobins). -
Execution of King Louis XVI
King Louis XVI was executed by the guillotine in Revolution Square, a major event of the French Revolution. He was tried for high treason, and was the first victim of the thousands of the Reign of Terror. His wife, Marie Antoinette, was executed later that same year. -
Jacobin masses storm the Tuileries Palace, massacring the Swiss Guard, and the King imprisoned
A mob of 30,000 French citizens advanced toward the Tuileries Palace (Storming of the Tuileries Palace) to capture King Louis XVI, killing anyone with association with the roal family (cooks, servants, etc). The King fled with his family to the Legislative Assembly, where they were captured and brought to trial. -
Committee of Public Safety established
The Committee of Public Safety was created by the National Convention. Under the leadership of Maximilen Robespierre up until his downfall and the group's disestablishment in 1795, it served to protect newly established republics against foreign attacks/affairs. It also held broad supervisory powers over the military, along with judicial and legislative efforts. -
Beginning of the Reign of Terror
This reffered to the period of chaos and massacre during the French Revolution. It was a political battle between two groups by the names of the Jacobins and the Girondins. Thousands of revolutionaries, under the direction of Robespierre, were executed by the guillotine, a device used for beheading. -
End of the Reign of Terror
At this point in time, the revolutionaries of France gained control over the Committee of Public Safety's acts of massacre, and had their powers reduced, and Robespierre was executed by the guillotine. -
Creation of the Directorate
Consisted of a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the National Convention. It was known as the Directory, and the period of time of which it ruled France is reffered to as the Directoire. It constituted the second to last stage of the French Revolution. -
Napoleon Bonaparte named "First Consul," now the effective dictator
He was a French general during the French Revolution who became emperor of France after (1769-1821). Bringing himself as ruler, Bonaparte sought to spread the ideals of the French Revolution. -
Napoleon consecrated as Emperor
As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. He created the Napoleonic code, and has been a major influence on many civil law around the world. Bonaparte is best known for his role in the wars led against France, the Napoleonic Wars, during which he ganied control over most of continental Europe.
