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Louis XVI summons the Estates General
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Estates General convenes
The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. Louis XIV called in the meeting hoping they would advise him on the economic and agricultural crises that France was going through.
This was important because it the estates had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in France -
Revolution Started
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June 20 The “Tennis Court Oath”
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The “Tennis Court Oath”
On 20 June 1789, the members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath. King Louis XVI had locked the members of the Third Estate out of their meeting hall; they met instead in a nearby indoor tennis court, where they adopted a pledge to continue to meet until a constitution had been written.
This was a revolutionary act, that political authority can be derived from the people and their representatives rather than from the monarch. -
Storming of the Bastille
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Storming of the Bastille - start of French Revolution
A state prison at Paris, known as the Bastille was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. They were worried that Louie XIV was preparing the French army for an attack against them. The revolutionaries needed to arm themselves, so they stormed Bastille where they knew weapons and gunpowder where stored.This successful campaign commoners throughout France the courage to rise up and fight against the nobles who had ruled them for so long. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a text which explains a list of rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and separation of powers for all man. -
Women march to Versailles
A crowd of starving women demanding bread for their families from their sovereign marched toward Versailles. They were armed with normal kitchen tools such as kitchen blades and began ransacking the palace. This march gave the revolutionaries much needed confidence in the power of the people over the king. -
France declares war on Austria
On April 20, 1792, the Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. The politics at the time undoubtedly drove France towards war with Austria.- The King was hoping war would increase his personal popularity and make him stronger. -
French Republic proclaimed
The First Republic, officially the French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 and the Legislative Assembly votes to abolish the monarchy.The First Republic was an unstable government that faced an internal revolt and from foreign invaders.. The Reign of Terror saw the executions of thousands of people and widespread violence. -
Louis XVI executed
The execution of Louis XVI by means of the guillotine, a major event of the French Revolution, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris.The reign of the French monarchy, which had lasted for over 1000 years was over. -
Marie Antoinette executed
Marie Antoinette was put on trial for treason and theft. She was convicted and sent to the guillotine on October 16, 1793. -
End of the French Revolution
On November 9, 1799, the event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era.
Bonaparte staged a coup d’état, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s “first consul.”
The French Revolution completely changed the social and political structure of France. It put an end to the monarchy, feudalism, and took political power from the Catholic church.
