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May 5, 1789 meeting with the Estates-General
Should they vote by the head, giving the advantage to the Third Estate, or by the estate, in which case the two privileged orders of the realm might outvote the Third? It was also about voting rights, Reforming the monarchy, and The Third Estate's grievances. -
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Tennis Court Oath
The cahiers of the Third Estate spoke out mainly against the financial privileges held by the two other Estates. They were both exempt from most taxes such as the church tithe and the taille (the main direct tax). They also wanted to have a fair voting system in the Estates-General. -
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Storming of the Bastille
On July 14, 1789, 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. -
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Declaration of the Rights of Man
Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be based only on public utility. The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. -
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Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles was a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution. It was spontaneously organized by women in the marketplaces of Paris, on the morning of October 5, 1789. They complained over the high price and scant availability of bread, marching from Paris to Versailles. -
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Execution of King Louis XVI
Ultimately unwilling to cede his royal power to the Revolutionary government, Louis XVI was found guilty of treason and condemned to death. -
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Reign of Terror
With civil war spreading from the Vendée and hostile armies surrounding France, the Revolutionary government decided to make “Terror” the order of the day (September 5 decree) and to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution (nobles, priests, and hoarders). -
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Maximilien Robespierre's execution
Despite his strong personal commitment to his politics and beliefs, Robespierre had become a violent tyrant. He no longer served the interests of the people because many people lived in fear of falling victim to the Terror. -
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Napoleonic Code is established
The 1804 Napoleonic Code, which influenced civil law codes across the world, replaced the fragmented laws of pre-revolutionary France, recognizing the principles of civil liberty, equality before the law (although not for women in the same sense as for men), and the secular character of the state. -
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Napoleon Crowns himself emperor
Among Napoleon's motivations for being crowned were to gain prestige in international royalist and Catholic circles and to lay the foundation for a future dynasty. -
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Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. -
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Napoleon and his men march on Russia
Napoleon's primary objective was to defeat the Imperial Russian Army and compel Czar Alexander I to rejoin to the Continental System. -
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Napoleon is exiled to Elba
After Napoleon Bonaparte's disastrous campaign in Russia ended in defeat, he was forced into exile on Elba. He retained the title of emperor — but of the Mediterranean island's 12,000 inhabitants, not the 70 million Europeans over whom he'd once had dominion. -
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Napoleon dies
May 5, 1821 (age 51 years), Longwood House, Longwood, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha