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Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris 1783 ended the American Revolutionary War. Signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain. -
March on Versailles
On this day in 1789, an angry mob of nearly 7,000 working women armed with pitchforks, pikes and muskets marched in the rain from Paris to Versailles in what was to be a pivotal event in the intensifying French Revolution. The Women’s March brought to an end the great monarchy of Versailles. -
Call of the Estate General
In 1789, the King Louis XVL called a meeting of the Estate General. It was the first meeting since 1614. He called the meeting because French government was having financial problems. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate, which had the most representatives, declared itself the National Assembly and took an oath to force a new constitution on the king. -
Storming of the Bastille
A great crowd armed with muskets, swords, and various makeshift weapons began to gather around the Bastille.Upon arriving at the Hotel de Ville, where Launay was to be arrested and tried by a revolutionary council, he was instead pulled away by a mob and murdered. -
Reign of Terror
With civil war spreading from the Vendée and hostile armies surrounding France on all sides, the Revolutionary government decided to make “Terror” the order of the day and to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution -
Execution of the King
One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Execution of Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, is overthrown and arrested by the National Convention. As the leading member of the Committee of Public Safety from 1793, Robespierre encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than 17,000 enemies of the Revolution. -
Haitian Revolution
General Dessalines assumed dictatorial power, and Haiti became the second independent nation in the Americas. -
Coronation of Napoleon I
In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon the crown that the 35-year-old conqueror of Europe placed on his own head. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo, which took place in Belgium on June 18, 1815, marked the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. -
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts fought between France under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte and a number of European nations between 1799 and 1815. -
Mexico Gains Independence
Iturbide defeated the Royalist forces still opposed to independence, and the new Spanish viceroy, lacking money, provisions, and troops, was forced to accept Mexican independence.On August 24, 1821, O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, thus ending New Spain’s dependence on Old Spain.