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The Declaration of the Rights of Man
To check the peasants, the National Constituent Assembly decreed the abolition of the feudal regime and introduced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. -
"Great Fear"
a period of panic and riot by peasants and others amid rumours of an “aristocratic conspiracy” by the king and the privileged to overthrow the Third Estate. The gathering of troops around Paris provoked insurrection, and on July 14 the Parisian rabble seized the Bastille. In the provinces the peasants rose against their lords, attacking châteaus and destroying feudal documents. -
Tennis Court Oath
M. Mounier offers an opinion, seconded by Messieurs Target, Chapelier, and Barnave; he points out how strange it is that the hall of the Estates General should be occupied by armed men; that no other locale has been offered to the National Assembly; that its president was not forewarned by other means than letters from the Marquis de Brez? and the national representatives by public posters alone; that, finally, they were obliged to meet in the Tennis Court of Old Versailles street, so as not to -
Fall of Bastille
The bloody aftermath of July 14 was fueled by generations of rage against the status quo and new leaders from the middle class, idealistic and otherwise, who jockeyed for power. Trials became mockeries of justice, and some of the Revolution's early leaders died without defense on the blade of the guillotine. -
Women March on Versailles
An angry mob of some 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. -
Civil Constitution of Clergy
There was a need to create a new administrative and financial framework for the French Church after the Revolutionary governing body, the National Assembly, in its reforming efforts, had abolished the collection of tithes and had confiscated church lands. The main features of the proposed Civil Constitution of the Clergy were to reduce the number of bishops from 135 to 83, to have each diocese correspond to a département (the basic territorial administrative unit established by the Assembly), to -
Constitution of 1791
On the day of the Tennis Court Oath, the National Assembly had declared that it would not disband until a new constitution had been created for France. They completed their task in 1791. The new constitution created by these moderate revolutionaries declared France to be a constitutional monarchy. Within this new government, all legislative powers went to a single Legislative Assembly, which alone had the power to declare war and raise taxes. -
Declaration of Pillnitz
In response to the "Padua Circular," King Louis’s brother, the Count of Artois, a leader of the émigré nobles, expressed his support for Emperor Leopold II of Austria. Leopold, in conjunction with Prussian King Frederick–William III, then issued this "Declaration of Pillnitz"; the "resolution to act quickly" was perceived as a declaration of war on France for the purpose of ending the Revolution, even though neither Austria nor Prussia was displeased by French weakness. -
Creation of National Convention
The National Convention was elected to provide a new constitution for the country after the overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792). The Convention numbered 749 deputies, including businessmen, tradesmen, and many professional men. Among its early acts were the formal abolition of the monarchy (September 21) and the establishment of the republic (September 22). -
Reign of Terror Begins
The Reign of Terror begins when Robespierre declares Terror "the order of the day." This marks the beginning of almost two years of repressing perceived enemies of the Revolution. It will claim an estimated 18,500-40,000 lives before its end in July 1794 -
Death of Robespierre and End the Terror
Robespierre was banned from the National Convention (France's governing body) and placed under house arrest on July 27, 1794. A last attempt by his die-hard followers to free him failed. He attempted suicide but only managed to shoot off his lower jaw. A few hours later, on July 28, Maximilien Robespierre died on the very piece of equipment that would become a symbol for the "Reign of Terror" and of his bloody regime: he was executed on the guillotine. The following day, those suspected of follo -
Creation of Directory
It included a bicameral legislature known as the Corps Législatif. The lower house, or Council of Five Hundred (Conseil de Cinq-Cents), consisted of 500 delegates, 30 years of age or over, who proposed legislation; the Council of Ancients (Conseil des Anciens), consisted of 250 delegates, 40 years of age or over, who held the power to accept or veto the proposed legislation. The Ancients also picked the executive—the five Directors (Directeurs)—from lists drawn up by the Five Hundred. A Director -
Napoleon becomes Consulate
During the time that Napoleon took over, France was in turmoil. Poverty and corruption were widespread. Napoleon worked with Emmanuel Sieyes to overthrow the Directory. Napoleon successfully took over in a coup d'État on 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799). The Directory was replaced by a three-member Consulate, and Napoleon became First Consul. Napoleon reorganized his armies and restructured his defense. In May 1800, Napoleon led his famous march across the Alps. -
Concordat of 1801
One of Napoleon’s first priorities was to reestablish good relations with the papacy, which had fought the revolutionary church settlement tooth and nail. Napoleon gained everything he desired in the Concordat: he appointed the bishops and archbishops of the French church, and all bishops had to swear an oath of fidelity to the French Republic. -
Coronation of an Emperor
Napoleon I was crowned Emperor of the French on a cold December 2nd in 1804. Napoleon planed his coronation with as great a care as he did his wars. The task of organizing the coronation was given to L. Ph. de Ségur, the Grand master of Ceremonies, and A. L. de Rémusat, then First Chamberlain. The architects Percier and Fontaine took care of the temporary decorations and Jean Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855) designed the costumes. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The French ship Redoubtable during her magnificent resistance at the Battle of Trafalgar.
It was a musket shot from Redoubtable that mortally wounded Nelson. -
Battle of Austerlitz
The first engagement of the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon’s greatest victories. His 68,000 troops defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians nominally under General M.I. Kutuzov, forcing Austria to make peace with France (Treaty of Pressburg) and keeping Prussia temporarily out of the anti-French alliance. -
Invasion of Spain
The road to war began in the autumn of 1807 when Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. After feeding more than 100,000 troops into Spain under the pretext of supporting the invasion, Napoleon deposed the existing Spanish monarch in April 1808 in order to place his own brother Joseph on the throne. Although the ensuing Spanish uprising can hardly have come as a surprise to Napoleon, he failed to see that the revolt could never be completely suppressed. -
Invasion of Russia
However, Russia's commitment to the continental blockade was a mere lip-service. In 1812. Napoleon decided to invade Russia. At the head of the GRANDE ARMEE (over 600.000 men, mostly Germans pressed into service) he crossed into Russia in June 1812. The strategy of Russian general KUTUSOV was to refuse an open battle - in which Napoleon was regarded superior - and instead to retreat, leaving nothing behind that might be of use (SCORCHED EARTH POLICY) and to constantly harass the enemy. Napoleon -
Exile to Elba
Emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
Congress of Vienna
As agreed at the first Treaty of Paris in 1814, a congress of the Great Powers of Europe met at Vienna to settle the future boundaries of the continent. Almost every state in Europe was represented. The emperors of Austria and Russia, the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria and Württemberg and many German princes including the Elector of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Baden and the dukes of Saxe-Weimar, Brunswick and Coburg, attended in person. -
"A Hundred Days"
Sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815 (a period of 111 days). This period saw the War of the Seventh Coalition, and includes the Waterloo Campaign and the Neapolitan War. The phrase les Cent Jours was first used by the prefect of Paris, Gaspard, co -
Battle of Waterloo
In this battle, the forces of the French Empire under the leadership of Michael Ney and Napoleon Bonaparte were defeated by the Seventh Coalition and a Prussian Army, which was commanded by Gebhard Von Blucher. -
Constitution of 1795
French constitution established during the Thermidorian Reaction in the French Revolution. Known as the Constitution of Year III in the French republican calendar, it was prepared by the Thermidorian Convention. It was more conservative than the abortive democratic Constitution of 1793. The Constitution of 1795 established a liberal republic with a franchise based on the payment of taxes, similar to that of the Constitution of 1791; a bicameral legislature to slow down the legislative process; a -
The Royal Escape
After the Battle of Worcester (3 September), Charles II had to flee from the Cromwellian forces. He eventually made his way to Bramber were he had to cross the substantial bridge over the River Adur.
