-
May 5, 1789 meeting with the Estates-General
Louis XVI convoked the Estates-General for May 1789. The King agreed to retain many of the divisive customs which had been the norm in 1614 but were intolerable to the Third Estate. The most controversial and significant decision remained the nature of voting. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a pivotal event during the early stages of the French Revolution, where members of the Third Estate vowed not to disband until they had drafted a new constitution for France. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
a fundamental document of the French Revolution that granted civil rights to some commoners, although it excluded a significant segment of the French population. -
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. -
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. He was guillotined on January 21, 1793. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety. -
Maximillian Robespierre's execution
On July 27, 1794, Robespierre and a number of his followers were arrested at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd. -
Napoleonic Code is established
Napoleonic code of 1804 did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and secured the right to property . They simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues -
Napoleon Crowns himself emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804 at Notre Dame de Paris. The coronation was a hybrid ceremony that included:
Breaking with tradition: Napoleon crowned himself, rejecting the authority of Pope Pius VII
Swearing an oath: Napoleon swore an oath to preserve the gains of the Revolution
Crowning Josephine: Napoleon crowned his wife Joséphine Empress
Military victory: The coronation was followed by a military victory -
Period: to
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War 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 -
Period: to
Napoleon and his men march on Russia
On June 24, 1812, the Grande Armée, led by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, crossed the Neman River, invading Russia from present-day Poland. -
Napoleon is exiled to Elba
Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the island of Elba on April 11, 1814, after being forced to abdicate the French throne. Napoleon eventually escaped from Elba and returned to France, where he was welcomed as a hero. However, his second reign only lasted 100 days.