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May 5th 1789 meeting with Estates general
Events of 1789. The Estates-General met at Versailles on May 5, 1789. They were immediately divided over a fundamental issue: should they vote by head, giving the advantage to the Third Estate, or by estate, in which case the two privileged orders of the realm might outvote the third? -
Tennis Court Oath
In the Tennis Court Oath, the National Assembly swore not to stop meeting until France had a constitution. This commitment to imposing a constitution on France was a threat to the power of the monarch. It was here that they made the famous Oath of the Real Tennis Room: “We swear never to separate and to meet wherever circumstances require until the kingdom's Constitution is established and grounded on solid foundations.” -
Storming of the Bastille
On July 14, 1789, during the French Revolution, a crowd of Parisians stormed the Bastille, a fortress prison symbolizing the oppressive monarchy, marking a pivotal moment in the revolution by successfully attacking a symbol of royal power and releasing the few prisoners held there. The fortress capitulated after the revolutionaries aimed cannons at its gate. It was attacked by workers on July 14, 1789, during the revolution; the prisoners were released, and the building was later demolished. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man, a key document of the French Revolution, proclaims that all men are born free and equal in rights, with the primary purpose of political association being to preserve these natural rights, including liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression; it further states that sovereignty resides within the nation, not an individual, and that laws should apply equally to all citizens. -
Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles was a significant event in the French Revolution that took place on October 5, 1789:
Origins: The march began when women in the Paris marketplace became upset over the high price and scarcity of bread.
March: The women marched from Paris to Versailles, demanding fairer bread prices. -
Execution of King Louis XVI
In summary, while the execution of the king was intended to solve problems related to political instability, social inequality, and economic distress, it primarily resulted in further turmoil and a protracted period of unrest and conflict. -
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a response to the spread of civil war, hostile armies, and accusations of treason. It was also a result of the conflict between the two leading political parties, the Jacobins and the Girondin -
Maximillian Robespierre's execution
Maximilien de Robespierre was born on May 6, 1758, in Arras and studied law in Arras and in Paris. As a lawyer in his native city, he was noted for his ability and honesty. He resigned as a judge rather than pronounce a sentence of death and tried to abolish the death penalty. -
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. -
Napoleon Crowns himself emperor
By crowning himself, Napoleon symbolically showed that he would not be controlled by Rome or submit to any power other than himself. This was very important, both as a show of strength to reassure his allies and to quell any potential uprisings or anarchy by proclaiming himself the highest authority in France -
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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. -
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. The result was a disaster for the French. The Russian army refused to engage with Napoleon's Grande Armée of more than 500,000 European troops. -
Napoleon is exiled to Elba
The coalition invaded France and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. They exiled him to the Mediterranean island of Elba and restored the Bourbons to power. In February 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and again took control of France in what became known as the "Hundred Days". -
Napoleon dies
The physicians who conducted Napoleon's autopsy, on May 6, 1821, concluded that his death was from stomach cancer, exacerbated by bleeding gastric ulcers, after a huge dose of calomel – a compound containing mercury that was used as a medicine – was administered to him on the day before he died.