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Meeting of the Estates-General
On this day, King Luis XVI of France calls a meeting of the Estates-General into session. This served as an attempt to discuss a new tax plan. The session did not go well, for the Third Estate felt their class was not fairly represented, and they left in protest. -
The Tennis Court Oath
Political and social tensions in the country grow. The Thirds Estate self-proclaims itself The National Assembly. Citizens of the Third Estate are locked out of a meeting, so they gather together in a tennis court, and take an oath to work together until a better regime is established. -
The Storming of the Bastille
The people of Paris storm the Bastille, a prison that represented autocratic rule. The French revolution has begun. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man, an important document in the history of civil rights. http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/ddunits/downloads/pdf/dec_of_rights.pdf -
Women's March on Versaille
Angry Parisian women march to the Palace of Versailles, the home of the royal family. The women wanted the royal family to move back to the residency in Paris, Tuileries, and they did. It is safe to assume that the family was "prisoner" in Paris. The invasion proved that the monarchy was subject to the will of the people, this was a major defeat to the Ancien Régime. -
The Arrest of the Royal Family
Louis XVI and his family are arrested while trying to flee from France. Tensions between the royals and the French had increased, and the family had tried to escape the country, but they failed. Them trying to flee and being caught would cause the fall of the ruling monarch family in France, and the Jacobins would soon rise to power. -
A Constitution is Adopted
The Constitution of 1791 is adopted. This was the first constitution written after the fall of absolute monarchy during the Ancien Régime. This was a big steps toward a new France because the constitution abolished many “institutions which were injurious to liberty and equality of rights”. It also encouraged the separation of powers, a necessary trait that prevents an authoritarian ruler. -
France declares war with Austria
France enters war with Austria, one of the first military conflicts of the Revolutionary Wars. The war was a direct result of the French Revolution. It is important to note that the political party of the Girondins favored the war, while the Jacobins didn't. -
Luis XVI to the Guillotine
On this day, in the Place de la Révolution, King Louis XVI was executed via guillotine. He was charged with treason for having secret dealings and counter-revolutionary intrigues, and the National Assembly declared him guilty. In future months, thousands of people would be executed during a time know as The Reign of Terror -
The Reign of Terror
A period of violence in France had begun. The Reign of Terror was lead by Robespierre, a Jacobin, and it was incited due to conflicts between rival political groups (Jacobins vs. Girondins). After the Reign of Terror begun, thousands of people were executed in the guillotine for being "enemies of the revolution".
