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Palace of Versailles was built
Building such a lavish complex was an important part of Louis XIV's style of rule and beliefs about monarchy, which we would call absolutism, said Schmidt. "As king of France he was the embodiment of France — and his palace was meant to display the wealth and power of his nation," she said. -
When King Louis moved the capital of France from Paris to Versailles
The court was officially established there on 6 May 1682. By moving his court and government to Versailles, Louis XIV hoped to extract more control of the government from the nobility and to distance himself from the population of Paris. -
When King Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette
At Versailles, Louis, the French dauphin, marries Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, its longtime enemy. -
When The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was written
The main points in the Declaration of the Rights of Man was that all people had natural rights, such as men are born free and remain free and equal in rights. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. Citizens had freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and equal justice. -
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French Revolution
The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1799, leading to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Revolution was not a single event but a series of developments that unfolded between 1789 and 1799. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was an important part of the French Revolution because it represented the power of the people. The oath itself was a clear challenge to the authority of the king, asserting that political authority derived from the people and their representatives rather than from the monarchy. -
Bastille is Stormed
On the morning of July 14, 1789, hundreds of Parisians stormed the Bastille, a state prison, seizing 250 barrels of gunpowder and freeing its prisoners. The storming of the Bastille was a pivotal moment in the French Revolution, the violent result of a multitude of social, economic, and political crises. -
Women’s March on Versailles
The March on Versailles. Concerned over the high price and scarcity of bread, women from the marketplaces of Paris led the March on Versailles on October 5, 1789. This became one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, eventually forcing the royals to return to Paris. -
King Louis XVI is executed
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. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror, also called the Terror, was a period of state-sanctioned violence and mass executions during the French Revolution. Between Sept. 5, 1793, and July 27, 1794, France's revolutionary government ordered the arrest and execution of thousands of people. -
Napoleon launches a Coup d’Etat on the weak & corrupt Directory.
Coup of 18–19 Brumaire, (November 9–10, 1799), coup d'état that overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. -
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Napoleon as Emperor
In 1804 the senate and people voted him Emperor. Napoleon crowned himself in a ceremony in Notre Dame cathedral, also crowning Josephine Empress. Napoleon served as Emperor from 1804 until 1814. -
Creation of the Napoleonic Code
Enacted on March 21, 1804, the resulting Civil Code of France marked the first major revision and reorganization of laws since the Roman era. The Civil Code (renamed the Code Napoleon in 1807) addressed mainly matters relating to property and families. -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor.
On the 2nd of December 1804 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I at Notre Dame de Paris. According to legend, during the coronation he snatched the crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII and crowned himself, thus displaying his rejection of the authority of the Pontiff. -
Defeat in Russian Campaign
The only major battle of the campaign, at Borodino on 7 September 1812, ended with a territorial gain for Napoleon but at a very high cost. Napoleon's army eventually reached a Moscow abandoned and destroyed by the Russian army based on the scorched-earth policy. -
When he was exiled
The coalition invaded France and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. He was exiled to the island of Elba, between Corsica and Italy. In France, the Bourbons were restored to power. Napoleon escaped in February 1815 and took control of France. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two armies of the Seventh Coalition.