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Period: to
French Revolution
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Creation of the National Assembly
The National Assembly was the body constituted by the French Third Estate in June 1789 after the calling of the Estates General. It was disbanded in September 1791 to be replaced by the new Legislative Assembly. -
Louis XVI Calls the Meeting of the Estates General
Summoned by King Louis XVI to propose solutions to his government's financial problems, the Estates-General sat for several weeks in May and June 1789 but came to an impasse as the three estates clashed over their respective powers. It was brought to an end when many members of the Third Estate formed themselves into a National Assembly, signaling the outbreak of the French Revolution. -
Tennis Court Oath
Oath taken by deputies of the Third Estate in the French Revolution. Believing that their newly formed national amssembly was to be disbanded, the deputies met at a nearby tennis court when they were locked out of their usual meeting hall at Versaille. -
Storming of the Basttille
The Bastille only contained seven inmates but represented the royal authority in Paris and was a symbol of the abuses of the monarchy. Its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution. -
The 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. -
Creation of Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. -
Creation of the National Convention
The National Convention was one of the three types of legislature in France during The French Revolution, the other two being the National Assembly and The Legislative Assembly. -
Execution of Louis XVI
After being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers, he was sentenced to death by the French National Convention. King Louis XVI was charged with treason and was sentanced to death by guillotine. -
Beginning of the Reign of Terror
Period of the Jacovan rule during the French Revolution, during which thousands of people were executed for treason. It was also a period of brutal suppresion and intimadation by those in power. -
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety was created by the National Convention in 1793. It originally consisted of nine members, and it was formed as an administrative body to supervise the work of the executive bodies of the convention and of the government ministers appointed by the convention. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
On October 14, 1793, her trial started and was accused of very serious crimes, which included treason and even incest towards her own son. She was found guilty and put to death by the guillotine two days later. -
End of Reign of Terror
Period of the Jacovan rule during the French Revolution, during which thousands of people were executed for treason. It was also a period of brutal suppresion and intimadation by those in power. -
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the National Convention to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, and several other leading members of the Terror. This ended the most radical phase of the French Revolution. -
Creation of the Directory
The French Directory was a body of five directors that held executive power in France following the National Convention and preceding the Consulate. The period of this regime, commonly known as the Directory Era, constitutes the second to last stage of the French Revolution.
