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Reveillon Riots
-Riots broke out in Paris due to food shortages and low wages.
-Multiple deaths begin to appear -
Rising Bread Prices
-Price of bread reached a record high and many people became hungry and agitated.
-Parisians begin to gather in the courtyard of the Bastille. -
Storming of Bastille
-Angry and hungry french citizens attack the Bastille and begin to destroy it brick by brick. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
-National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
-This document proclaimed that all men were free and equal before the law. -
"Rights of Man"
-National Assembly affirmed the "rights of man" and set up a limited monarchy in the Constitution of 1791. -
New Constitution of 1791
-New Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy that still allowed there to be a king, however Legislative Assembly would make the laws. -
National Convention
-Newly elected National Convention is called to draft a new constitution.
-Their first major step was to abolish the monarchy and establish a French Republic. -
Levee en Masse
-Committee of Public Safety institutes a levee en masse, drafting men into the army. -
Execution of King Louis XVI
-King Louis XVI is executed after a 380-310 vote.
-This soon begins the Reign of Terror. -
Reign of Terror
--40,000 people are killed, 16,000 are killed by guillotine.
-Many executions occurred in towns that openly rebelled against the Convention.
-Revolutionary courts were set up to prosecute counter-revolutionaries and traitors. -
The Largest Army in Europe
-The French government raised a huge army of a million soldiers.
-This is the largest army ever in Europe and it pushed any invaders across Rhine. -
Law of 22 Prairial
-The Law of 22 Prairial gives Robespierre a great amount of power.
-French army is able to end the threat of foreign invasion. -
Law of 22 Prairial Repealed
-The Law of 22 Prairial is repealed and many prisoners of the revolution are soon released. -
The Directory
-Under the New Constitution, executive was a committee of five called the Directory.
-The Directory became mainly known for corruption.
-People reacted against sufferings that had been demanded during the Reign of Terror and people took advantage of the government's severe money problems. -
Constitution of 1795
-To keep any one political group from gaining control, the Constitution of 1795 set up two legislative houses.
-These houses consisted of a lower house, Council of 500 which drafted laws, and an upper house, house of 250, Council of Elders who accepted or rejected laws. -
Coup d'etat
-Napoleon leads coup d'etat that topples the French government.
