-
Louis XVI calls Estates General
The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. This assembly was composed of three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. The opening of the Estates General, on 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath, taken on June 20, 1789, was a pivotal act during the French Revolution where representatives of the Third Estate vowed not to disband until a new constitution was established for France, marking a significant step towards revolution. -
Storming and Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille, iconic conflict of the French Revolution. On July 14, 1789, fears that King Louis XVI was about to arrest France's newly constituted National Assembly led a crowd of Parisians to successfully besiege the Bastille, an old fortress that had been used since 1659 as a state prison. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Declaration of Human and Civic Rights". -
Louis XVI brought to Paris date
Louis XVI and his family were brought back to Paris from Varennes on June 25, 1791, after their failed attempt to flee the country in June 1791. On 5 October 1789 a mob descended on Versailles and demanded that the royal family decamp to Paris. The King was transferred to the Tuileries Palace, before attempting to flee in June 1791. Arrested in Varennes, he was brought back to Paris. -
Execution of Louis XVI
King Louis XVI, the last king of France, was publicly executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793, at the Place de la Révolution (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris, following his conviction for treason during the French Revolution. Following the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, Louis XVI was put on trial by the National Convention for treason, and after weeks of testimony and deliberation, all 693 deputies found him guilty.