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Louis XVI
Louis XVI became the heir to the throne and the last Bourbon king of France upon his father's death in 1765. In 1770, he married Austrian archduchess Marie-Antoinette, the daughter of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. After a slew of governing missteps, Louis XVI brought the French Revolution crashing down upon himself, and in 1793 he was executed. His wife, Marie-Antoinette, was executed nine months later. http://www.biography.com/people/louis-xvi-9386943 -
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Marquis de Lafayette
The Marquis de Lafayette was born on September 6, 1757, in Chavaniac, France. He served the Continental Army with distinction during the American Revolutionary War, providing tactical leadership while securing vital resources from France. Lafayette fled his home country during the French Revolution, but the "Hero of Two Worlds" regained prominence as a statesman before his death on May 20, 1834. http://www.biography.com/people/marquis-de-lafayette-21271783 -
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Napoleon Bonaparte
A general in the French army and leader of the 1799 coup that overthrew the Directory. Napoleon’s accession marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of Napoleonic France and Europe. http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/terms.html -
Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 occurred as a result of the anger of Parisian citizens, who saw the prison fortress as the symbol of an oppressive monarchy. The crowd also wanted to obtain a supply of ammunition being stored in the building. The event was the beginning of the French Revolution. https://www.reference.com/history/did-storming-bastille-occur-dabe891ccf242df4# -
France declares war on Austria and Prussia
The Legislative Assembly (France's governing body, formed in 1791) declared war on Austria. Although the French fared poorly at first, the armies became more successful as the war progressed. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/kat_anna/war.html -
Louis XVI executed
One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-louis-xvi-executed -
The Pastry War
The “Pastry War” was fought between France and Mexico from November 1838 to March 1839. The war was nominally fought because French citizens living in Mexico during a prolonged period of strife had their investments ruined and the Mexican government refused any sort of reparations, but it also had to do with long-standing Mexican debt. After a few months the war ended when Mexico agreed to compensate France. http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofmexico/p/pastrywar.htm
