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The end of the Old Regime.
In July and August 1789, opposition to the Old Regime became more radical. On 14th July 1789, the people of Paris attacked the Bastille, a medieval fortress that had become a prison and a symbol of absolutism. Following the capture of the Bastille, the National Constituent Assembly introduced a series of measures that marked the end of the Old Regime. -
Feudal rigths.
On 4th August 1789 it abolished feudal rights, such us the privileges of the nobility and the taxes (or tithe) paid to the Church. -
Declaration of the Rigths of Man and of the Citizen.
This was a statement of principles in support of personal liberty, equality before the law and the right of property. -
Constitutional monarchy.
In September 1791,France’s first written constitution ended royal absolutism, establishing a constitutional monarchy. Under the separation of powers, legislative power was held by the Assembly, executive power by the king, and a judicial power by independent courts. Only adult males over the age of 25, and with a certain level of income, could vote in elections. -
Fierce opposition from the nobility and the clergy.
Nobility and clergy did not wan to give up their privileges. Many members of the formely privileged estates emigrated, and conspired against the Revolution from abroad. -
Radical revolutionaries.
They believed that the reforms did not go far enough (sans-culottes). -
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Opposition to the constitutional monarchy.
A legislative Assembly was formed in October 1791,and France now had a constitutional monarchy. However, this assembly lasted for less than a year, and failed to attract much support. -
War on France.
Some European monarchs felt threatened by the ideas of the French Revolution. In 1792, Austria and Prussia declared war on France. -
Insurrection.
France suffered some early defeats in the war, and the king was widely blamed. In August 1792, there was an insurrection: the Tuileries Palace was attacked, and the royal family was taken prisoner. -
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The birth of the French Republic.
Following the insurrection, a National Convention governed France from 1792. This assembly was elected by all adult males. The Convention abolished the monarchy and France became a republic. A French republican calendar was created. Girondins or moderate republicans controlled the assembly. -
First Coallition.
The Convention judged and condemned Louis XVI for treason, and he was executive by guillotine in January 1793. This produced the First Coallition, in which Britain and the Dutch Republic joined the other countries that were already fighting France. -
Committee of Public Safety.
This was a revolutionay tribunal led by Georges Danton and Robespierre. This tribunal tried people who were suspected of opposing the Republic, even if there was no proof against them.
They were sentenced to death by the guillotine, which became a famous symbol of the French Revolution. Around 50000 people were executed. -
Maximum prices for basic items.
Robespierre tried to ease the economy crisis by establishing maximum prices for basic items. A new calendar was adopted, in which the names of the months were related to the seasons. -
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The Reign of Terror.
The radical revolutionaries used supoort from the sans-culottes to seize power from the Girondins in June 1793. The Jacobin Maximilien Robespierre assumed all powers, and established a dictatorship. -
Robespierre’s death.
Moderate revolutionaries arrested Robespierre and his followers, who were then executed by guillotine. -
The Conspiracy of the Equals.
Radicals conpired against the government. The Conspiracy of the Equals, led by Babeuf, was a plot to overthrow the government and establish an egalitarian society. -
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The Directory.
Following the execution of the most radical revolutionaries, a new Constitution established limited suffrage based on property ownership. A moderate government was led by a five-member Directory while legislative power was held by two chambers. The new regime never had very much support, and it faced challenges on all sides. -
Second Coalition.
France won a series of victories against its enemies. The French general Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most of Italy on behalf of the Directory. However, France’s enemies, led by Britain, formed a Second Coalition that reconquered many of the regions that France had occupied -
Consulate.
Napoleon Bonaparte carried out a coup d’état. A consulate was created, in which authority was supposed to be shared between three consuls; but in fact Napoleon was now the real ruler of France. -
The royalists.
They also led revolts and counter-revolutionary activities with the aim of restoring the Bourbon dynasty.
