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Government in Debt
During this time period, France's economic wealth in the government was ruined and went in debt. One of the reasons this happened was based on the improvident spendings from King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. They were in debt also to help the American Colonists in their revolution. The money came from other (previous) kings. -
Economic Troubles
Even though France was known as the most advanced country with flourishing wealth thanks to foreign trade, it now seemed like the economy was contradicting. -
Economic Troubles
Even though France was known as the most advanced country with flourishing wealth thanks to foreign trade, it now seemed like the country's economy was decreasing. -
Prices Increased
During this time, prices were increasing. A notice example was when the price of bread increased twice its value. This made most of France's population face starvation. -
Estates-General
Based on the huge debt King Louis XVI was on, with no money left in the country, he decides to tax the nobility. Still, the Second Estate forced the king to make a meeting of the Estates-General. This consists of an assembly of representatives from the three estates. This was done to approve of this new tax. This was the first meeting in 175 years. It was held at Versailles. -
National Assembly Established
After a long debate, the delegates of the Third Estate conceded with Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyés idea by a great majority. In the end, they voted to establish the National Assembly. This consisted in the end of absolute monarchy and the start of representative government. This vote was the first intended act of revolution. -
Tennis Court Oath
Three days later, the Third Estate delegates were prohibited to enter their meeting room. The meeting room was locked, which meant they couldn't enter. After broking a door open, they found themselves into an indoor tennis court. They pledge to stay inside there until they had proceeded to a new constitution. This pledge was known as the Tennis Court Oath. -
Tennis Court Oath Continue
Later, nobles and members of the clergy who had chosen to reform joined the Third Estate delegates. In response, Louise sent his mercenary army of Swiss guards around Versailles. -
The Fall of Bastille
On this day, a mob searched for gunpowder and weaponry in Bastille, a Paris prison. After all the mob swamped the guard and gripped control of the building. The angry attackers killed the prison commander and several guards, and then marched in the streets with the dead men's heads on pikes. The fall of the Bastille became a tremendous symbolic act of revolution through all French people. -
The Fall of Bastille Continue
This date has been recognized as Bastille Day, a French national holiday. This is compared to Independence Day in the United States. -
Assembly Reforms France
Throughout this night, noblemen made big speeches, declaring their fondness in liberty and equality. Inspired by fear than idealism, they joined other members of the National Assembly, even though their privileges of the First and Second Estates would vanish, thus making all French people equal. In the morning, the Old Regime would have ended. -
Great Fear
Once the rebellion spread from Paris to the countryside, wild rumors spread and peasants were in panic. The Great Fear spreaded France. This month was when women were rioting over the increasing price of bread. With knives, axes, and other weapons, women marched on Versailles. They first demanded that the National Assembly take action to supply them with bread. -
Great Fear Continue
Then they turned their focus of rage on to the king and queen. They broke in to the palace and during this act they killed some guards. Then, the women ordered that Louis and Marie Antoinette return to the capital city, Paris. Little time passed and Louis agreed. After a few hours, the king, his family, and servants left Versailles, never to see again the majestic palace. -
Louis Tries to Escape
The royal family tried to escape from France to the Austria Netherlands. As they approached the border, they were arrested and taken back to Paris under guard. This attempt of escaping France increased determined his revolutionary enemies in the government and secured Louis' fate. -
New Constitution for France
After two years of arguing over a new constitution for France, the delegates made noteworthy changes in France's government and society. They voted for a limited constitutional monarchy, which Louis unwillingly approved. This would mean that the king would loose a lot of his power. -
New Constitution for France Continue
The National Assembly also decided on a new legislative body- the Legislative Assembly. This body had the power to create laws and approve or disapprove declarations of war, etc. Either way, the king would still have executive power and enforce laws. -
Constitution for France Continue
Despite the new government, problems still remained such as food shortages and government debt. To handle this problems, the Legislative Assembly decided to split into three general groups, which sat in different parts of the meeting hall. On the left side, Radicals sat; on the center, Moderates sat; on the right side, Preservatives sat. -
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Important Leaders on Death Sentence
Many of the leaders who lead the Revolution received death sentences. For Robespierre, they were “enemies of the Revolution” who were problematic. Their only crime was that they were viewed as less revolutionary than him. In early 1794, Georges Danton, a very important person in the French Revolution was in trouble. His friends in the National Convention, afraid of defending him, joined to denounce him. On the scaffold, he told the executioner to show his head to the people, it's worth seeing. -
Louis XVI Death Sentence
The former king, Louis XVI, walked calmly and with dignity up the steps of the scaffold to be beheaded by the guillotine. He was sentenced to death by a very close vote, after the National Convention found him guilty. Before that, the National Convention had reduced his role from a king to a common citizen and prisoner. Lead by Jacobins, it tried for Louis for treason. -
Other Wars Coincide Continue
To reinforce the French army, Jacobin representatives in the Convention took an extreme step. While they were suggesting, the convention ordered a draft of 300,000 French citizens between ages 18 and 40. By 1794, the army grew up to 800,000 and women were also included. -
Other Wars Coincide
While this was happening, the National Convention had to also faced with the war of Austria and Prussia. When the Convention overlooked the government, the French army won a remarkable victory against the Austrians and Prussians at the battle of Valmy. Early that year, however, Great Britain, Holland, and Spain joined Prussia and Austria against France. Forced to fight several enemies, France suffered many defeats. -
Change Happens when Robespierre Gains Control
A Jacobin-leader, Maximilien Robespierre slowly gained power. Robespierre and his supporters set out to build a “republic virtue” by removing every trace of France’s past. They changed the calendar. They changed it to 12 months with 30 days each. This calendar they created had no Sundays because radicals believed that religion was old-fashioned and dangerous. They closed all churches in Paris, and later on, the rest of the cities and towns in France did the same. -
Reign of Terror
Robespierre became leader of the Committee of Public Safety. For the following year, he governed France basically as a dictator. His period of rule became known as the Reign of Terror. The Committee of Public Safety’s main task was to protect the Revolution from its enemies. -
Reign of Terror Continue
Under Robespierre’s way of governing, the Committee mostly had these “enemies” tried in the morning and guillotined in the afternoon. He described his use of fear by advising that it let French citizens to stay true to the ideals of the Revolution. He firmly believed that virtue and terror were connected. -
The Terror Extends
The Terror period was not only famous to Danton and Marie Antoinette, a widow queen, but for thousands more unknown people who were sentenced to death. They were sent to death even for insubstantial charges. About 40,000 people were executed during the Terror. -
The End of the Reign of Terror
Some members of the National Convention dread for their safety, thus turning on Robespierre. They ordered his arrest and execution. The Reign of Terror, the reformist phase of the French Revolution, finalised on July 28, 1794, when Maximilien Robespierre went to the guillotine. -
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Aftermath of the French Revolution
After Robespierre’s death, the French public opinions changed notably. People from all classes had grown tired of the Terror. They were also exhausted of the dramatic increase in the prices for bread, salt, and other important necessities. Based on this, moderate leaders in the National Convention created a new plan of government, the third one since 1789. -
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Aftermath of the French Revolution Continue
It consisted of placing power securely in the hands of the upper middle class and class for a two-house legislature and an executive body of five men, known as the directory. They were moderates (not revolutionary idealists). Some of those men were corrupt and made themselves rich at the country’s tariff. Either way, they gave their difficult country a time of order. They also found the right general to command France’s armies: Napoleon Bonaparte.
