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Meeting of the Estates-General
The Meeting of the Estates-General was a meeting of the three estates that led up to the tennis court oath. This meeting was set uo because France was in the midst of an economic crisis and the meeting was meant to solve it. The meeting did not go very well there was deadlock and nothing got done leading the first and second estates to lock the third estate out of the meeting. -
Tennis Court Oath
The tennis court oath took place on May 5, 1789. This meeting occurred when the first and second estates locked the third estate out of the Meeting of the Estates-General. This group of representative vowed to not rest until a new constitution was forced upon the King, This group called themselves the Nation Assembly. The National Assembly was legalized later by King Louis XVI. -
The Storming of the Bastille
In response to the creation of the National Assembly King Louis XVI surrounded Versaille with troops and dismissed a popular minister who agreed with the opinions of the Third Estate. Next the people of Paris moved and stormed the Bastille. The Bastille was the biggest prison in Paris and the Parisian believed there to be weapons inside. This event marks the start of the French Revolution. -
March on Versaille
The March on Versaille was caused by the lack of food and the wealth that the King and Queen hoarded. A group of 7,000 angry people marched from Paris to Versaille and stormed the place, they demanded that the King distribute all of the food that the palace had to the Third Estate. The next day the King and Queen were taken prisoner. -
Reign of Terror
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a wide swath of executions committed by the Revolutionary Government. On September Fifth the government sent out a decree to execute anyone they thought that was against the new government. During the Reign of Terror 130,000 people were arrested. 17,000 people executed and another 10,000 died in prison. -
The rise of Napoleon and the Creation of an Empire
After gaining power in 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor in 1804. He was a skilled military leader and led France through many wars in which he expanded his territory substantially. His reign ended after a failed attempt to invade Russia. He abdicated the throne and was exiled. -
The Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of the major power in Europe at the time. After the defeat of Napoleon the major powers of Europe met to reorganize Europe. Their job was to reorganize the boarders of Europe after Napoleon conquered a lot of it.