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Estates General Meeting
Estates generals met to discuss the idea of creating a new tax. A lawyer, Maximilien Robespierre, stood before the generals to represent the 3rd estate, determined to make the first and second estates pay taxes. -
National Assembly Formed
When the 3rd Estate deputies were locked out of their meeting room, they decided to meet in the largest space nearby; the tennis courts. They named themselves the National Assembly because they believed that they could truly represent the people of France. -
Tennis Court Oath Declared
During the meeting where the National Assembly was created, they swore that they wouldn't stop until there was a new constitution in France ("the Tennis Court Oath"). -
Storming of the Bastille
The Bastille was a prison in France. It represented the power of the king and the government. On this day the people attacked Bastille to symbolize the start of the revolution, to free imprisoned political prisoners, and to take gunpowder for the revolution. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man Written
The Declaration of the Rights of Man & Citizen called for an end of tyranny and declared that sovereignty belongs to all citizens. It demands a constitutional monarchy as well as equal rights for all men. -
Legislative Assembly makes laws for France
Legislative Assembly was formed under the Constitution of 1791, which created a constitutional monarchy with Louis XVI as the head of state. -
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Legislative Assembly makes laws in France
Legislative Assembly was formed under the Constitution of 1791, which created a constitutional monarchy with Louis XVI as the head of state. -
Execution of King Louis XIV
One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine -
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Committee of Public Safety governs France
The Committee of Public Safety was a political body of the French Revolution that gained virtual dictatorial control over France during the Reign of Terror. The members of the committee, at first 9 and later increased to 12, were elected by the National Convention -
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The Reign of Terror
A period of time when the Revolutionary government decided to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution (nobles, priests, hoarders). In Paris a wave of executions followed. -
Execution of Maximilian Robespierre
When he received word that the National Convention had declared him an outlaw, Maximilian shot himself in the head but only succeeded in wounding his jaw. Shortly after, troops of the National Convention seized Robespierre and his allies. The next evening–Robespierre and 21 others were guillotined without a trial. During the next few days, another 82 Robespierre followers were executed. The Reign of Terror was over. -
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The Directory controls France
The Directory was a five-member committee which governed France from November 1795, when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety -
Napoleon takes over in a coup d'etat
When he faced the prospect of having to leave office in 1852, Louis-Napoléon (nephew of Napoléon Bonaparte) staged the coup in order to stay in office and implement his reform programs. A year later, the Prince-President reclaimed his uncle's throne as Emperor of the French under the regnal name Napoleon III. -
Napoleon signs Concordat with Catholic Church
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905. It sought national reconciliation between revolutionaries and Catholics and solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France, with most of its civil status restored. -
Napoleon creates the Napoleonic Code
The Napoleonic Code (French: Code Napoléon, and officially Code civil des Français) is the French civil code established under Napoléon. The Code stressed clearly written and accessible law and was a major step in replacing the previous patchwork of feudal laws -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor of France
On the 2nd of December 1804 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I at Notre Dame de Paris. According to legend, during the coronation he snatched the crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII and crowned himself, thus displaying his rejection of the authority of the Pontiff. -
Napoleon dies after he is banished to the island of St. Helena
The British banished Napoleon to St. Helena and didn't let him escape. He died on the Island. -
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Dechristianization
Revolutionaries believed that the Christian Church held too much power and that their ideas would compete with revolutionary ideas. to weaken the Catholic Church they removed the word "saint" from street signs and all public places, Took the wealth of the Church and destroyed churches, and made a new calendar with no Sundays.
