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French and Indian War
A war fought between two of the most powerful European countries, France and Great Britain. The French and Indian War was fought over a land dispute over the Ohio River Valley. The British wanted its subjects to be able to trade and and establish settlements in this area, but the French claimed it was rightfully theirs. Tension grew and eventually and the two countries engaged in battle. Not surprisingly, the more powerful and wealthy British won, and the land was claimed. -
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Louis XVI
French King that was in power when the French people revolted and took over. He was a terrible King and didn't even want the position. The people dethroned him as their king and began to call him "Citizen Louis" to mock him. Married Queen Marie Antionette and was not in love nor wanted to be with her. Was beheaded for mistreating his people and causing them to starve and be poor while he spent his money on a extravagant and elegant life style. -
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Marie Antionette
French Queen who was married to King Louis XVI. She married Louis at a young age, fourteen, when Louis was around 30 and was depressed about her situation. To cope with her miserable life, she spent way to much money surrounding herself with guests in elaborate parties and spent money on things like expensive cakes and decor. Was credited with saying "let them eat cake" when told her people were starving. Was beheaded shortly after King louis for crimes against the state. -
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Maximillian Robespierre
Maximillian Robespierre was a French Lawyer who was a major leader during the French Revolution. He led the people during the revolution and encouraged the execution of people against the rebellion and royalty. He also encouraged the Reign of terror, which was a period when people were scared of being executed, and nearly 40,000 people were killed, often because they were only rumored to be against the Revolution. He himself was beheaded by the people for being to harsh and violent. -
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Napoleon Bonaparte
He took control shortly after the French revolution as emperor from 1804 to 1815, when the people were in need of a leader and someone to rebuild their country. Napoleon was a great and powerful leader, making France one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world by taking over many European countries and he set up many useful and just rules in his set of laws called the Napoleonic Code. His reigned ended when he attacked Russia and later Britain and was dominated. -
Tennis Court Oath
Fed up with the rule of King Louis XVI, the people of France's third estate met at a large tennis court near Versailles. While there, the people agreed upon a famous oath, to stop the King's terrible reign, write a new constitution that gave power to the people, and force the constitution on the King. The representatives of the Third Estate gave these propositions and new constitution to the King, which he passed, but then surrounded his palace in guards and dismissed officials in favor. -
Storming of the Bastille
An angry mob riot of the French people that kickstarted the French Revolution. The Bastille was a French prison and one night an out of control mob of French people fed up with the kings power stormed it in an effort to obtain weapons for war. They were successful in getting the weapons, however they also murdered all the guards on duty, place their heads on sticks, and paraded them around. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens was a book written shortly before the French Revolution. It outlined the basic rights and freedoms people should have and preached on equality and how all men are equal. Some laws included; their rights to liberty and private property, freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial, and many more. This document was one of the reasons the revolution was started and it was used in many other documents, like the new French constitution. -
Women's March on Versailles
The women's march on Versailles was a march of women that were ready for the French powers to actually do their job. These women walked all the way from Paris to Versailles armed with pitchforks, pans, or whatever they could find. They went to the Palace of Versailles, removed the King and Queen from the palace, and then marched them all the way back to Paris. They sat the King and Queen down and tried to force them to fix their country. -
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a time in France, during the revolution, where many people were executed. After the French Revolution was successful and the people had taken over France some people, called radicalists, believed there was more to be done. They believed that anyone who had been against the Revolution, or been one of the higher ups in society, should be beheaded. This spiraled out of control and if people were even removed to not be for it they were beheaded. 40,000 people were killed. -
The End of the Revolution
The French Revolution was caused when many people of France were tired of being misrepresentation and oppressed. The people were starving so they decided to revolt against the government and kill all of the major leader. The revolutionary leaders, however, became to radical and started killing people who were even rumored to be against the revolution. The people got tired of the senseless beheadings and decided to kill the revolutionary leaders, ending the revolution. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was fought between the British Navy and the French and Spanish Navy combined. The French and Spanish were defeated and the British dominated the battle. The British destroyed more than 19 enemy ships, and didn't lose a single life raft. This battle proved the British navy was the strongest and most powerful in all of Europe and in the entire world. The Battle of Trafalgar alone established British Naval supremacy for more than a hundred years. -
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz was fought between the French Army under Napoleon and the Russian and Austrian Armies. This was one of Napoleon's greatest achievements as he defeated an army a third larger than his own. The French troops marched towards Vienna as Alexander I mounted his attacks. His largest attack attacked the French from the south to cut them off from the city but the French forces destroyed the nearly 40,000 troops ultimately leading in a French Victory. -
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French Invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia was a war fought by the French Army led by Napoleon and the Russian forces. Napoleon decided to take on more than he could handle and marched 600,000 troops into Russia in hopes of overwhelming the Russian forces. However, Napoleon did not account for the cold weather which killed many troops and when they arrived in Moscow, everything had been burned and the battle he had wished for died. Napoleon returned with less than half his troops. -
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Napoleon Bonaparte's Exile to Elba
Napoleon was exiled from France after his attempted invasion of Russia. During this attempted invasion, Napoleon took 600,000 men into the harsh climate of Russia, only wearing their summer uniforms. Napoleon returned without a victory, and less than half of his troops. The people became furious, as they had lost many of their family members and friends because Napoleon took on more than he could handle. They exiled him to the Island of Elba and he escaped a year later. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo marked the final defeat of Napoleon and the great French Army. Fought between the French and the British, the forces were equally matched and Napoleon, arguably the strongest military leader of all time, certainly had the upper hand. Napoleon Mounted a strong attack against the British and it was looking good for Napoleon. That all changed however when the Prussian army arrived with nearly 30,000 more troops. Napoleon was overwhelmed and defeated and then exiled. -
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Napoleon Bonaparte's exile to St. Helena
After escaping the Elba Island after his exile, Napoleon took France back over and continued his reign for a short period. During this short period, he attacked Great Britain. The British were fed up with Napoleon's rule and had him exiled to another Island, St. Helena where he was watched to make sure he wouldn't escape. During this time, Napoleon and some of his people stayed in poor-condition houses and he later died on St. Helena.