-
Period: to
Napoleon
Napoleon was born in 1769 in Corsica. He was able to gain nobility and is talented which led to him getting a scholarship to go to military school. He rises through the ranks quickly and in 1789 he was a Lieutenant of a small unit. He was a captain in 1792 and in 1794 the Committee of Public Safety made him a brigadier general and he put down uprisings in Paris. Then in 1796 the Directory makes him General of the French armies in Italy and in 1797 he was put in charge of the invasion of Britain. -
Aristocratic Revolution
The Aristocratic Revolution was the first stage of the Revolution. It happened in 1787 when Parliament refused to register a law for King Louis XVI. They force him to call the Estates General which hadn't been called since 1614. -
Estates General 1789
At this time the First and Second Estates have 300 representatives and the Third Estate has 600 but they still used the process from 1613 where each group only gets one vote. -
The National Assembly and the Tennis Court Oath
In June 1789 the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly and would draft a Constitution. They went to meet at Versailles to draft a Constitution but when they arrived they were locked out. They went to a nearby tennis court and make the Tennis Court Oath where they swore that they would meet until a Constitution was made. -
Bastille Day and the Great Fear
On July 14, 1789, 900 people from Paris stormed the Bastille, which is an old fortress used as a prison and armory. They hoped to find weapons to fight the king but they didn't so they freed prisoners and cut off a warden's head. This is known as Bastille Day After this rebellions broke out in France to help the Assembly. Peasants wanted their feudal obligations to be removed so they raided lords' homes, destroyed obligation documents, and killed their families, this is known as the Great Fear. -
August Decrees
On August 4, 1789, the National Assembly abolish the legal privileges of the first 2 Estates. Then on August 26, they write the Declaration of the Rights of Man which is inspired by the English Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution.It affirmed free speech and press and reflected Enlightenment ideas. -
Women's March on Versailles
On October 5th, 1789, the fishwives find that there is no bread and begin to march on Versailles. Six to seven thousand women and revolutionaries get to Versailles and on October 6th they find a way into the castle, beat everyone, and kill some guards. Marquis de Lafayette stops the crowd and gets them to take the King to Paris under arrest. -
Constitution of 1791
The Constitution of 1791 was the first of several constitutions that would be drafted. This Constitution created a limited monarchy. There was still a king but the Legislative Assembly would make the laws. It had a conservative approach with active and passive citizens who had equal rights but direct and indirect votes. -
Rise of the Sans-Culotte
On August 10, 1792, a mob attacks the royal palace and the Legislative Assembly in Paris. They took the king captive and commanded two things, they were bread and a new Constitution. This mob called themselves the Sans-Culottes meaning without knee breeches. -
September Massacre
The king was still in power at this time but there was still no food and they were not winning wars. The new minister of justice, Georges Danton, led the attacks on the king by the Sans-Culottes and forced the Legislative Assembly to call the National Convention. This spread fear and panic throughout Paris and violence erupted leaving thousands dead, this is known as the September Massacre. -
Virtue Changes
The French Society turned into a Republic of Virtue. They were good citizens who went from mister and madame to citizen and citizeness. They focused on education and abolished slavery in the colonies. -
French Republic
The National Convention was called to draft a new Constitution. They ran the country and soon abolished the monarchy and set up the French Republic in September on 1792. -
King is Beheaded
On January 21, 1793, the king is beheaded with the guillotine. The guillotine was a new device that was quick, efficient, and it showed that anyone could die, even royalty. -
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety was given broad powers by the National Convention in April of 1793 because they were confronted with domestic uprisings and external threats. The Committee was dominated by Maximilian Robespierre who was a radical Jacobin. -
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was policies that were adopted by the Committee of Public Safety to defend France from domestic threats. It lasted from October of 1793 to July of 1794. At the beginning it was led by the Jacobins who were led by Robespierre with the support of the Sans-Culotte. -
Nation at War
France was now dealing with foreign invaders. The Committee issued a decree to raise an army and by September of 1794 they have over one million in the French Army, which is the biggest army Europe had seen. -
Period: to
Directory
The Directory was the executive branch where the Council of Elders chose five people from a list presented by the Council of 500. The Directory lasted from 1795 to 1799 and it had a corrupt Bourgeoisie. -
Coup d'état
In 1799 there was a coup d'etat which means a sudden overthrow of the government by Napoleon. -
The Three Consuls
In 1799, two men, one clergy and one a lawyer, wanted to overthrow the Directory. They use Napoleon to do so and succeed to form a triumvirate and then each has the title of a Consul. Napoleon soon overthrows the other two and in 1802 he makes himself Consul for life. -
Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, Napoleon made France a lot of money when he sold the Louisiana Purchase to the U.S. This money allowed for citizens to have bread again -
Napoleon's Empire
In 1804, Napoleon declares that the republic is over, that France is an empire, and that he is the Emperor. -
Civil Code
France wanted an organized legal code compared to the 300 different systems it had pre-revolution. They finished and introduced the civil code during Napoleon in 1804. It included equality for citizens, right to choose profession, religious toleration, and the abolition of serfdom and feudal obligations. -
Period: to
Wars from 1807-1812
From 1807 to 1812 Napoleon was the master of Europe after he defeated Prussia, Austria, and Russia. -
Fall of Napoleon
Napoleon didn't like the Continental System so he decided that he had to invade Russia in 1812. He took 600,000 men to Russia and was in need of a quick win. Russia refused to fight and used the 'scorched-earth' technique. When he got to Moscow in October he found it on fire and led the "Great Retreat" in winter. Only about 40,000 out of the 600,000 men he had made it to Poland in January of 1813. -
Napoleon is Exiled
Napoleon is weakened and Paris is taken in 1814 leading to Napoleon getting exiled to the island of Elba. -
Battle of Waterloo
In June of 1815 Napoleon fights British and Prussia who are commanded by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. He loses horribly and is exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. -
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was in July of 1994. During this the Jacobins pass a new Constitution in 1793 but it never gets used because of the Committee of Public Safety in the Reign of Terror. The Sans-Culotte are not getting what they wanted, no Constitution or bread, so the Jacobins lose the support of the Sans-Culotte.The end result of the reaction is that the Committee of Public Safety is disbanded and people are freed, but there's more corruption from Bourgeoisie because the poor stay poor.
