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The Palace of Versailles was built 12 miles from France. It was the family home of King Louis. -
Louis moved in and changed the capital from Paris to Versailles to escape the turmoil Paris was subject to. -
On May 16, 1770, a lavish second wedding ceremony took place in the royal chapel at Versailles. -
The French Revolution was a period of major social upheaval. It sought to completely change the relationship between the rulers and those they governed and to redefine the nature of political power.
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The Tennis Court Oath was a commitment to a national constitution and representative government, taken by delegated at the Estates-General at Versailles. It has become one of the most iconic scenes of the French Revolution. -
The main reason why this event happened was not to free prisoners but to get ammunition and arms. -
The French National Constituent Assembly defined individual and collective rights at the time of the French Revolution. -
The march symbolized a new balance of power that displaced the ancient privileged orders of the French nobility and favored the nation's common people, collectively termed the Third Estate. -
A secret cupboard containing proof of Louis' counter-revolutionary beliefs and correspondence with foreign powers was discovered in Tuileries Palace. He was brought to trial for treason and executed by guillotine. -
The Reign of Terror, also called The Terror, was a period of state-sanctioned violence and mass executions during the French Revolution. -
Overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. This event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. -
The resulting Civil Code of France marked the first major revision and reorganization of laws since the Roman era. The civil code addressed mainly matters relating to property and families. -
After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d'etat, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. Shrewd, ambitious and a skilled military strategist, Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire.
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Napoleon symbolically showed that he would not be controlled by Rome or submit to any power other than himself. This was very important, both as a show of strength to reassure his allies and to quell any potential uprisings or anarchy by proclaiming the highest authority in France. -
Tsar Alexander I, supposedly allied with Napoleon, refused to be part of the continental blockade of British goods any longer. Ignoring the advice of his closest advisors, Napoleon invaded Russia. -
Exiled to the island of Elba, he escaped to France in early 1815 and raised a new Grand Army that enjoyed temporary success before its crushing defeat at Waterloo against an allied force under Wellington. -
The Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleon's forces were defeated by the British and Prussians, marked the end of his reign and of France's domination in Europe.