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Meeting of the Estates General
The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm. Consisting of the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. This was the first meeting of the Estates General called since 1614. The king called the meeting because the French government was having financial problems. -
Storming of the Bastille
A state prison in Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry mob. The prison contained seven inmates when it was stormed, but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuses of their power -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man & Citizen is published
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789. It is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution. -
Women’s March on Versailles
An angry mob of about 7,000 women, armed with pitchforks, pikes and muskets, marched in from Paris to Versailles. These women marched and demanded bread for their families. -
France Declares War on Austria
The people wanted war because they thought it would unify the country. They had a desire to spread the ideas of the Revolution to all of Europe. So on April 20, 1792, the Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. -
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The Reign of Terror
The reign of Terror was a period during the French Revolution after the First French Republic was established. During this time, French people who did not support the revolution were executed with a guillotine. The Terror ended when several important leaders of the Reign of Terror were executed. -
The Execution of King Louis
The National Convention had convicted the king in a near-unanimous vote. He was convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers, and was sentenced to death by a majority. He was executed by guillotine. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
In 1792, the French monarchy was abolished, and Louis and Marie-Antoinette were condemned for treason. Nine months after the execution of her husband, the former King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette was executed by guillotine. -
Execution of Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre was the architect of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. He was overthrown and arrested by the National Convention. He was executed by guillotine. -
Napoleon’s Coup d'etat
Coup d'état, also called Coup, the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group. They overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution.
