-
Excessive spending and poor harvests lead to a financial crisis in France
The French government was wracked from fighting in a ton of wars that the people had no sympathy for. These wars caused debt which took massive portions of the budget. In addition, Louis XVI spent 6% of all French revenue on bettering the royalty such as himself. This greatly angered the French people. -
Period: to
French Revolution
-
King Louis XVI calls the estates general
The failure of this meeting was one of the main causes of the creation of the National Assembly -
First and Second Estates join the Third Estate in the National Assembly
The third estate was tired of constant abuse by the other two estates and inaction in the government. After the failure of the Estates-General the third estate decided to form their own meetings of government. This led to the National Assembly. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court oath was a promise for members of the National Assembly to not separate until a new constitution was established. This was caused by the second and first estates becoming part of the National Assembly. -
The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
After the Tennis Court Oath the national assembly new that they had to create a document that would provide rights to the French people. The National assembly came up with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizen which guaranteed rights for the people of France. -
The Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the bastille was caused by King Louis XVI's inaction with the estates general. The people felt forced to take the Bastille because the king's armies were moving on them and the people of Paris felt that they had nothing left. -
The Constitution of 1791 Sets up a constitutional monarchy in France
The Tennis Court Oath forced the National Assembly to create a new constitution. Two years after the Tennis Court Oath the National assembly created a constitutional monarchy in France which was supported by Louis. -
Robespierre's Reign of Terror
Robespierre took advantage of the weak government which was created by the constitutional monarchy in order to emphasize his radical ideas. He did this through his committee of public safety and the execution of anyone who opposed him. -
Louis XVI is executed
The new constitutional monarchy was weak and it was quickly overthrown to create the French Republic. This caused Louis XVI to flee but he was captured and subsequently executed. -
The Directory Is Installed
Because of Robespierre's reign of terror a governmental system was needed to cut back on the excess which existed during the reign of terror. The directory consisted of a 5 man panel that oversaw nearly all governmental actions. -
Napoleon's coup d'etat, overthrowing the Directory
The directory was a very weak form of government for France. Its power had been abused through constant warring and the system did not work well. Napoleon saw this weakness and staged a coup that overthrew the government. Napoleon started slowly at first but quickly consolidated power under himself. -
Napoleon is declared Emperor
Napoleon was an average citizen who rose quickly through the ranks of the French army until he became the Emporer of France. The weakness of the directory allowed Napoleon to be able to establish his rule of France. Napoleon's main goal as the Emporer of France was to expand the French empire and make the French empire wealthy. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement between the French and English. This was a bad defeat for the French and Napelon lost nearly all his ships. This eventually forced Napoleon to create his Continental system which barred England from trading with Europe. -
The Continental System is implemented
The continental was part of Napoleon's foreign policy after becoming Emporer. Napoleon wanted to defeat the British but he lacked the navy in order to stage an invasion. So he decided to blockade. This would be part of his downfall as this is what caused him to invade Russia. -
Napoleon is defeated in Russia
Napoleon felt forced to invade Russia after they refused to abide by his new continental system. This eventually caused the defeat of Napoleon as he was just too far away to form proper supply lines. He was successful all the way until Moscow where he was tricked by the Russians and ended up failing. This was the beginning of the end for Napoleon.
