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Louis XVI Accession
He became the heir to the throne on his father’s death in 1765 -
American Declaration of Independence
The idea that independence was an achievable goal allowed the French to start a rebellion of their own. In a way, started the idea of the French Revolution. -
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National Assembly
The elected legislature in France during the first part of the French Revolution. Made up of representatives from the 3rd estate. -
Meeting of the Estates General
He invited the three "estates" (the clergy, the nobility, and the famers and commoners) to Paris to ask them to approve a tax increase. But the king had misjudged the sentiment among the delegates: they wanted to turn the assembly into a "National Constituent Assembly" -
The Tennis Court Oath
The members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing "not to separate and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". -
Storming of Bastille
Took place in Paris, France. This violent attack on the government by the people of France signaled the start of the French Revolution -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen adopted
The last article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly, during the period of the French Revolution. It was the first step toward writing a constitution for France. -
Women’s March on Versailles
Women marched to the palace of Versailles to demand bread from the king. Also called the October march. -
Declaration of Pillnitz
Urged European powers to unite to restore the monarchy in France. French King Louis XVI had been reduced to a constitutional monarch during the French Revolution -
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1792 until 1795. Established in the Hôtel de Ville just after the storming of the Bastille, it consisted of 144 delegates elected by the 48 divisions of the city. -
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
A book by British writer Mary Wollstonecraft. She argued that women should be treated with equal dignity and respect to men, especially regarding education. -
Sans-culottes
Most of them urban labourers, served as the driving popular force behind the revolution. They demanded that the revolutionary government immediately increase wages, fix prices, end food shortages, punish hoarders and most important, deal with the existence of counter-revolutionaries. In terms of social ideals the sans-culottes wanted laws to prevent extremes of both wealth and property. -
September Massacres
A number of killings in Paris and other cities that occurred during the French Revolution. More than 1,000 prisoners were killed within 20 hours. -
Creation of the Republic
Following the aftermaths of the Revolution of 1789 and the abolishment of the monarchy, the First Republic of France is established on September 22 of 1792. -
Jacobins vs. Girondins
When the king was put on trial for treason the Girondins fought for the king to be exempted from execution while the Jacobins argued that the king should be executed in order to assure the revolution's success. The Jacobins were successful -
Committee of Public Saftey
The Committee of Public Safety, formed the government in France during the Reign of Terror. -
Execution of Louis XVI
The execution of Louis XVI by means of the guillotine, a major event of the French Revolution. The National Convention had convicted the king in a near-unanimous vote and condemned him to death by a simple majority. -
Marie Antoinette executed
During the Reign of Terror, Marie Antoinette was put on trial for treason and theft, as well as a false and disturbing charge of sexual abuse against her own son. -
Reign of Terror/Robespierre
The Committee of Public Saftey, headed by Robespierre, was brought to power after the First French Republic was established. Multiple massacres and public executions occurred in response. -
Thermidorian Reaction
A liberal-conservative counter-revolution that wound back the Reign of Terror, purged the government of Jacobin influence and attempted to restore some of the political, social and economic values. It changed the months on the calendar. -
Robespierre executed
After a year of harsh rule by the Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre, many of the revolutionary leaders had had enough of the Terror. They turned on Robespierre and had him arrested. He was executed, along with many of his supporters, by guillotine. -
Coup d’etat
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. -
Concordat of 1801
An agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and papal and clerical representatives in both Rome and Paris, defining the status of the Roman Catholic Church in France and ending the breach caused by the church reforms and confiscations enacted during the French Revolution. -
War of the 2nd Coalition
The second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies. An attempt to defeat the forces of the French. -
Napoleonic Code
The Napoleonic Code is the French civil code established under the French Consulate, Napoleon. It made the authority of men over their families stronger, deprived women of any individual rights, and reduced the rights of illegitimate children. All male citizens were also granted equal rights under the law and the right to religious dissent, but colonial slavery was reintroduced. -
Confederation of the Rhine
A confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was created as a buffer state from any future aggression from Austria, Russia, or Prussia against France. -
Continental System
It was the blockade designed by Napoleon to paralyze Great Britain through the destruction of British commerce. Happened during the Napoleonic Wars. -
Treaty of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit. Russia and Prussia were to join the Continental System, the blockade intended to destroy Britain's commerce, by closing their ports to British ships and neutral ships engaged in British trade. -
Russian Campaign
The French invasion of Russia, when Napoleon's Grande Armée crossed the Neman River in an attempt to engage and defeat the Russian Army. The army failed and came back with about 10% of the men they came with. -
Waterloo
Last battle of Napoleon. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), which took the lives of 5 million people.
