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Voltaire
Voltaire established himself as one of the leading writers of the Enlightenment. His famed works include the tragic play Zaïre, the historical study The Age of Louis XIV and the satirical novella Candide. Often at odds with French authorities over his politically and religiously charged works, he was twice imprisoned and spent many years in exile. He died shortly after returning to Paris in 1778. -
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Marie Antoinette
Austrian queen consort of King Louis XVI of France (1774–93). Her name is associated with the decline in the moral authority of the French monarchy in the closing years of the ancien régime, though her courtly extravagance was but a minor cause of the financial disorders of the French state in that period. Her rejection of reform provoked unrest, and her policy of court resistance to the progress of the French Revolution finally led to the overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792. -
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Georges Danton
Danton boasted that he had “been responsible for” the events of August 10; that insurrection, however, was not the result of the efforts of Danton or any other man but, rather, the collective act of obscure militants from all over the city. However small a part he played in removing the king, he was elected minister of justice by the Legislative Assembly. -
The “Tennis Court Oath”
was a pledge that was signed in the early days of the French Revolution and was an important revolutionary act that displayed the belief that political authority came from the nation’s people and not from the monarchy. -
Storming of the Bastille
a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy’s dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed. This article reporting the events of 14 July was published in an English newspaper called The World, a few days after the event took place. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties -
National Assembly abolishes the nobility
was an important day for French revolutionists, as the Decree Abolishing Hereditary Nobility and Titles was put into action. The decree legally abolished the nobility, all its privileges, and was a big revolutionary step in the journey towards equality. Influenced by the thoughts of the era’s greatest minds, the themes found in the declaration made one thing clear: every person was a Frenchman, and everyone was equal. -
THE CIVIL CONSTITUTION OF THE CLERGY
the National Constituent Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. The Assembly’s aim was to reorganize and regulate the Catholic church in France, as well as eliminating corruption and abuses within the church. It also hoped to limit the church’s political influence by remaking French Catholicism as a state religion, subject to national law. -
Louis & Marie Antoinette flee; captured at Varennes
The royal party’s escape began in darkness around midnight to an ingenious plan organised mainly by Axel Fersen, a Swedish officer in the French army who was a devoted admirer of Marie-Antoinette. The Chevalier de Coigny had for some weeks been a frequent visitor to the palace wearing a plain coat and hat, which Louis would wear when the time came so that the guards would take him for the chevalier. -
New Constitution proclaimed
French constitution created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting. The franchise was restricted to “active” citizens who paid a minimal sum in taxes; about two-thirds of adult men had the right to vote for electors and to choose certain local officials directly. The constitution lasted less than a year. -
France declares war on Austria
While elsewhere in Europe caution was being displayed, in France the public opinion was for war. Reactionaries and the monarchy wanted war because they thought that the new government would be easily defeated by foreign powers. This would pave the way for a return to the old regime, with Louis at the head of government. Revolutionaries wanted war because they thought war would unify the country, and had a genuine desire to spread the ideas of the Revolution to all of Europe. -
The Guillotine’s First Cut
sentenced Pelletier to die for robbery and murder in December 1791. The execution was stayed, however, as the means of Pelletier’s death was being developed. Although Pelletier may not have agreed, Judge Moreau had implored the French minister of justice “in the name of humanity” to speed up the guillotine’s construction for the sake of the “unfortunate man condemned to death, who realizes his fate and for whom each moment that prolongs his life must be a death for him.” -
French Republic proclaimed
Following the aftermaths of the Revolution of 1789 and the abolishment of the monarchy, the First Republic of France is established -
Louis XVI executed
Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine. -
Committee of Public Safety founded
The Committee of Public Safety was set up on April 6, 1793, during one of the crises of the Revolution, when France was beset by foreign and civil war. The new committee was to provide for the defense of the nation against its enemies, foreign and domestic, and to oversee the already existing organs of the executive government. -
Republican calendar adopted
The Revolutionary Convention established the calendar on October 5, 1793, setting its beginning (1 Vendémiaire, year I) to a date nearly a year prior (September 22, 1792), when the National Convention had proclaimed France a republic. -
Marie Antoinette executed
At 11 am the morning of 16 October 1793, the executioner Sanson appeared. Madame Bault confirmed that he cut the queen’s hair and that the queen, looking back, saw the executioner place the locks of hair in his pocket. “This I saw,” said Madame Bault, “and I wish I had never seen that sight.” At 12.30pm, Marie Antoinette was taken to the guillotine at the Place de la Revolution. After the queen’s head fell it was shown to the crowd, who cried: “Vive la République!” -
Mass conscription instituted
The first universal draft, or mass conscription of young men regardless of social class, took place in France during the French Revolution.
After the French monarchy was overthrown in 1789, neighboring European powers invaded France in hopes of restoring monarchical rule. The French needed a bigger army, so in 1793, the French government decreed a leveé en masse, which conscripted into military service all unmarried, able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 25.
