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Period: to
Meeting of the Estates General
It was the first meeting of the Estates General called since 1614. He called the meeting because the French government was having financial problems. -
Storming of the Bastille
A state prison on the east side of Paris called Bastille was attacked by an angry aggressive mob. The prison became a symbol of the monarchy’s dictatorial rule. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man & Citizen is published
Set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution. The Declaration was drafted by the Abbé Sieyès and the Marquis de Lafayette, in consultation with Thomas Jefferson. -
Women’s March on Versailles
A crowd of women demanding bread for their families gathered other discontented Parisians, including some men, and marched toward Versailles, arriving soaking wet from the rain. -
France Declares War on Austria
Revolutionaries wanted war because they thought a war would unify the country, and had a genuine desire to spread the ideas of the Revolution to all of Europe. The legislative assembled and declared war on Austria. -
The Execution of King Louis
One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
A period during the French Revolution after the first French Republic was established. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
Her trial began on October 14, 1793, and two days later Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Révolution. -
Execution of Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, is overthrown and arrested by the National Convention. -
Napoleon’s Coup d'etat (also called “Coup of 18 Brumaire”)
This event brought General Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France and, in the view of most historians, ended the French Revolution. This bloodless coup d'état overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate.
