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Period: to
French Revolution
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Louis XVI summons the Estates General
The political and financial situation in France became so dismal that it forced Louis XVI to convene the Council of Three. This assembly consisted of three classes - the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners - who had the right to decide on new taxes and reforms for the country. -
Abolition of feudal (noble, clerical) rights
Each French citizen must use only the real surname of his family. He could no longer wear a uniform or cause it to be worn or have armor bearings. The August decrees produced fundamental changes on a national scale. They stripped the nobility of their rule and privileges and created a society based on individualism, equality, and merit. The abolition of the tithe cut the Church's income in half. -
Clergy instructed to swear allegiance to France
The Civil Constitution for the Clergy sought to reform and regulate the Catholic Church in France. It was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly. The Church was responsible for social policy and welfare, and also performed some of the functions of the state. Its clergy perform and register marriages, baptisms, and funerals; they provide education for children and distribute charity to the poor. -
New Constitution ratified (with support of Louis)
It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty was effectively vested in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected through an indirect voting system. Out of passion, a constitution was drafted to modify the role of the king. The monarchy was retained, but the Legislative Assembly had sovereignty. The constitution did not last long and was amended in less than three years. -
France declares war on Austria
The Legislative Assembly (the governing body of France, founded in 1791) declared war on Austria. Although the French did not perform well at first, the army became more successful as the war progressed. The revolutionaries wanted war because they thought it would unify the country and they really wanted to spread the revolutionary ideas throughout Europe. -
Parisians storm Tuileries palace; end of Louis XVI’s power
After the capture of Louis XVI, the monarchy ceased to exist in France. King Louis was found guilty and executed on January 21, 1793, and on September 22, the French Republic was proclaimed.
The uprising of August 10, 1792 was the decisive event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, in increasing conflict with the French monarchy, attacked the Tuileries Palace. This conflict led to the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic in France. -
Louis XVI executed
A day after being convicted of conspiracy with a foreign power and sentenced to death by the French National Assembly, King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Committee of Public Safety founded
The Council of Public Safety was created by the National Assembly in 1793 to protect the nation from enemies, both domestic and foreign, and to oversee the performance of new governmental functions. Members were elected for a one-month term. -
New constitution proclaimed
Also known as the Constitution of the First Year or the Constitution of the Mountains, it was the second constitution approved for use during the French Revolution of the First Republic.
The Constitution guarantees all French people equality, liberty, security, property, public debt, freedom of worship, public schooling, public relief, unrestricted freedom of the press, the right of collective assembly, and the enjoyment of all human rights. -
Mass conscription instituted
The French conscription policy. It was first promulgated in 1793 during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-99), when all able-bodied unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 25 were required to enlist. It was an emergency measure to increase the number of men the generals felt they needed if they were to escape the danger of invasion and save the country in danger.