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The Estates-General Meeting
This assembly was composed of three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. The opening of the Estates General, on 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution. -
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The French Revolution
The French Revolution took place from 1789 to 1799, and is often referred to as the "Revolution of 1789" because its first major event occurred that year. The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval that led to the end of the monarchy and the establishment of the First French Republic. It is considered a defining event in Western history. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was taken on 20 June 1789 by the members of the French Third Estate in a tennis court on the initiative of Jean Joseph Mounier. Their vow "not to separate and to reassemble wherever necessary until the Constitution of the kingdom is established" became a pivotal event in the French Revolution. -
The Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress and political prison known as the Bastille. After four hours of fighting and 94 deaths the insurgents were able to enter the Bastille. -
The Great Fear
The Great Fear was a general panic that took place between 22 July to 6 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution. -
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. On the night of 21-22 August 1791, a coordinated slave revolt broke out in the north of the island, the area of the largest plantations. Black slaves massacred their masters, and set fire to plantation buildings. At the same time, a separate rebellion started among the free coloreds in the west of Saint Domingue. -
French Republic Established
After a long period of debate about how the new constitution will work, the French Revolution takes a radical turn when revolutionaries arrest the King. The following month, on 22 September 1792, the National Convention is established. This proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and established the French Republic. The King is tried and, on 21 January 1793, he is executed as a traitor. -
The execution of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI died at the guillotine on 21 January 1793. He was the last king to live at the Palace of Versailles, and the revolutionaries duly gave him the nickname “Louis the Last”. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety. -
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The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety. -
Maximilien Robespierre Execution
Robespierre and a number of his followers were arrested at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd. -
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Coup d’etat
Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état took place on November 9–10, 1799, also known as 18 Brumaire An VIII. The coup overthrew the Directory and established the Consulate, making Napoleon France's first consul. This event is considered to mark the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era. -
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The First Empire (Napoleon)
The Napoleonic era begins roughly with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, overthrowing the Directory (9 November 1799), establishing the French Consulate, and ends during the Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815). -
Congress of Vienna
It opened in November 1814 and lasted eight months, closing with the signing of the Final Act, on 9 June, 1815. The congress was directed by the four main powers – the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia – with Chancellor Metternich as President. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 between Napoleon's French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. -
Latin American Colonies Gain Interdependence
On 15 September 1821, an Act of Independence was signed in Guatemala City which declared Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica) independent from Spain. -
Revolutions of 1830
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, Second French Revolution, or Trois Glorieuses, was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans