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Period: to
American revolution and Seven years war
France was already in major debt going into the 18th century, but they still chose to partake in these wars. After the conclusion of these wars, France was even more poor and the American Revolution had given them a view of what a government without a king would be like.
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/23/143623-050-3708C6A4/Surrender-of-Lord-Cornwallis-canvas-John-Laurens-1820.jpg -
Estates General
Louis the 16th calls the Estates General. The Third Estate already was angry before arrival because of the taxes that were already placed on them. The Third Estate gets outvoted and taxed are raised on them yet again. The third Estate leaves and they declare that they will become the National Assembly of France, a Government for the people.
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Estatesgeneral.jpg/1920px-Estatesgeneral.jpg -
Tennis Court Oath
The Third estate went to an indoor tennis court after Louis Locked them out of the assembly room. There they proclaimed to be the assembly of France and they won't stop until they create a constitution for France.
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/35/182635-050-43342CDA/Tennis-Court-Oath-Jacques-Louis-David-Louvre-Paris-1791.jpg -
Declaration of the right of man and the rights of the citizen.
In August of 1789, the national assembly made their equivalent of the Declaration of Independence, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Rights of the Citizen. This was a statement of what they thought was needed to govern the country in a constitutional like fashion. Image: https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/doromac.jpg -
Attack on the Bastille
As the tennis court oath is underway people start to notice that there are Swiss troops converging on Paris. The people think that Louis is the one who sent them so they storm the Bastille in order to acquire arms and ammunition to defend themselves from the oncoming attack. People regard the storming of the Bastille as the official start of the French Revolution. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille#/media/File:Prise_de_la_Bastille.jpg -
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The Reign of Terror
After the killing of Louis the 16th, conflicts arises between various European powers. Additionally, the division of the national assembly into two parties turned the French revolution violent. "The Girondists unleashed the bloody reign of terror" This period of time was a period of just under a year in which suspected "counter- revolutionaries" were executed, publicly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror#/media/File:Octobre_1793,_supplice_de_9_%C3%A9migr%C3%A9s.jpg -
Louis the 16th is sentenced to death
on January 21st, 1793, Louis the 16th and his wife Marie Antoinette were sentenced to death. He was publicly decapitated via the giantin. His wife on the other hand faced the same fate 9 months later.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Louis_XVI#/media/File:Execution_of_Louis_XVI.jpg -
The Execution of Robespierre
During the Reign of terror, many killings were carried out by individuals who worked for Robespierre. He, himself was responsible for thousands of executions. Near the end of the Reign of terror, Robespierre was executed because other members of the French government deemed him too dangerous to be kept alive. So he was executed in the place where he had sent so many others to die.
Image: https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/executionrobespierre1794.jpg -
Napoleon Bonaparte Rises
Napoleon was one of the five directory members. After the inception of the new regime, there were widespread protests by both Royalists and Jacobins. This didn't last long. Napoleon and an army hastily silenced the the protestors. in 1799, Napoleon staged a coup getting rid of the directory and establishing himself as France's "first consul". This event marks the end of the French revolution and the start of the Napoleonic era.
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Girondists who survive the Reign of terror approve five member directory
"On August 22, 1795, the national convention approved a new constitution that created France's first bicameral legislature." (history.com) This new constitution would split the executive power of France into a five member directory. At the same time this was both consolidating power into the hands of a few, but splitting it up equally into the hands of a few.
Image: https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/directory-e1602037916533.png
