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Estates General
the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm. -
National Assembly Formed
A revolutionary assembly formed by the third estate without the king's permission -
Storming of the Bastille
Citizens stormed the Bastille, a royal authority in the center of Paris, and stole many weapons while destroying the entire fortress -
Woman's March of Versailles
Many peasant women stormed the royal house due to the rise of price in bread and not being able to feed their children. They tried to sieze and kill Queen Marie -
Flight to Varennes
A significant episode in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution. -
Execution of Louis XVI
Accused guilty of treason, Louis XVI was sentenced to death by the guillotine. -
Reign of Terror
A period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between two rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution" -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
Marie is beheaded nine months after her husband's death from being accused of fleeing Paris -
Execution of Robespierre
His fellow members had sentenced Robespierre to the guillotine after taking things to far. -
The Directory
THe government during the penultimate stage of the French Revolution. -
Napoleon's coup d'etat
The coup d'état overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. -
Plebiscite
A vote of the people of the constiution giving Napolean power -
Concordat
An agreement between Napolean and Pope Pius VII that restablished the Roman Catholic Church and remaind in effect until 1905 -
The Louisiana Purchase
The acquisition of the Loisiana territory by the U.S. that sold for 15 million dollars -
Napoleonic Code
The French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified. -
Napoleon crowned Emperor
In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. -
Battle of Trafalgar
A naval engagement fought by the Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies. -
Napoleon Exile
Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena in 1815. After his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813,Napoleon retreated to Paris where he was forced to renounce his throne in April 1814.
