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Excessive Spending and Poor Harvests leads to a Financial Crisis in France (1788 + 1789)
Bad Harvests and excessive Spending led to taxes increasing on bread and the scarcity of it. People at the third estate were already having a hard time getting by when it cost 2 sous, so when the price increased to 4 sous the people in France were enraged. The taxation issue due to these causes would lead to many key events in the revolution such as the Women's March on Versailles and first calling of the Estates General since 1614. -
King Louis XVI calls the Estates General
With the convocation being announced in the previous year, this Estates-General was called to address economic issues in France regarding tax. Problems within the Estates General transpired due to the fact that the upper classes had voting privileges which affected how decisions were ruled. This issue within this assembly led to the formation of the National Assembly and the creation of the Tennis Court Oath by the middle class of the third estate. -
Tennis Court Oath
The newly formed National Assembly found themselves to be locked out of their normal meeting hall in Versailles. They saw this as a rebuttal from the king to have them disband. In response to this they took their business to the tennis court of versaille and pledged not to disband until France has a written constitution. This event layed out the demands of the people during the Revolution and would lead to the kind ordering the first and second estate to join the National Assembly. -
First and Second Estates join the Third Estate in the newly formed National Assembly
Due to the formation of the National Assembly and the refusal of the third estate to work with the upper two estates unless they sat together, Louis XVI was deadlocked. Nothing was happening in this issue. After this deadlock Louis XVI saw no other choice but to order the clergy and nobility to join the third estate in the National Assembly. This attempt at resolve within the estates would lead France to see its human rights document, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. -
Storming of the Bastille
Despite the unity of the three estates in the National Assembly, rumors raised that the king was planning to arrest the new National Assembly. In response people of paris formed the Bastille which was a royal prison. They were looking for weapons and gun powder. The head guard ordered his men to attack the crowd, this resulted in 98 deaths. However, the crowd did take over the prison and this event saved the National Assembly and broke the monopoly of the royal army. -
The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
The final article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted in August of 1789. The National Assembly outlined rights within this document that would be considered and referenced in the constitution. This was a great success in the revolution towards highlighting equality and individual rights however there was a problem. Revolutionists could not decide the role of the king within this limited monarchy. -
Women's March on Versailles
High tax in France and the scarcity of bread led to starving people of the third estate. The women of Paris did not take this lightly and marched 12 miles, armed with knives, to Versailles to demand reform over this issue. They wanted the monarchs to relocate to Paris to be closer to the people and their issues. This issue emphasized the women's discontent with Marie Antoinette and her expensive and ignorant lifestyle which would lead to her death by guillotine. -
Louis XVI is Executed at the Guillotine
After being tried by the National Convention on high treason and additional charges, Louis XVI was beheaded by the Guillotine. The monarch has fallen and now the people of France are looking for a new way to govern, this gave way for Maximilien Robespierre to establish a dictatorship in France under his Reign of Terror -
Robespierre's Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was the replacement for the monarchy and can be identified as a virtual dictatorship under Maximilien Robespierre. With help from the Committee of Public Safety he kept control of France by labelling people who disagreed with him an "enemy of the state" and prosecuting them by death, imprisonment and exile. This ended on July 27, 1794 when some National Convention members joined forces to execute Robespierre by Guillotine. This gave way for a new assembly to assemble. -
The Directory is Installed
The Directory was formed after the Reign of Terror to govern France. This group was formed of five members and this group was heavily disliked. They relied on the military and did not address economic issues in France that were causing tensions in the relationship between the people and their government. -
Napoleon's Coup D'etat
With some help from a group of people who were discontented with the Directory's rule, Napoleon Bonaparte staged a Coup D'etat and replaced the weak dictatorship for a strong one. This event is seen as the end of the French Revolution as France enters a new era, the Napoleonic Era. -
Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon wanted Britain to be a part of his Grand Empire. Opening old tensions between the two countries they engaged in the naval Battle of Trafalgar. Led by Horatio Nelson, Great Britain proved their naval supremacy over French and Spain forces. This event proved Britain to be impossible to conquer and caused Napoleon to alter his goals of conquering it. -
Napoleon is Defeated in Russia
Napoleon wanted to continue making his Grand Empire and invaded Russia which violated their agreement. However there was a draw and both sides retreated. Napoleon failed to prepare his Grand armee for the harsh conditions of Russian Winter which led to the loss of many of his troops. The lack of preparation for winter in Russia led to the Russian victory of France and marked the end of Napoleon's continental gain. After this loss, Napoleon was exiled off the coast of Tuscany in Elba. -
Spanish Nationalists Overthrow
In the finale of the Peninsular War, Spanish Nationalists proved to be powerful enough to overthrow Napoleon with the help of outside allied forces. This event flamed the emergence of national pride within the areas Napoleon occupied and led to his downfall when it came to keeping the land that he conquered. -
Napoleon Defeated at Waterloo
In an attempt to gain leadership of France back after being Exiled to Elba, Napoleon's army takes a devastating loss in the Battle of Waterloo against allied forces. This war resulted in Napoleon being exiled a second time to St. Helena and marked the end of the Napoleonic Era in Europe.