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Monarchy in crisis
King Louis XVI and his predecessor had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of poor cereal harvests, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor. In the fall of 1786, Charles Alexandre de Balonne proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged classes would no longer be exempt. -
The storming of the Bastille and the Beginning of fear between parisians
Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. -
Start of the French Revolution
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Rise of the Thirdstate
They wanted voting by head and not by status. On June 17, with talks over procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-called Tennis Court Oath (“serment du jeu de paume”), vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved. -
Drafting a Constitution
France’s first written constitution echoed the more moderate voices in the Assembly, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and the ability to appoint ministers. -
Terror & Revolt
The Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, a group of insurgents led by the extremist Jacobins attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king. Later on, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and crimes, to the guillotine; his wife Marie-Antoinette suffered the same later. War with various European powers and intense divisions within the National Convention ushered the French Revolution into its most violent and turbulent phase. -
End of the French Revolution
