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Writing of the Declaration of the Rights of Men
Its goals were to rally the troops, win foreign allies, and to announce the creation of a new country. The introductory sentence states the Declaration's main purpose, to explain the colonists' right to revolution. -
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French Revolution Timeline
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Louis XVI Calls the Estates General
Louis XVI called the Estates General in 1789 because France was facing financial problems. This decision ultimately led to the French Revolution and major changes in the country's political landscape. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis court oath was a powerful moment during the French Revolution when the delegates of the third Estate pledged to stick together until a constitution was established. It happened in an indoor Tennis court and showed their determination for change. -
Parisian storming the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille was when a mob of angry French citizens and rebellious soldiers attacked the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The fortress capitulated after the revolutionaries aimed cannons at its gate -
March on Versailles
The March on Versailles, was driven by the people's demand for bread, led thousands to the king's doorstep in 1789. It resulted in King Louis XVI being compelled to move to Paris, a huge shift in the French Revolution. -
Establishment of the New French Constitution
French constitution was created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting. -
Execution of the King and Queen
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed for treason. Louis had failed to address France's financial problems, instigating the French Revolution that eventually descended upon him -
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 fervor, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety. -
Napoleon Overthrows the Directory
coup d'état that overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. -
Napoleon Builds an Empire
Napoleon built his empire through conquest of territories belonging to his enemies. Napoleon greatly assisted in defeating the First Coalition in 1792–1797, in which the newly formed French republic annexed a part of the Rhine and also the formerly Austrian Netherlands, in addition to client states. -
Napoleon Invades Russia
Employing extensive forced marches, Napoleon rapidly advanced his army of nearly half a million individuals through Western Russia, encompassing present-day Belarus, in a bid to dismantle the disparate Russian forces led by Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration totaling approximately 180,000–220,000 soldiers at that ... -
6th Coalition Occupies Paris
With their armies reorganized, the allies drove Napoleon out of Germany in 1813 and invaded France in 1814. The Allies defeated the remaining French armies, occupied Paris, and forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile. -
King Louise XVII Begins his Reign
He became king with the Bourbon Restoration of the monarchy after the overthrow of Napoleon I. He ruled a constitutional monarchy, meaning he was not the main leader of his government. However, unlike some constitutional monarchs, he did have some influence in politics. -
The congress of Vienna Meets
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. -
Napoleon defeated at Waterloo
The decisive battle of its age, it concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon's imperial power forever.