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King Luis XVI: crowned King of France (1774)
After the death of Luis XV, Luis XVI and Marie Antoinette were crowned king and queen of France at the ages of 20 (Luis) and 19 (Marie). -
American Revolution (April 19, 1775)
America chose to go to war against England in order to win over their independence. At the time, France and England were rivals constantly looking for ways to one-up each other. Because of this reason, Luis XVI made the decision to aid America in their fight against the British. -
Calling of the Estates General (May 5, 1789)
The Estates General hadn't taken place in over 100 years, but due to France's financial crisis, the people's growing frustration, and his weakening power, Luis XVI made the decision to call it together so that he could ask for help on how to solve these issues. -
Formation of National Assembly (June 13, 1789)
After the 3rd estate realized that they'd never get a fair vote with the way that things were, they decided to take a stand. They banded together to create the National Assembly as a way to finally have some sort of representation, and demanded from the king that he make financial reforms so that the people of France would no longer go hungry. Gradually, they were able to take over the government. It lasted about 10 years. -
Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789)
Those who were supporters of the national assembly needed a place that was located in the center of Paris, and was big enough to hold all of them. They decided on one of the popular tennis courts nearby. There, they held a meeting where they took an oath, or a promise, to stick together until the time came that France would have an established constitution. -
Attack on Bastille (July 14, 1789)
Those aiding the revolution decided they needed to really do SOMETHING. They needed a symbolic event to mark the start of what they were doing. At this, they chose to attack the famous prison, Bastille due to the fact that it held great representation of royal authority in the center of Paris. -
French Women force Louis XVI to leave Versailles
Due to the bread shortages France had been suffering from, the people had enough. A crowd of women marched all the way from Paris to Versailles, demanding that the king do something about the issue. Nothing he offered them seemed to be enough to make up for the time they'd gone hungry. Marie Antoinette's quarters were broken into by the mob. Louis and Marie were barely able to escape. Louis made the decision to leave Versailles with his family in an effort to try and deflate the situation.. -
Declaration of war against Austria
In the belief that it would help unify the country and spread French ideas further across Europe, France's government made the bold decision to go to war against Marie Antoinette's home country, Austria. -
National Convention formed
After the overthrow of the monarchy, France decided that they needed to just create an entirely new constitution for the country, thus, the formation of the National Convention. Eventually, after the rid of Robespierre, a new constitution was established in place of the National Convention. -
Louis XVI is executed
After accusations that he was plotting with foreign powers to try and have France invaded in an effort to bring it's people back under control, the national convention sentenced King Louis XVI to death via guillotine. -
Reign of Terror
The "Reign of Terror" was originally supposed to rid France of its enemies and protect the country from foreigners. Maximillian Robespierre was in charge, and was the cause of many of the of executions and killings that would not stop until his execution. -
Thermidorian Reaction
Symbolizing the collapse of the Reign of Terror, this revolt led to the fall of the leader of the Jacobins, Maximillian Robespierre. -
The Directory is formed
In an effort to try to solve the many problems in France, The Directory was formed. Despite it's good intentions, very little progress was made in the four years that it lasted, thus leading to the rise of Napoleon. -
Napoleon takes power
Captain, commander, and then general of the French armies, Napoleon, being the over achiever that he was, decided that he wanted to do more. During the fall of the directory, he made his rise to power, eventually becoming emperor of France. -
Napoleon invades Russia
One of Napoleon's main goals was to conquer Europe under French rule. For a time, he was able to succeed in doing this, taking control of much of the continent. Until he made the decision to invade Russia that is. All in all, his attempt was unsuccessful. Most of his men died from natural forces, and eventually he was forced to give up and return home with the few he had left, thus marking the beginning of the fall of Napoleon. -
Battle at Waterloo
In an effort to try to redeem himself after failing to invade Russia, Napoleon makes the decision to invade Prussia. This would be his final mistake. It ended in the French armies retreating and being defeated, thus making it Napoleon's last war before being exiled to St. Helena Island.
