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The Great Fear
The Great Fear was a reign of chaos and riot at the start of the French Revolution. Parisian peasants and underlings of the Third Estate fought against nobles, trying to get justice for the horrid way they were treated. Peasants were going hungry and broke, and they received their revenge through this period. -
Period: to
French Revolution
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The Fall of Bastille
A Parisian mob broke down the gates of the fortress Bastille on this date. The fuel for this chaos was the rumors of royal troops being in Paris. Chaos broke out, and hundreds of the crowd were killed, marking this event as a symbol of tyranny and a symbol of the French Revolution on a whole. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Estates General was greatly weakened in power when the Third Estate became more opposed to them. The Third Estate had started resenting Louis XVI, which peaked when they were locked out of a meeting of the Estates General. They met on a tennis court and established the National Assembly. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
This was based off of the Declaration of Independence- thi shows just how much the American Revolution had inspired the French. It stated that all male citizens were equal under the law, and that all men were "born and remain free and equal in rights." -
Women's March on Versailles
A crowd of women demanding bread to feed their families stormed the palace on this date. The king agreed to meet with them, and then promised to distribute bread to all of the crowd, but not before the crowd had effectively reached the queen's chambers, as well as demanded the king return with them. This showed that the king's power was greatly diminishing. Marie Antoinette just barely escaped through a passageway. -
Civil Constitution of Clergy
The National Assembly took over the Catholic Church. A national church system with elected clergy was then created. The monarchy was in charge of creating laws and regulations of the church, which was opposed by many. There were 83 bishops to this system, each representing a different department. -
The Royal Escape
Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, planned to flee Paris in an attempt at escape. Louis hid amongst family, but they were eventually found and returned to Paris. They were confined to the Tuileries Palace, having been marked as traitors to the revolution. This accusation of being traitors was in fact so harsh that Louis received threats from other nations. -
Creation of the National Convention
This was a convention made a legislative body by radicals. It voted to destroy the monarchy, making France a republic. It was controlled by the Jacobins, who wanted to abolish the old order by taking away land and titles from nobles. -
The Execution of Louis XVI
Louis XVI was executed via guillotine a day after being discovered for conspiracy with foreign powers. He ad been sentenced to death by the French National Convention, and his place of execution was the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Constitution of 1795 (Year III)
This constitution is one and the same as that which established the five man Directory. It was ratified by the National Convention. The preamble of this contitution is the Declaration of the Rights ad Duties of Man and of the citizen. -
Directory Overthrown
After Napoleon experienced success after success, he became popular among the French for driving British forces out of the French port. He then became a political figure, overthrowing the Directory and instead establishing a Consulate, even going so far as to take the title of First Consul for life. -
Napoleon Crowned as Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte had by now seized such extraordinary power that he could easily take the title Emperor of the French. While he did invite the pope to his coronation in Notre Dame, Napoleon actually took the crown from the pope and crowed himself Emperor. His goal was to be the most powerful in Europe. -
Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon and his army decided to invade Britain; =Admiral Nelson attempted to stop him. This was because when they met, the Royal Navy had 27 ships, while the Spanish and French had 33 ships. This was a huge victory for Britain, they captured defeated most of their ships. -
Battle of Austerlitz
This was one of Napoleon's biggest victories. He had received threats from Austria and Russia, so he invaded England. He said that he wanted a truce, but that was a ploy to meet up with allies- his enemies armies ended up destroyed. -
Invasion of Spain
France, by now, dominates most of Europe. Napoleon replaced Spain's king with his brother. He decided to invade Portugal. However, many Spaniards were angry over Napoleon's brother being the new king. The French fought against the Spanish resistance, however, the Spanish killed many of the French forces. Eventually, Britain helped Spain defeat the French. -
Invasion of Russia
Napoleon made a dire mistake when he decided to invde Russia. He led the Grand Armee into Russia, and did capture Moscow- however, the Russians tactics destroyed everything, Moscow included. The winter weather also killed many of his troops. He was, in the end, defeated. -
Exile to Elba
Napoleon was made to step down from power when an alliance of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Britain went against France. He was exiled to an island, Elba, in the Mediterranean Sea. -
The Congress of Vienna
This congress's purpose was to restore the stability of Europe after the Revolutionary Wars and the impact of Napoleon. The main goal was to maintain a balance of power and protect the system of monarchs, thus helping to create peace in Europe. -
Battle of Waterloo
This was a battle fought by Russia, Prussia, Austria, and the UK to defeat one of Napoleon's armies when he wanted to be Emperor again. The defeat of said army ended Napoleon's reign as Emperor of the French. It also led to him being exiled yet again, to an island called St. Helena.
