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Meeting of the Estates General
The French economy was in chaos by the late 1780s. The decades of war had drained the treasury, and the country had very little money. Louis XVI decided that the people, including the French aristocrats, should pay more taxes to get more money for the country. The aristocrats blocked Louis XVI's plan. In desperation, Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General to address the crisis. When Louis called the meeting, the Estates General had not gathered in more than 170 years. -
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French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of time in France where people overthrew the monarchy and took control of the government. The French Revolution lasted 10 years from 1789 to 1799. -
Formation Of The National Assembly
Members of the Third Estate, were determined to change the system and create a constitution that make equal rights for all men. The group, declared themselves the National Assembly, saying they were the only group who represented the nation. It became an assembly not of the Estates but composed of "the People". Formation of the National Assembly inspired Parisians to storm the Bastille few days later. Citizens of France rose up against nobles and clergy. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate and some clergy who had joined them went to their meeting hall. They were locked out, they then rushed to an indoor tennis court. There, they swore the Tennis Court Oath, vowing to stay put until they had created a constitution that placed power in the hands of the people. This shows the first time that French citizens formally stood in opposition to Louis XVI also inspiring a variety of revolutionary activity in the months afterwards. -
Storming Of The Bastille
About 600 angry Parisians successfully attacked the Bastille and took control of this symbol of tyranny. This event inspired other French people to go up against the king and the nobility. Storming of Bastille became a symbol, they helped share a sense of belonging to a nation. It became a central part of their national myth, it showed how the actions of ordinary citizens can lead to change. -
Abolition of Feudalism
A group of deputies prepared a surprise move in the assembly with the abashment of feudalism. A few liberal noblemen, by prearrangement, arose and surrendered their hunting rights, manors, properties, feudal and privileges. All personal tax privileges were given up. What was left of serfdom and all personal servitude was declared ended. With legal privilege replaced by legal equality, it proceeded to map the principles of the new order of France. -
Declaration Of Rights
This declaration got rid of traditional privileges enjoyed by the monarch, the clergy, and the aristocracy, sparked a struggle that eventually led to the creation of a French nation based on new principles. It established France as a secular republic. The 17 articles of the declaration set out these principles and became the basis of the new French constitution. It defined the individual and collective rights of all people. -
Women March On Versailles/Outbreak of the Paris Mob
The March on Versailles, was also known as The Bread March of Women. Although the National Assembly had taken the Tennis Court Oath and the Bastille had fallen at the hands of the crowd, the poor women of Paris still found that there was a considerable bread shortage and the prices were very high. Rumors had been spreading in Paris that the royals were hoarding all the grain. A hungry mob of 7,000 largely working-class women decided to march on the Versailles, taking with them weapons. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Constituent Assembly took away the church properties and also banned the taking of religious vows. They regarded the church as a form of public authority. This document went far toward setting up a French national church. Under its provisions the parish priests and bishops were elected by 50,000 electors. Archbishoprics were abolished, and all the borders of existing bishoprics were redrawn. All clergy received salaries from the state, and the average income of bishops was reduced. -
Louis XVI and his family attempt to flee Paris
King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family were unsuccessful in their attempt to escape, so they dressed as the servants of a Russian baroness, to help them get out easier. Their destination was the fortress town of Montmedy, France. Which is a Royalist stronghold from which the King hoped to initiate a counter-revolution. They were only able to make it as far as Varennes. -
First Session of National Convention
The National Convention decreed assistance to "all peoples wishing to recover their liberty." It also ordered that French generals, in the occupied areas, should dissolve the old governments, confiscate government and church property, abolish tithes, hunting rights, and seigneur dues, and set up provisional administrations. The revolution spread in the wake of the successful French armies. -
Louis XVI is Executed
The Convention put Louis XVI on trial for treason, and pronounced him guilty. As the revolution took hold in France, the ruling elites in other countries watched, very fearful. They were afraid that the events in France might inspire people in their own country to take similar actions. In response to outside threats and to ensure that the gains made during the revolution would not be lost, they executed Louis XVI. -
End of the Reign of Terror
End of the Reign of Terror was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety. The Convention closed the Jacobin club, the most radical group. This ended the most radical phase of the French Revolution. -
Directory Established
The first formally constituted French Republic, known as the Directory, lasted four years. Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate. With the establishment of the Directory, the Revolution might seem closed. The nation only desired rest and the healing of its many wounds. -
Battle of the Pyramids
Napoleon won his Egyptian campaign with an army of 38,000. It was a battle fought between the French army in Egypt under Napoleon, and local Mameluke forces. It occurred during France's Egyptian Campaign and was the battle where Napoleon put into use one of his significant contributions to tactics, the massive divisional square. -
Napoleon Gains Leadership
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory until the start of the Napoleonic Empire. During this period, Napoleon, as First Consul had established himself as the head of a more conservative, authoritarian, autocratic, and centralized republican government in France while not declaring himself head of state. It was a new system of government for the Republic. Napoleon was able to transform the aristocratic constitution into an unavowed dictatorship.
