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French Revolution
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Estates General Called
On May 5, 1789, Louis XVI convened the Estates-General to help solve the economic crisis facing France. Almost immediately, it became apparent that this archaic arrangement group had last been assembled in 1614. This did not sit well with its present members. -
National Assembly Formed
The National Assembly was the first revolutionary government of the French Revolution and existed from June 17th to July 9th in 1789. The National Assembly was created amidst the turmoil of the Estates-General that Louis XVI called in 1789 to deal with the looming economic crisis in France. Unfortunately, the three estates could not decide how to vote during the Estates-General and the meeting failed. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate, representing the commoners in the Estates General, found themselves locked out of their regular meeting place and saw it as a ploy from the King to disband them. The 576 members moved their meeting to a tennis court in Saint-Louis, Versailles and signed an oath that they would not stop meeting up until they have written a new constitution for France. As the Third Estate didn’t have the right to act as a National Assembly, this pledge is seen as a revolutionary act. -
The Storming of Bastille
A state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy's dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed. -
Constitutional Monarchy
The Constitutional Monarchy can best be summarized as the first phase of the French Revolution. Essentially, it was the goal of the liberal nobility, who directed the transfer from Feudal Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy following the Storming of the Bastille. -
French Republic
The French First Republic was formed on 22 September 1792, by the newly made National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon -
King Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette Beheaded
One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror begins when Robespierre declares Terror "the order of the day." This marks the beginning of almost two years of repressing perceived enemies of the Revolution. It will claim an estimated 18,500-40,000 lives before its end in July 1794. -
Reign of Terror Ends
Ironically, the end of the Terror was brought about by those who were sick of the bloodshed and by those who sought for more.
By killing Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety had unintentionally and effectively ended the Terror. -
Napoleon Bonaparte & French Nationalism
French nationalism emerged from its numerous wars with England, which involved the reconquest of the territories that made up France. Napoleon Bonaparte promoted French nationalism based upon the ideals of the French Revolution such as the idea of "liberty, equality, fraternity"
