-
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be based only on public utility. The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man -
The Tennis Courth Oath
representatives of the non-clergy and non-nobles of France swore they would not disperse until a constitution was established for France. -
The Storming of the Bastille
fears that King Louis XVI was about to arrest France's newly constituted National Assembly led a crowd of Parisians to successfully besiege the Bastille, an old fortress that had been used since 1659 as a state prison. -
The Estates-General Meeting
from being a meeting about taxes and money, to being about the Third Estate and their wish for power and the reformation of a new government. -
Period: to
The French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of major social conflict that began in 1787 and ended in 1799. It sought to completely change the relationship between the rulers and those they governed and to redefine the nature of political power -
The Great Fear
It was a time of widespread unrest and violence in the French countryside, with peasants and townspeople attacking manorial houses and destroying feudal documents. -
Period: to
The Reign of Terror
a violent period of the French Revolution when the Revolutionary government took harsh measures against those suspected of opposing the revolution -
The Execution of King Louis XVI
Louis Capet, formerly King of France was beheaded by the guillotine. -
The Reign of Terror
The Revolutionary government ordered the arrest and execution of thousands of people suspected of being enemies of the Revolution. -
Napoleon Bonparte coup d'etat
Coup of 18–19 Brumaire, (November 9–10, 1799), 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. -
Period: to
The First Empire (Napoleon)
a period in European history from 1804 to 1815 when Napoleon Bonaparte ruled France and established French dominance over much of continental Europe -
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was the first of a series of international meetings that came to be known as the Concert of Europe, an attempt to forge a peaceful balance of power in Europe. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 between Napoleon's French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. 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.