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The Third Estate, representing the majority of the population, declared themselves the National Assembly at an indoor tennis court in Versailles, vowing not to disband until they had drafted a constitution.
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Thousands of women marched from Paris to Versailles to demand bread and protest against the monarchy's indifference to their suffering.
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The National Assembly abolished feudal privileges and feudal dues, dismantling the feudal system that had long oppressed peasants.
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France faced a financial crisis due to debts from military ventures like the American Revolution and the Seven Years' War. The Convocation of the Estates-General was called to address this crisis.
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King Louis XVI deployed troops, including foreign soldiers, to Paris, raising fears of a royal crackdown on the revolutionaries.
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King Louis XVI dismissed Jacques Necker, his sympathetic financial adviser, who advocated for fiscal reforms to alleviate the crisis.
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The National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, asserting principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity as fundamental rights.
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Parisian revolutionaries stormed the Bastille, a symbol of royal tyranny, to seize weapons and release prisoners. Although only a few prisoners were held, the event sparked widespread rebellion.
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The Committee of Public Safety, led by Maximilien Robespierre, initiated a period of mass executions and political purges to suppress counter-revolutionary forces.
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King Louis XVI was convicted of treason by the National Convention and executed by guillotine, marking the end of the monarchy.
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