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Opening of the État-général at Versailles
Faced with a catastrophic political and financial situation, Louis XVI was obliged to summon the States General, an assembly of the three orders or classes – Nobility, Clergy and Third Estate (commoners) – that alone could decide to levy new taxes and undertake the reform of the country. Its opening on 5 May 1789 in Versailles also marked the beginning of the French Revolution -
Armed citizens storm and capture the Bastille.
By order of the new revolutionary government, the Bastille was torn down. On February 6, 1790, the last stone of the hated prison-fortress was presented to the National Assembly. Today, July 14–Bastille Day–is celebrated as a national holiday in France. -
National Assembly decrees Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body,Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789 -
Louis XVI attempts to flee
Louis XVI attempts to flee to Varennes but is recognised and forcibly returned to Paris -
13th September 1791: King formally accepts Constitution.
Even after the debacle of the flight to Varennes, the King’s brothers—the Counts of Provence and of Artois—continued to plot from exile for a military strike that would dispel the National Assembly before it could adopt the new constitution. Louis, however, feared civil war more than he did the prospect of becoming a constitutional monarch. He thus accepted the new constitution, swearing an oath before the National Assembly. Ten days later, Louis wrote this letter to his brothers explaining his -
Jacobin masses storm the Tuileries Palace, massacring the Swiss Guard, and the King imprisoned.
In early August, the Legislative Assembly was deadlocked, unable to decide what to do about the King, the constitution, the ongoing war, and above all the political uprisings in Paris. On 4 August, the most radical Parisian section, "the section of the 300," issued an "ultimatum" to the Legislative Assembly, threatening an uprising if no action was taken by midnight 9 August. On the appointed evening, the tocsin sounded from the bell tower and a crowd gathered before the City Hall and headed tow -
Louis XVI executed
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 -
“Law of Suspects” initiates the Terror
The Law of Suspects (French: Loi des suspects) was a decree passed by the Committee of Public Safety on 17 September 1793, during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. It marked a significant weakening of individual freedoms that led to "revolutionary paranoia" that swept the nation -
Marie-Antoinette tried and executed
After a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason, and executed by guillotine on Place de la Révolution (today place de la Concorde) on 16 October 1793. -
Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety and Jacobin Club denounce the Hébertists and Dantonists on framed-up charges and execute all the popular leaders. Robespierre becomes virtually the dictator.
24th March 1794: Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety and Jacobin Club denounce the Hébertists and Dantonists on framed-up charges and execute all the popular leaders. Robespierre becomes virtually the dictator -
(9th Thermidor) Convention calls for arrest of Robespierre. Robespierre attempts insurrection which flops, is arrested and executed. After about 150 of his supporters are done away with, the Terror is over.
27th July 1794: (9th Thermidor) Convention calls for arrest of Robespierre. Robespierre attempts insurrection which flops, is arrested and executed. After about 150 of his supporters are done away with, the Terror is over -
Royalists attempt a coup and Napoleon Bonaparte makes his name suppressing the move with grapeshot. The popular party gains strength, Gracchus Babeuf is its spokesperson, holding running meetings at the Pantheon
Royalists attempt a coup and Napoleon Bonaparte makes his name suppressing the move with grapeshot. The popular party gains strength -
The Convention dissolves itself in favour of a dictatorship of the Directorate.
until October 26, 1795, during the most critical period of the French Revolution. The National Convention was elected to provide a new constitution for the country after the overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792).
