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Louis XVI calls Estates General
The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. This assembly was composed of three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. This extraordinary assembly brought together 1200 representatives of the three “orders” which made up the nation: the clergy, the nobility and the third estate. -
Tennis Court Oath
dramatic act of defiance on June 20, 1789, by the nonprivileged classes of the French nation at the beginning of the French Revolution. The Tennis Court Oath was an important part of the French Revolution because it represented the power of the people. signified for the first time that French citizens formally stood in opposition to Louis XVI. he National Assembly's refusal to back down forced the king to make concessions. -
Parisians storming the Bastile
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. Hungry due to a lack of food from poor harvests, upset at the conditions of their lives and annoyed with their King and Government, stormed the Bastille fortress. The prison contained only seven inmates but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuse of power -
Writing of the Declaration of the Rights of Men
One of the basic charters of human liberties, containing the principles that inspired the French Revolution. Its 17 articles, adopted between August 20 and August 26, 1789, by France's National Assembly, served as the preamble to the Constitution of 1791. 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. -
March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles was a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution. It was spontaneously organized by women in the marketplaces of Paris, on the morning of October 5, 1789. They complained over the high price and scant availability of bread, marching from Paris to Versailles. It was important because it was built to act as the official residence of the French monarchy during the reign of Louis XIV, the Palace still held this status under Louis XVI. -
Establishment of the New French Constitution
During the French Revolution, the French Constitution of 1791 created a new structure for the Government of France. Specifically, it limited the powers of the monarchy of France, delegated legislative powers to an elected National Assembly, and created an elected judiciary. The Constitution of 1791, the first written constitution of France, turned the country into a constitutional monarchy following the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. -
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a violent period during the French Revolution from 1793-1794 when the Radicals led by Maximilien Robespierre were running the Government. During this period, thousands of people who were suspected to be disloyal to the Revolution were arrested and executed. The Reign of Terror instituted the conscripted army, which saved France from invasion by other countries and in that sense preserved the Revolution. -
Execution of the King and Queen
n 1793, four years after the French Revolution began, Marie Antoinette was no longer Queen of France. Her husband, King Louis XVI, had been executed for crimes against France, and she too had been issued the death penalty after a swift trial. Louis' execution would profoundly affect the course of European history, marking a point of no return for the French revolutionaries.The first and only execution of a French king by his subjects, the death of Louis XVI marked the death of the Ancien Régime. -
Napoleon Overthrows the Directory
The Directory suffered from widespread corruption. Its policies aimed at protecting the positions of those who had supported the Revolution and preventing the return of the Bourbons. The collapse of the Directory in 1799 was primarily due to internal weaknesses, political instability, and the opportunistic actions of figures like Napoleon Bonaparte.The Directory was replaced with a three-member Consulate, and 5'7" Napoleon became first consul, making him France's leading political figure. -
Napoleon Builds an Empire
Napoleon was not content simply to be master of France. He wanted to control the rest of Europe and to reassert French power in the Americas. He envisioned his western empire including Louisiana, Florida, French Guiana, and the French West Indies. This is important because he wanted to control the rest of Europe and to reassert French power in the Americas.Napoleon's conquests cemented the spread of French revolutionary legislation to much of western Europe. -
Napoleon Invades Russia
Napoleon hoped to compel Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia. The campaign was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. The reputation of Napoleon was severely shaken and French hegemony in Europe was dramatically weakened -
6th Coalition Occupies Paris
The Fall of Paris. Following Napoleon's retreat from Russia and the subsequent defeat of his army by the Sixth Coalition at Leipzig (1813), the armies of the Sixth Coalition invaded France and advanced toward Paris, which capitulated on March 31, 1814. The Allies defeated the remaining French armies, occupied Paris, and forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile. -
King Louis XVIII Begins His Reign
After declaring himself King of France under the name of Louis XVIII when his nephew, Louis XVII died in 1795, he managed to maintain a semblance of Court, which guaranteed him the esteem he needed to hold his rank. He continued to strive to exercise his right to the French crown and affirm his legitimacy in the face of revolutionary France and European monarchies. With the help of the powerful allies, he returned to France in 1814 and finally took the throne, officially becoming Louis XVIII. -
The Congress of Vienna Meets
The goals of the Congress of Vienna were to create a needed balance of powers throughout Europe after the disastrous reign of Napoleon, enclose France within its borders, install a conservative order, and coexist peacefully in the long term. The objective of the Congress of Vienna was to provide a long-term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. -
Napoleon Defeated at Waterloo
Historians know that rainy and muddy conditions helped the Allied army defeat the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo. The June 1815 event changed the course of European history. 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.