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Louis XVI calls for the Estates General to meet
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. -
Representatives from the three Estates meet at Versailles
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. The opening of the Estates General, on 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution -
. Louis XVI has the Third Estate locked out of the Estates General meeting
The National Assembly was formed when the 3rd estate was locked out of of the Estates-General meeting by King Louis. King Louis locked the third estate out of the meeting because they were demanding more power in the government because they made up 97% of the population in France. -
. Third Estate takes the Tennis Court Oath
Tennis Court Oath, French Serment du Jeu de Paume, (June 20, 1789), dramatic act of defiance by representatives of the nonprivileged classes of the French nation (the Third Estate) during the meeting of the Estates-General (traditional assembly) at the beginning of the French Revolution. -
Louis XVI calls for the National Assembly to meet to create a constitution
Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France. The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court where its members vowed to stay together and create a written constitution for France. -
The people of Paris storm the Bastille
On 14 July 1789, 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. -
The women of Paris arrest Louis XVI and take him back to Paris
wanted him and marie to stay in paris so they can have an eye on them