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Liberalism
Liberalism is the result of the political enlightenment ideas adopted by the bourgeoisie as the best alternative to absolutism. -
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National Assembly
Was a revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate (commoners) of the Estates-General. -
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The French Revolution
Was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. -
Bastille stormed and taken by a Paris
On the morning of July 14, the people of Paris seize arms at Les Invalides and head for an old royal fortress: the Bastille. -
Nobles in National Assembly renounce feudal rights
The National Constituent Assembly of France declares the end of the feudal system. -
Assembly issues Civil Constitution of the Clergy, requiring elections and oaths.
His goal was to thoroughly reorganize the Church of France, transforming Catholic parish priests into "public ecclesiastical officials." -
King flees to Austria, is caught at Varennes
The day of June 20, 1792, was the last peaceful attempt by the citizens of Paris to persuade King Louis XVI of France to abandon his current policy and move toward what they saw as a government more sympathetic to the people. -
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Legislative Assembly
The French Legislative Assembly was created by the Constitution of 1791, and succeeded the Constituent National Assembly. In deciding that none of its members could be elected, it was made up of new men and represented the majority of the rich bourgeoisie, being the census suffrage.Provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making. -
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National Convention
It was the government of France from September 20, 1792 to October 26, 1795. After its dissolution, power passed to the Directory. -
France declares war on Austria and Prussia
France declares war on the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria on April 20, 1792, a war that the Kingdom of Prussia, Great Britain, Spain and other states would join soon after. -
French army stops Prussians and Austrians at Valmy (Belgium)
Valmy was one of the most decisive battles in history; the Prussian march on Paris to restore the French monarchy came to a halt and the French Revolution was saved. -
Reign of Terror
It was a period of the French Revolution in which the struggles between rival political factions led to a mutual radicalization, which took on a violent character with mass guillotine executions. -
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Directory
Was the system of government in force during the First French Republic. -
French defeat Austrians in northern Italy and make peace
Treaty of Campo Formio, a peace settlement between France and Austria, signed at Campo Formio, a village in Venezia Giulia southwest of Udine, following the defeat of Austria in Napoleon Bonaparte's first Italian campaign. -
2nd Coalition of Austria, Russia, Turkey and Great Britain drive French Army back.
Encouraged the formation of a Second Coalition of powers alarmed by the progress of the Revolution. This coalition of Austria, Russia, Turkey, and Great Britain won great successes during the spring and summer of 1799 and drove back the French armies to the frontiers. -
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Consulate
The French Consulate is the government of the French Republic that goes from the fall of the directory following the coup d'etat of November 9, 1799 to the proclamation of Napoleon Bonaparte as emperor on May 18, 1804. -
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Empire
The French Empire, Napoleonic Empire or simply the Empire, covers the period of French domination over Continental Europe, under the rule of Napoleon I of France. -
Napoleonic Code promulgated
Napoleonic Code, French Code Napoléon, French civil code enacted on March 21, 1804, and still extant, with revisions. It was the main influence on the 19th-century civil codes of most countries of continental Europe and Latin America. -
3rd Coalition (Austria, Britain and Russia) moves against France
The Third Coalition was a treaty signed in April 1805 by the United Kingdom and Russia to expel the French from the First Republic from the Netherlands and Switzerland. -
Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia defeat France, Napoleon sent to Elba
An agreement established in Fontainebleau, France, on April 11, 1814, between Napoleon I and representatives from the Austrian Empire, Russia, and Prussia. With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's rule as emperor of France and sent him into exile on Elba.