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Louis XVI calls Estates General
First meeting since 1614 to address France’s financial crisis -
Tennis Court Oath
Third Estate vows not to disband until a constitution is written -
Storming of Bastille
Revolutionary mob attacks royal prison, symbol of tyranny -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Key revolutionary document asserting liberty and equality -
Louis XVI brought to Paris
Royal family forced from Versailles to Paris by angry crowd -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
Queen executed by guillotine after Louis XVI -
Execution of Louis XVI
King beheaded for treason during the Revolution -
Committee of Public Safety Created
Emergency government to defend the Revolution -
Period: to
Fall of Girondins
Moderate revolutionaries removed from power by radicals -
Death of Marat
Radical journalist murdered in his bath by Charlotte Corday -
Reign of Terror Begins
Mass executions of “enemies of the Revolution” -
Execution of Dantonists
Radical leaders, including Danton, executed by Robespierre -
Period: to
Thermidorian Reaction
Backlash against Robespierre and the Terror -
Robiespierre Executed
Architect of the Terror is guillotined -
Constitution of the Year III
Established the Directory, a five-man executive body -
Bonaparte Becomes First Consul
Takes control of France in a coup -
Fall of the Directory
Ineffective government overthrown by Napoleon -
Napoleonic Code Ratified
Reforms and unifies French law, emphasizing equality -
Napoleon becomes Emperor
Declares himself Emperor of the French -
French Invasion of Russia
Massive campaign ends in disaster -
Napoleon retreats from Russia
Harsh winter and scorched earth tactics decimate army -
Bourbon Monarchy restored
Louis XVIII becomes king after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo -
Napoleon exiled to Elba
Abdicates and sent to Mediterranean island -
Napoleon escapes Elba
Returns to France for the Hundred Days