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Divided French Society
The Three EstatesFrance was spending more money than it was bringing in. The first and second estates were not taxed, but the third estate was. Various meetings were held to attempt to fix these issues. -
KIng Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General
King Louis XVI calls the Estates-General for the first time since 1614. The King calls in Jacques Necker, who suggests taxing the first two estates. -
Storming the Bastille
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Revolt/National Assmebly Acts
Men in France are given rights once the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is signed. Women are angered, and march to Versailles on October 5th. They bring back the kind and his family to Paris, basically making him a prisoner. -
Threats from Abroad Begin
Austria and Prussia threaten to interevene in the Revoultion. They fear that their monarchies will too be overthrown by the people. This ignites war. -
Radical Take Over
The new Legislative Assembly takes office. and survives less than a year/ Assignats worth drops a considerate amount, and prices rapidly begin to rise. The third estate splits into two groups, the sans-culottes and the Jacobins. Sans-culottes are made up of the working class of the former third estate, where the Jacobins are mainly the middle-class lawyers and intellectuals. Eventually, radicals had the upper hand in the Legislative Assemply. In April 1792, the assembly declares war on Austria. -
The Monarchy is Abolished
Parisians stormed the royal palace and murder the guards. The royal family flees to the Legislative Assembly before the Parisians reach them. The folowwing month, 1,200 prisoners are massacred in the September Massacre by angry citizens. Radicals soon take over the Assembly. The right to vote is given to all male citizens. Later in the year, King Louis XVI is tried as a traitor to France. -
Louis Capet is Beheaded
Formerly known as King Louis XVI, Louis Capet is behjeaded in the public square of Paris. -
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The Reign of Terror
Maximilien Robespierre was a lawyer and a politician who seemingly thought the answer to everything was to, simply, massacre. During this time period, abotu 800 people a month were beheaded in Paris. Robespierre claimed this was a way to intimidate the other countries that they were at war with. The Reign of Terror essentially ended when Robespierre was executed. -
The Third Stage
Moderates produce the third Constitution since 1789. This new Constitution states that there shall be a five man Director and a two-house legislature that male citizens with property will elect. The Directory held power for the next four years. The war with Austria and Brittain continues, while rising food prices cause riots. Devout Catholics became a threat, angered by measures taaken against the church. -
Nationalism Spreads
Before the Revolution, citizens felt loyalty to certain local authorities, as apposed to the country itself. The country had adopted La Marseillaise as the national anthem, and many civic festivales celebrate the nation and it's revolution.
