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King Louis XVI's death by guillotine
The Monarchy of France was abolished on September 21, 1792, and France became a Republic. The delegates of the National Convention that voted to abolish the Monarchy also reduced Louis XVI's power. Ex-King Louis became a normal citizen and a prisoner. Later he was tried for treason, found guilty, and by a few votes sentenced to death by the guillotine. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was the period of time in which Robespierre governed France as almost a dictator. Duirng his rule Robespierre tried to wipe out everything that had to due with Frances past type of government- monarchy. He justified the Reign of Terror as being true to revolutionary ideals. During the Terror about 40,000 people were killed and of those 85% were peasants. -
The end of the Reign of Terror
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Napoleonic Code was created
Napoleonic Code was a system of laws that displayed liberalism and coservatism. These laws actually limited individual liberties and took away many rights given to women during the revolution.The system included freedom of religion, equality before the law, and the abloishment of Feudalism, but it also restricted freedom of press and speech. -
Napoleon becomes Emperor of France
On December 2, 1804 Napoleon decided to make himself emperor of France, and the French citizens supported his decision. He was crown in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Pope gave him his crown. Napoleon making himself emeror demonstrated that he was more powerful than the church, because the church did not appoint him emperor which was traditionally the case. -
Peninsular Wars
The Penninsular Wars took place from 1808 to 1813. Napoleon sent an army through Spain in order to invade Portugal. Spanish citizens protested his invasion of Spain, therefore leading Napoleon to get rid of the Spanish Kind and appoint his brother into command. This made the spanish citizens even more angry and caused them to fight the French army with guerrillas. Britain aided these rebels and caused a huge dent and weakened the French empire and army significantly. -
Battle of Leipzig
This crucial battle lead to the fall of Napoleon as emperor. Because Napoleon had to create a new army, and his soldiers were very inexperienced, his enemies tore his army apart. This caused Napoleon's empire to fall quickly, and his enemies started closing in on Paris. Napoleon wanted to fight on but his generals refused, and in April of 1814, Napoleon surrendered to Alexander I and was bannished. -
Exile to Elba
After Napoleon's army was defeated in April of 1814, he had to agree to the terms of surrender given by Alexander I. The victorious enemies of Napoleon gave him a pension and banished him to Elba. -
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon escaped his exile to Elba, came back to Frnace, and became the French Emperor once again. His enemies responded to this in the Battle of Waterloo. The British army prepared to battle in Waterloo, Belgium. The British amry defended itself until the Prussian army came, and together they attacked the French army. In two days the French army gave in and Napoleon was defeated again. -
Hundred Days
The defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo signaled his last bid for power and is called the Hundred Days. Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena this time and there he wrote his memoirs and tried to justify the actions taken in his lifetime. He died in 1821 of a stomach ailment or cancer. -
Congress of Vienna
After years of war and the recent defeat of Napoleon, countried in Europe wanted to secure and stabilize the entire continent. The Congress of Vienna was a series of meetings dicussing policies in order to achieve their goal. The Congress of Vienna lasted for 8 months. Leaders from each country participated in the meetings, and Klemens Von Metternich one one of the most influential. He wanted to stengthen countries around France, restore balance of powers, & place Euope's royal families> throne.
