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Meeting of the Estates General
This was the first meeting of the Estates General since 1614, because Fraance had been using an Absolutist policy since then. The Estates General was called by King Louis XVI because France had become extremely indebted due to Marie Antoinnete (Madam Defecit), uncooperation of nobility, and numerous wars, and the King needed help in solving these problems. -
Storming of the Bastille
Tensions were growing in Paris and the peasant had acquired guns from the Hôtel des Invalides, but had no gunpowder to use them. Since the Bastille had enormous amounts of gunpowder, the peasants decided to raid it. When met with futile resistance (there were only 32 defenders) they turned savage and stormed the prison. They liberated the prisoners inside, and made the tradition of beheading people of power and parading the head on a pike by doing so to the governor, Bernard-Rene de Lauday . -
Women March on Versailles
70,000 angry women march on Versailles, breaking into the palace because of the price of bread. They meant to get Marie Antoinnette because she was, of course, lavish Madam Deficit and did not care for the starving people. -
Attempted Escape to Austria by Royal Family
Afraid of being harmed or killed by the people of Paris, the royal family successfully fled the castle, but they only made it to Saint-Menehould until rumors spread, and were recognized and captured at Varennes. The flight of the king, "abandoning" his country, made many people feel betrayed by the king. This was why the king was charged with treason. -
King Louis XVI executed
KIng Louis was tried for treason and then executed by guilliotine in January of 1793. The moderates in the Assembly had called for something less severe, but the Jacobins prevailed and this turned public favor from the moderates to the Jacobins, who ended up in control of the Revolution. -
Beginning of the Reign of Terror
Robespierre, head of the Jacobins, began the Reign of Terror (along with the bitter writer John Marot) beccause he believed that the Revolution could only become stable if its opposition was eradicated. zThis meant that many innocent men, women, and children were killed based on the slightest suspicion or even a police member's dislike. -
Maximilien Robespierre Executed
The Terror had become too much for everyone. When Robespierre stood up in front of the Assembly the day after announcing that there was opposition inside its ranks, fear of the members overcame them and they shouted down Robespierre before imprisoning and then executing him by guilliotine the next day. -
Creation of the Directory
The Directory was created by the nobility and wealthy classes (after the death of Robespierre), which made it extremely unpopular with the common people. This unpopularity made it easy for Napolean to take power through a coup d'etat. -
France Sells the Louisiana Territory to the United States
Since France was in so much debt, they had to sell the Louisiana Territory to the US (which doubled its size) for 15 million dollars. -
Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor
After the execution of Robespierre, France's different groups were held together only by the successes of the military. This was very beneficial to a young general named Napolean Bonaparte. He managed to attain power through a coup d'etat and set up a dictatorship that looked like a democracy and conceded major things to the peasants. After many victories on the battlefield, Napolean decided to crown himself emperor in late 1804. -
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Congress of Vienna
Major Allied powers of Europe met to discuss issues created by two decades of war. These included new boundaries of European countries, constitutions influenced by the French Revolution, and the peasants' realization that they could overthrow their government. They guided their work by the principles of legitimacy in government, international cooperation in maintaining peace, discouragement of nationalism and liberalism, and a balance of power. -
Triumphant Return of Napolean to Paris After Exile
After being exiled, Napolean knew his troops were still loyal to him. The countries at Vienna had already declared him an outlaw, but he was welcomed warmly by his country and retook the thorne. This set the stage for the Napoleonic wars, however, because the Allies each pledged 150,000 men and there were too many for Napolean to fight with his forces. -
Battle of Waterloo/ Napolean's 2nd Abdication and Exile
Duriing the Vienna Settlement, Napolean fled his island of exile and managed to raise and army of aboout 300,000 supporters and carried out a campaign to try and regain power. He was soundly defeated (completely defeated) at the Battle of Waterloo and was shipped out to St. Helena, which was basically a rock in the middle of the ocean.
