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The Meeting of the Estates General
King Louis XVI ordered the Estates General for the purpose of solving the monarchy's financial issues. The nobles, clergy and the rest of the population were represented by the Estates General. Every estate had only one vote, and with that, the clergy and nobility group always overthrew the rest of the population. -
The End of the National Assembly
During this time, France was declared a constitutional monarchy, meanwhile, the National Assembly ended. No previous member of the National Assembly was and could not be elected to the new legislative body. -
The Defeat of the Bastille
An angry group of people fled to the Bastille, which had served as a royal arsenal and a prison. This place held few prisoners and was lightly guarded. After a confrontation that lasted midday, the people gained control to the Bastille, swarmed the guards and captured and kill the Bastille governor. -
The March on Versailles
Many people in Paris and the rest of France were hungry, unemployed and tired. A large crowd of protesters, mainly women, marched from Paris to the Palace of Versailles, to see the royal family because the royals were clueless to the poverty of the French people. The protesters broke into the house of Queen Marie Antoinette and demanded bread, and also wanted to bring the King and his family back to Paris, so they could experience being one of them. -
The Flight to Varennes
After much discussion, the members of the National Assembly decided to limit the King's power. Resulting from this, the king and his family decided to leave Paris and go elsewhere, denouncing the French Revolution. On their way out of France, the royal family was caught in Varennes and was forced to return to Paris. -
The French and Austrian War
The Austrian monarchy viewed the French with fear and rage. In France, war was wanted. The king and other monarchists wanted war, due to the fact that, the new government could be overthrown.
In contrast, the revolutionaries, wanted war because it would bring together the nation, and spread the ideas of the Revolution to the rest of Europe. -
Attack on the Tuileries Palace
Many issues were occurring for the French, the Austrian army and its allies started gaining the French territory, economic stagnation continued, the King was vastly seen as a traitor, the Legislative Assembly was divided, and Paris was getting radicalized. On August 10, 1792, an angry crowd attacked the Tuileries Palace. The royal family fled for their life, and over the next month, hundreds of royalists were killed because of this event. -
The Declaration of the Republic of France
the Legislative Assembly separated and was replaced with a new political structure which was the National Convention. The first act of this new structure was to declare France as a republic, which occurred on September 21, 1792. -
The Trial of Louis XVI
King Louis XVI was found guilty of treason. Unlike the unanimous vote from before, the death penalty vote was closer but was passed in the end. On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed. -
The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
The Directory led the new government and later became involved in many issues. Napoleon Bonaparte returned from a military journey in 1799 from Egypt, and overthrew the Directory. Napoleon then created the Consulate and appointed himself as the First Consul.
