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King Louis marries Marie Antoinette
Fifteen year old King Louis XVI married 14 year old Maria Antonia (Marie Antoinette). They were second cousins, twice removed. There marriage was sort of forced upon them by the French public. The couple failed to have children for years after they were married, and the public mocked them. After seven years, the couple finally had their four children. -
King Louis XVI becomes King
He became king when he was not even 20 years old. The country was in crisis, and he was unfit for the job, and he knew it. He first tried to gain love from the public by reinstatint parlements. He became depressed when he realized he could not turn the country around. His attempts to control the National Assembly resulted in the Tennis Court Oath. -
American War of Independence
A result of the American Revolution. France, along with Spain and the Dutch Republic, secretly provided supplies, ammunition and weapons to the revolutionaries starting early in 1776. America's victory persuaded France to enter the war in 1778. Spain and the Dutch Republic, French allies, also went to war with Britain over the next two years. The French's involvement was decisive but expensive, because it ruined France's economy. -
Laki Eruption.
A fissure with 130 craters exploded because of the groundwater interacting with the magma. It was rated as VEI 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. The lava fountains were estimated to have reached heights of 800-1400m. In Great Britain, the summer of 1783 was known as the "sand-summer" due to ash fallout. The eruption lasted until 7 February 1784, but most of the lava was erupted in the first five months. The fallout, or haze, led to famine in France. -
Treaty of Paris.
Ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America. Signed at the Hotel d'York by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and David Hartley. There were ten key points/articles. Declares the treaty to be "in the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity." Only Article 1 remains in force as of 2011. -
The National Assembly
Between the Estates-General and National Constituent Assembly. It was created to manage France's finiancial crisis. There were many debates over the name. 577 deputies. Five year term. -
Tennis Court Oath
Signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate. They were locked out of the meeting of the EG. They did this in a makeshift conference room on a tennis court near Versailles. The oath was "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established." It signified the National Assembly's refusal to back down from the King's concessions. -
Storming of the Bastille
Happened in Paris. July 14 is now a French holiday, Fête de la Fédération (Federation Holiday), or Bastille Day in English. Caused by the economic crisis and American Revolution. The middle class formed the National Guard and had blue, white and red cockades, which later became France's colors. They stormed in to get 29,000 to 32,000 muskets, but without powder or shot. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
Defined the individual rights of all of the estates. Adopted by the National Constituent Assembly. It was used as the first step toward writing a constitution for France. It was proposed by the Marquis de Lafayette. A longer part was added later; the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793. -
King Louis XVI and Maire Antionette Try to Escape
It was a failed escape attempt by the kind and queen from Paris. It ended up sending them to the guillotine. The royal family was under house arrest in their palace in France, so they tried to escape. Along with the king and queen were their children, Marie Therese and the Dauphin, Louis-Charles, as well as the king’s sister, Princess Elisabeth. -
The King gets killed.
After his attempt to escape house arrest in Paris, the kind was executed, along with the queen. 361 voted to execute the king, 288 voted against, and another 72 voted to execute him subject to a variety of delaying conditions. He was executed by guillotine. He also recieved the simple name of Citoyen Louis Capet (Citizen Louis Capet,) before his death. -
Reign of Terror.
Ended July 28, 1794. It was a period of violence that occurred after the Rench Revolution. It was between the Girondins and the Jacobins. There was a said death count of 16,000 to 40,000; but the records are inaccurate. The reign was over when they defeated Robespierre. -
Napoleon becomes Frances leader
On 24 August 1799, Napoleon set sail for France, even though he received no orders to do so from Paris. He was approached by one of the directors, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès. He led troops to gain control. They won. Napoleonic code: "My true glory is not to have won 40 battles...Waterloo will erase the memory of so many victories. ... But...what will live forever, is my Civil Code." -
France Vs. Austria/Prussia war.
