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Excessive spending and poor harvests lead to a financial crisis in France
This had been going on for years prior to the revolution; a long line of rulers mismanaged the country's finances, leading to a crisis that sparked the revolution. -
King Louis XVI Calls Estates General
The King calls the first Estates General since 1614 to deal with the country's looming financial crisis. -
The Great Fear in the countryside
Peasants began to riot in the countryside as rumors of "aristocratic conspiracy" spread through the country. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate, who were at the time the only part of the National Assembly, got together on a tennis court after getting locked out of a hotel and vowed not to disband until France had a constitution. -
The storming of the Bastille
The royal prison and armory in Paris known as Bastille, which was a metaphor for the royalty's authority and power, was stormed and captured effectively starting the revolution. -
The Women's March on Versailles
The march began over bread scarcities, and soon the women had ransacked armories and were marching to Versailles, where most of the government was residing, and convinced them to return to Paris. -
The Constitution of 1791 sets up a constitutional monarchy in France
The National Assembly restored the constitutional monarchy through adopting this document, but all sovereignty laid with the Legislative Assembly. -
The Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria
The revolutionaries were craving a way to unify their country as well as spread their newfound ideals, and so they declared war on the threat Austria. -
Robespierre's Reign of Terror Begins
The First French Republic has been established, and the Reign of Terror officially begins. There are thousands of death sentences all over French in the next few years. -
Louis XVI is executed at the guillotine
The king is executed by guillotine, sentenced there by an almost unanimous vote from the National Assembly. -
The Directory is Installed
This new government is put in place in the middle of the revolution, and only lasts four years until 1799. -
The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
This document was adopted by the National Assembly as a stepping stone towards their goal of getting a new constitution for France. -
First and Second Estates join the Third Estate in the newly formed National Assembly
The wealthier estates abandoned the Estates General, opting instead to join the Third Estate at their National Assembly.
