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The Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was significant because it showed the growing unrest against Louis XVI and laid the foundation for later events, including: the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the storming of the Bastille. -
Storming of the Bastille
a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. When the prison governor refused to comply, the mob charged and, after a violent battle, eventually took hold of the building. -
Abolition of Feudalism
The abolition of the feudal system took place during the famous night session of the National Assembly on August 4th 1789. It decrees that, among the existing rights and dues, both feudal and censuel, all those originating in or representing real or personal serfdom shall be abolished without indemnification. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution. The Declaration was originally drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette, in consultation with Thomas Jefferson. -
Women’s March on Versailles
It was also known as the October March, the October Days, or the March on Versailles. This became one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, eventually forcing the royals to return to Paris. -
Royal Flight to Varennes
The flight to Varennes describes the royal family's failed attempt to escape their house arrest in Paris in June 1791. The flight to Varennes was a turning point in the French Revolution because it exposed the untrustworthiness of the king and the unworkability of the newly implemented constitution. -
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Great Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Russia, and several other monarchies. -
Execution of King Louis XVI
King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine. Louis had failed to address France's financial problems, instigating the French Revolution that eventually descended upon him. He made matters worse by often escaping to more pleasurable activities like hunting and locksmithing. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror, commonly The Terror, was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place. It began with the overthrow of the Girondins and the ascendancy of the Jacobins under Robespierre. -
Coup of 18th Brumaire
The Coup of 18 Brumaire brought General Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France and in the view of most historians ended the French Revolution. This bloodless coup d'état overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate.