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Proclaiming of the French National Assembly
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, clergyman sympathetic to the third estate of the estates-general, suggested that they rebrand themselves as the National Assembly and pass laws for the French people. In a vote, delegates from the Third Estate overwhelmingly agreed to establish the body, ending the state's absolute monarchy. -
Tennis Court Oath
On the morning of the 20th of June, the deputies of the recent National Assembly discovered that the chamber door was locked and guarded by soldiers. Determined, they congregated in a nearby tennis court, where they took the collective oath "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established" -
Storming of the Bastille
Due to the recent locking of the National assembly's chamber, rumors circled that the army would crackdown on the movement, and possibly massacre French civilians. Panicked, Parisians decided to search for arms and munitions to defend themselves. on the 14th of July, a mob stormed the Bastille, a prison, in search for said supplies -
Period: to
Great Fear
A general panic that took place at the start of the French Revolution, in a period of grain shortage. Rumors of conspiracies were widespread. -
Women's March on Versailles
On the 5th of October, Parisian women rioted over the rising price of bread. Carrying homemade weapons, they marched to Versailles, where they demanded that the National Assembly provide food, but later turned on the royal family, breaking into the palace and demanding they return to Paris. -
Flight to Varennes
King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family unsuccessfully attempted to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution near the border with the Austrian Netherlands, after which the revolutionary movement turned to full republicanism. -
French Constitution of 1791
On the 3rd of September 1791, the National Assembly completed the
new constitution and was approved by the king. The constitution created a limited constitutional monarchy, taking away much of the king´s authority and also creating a new legislative body––the
Legislative Assembly, which had the power to create
laws and to approve or reject declarations of war. -
King Deposed, National Convention
Under pressure from radicals, the Legislative Assembly set aside the Constitution, declaring the king deposed, and replacing the body with the National Convention, which took office on
September 21. It quickly abolished the monarchy and
declared France a republic. Adult male citizens were given the vote. Women were not able to vote despite their important role in the revolution. -
Execution of the King
On 15 January 1793, the Convention, with overwhelming evidence of Louis's collaboration with the invaders, he was declared guilty. The following day, a very close vote was held to determine the punishment of the former king. Louis was condemned to death by a majority of one vote. -
Robespierre Takes Control
Robespierre, a leader of the radical Jacobin club in the National Assembly, becomes the leader of the committee of public safety, which is tasked with protecting the revolution. His ideas on a republic of virtue guide him to remove many aspects of France´s past, and also starts the rain of terror. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
A period of multiple massacres and public executions in by frivolous accusations of treason by Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety. -
Robespierre is Executed
In July 1794, other members of the National Convention, scared for their own safety turned on
Robespierre, demanding his immediate execution. The Reign of Terror ended along with him on July 28,
1794, when Robespierre went to the guillotine.
