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National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was a constituent assembly in the Kingdom of France formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789 during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly. -
Formal opening of the Estates General
The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. This assembly was composed of three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. The opening of the Estates General, on 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a key moment that set off the French Revolution. On June 20, 1789, the Tennis Court Oath was taken. There, the men of the National Assembly swore an oath never to stop meeting until a constitution had been established. -
Storming of the Bastille
storming of the Bastille, iconic conflict of the French Revolution. On July 14, 1789, fears that King Louis XVI was about to arrest France's newly constituted National Assembly led a crowd of Parisians to successfully besiege the Bastille, an old fortress that had been used since 1659 as a state prison. -
The August Decrees
The August Decrees were nineteen decrees made on 4–11 August 1789 by the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution. There were 18 decrees or articles adopted concerning the abolition of feudalism, other privileges of the nobility, and seigneurial rights. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, one of the basic charters of human liberties, containing the principles that inspired the French Revolution. Its 17 articles, adopted between August 20 and August 26, 1789, by France's National Assembly, served as the preamble to the Constitution of 1791. -
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Legislative Assembly
The legislature of France from October 1, 1791, to September 20, 1792, during the years of the French Revolution. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and the National Convention. -
The Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes, or the royal family's unsuccessful escape from Paris during the night of June 20-21, 1791, undermined the credibility of the king as a constitutional monarch and eventually led to the escalation of the crisis and the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. -
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1st French Republic
In the history of France, the First Republic, officially the French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire on 18 May 1804 under Napoleon, although the form of the government changed several times. -
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National Convention
National Convention, assembly that governed France from September 20, 1792, until October 26, 1795, during the most critical period of the French Revolution. The National Convention was elected to provide a new constitution for the country after the overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792). -
The Assambley declares war on Austria
The French Revolutionary Wars began on 20 April 1792 when the French Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. This launched the War of the First Coalition. -
Storming of the Tuileries Palace
The insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic. -
Execution of Louis XVI
After voting to find the King guiltythe deputies held a separate vote on his punishment.By a single vote,Louis was sentenced to death,"within twenty–four hours."Thus,on 21 January 1793,Louis Capet,formerly King of France was beheaded by the guillotine.For the first time in a thousand years,the French people were not ruled by a monarch.The passage below,from a letter by Philippe Pinel,describes the execution and shows great admiration for Louis’s serenity in the face of a humiliating,public death -
Execution of Robespierre
On July 27, 1794, Robespierre and a number of his followers were arrested at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd. -
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Directory
The Directory, a five-member committee that governed France from November 1795 to November 1799, failed to reform the disastrous economy, relied heavily on army and violence, and represented another turn towards dictatorship during the French Revolution.