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Calling of the Estates General
King Louis XVI summoned the Estates General to discuss the financial difficulties of France. The Third Estates made up of the commoners, wanted equal votes, whereas the Second and First Estates favored weighting based on class. -
Tennis Court Oath
Members of the Third Estate gathered around the Tennis Court and took an oath opposing monarchy and King Louis XVI. After June, the Estates General became the National Constitutional Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante), creating a constitution. -
Storming of the Bastille
Louis XVI fired his minister of finance, Necker, causing insurrection among Parisians. The partisans of the Third Estate in France, under the control of the Bourgeois Militia of Paris, stormed the Bastille, a representation of the French royal tyranny. This day is recognized as the national day of France. -
March on Versailles
Women marched for an increase in the price of bread. Then, others joined, creating a group of mobs. The people forced the royal family to return to Paris. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Marquis de Lafayette drafted the declaration with ideas from Thomas Jefferson. It emerged largely from the ideals of the Enlightenment. It provided the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law. -
Flight to Varennes
King Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee the country in light of the revolutionary movement. However, they were caught before they could leave. This led to the eventual conviction of Louis XVI for treason. -
Abolition of Monarchy
The National Convention of France announced that the monarchy was officially abolished in France. The French First Republic was born. -
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Reign of Terror
The exact time when the Reign of Terror started is under debate. But, in this time period, many massacres and public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervor and anticlerical sentiment, sentencing more than 16k people to death. -
Execution of Louis XVI
King Louis XVI was convicted of treason and executed on this day. Some at the time see this as a symbol of the end of absolute monarchy. -
Napoleon coup d'etat
This is viewed by many historians as the end of the French Revolution as it will eventually lead to the coronation of Napoleon. This is the start of the First French Empire.