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The Palace of Versailles was built in France. Construction work began immediately, led by architect Louis Le Vau. The Palace of Versailles was the residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. -
Versailles before the reign of Louis was mostly used as a royal hunting lodge. In 1661, he began expanding it into his personal palace. Upon its completion in 1682, Louis moved in and changed the capital from Paris to Versailles. -
In 1770 King Louis married Austrian archduchess Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. -
The French Revolution was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates-General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799.
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The Tennis Court Oath was a pledge that was signed in the early days of the French Revolution and was an important revolutionary act that displayed the belief that political authority came from the nation's people and not from the monarchy. -
The main reason why the rebel Parisians stormed the Bastille was not to free any prisoners but to get ammunition and arms. At the time, over 30,000 pounds of gunpowder was stored at the Bastille. ... This armed the Parisian rebels, allowing the possibility of a successful offensive attack -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, passed by France's National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is a fundamental document of the French Revolution that granted civil rights to some commoners, although it excluded a significant segment of the French population. -
In October 1789, thousands of Parisians, many of them women, embarked on a 12-mile march to Versailles, the residence of the French king Louis XVI and the National Constituent Assembly. Driven to desperation by food shortages, they hoped the king would intervene – but some had more sinister ambitions. -
Louis XVI was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as Citizen Louis Capet during the four months just before he was executed by guillotine -
The Reign of Terror, also called The Terror, was a period of violence and mass executions during the French Revolution. Between Sept. 5, 1793, and July 27, 1794, France's revolutionary government ordered the arrest and execution of thousands of people. -
Coup d'état overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. -
The Napoleonic Code made the authority of men over their families stronger, deprived women of any individual rights, and reduced the rights of illegitimate children. All male citizens were also granted equal rights under the law and the right to religious dissent, but colonial slavery was reintroduced. -
Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor and made Josephine Empress. He placed the crown on his own head, and then crowned Josephine Empress.
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Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor and made Josephine Empress. He placed the crown on his own head, and then crowned Josephine Empress. -
Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, granted freedom of religion, eliminated privileges based upon birth and demanded that government jobs be given to those most qualified to hold them.
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Napoleon failed to conquer Russia in 1812 for several reasons: faulty logistics, poor discipline, disease, and the weather.
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In October 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the remote, British-held island of Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean. He died there on May 5, 1821, at age 51, most likely from stomach cancer. -
The Battle of Waterloo was a conflict on June 18, 1815, during the Hundred Days, the period from Napoleon's escape from exile to the return of Louis XVIII.