-
Meeting of the Estates General
The Estates General stemmed from a meeting that reunited an equal number of representatives from each Estate to solve this serious political crisis.
Everyone met at the Palace of Versailles to debate some major problems.
The Third Estate knew that this couldn't serve them as the First and the Second Estate, which represented only 3% of the population, would be able to vote every time against them. They decided to ask for double representation. -
National Assembly
The Third Estate, fed up with the King's decisions decided to constitute themselves as the National Assembly. It was aimed at representing the three Estates but without the supervision of the King. They called for the two other orders to join them. -
Stormig of the Battle
Revolutionaries and troops storm and dismantle the Bastille, a royal fortress that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the monarchy. -
Feudalism and division between estates end.
The delegates rose one by one to propose new reforms and to surrender class privileges.
The nobility and the clergy gave up their exemptions from taxation. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
It is a document that was composed by the National Assembly, influenced also by the idea of a "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human nature itself. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by law -
Bread Riots
The bread riots started long before the French Revolution, at least as early as 1724. However, as the century wore on, these riots grew more common. On July 14, 1789, a riot that started as a bread riot ended with the fall of the Bastille. -
Period: to
Assembly reforms France
The legal system was reformed in 1790 and was influenced greatly by the principles of the Enlightenment .There was to be a single legal system and new courts were introduced, run by elected and experienced magistrates and judge -
Period: to
Royal Family attempts to flee.
Louis XVI agreed to flee from the city. The plan was to travel to Montmedy, a fortress near the border with Germany that was garrisoned by royalist troops, but the king was recognised by a local postmaster -
Period: to
French Constitution 1971
French constitution created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting. -
Period: to
Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria and Prussia
Austrains had issued a declaration warning aganist harming French monarchs, so the Legislative army declared war. At first, the French armies were very disorganized but they progressed hroughout the war. -
Abolished the Monarchy
The proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy (French: Proclamation de l'abolition de la royauté) was a proclamation by the National Convention of France announcing that it had abolished the French monarchy on 21 September 1792. Their middle class origin and their political activity meant that most of them had no sympathy for the monarchy and the victory at the battle of Valmy on 20 September. -
Execution of Louis XVI
The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. It was a major event of the French Revolution. He was captured and condemned to death by a slight majority. His execution made him the first victim of the Reign of Terror.
