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Period: to
Begin and end of the French Revolution
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The National Assembly
On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate agreed to Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès’s idea of naming themselves the National Assembly and pass laws and reforms in the name of the French people. This vote was the first deliberate act of revolution and the end of absolute monarchy. France was officially a representative government. -
The fall of the Bastille
People thought that Louis intended to use military force to dismiss the National Assembly. Others charged that the foreign troops were coming to Paris to massacre French citizens. In response, citizens began to gather weapons to defend the city against attack. On July 14, a mob searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille, a Paris prison. The rioters killed the prison commander and several guards, they then paraded around the streets with the dead men’s heads on pikes. -
A limited monarchy
In September 1791, the National Assembly completed the new constitution, which Louis reluctantly approved. The constitution created a limited constitutional monarchy. It stripped the king of much of his authority. It also created a new legislative body, the Legislative Assembly. This body had the power to create laws and to approve or reject declarations of war. However, the king still held the executive power to enforce laws. -
France is now a republic
Under pressure from radicals in the streets and among its members, the Legislative Assembly set aside the Constitution of 1791. It declared the king deposed, dissolved the assembly, and called for the election of a new legislature. This new governing body, the National Convention, took office on September 21. It quickly abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. -
France at War
Austria and Prussia urged the French to restore Louis to his position as an absolute monarch (they feared that similar revolts might break out in their own countries if they didn't stop changes taking place in France). The Legislative Assembly responded by declaring war in April 1792. -
The War Continues
At about the time the Convention took office, the French army won a stunning victory against the Austrians and Prussians at the Battle of Valmy. Early in 1793, however, Great Britain, Holland, and Spain joined Prussia and Austria against France. Forced to contend with so many enemies, the French suffered a string of defeats. -
King Louis XVI is sentenced to death
The National Convention had reduced Louis XVI’s role from that of a king to that of a common citizen and prisoner. Now, guided by radical Jacobins, it tried Louis for treason. The Convention found him guilty, and, by a very close vote, sentenced him to death. -
Robespierre Assumes Control
In July 1793, Robespierre became leader of the Committee of Public Safety. For the next year, Robespierre governed France virtually as a dictator, and the period of his rule became known as the Reign of Terror. -
Robespierre’s death
In July 1794, fearing for their own safety, some members of the National Convention turned on Robespierre. They demanded his arrest and execution. The Reign of Terror, the radical phase of the French Revolution, ended on July 28, 1794, when Robespierre went to the guillotine. -
The French Revolution ends and Napoleon rises
On November 9, 1799, Bonaparte staged a coup d'état (a removal and seizure of a government and its powers), abolishing the Directory (the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic) and appointing himself as France's “first consul.” The event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era.
