French revolution

The French Revolution

By aarmstea

  • France leads Enlightenment

    France leads Enlightenment
    But the 3 estates (classes) had unequal power and property.The Nobles and clergy aren't interested in tax equity.

  • King Louis XVI Notably Weak Leadership

    King Louis XVI Notably Weak Leadership
    France is deep in debt. King Louis wife disliked due to extravagant spending.

  • Estates-General Meeting about Voting

    Estates-General Meeting about Voting
    The common people (majority of the population) wanted more representation in government. The clergy and nobles wanted to maintain their over-representation.

  • Angry Mob Capture Bastille Prison

    Angry Mob Capture Bastille Prison
    Rumors that French citizens would be attacked by foreign soldiers. King Louis attempted to enforce a compromise between the social classes.Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords

  • The Declaration of Rights of Men

    The Declaration of Rights of Men
    Most important ideas were freedom of speech,popular sovereignty and representative gov't.The French were influenced by,"...a statement of democratic principles grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau."(history.com)

  • King Louis Attempts to Flee the Country

    King Louis Attempts to Flee the Country
    At the beginning of the Revolution Louis XVI attempts to escape with his unpopular wife Marie Antoinette. Many people wanted him to amend the constitution.

  • King and Queen are Arrested

    King and Queen are Arrested
    The monarchy is abolished (eliminated). They were charged with treason because evidence was found that Louis XVI was against the French Revolution.

  • King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are Executed

    King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are Executed
    "Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine." (history.com)

  • Reign of Terror

    Reign of Terror
    For 10 months radical Jacobin's gathered and executed (via guillotine) individuals that were against the French Revolution. Maximilien de Robespierre ordered the majority of the executions.At 17,000 people were executed and many died in prison without a trial.

  • Maximilien de Robespierre is executed

    Maximilien de Robespierre is executed
    "His death marked the beginning of the Thermidorian Reaction, a moderate phase in which the French people revolted against the Reign of Terror’s excesses." (history.com)