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The meeting of the Estates General.
The Estates-General met in Versailles in May 1789. The meeting was chaired by the king and made up of representatives of the nobility, clergy and the Third Estate. The Third Estate representatives decided to leave the meeting when the privileged wanted to vote per state rather than per representative. -
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The Constitutional Monarchy.
The opposition to the Old Regime became more violent in July 1789, people attacked the Bastille and then, the nobles' homes were burnt (The Great Fear).
The National Constituent Assembly introduced several measures that eliminated the Old Regime: Abolition of the tithe and feudal rights, the publication of the DRMC, and the writing of the first Constitution of France. Once the Constitution was approved, a Legislative Assembly was formed and Louis XVI fled Paris because of the Austrian invasion. -
The stormed of the Bastille.
People stormed the Bastille on July 14. It is considered the symbol of the Revolution. -
Publication of The Declaration of women's rights.
This text is based on the main ideas of the Enlightenment, such as the popular sovereignty, freedom of expression and the equality between men and women. Its author was Olympe de Gouges. -
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The Social Republic.
This period was divided in 2:
·THE GIRONDIN CONVENTION.
·THE JACOBINS CONVENTION -
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The Girondin Convention.
They were the more moderate bourgeoisie. A new assembly, The National Convention, was elected by universal male suffrage. Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoniette were executed. In response, monarchies in Europe formed the First Coalition. -
Women's Clubs.
Women also founded their own clubs. At the meetings, the Assembly decrees were read and discussed. -
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The Jacobin Convention.
The Jacobins took advantage in June 1793. Robespierre became a dictator. His ruling was known as the Reign of Terror because he executed more than 20.000 people by guillotine during ten months. Robespierre started to lose support and in 1794 was executed by moderate revolutionaries. -
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The Conservative Republic: The Directory
The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the Revolution. A new Constitution (1795) granted executive power to a collegial government, known as the Directory. It was permanently inestable and Napoleon Bonaparte organised a coup in 1799 that ended the Directory. -
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Napoleon.
Napoleon was born in Corsica in August 1769 and he belongs to a high social class.
By the age of 27, he was a general. -
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The Consulate.
Napoleon's coup d'état was supported by a large part of the bourgeoisie. In 1799, Napoleon was named consul, and the Consulate's rule began. It was a period of autocratic and authoritarian rule. The public finance sector was reformed, and state schools (lyceés) were created to educate an elite of civil servants. Napoleon allowed exiles to return if they accepted the new government and signed a concordant. Napoleonic code was drawn up and the bank of France was created. -
Emperor.
Napoleon was crowned by the Pope in 1804 in Rome. -
Austerlitz
Napoleon defeated Austria and Russia at the battle of Austerlitz in 1805. -
Maritime blockage.
Napoleon set a maritime blockage against Great Britain in 1806. -
Invasion of Spain.
Napoleon invaded Spain and placed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as king in 1808. -
Failed invasion of Russia.
Napoleon sent an army of 500.000 men to Russia in 1812. After the winter, less than 100.000 French returned from Russia. -
Waterloo.
In 1815 Great Britain and Prussia defeated Napoleon and he was sent to exile into the island of Saint Helena. -
Restoration of the Monarchy.
After the defeating of Napoleon, Louis XVIII was crowned king.
Between 1814 and 1815, the powers that defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna and restored absolutism. They reshaped the European map to their advantage, but without considering the peoples and nationalist aspirations. After that, France returned to its borders of 1792. In 1815, the Holy Alliance Treaty was signed. In this treaty they promised that if any threat of liberal revolution returned they would unite against it.