The French Revolution

By amayaapol

  • Excessive spending and poor harvests lead to a financial crisis in France

    France had concurred a lot of debt from the Seven Years' War, but did not know how to fix it. France's inability to budget and the levying of taxes on the citizens of France (especially the Third Estate) caused a financial crisis that led to thoughts of rebellion and reformation. Added onto this problem was poor harvests which led to less money gained for all estates.

  • King Louis XVI calls the Estates General

    Due to the financial crisis in France, King Louis XVI called the Estates General to figure out how to fix the problem. The Estates General started out rocky, arguing about how voting should be conducted with most protests from the Third Estate. The arguing continued until the Third Estate took control of the Estates General and turned it into the National Assembly.

  • First and Second Estates join the Third Estate in the newly formed National Assembly

    Formed by the Third Estate after the Estates General could not agree on a way to vote. The National Assembly began to fix the financial crisis by working with capitalists and common people to get rid of the taxes previously created by the French government. However, the King was not pleased by this new creation.

  • The Tennis Court Oath

    An oath made by the Third Estate on a tennis court after being locked out of a General Estates meeting. Each member vowed "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established".

  • The storming of the Bastille

    A prison known as the Bastille was a sign of the monarchy that French commoners wished to break down. In what many say marked the beginning of the French Revolution, commoners stormed the Bastille in a successful attempt to seize the ammunition stored there. The raid ended with the governor's head carried around on a spike.

  • The Great Fear in the countryside

    The Great Fear was a series of riots caused by peasants who began to believe rumors about the monarchy attempting to upend the Third Estate. Many peasants began to arm themselves out of fear of losing their property and more violent peasants started to ransack and destroy the homes of aristocrats.

  • The Women’s March on Versailles

    With bread scarce and prices rising, women were unable to provide for their children whose diets were mostly based on bread. Because of this, they angrily began marching the streets demanding that bread prices be lowered. The group marched to Versailles and demanded to see the king and queen. The king met with a few marchers and promised them bread and other supplies. The queen was almost killed when she appeared until Lafayette protected her with a mere kiss on her hand to calm the crowd.

  • The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

    The National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen which declared a set of rights that every man deserved and would receive in France. Some rights include liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

  • The Constitution of 1791 sets up a constitutional monarchy in France

    The National Assembly created a the first constitution for France that protected the monarchy but gave most of the power to the Legislative Assembly. The constitution did not last long.

  • The Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria

    Both revolutionaries and the monarchy desired to start a war. Revolutionaries believed that they could use the war to spread revolutions to other countries and unite France as a nation. The monarchy believed that the new government would be destroyed in war so that the old government could rule once again.

  • Louis XVI is executed at the guillotine

    Louis XVI ascended the throne and inherited all of the debt his father and Louis XIV had accumulated. Unable to deal with this crisis, he reconvened the Estates General who also failed to make any progress due to bickering. In the end, Louis XIV was captured during the Revolution and kept in a cell to be beheaded by the National Convention.
  • Period: to

    Robespierre's Reign of Terror

    Peasants viewed Louis XVI as the cause of their problems and promptly voted on his death. The Reign of Terror was the time shortly after the Revolution before France's powers were put back into power. For example, economic and Christian values were professionally pursued.

  • The Directory is installed

    A five-member committee that governed France before Napoleon took over.