The French Revolution

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    National Constituent Assembly

  • Formal opening of the Estates General

    Formal opening of the Estates General
    On 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution. On 4 May 1789 the last grand ceremony of the Ancien Régime was held in Versailles: the procession of the Estates General. From all over France, 1,200 deputies hadarrivedfor the event.
  • Tennis Court Oath

    Tennis Court Oath
    The founding act of French democracy took place at the very beginning of the Revolution, just a stone’s throw from the monarchic seat of power. On 20 June 1789, in the Real Tennis Room, not far from the Palace of Versailles, the deputies swore never to separate until they had given France a Constitution.
  • Storming of the Bastille

    Storming of the Bastille
    TheStorming of the Bastilleoccurred inParis,France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents attempted to storm and seize control of the medievalarmoury,fortressandpolitical prisonknown as theBastille.
  • The August Decrees

    The August Decrees
    The decrees of 4 August 1789, also known as theAugust Decrees, were a set of 19 articles passed by the National Constituent Assembly during theFrench Revolution which abolishedfeudalismin France and ended the tax exemption privileges of the upper classes.
  • The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

    The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
    Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,one of the basic charters of human liberties, containing the principles that inspired the French Revolution. Its 17 articles, adopted between August 20 and August 26, 1789, by France's National Assembly, served as the preamble to the Constitution of 1791
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    Legislative Assembly

  • The Flight to Varennes

    The Flight to Varennes
    The Flight toVarennes, or the royal family's unsuccessful escape from Paris during the night of June 20-21, 1791,undermined the credibility of the king as a constitutional monarch and eventually led to the escalation of the crisis and the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
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    National Convention

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    1st French Republic

  • The Assembly declares war on Austria

    The Assembly declares war on Austria
    TheFrench Revolutionary Warsbegan on 20 April 1792 when the French Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. This launched theWar of the First Coalition. The Kingdom of Great Britain, Spain, Portugal and Dutch Republic joined the coalition due to King Louis XVI being executed.
  • Storming of the Tuileries Palace

    Storming of the Tuileries Palace
    TheStorming of the TuileriesPalace, also commonly known as the Insurrection of 10 August, was a defining moment in theFrench Revolutionthat saw the armed revolutionaries ofParisinvade the residence of KingLouis XVI of France and massacre his Swiss Guards. The event effectively abolished France's monarchy, ushering in a new phase in the Revolution.
  • Execution of Louis XVI

    Execution of Louis XVI
    By a single vote, Louis was sentenced to death, "within twenty–four hours." Thus, on 21 January 1793, Louis Capet, formerly King of France was beheaded by the guillotine. For the first time in a thousand years, the French people were not ruled by a monarch.
  • Execution of Robespierre

    Execution of Robespierre
    The soldiers of theNational Conventionattacked the Hôtel de Ville and easily seized Robespierre and his followers. In the evening of 10 Thermidor, the first 22 of those condemned, including Robespierre, were guillotined before a cheering mob on the Place de la Révolution.
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