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National Assembly confiscates church lands
The National Assembly was dealing with a very serious financial crisis, so, they decided to do something about it. They took over all of the church ground. The Catholic Church owned the majority of the land in France, and the decision that the government made in doing this drew many people to hate them. Because they did this, they significantly reduced the power of the Catholic church, and took that power for themselves. Once it was officially the state's land, Priests were employed elsewhere. -
Estates General convene at Versailles
The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners, the last of Estates General of Kingdom of France. The assembly met to make important decisions. Because of the amount of them, they had a lot of power. For example, they had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. This meeting is actually known to be one of the reasons that the French Revolution started. -
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French Revolution Time span
The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France and its colonies beginning in 1789. -
Third Estate Declares itself the National Assembly
With the failure of efforts to reconcile the three estates, the Third Estate declared themselves redefined as the National Assembly, an assembly not of the estates but of the people. After the third estate learned that the royal decree granting double representation upheld the traditional voting by orders, representatives decided that they would just have their own meetings. The Third Estate declared themselves redefined as the National Assembly, an assembly not of estate but for the people. -
Storming of the Bastille occurs - signal of the start of the French Revolution
This violent attack on the government by the people of France signaled the start of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a fortress built in the early 14th century as a way of protection from the Hundred Years' War. Mainly the third estate stormed Bastille, and their reason for doing so was that they didn't want to be attacked, so they took it upon themselves to lead an attack against the government - as a way of proving that they were worth something and deserved a better lifestyle. -
National Assembly issues the Declaration of the Rights of Man
Defined individual and collective rights at the time of the French Revolution. This is basically the Declaration of Independence of France. In it, they expressed their feelings about certain things, such as Magna Carta. Beyond this, this Declaration shared some of the rights of men. Just as the Amendments in the Declaration of Independence does. In fact, the two documents have many of the same ideas/rights listed in them. This Declaration shows the people some of the things they can do. -
Women March on Versailles and force royal family to return to Paris
The Women's March on Versailles in October 1789 is often credited with forcing the royal court and family to move from the traditional seat of government in Versailles to Paris, a major and early turning point in the French Revolution. They marched and forced a royal family, King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie Antoinette, to go back to Paris. This is where they were originally from. The women held the march in order to send them to Paris where they believed the royal family truly belonged. -
Royal Family is arrested while trying to flee France
King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfully attempted to escape from Paris in the night. They were sent to France just two years earlier, having had been arrested at Versailles. This arrest took place on the day of the Women's march. They were sent away because the people wanted them to go to Paris. The family didn't want to be in Paris, though, so they decided to try to escape. It didn't work out for them and they were arrested for trying. -
France Declares War on Austria
France declared war on Austria in April of 1792. They did this because they thought that the war would potentially end with the two being unified. They had the idea that it would also help to spread the ideas from the Revolution all over Europe. There were several turning points - specifically the Battle of Valmy - which is known to be a huge turning point for French forces. The war ended in October of 1797, with France defeating Austria. The treaty of Campo Formio was signed, bringing peace. -
Louis XVI is Executed
One day after Louis was convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death, King Louis was executed by the guillotine. He took the throne of France in 1774, and had to immediately deal with some financial issues (it was sadly clear that he couldn't put up with them). Louis was the one to assemble the estates general, which consisted of all three of the estates. He tried to escape France and was caught. He was arrested once, and he ended his life by being sentenced to death. -
Robespierre is Executed
Robespierre is known to be an extremely harsh ruler. This is for one main reason; "The Rule of Terror." Robespierre was a person who cared a lot about the French Revolution - but he didn't want any of the ideas to escape France. He decided to make a rule that anyone who opposed the revolutionary government was arrested or executed. The guillotine was used, too. It is said that roughly sixteen thousand were executed, and about ten thousand more were either beaten to death or killed in prison. -
Napoleon Defeats Austrian Armies in Italy and returns Triumphant to Paris
He did this in the battle of Wagram. This battle ended with a costly but much needed victory for Napoleon and the French. Napoleon started the war with many quick evening attacks on the Austrians. Eventually the Austrians were able to hold their ground, but it was almost too late. Austrians tried attacking the French, and failed on one side, but were almost able to break through the left side. Roughly 80,000 people were killed, but, for Napoleon, who ended up winning the battle, it was worth it. -
Napoleon Overthrows the Directory and seizes power
Napoleon was able to bring together an unbeatable alliance that was able to overthrow the directory. Following the fall of Robespierre in July 1794, Napoleon, although closely associated with Robespierre, was released from the arrest within two weeks and asked to draw up plans to attack Italian positions in the context of France’s war with Austria. Well, he did just that, and defeated Austria, so it was time to do something bigger. Napoleon was successful in overthrowing the directory in 1799.
