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Period: 1543 to
Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution was a transition from the Dark Ages to a new age of culture, education, new-beliefs, and logical thinking. It conflicted with the ideas during Feudalism, where everyone went to the Church (the Bible) for answers. Many things during the time went against the Church’s power and teaching slowly normalizing people thinking for themselves and changing their perspective on everyday life. The scientific revolution was a turn in humanity for scientific and medical advancements. -
Galileo Galilei supports the heliocentric theory
The Heliocentric Theory stated that the Earth actually not in the middle of the universe, which was taught as the Geocentric Theory, but actually orbiting around the Sun. During this time, everyone was taught not to question traditional beliefs, especially the ones that were supported by the government and the Church. One of these beliefs was the Geocentric Theory and when Galileo went against these beliefs, he set an example for people to start exploring and going against the church's beliefs. -
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English Civil War
The English Civil War was a battle between King Charles I against the parliament for control of England's government. This effectively ended the idea of the divine right of kings and was the beginning to a new government. -
Hobbes’s "Leviathan" is published
Hobbes, an influential enlightenment philosopher, explains the ideals of popular sovereignty and the social contract in "Leviathan", being one of the earliest and most influential pieces on the ideals. These basic fundamentals of government were later used in the reshaping of society and governments all of the world (across Europe and in the Americas). -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was fought for religious and political reasons in England, overthrowing the current government by removing them from power. This represented a transition from an absolute monarchy to a more limited monarchy (constitutional, for the parliament was established). -
Locke’s "Two Treatises on Government" is published
In Locke's "Two Treatises on Government", he was attempting to justify the Glorious Revolution and was an important part in spreading these ideals all over the world. He explains social contract, state of nature, equality, natural rights, self-determination, and popular sovereignty. This would later help support many other reshapings of governments to better support their wants and needs. -
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Enlightenment
During medieval times, people viewed humanity differently than the Enlightenment. In the Enlightenment, people saw that they could change the environment they lived in or whether they became bad or good. During medieval times, people believed that what was happening to them was because of God and that they could not change their environment or situation. The Enlightenment later influenced many events in history, the French Revolution being one. -
Diderot Publishes First Volumes of Encyclopedia
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Louis XVI’s reign
Louis XVI, a young ruler, incapable of governing his country, cared more about living a luxurious life than he did about politics, causing many citizens to question his abilities. While the Third Estate was suffering from starvation, Louis XVI continued to live a lavish and expensive lifestyle. Louis XVI did not take care of the economic hardships France was going through and was unsure of how to handle the issues. This angered the 3rd estate and was one of the leading causes of the revolution. -
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American Revolution
The 13 colonies ' victory over Great Britain had such a big impact on the French Revolution, for the French saw that a revolt could be successful despite the power and size of the opposing side, and that lasting change was possible. This can be seen as motivation, which only made the French Revolution inevitable. -
Lexington and Concord
The first battle in the American Revolution, the fact that the Americans lost this battle, showed the French that standing up against a major military power, the monarchy, was still worth a shot. It was an inspiration to not only the American militias but the French as well. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a pronouncement of the 13 colonies for independence from Great Britain, which used many of the Enlightenment Ideals to support its new government. The Declaration of Independence used the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness; equality; and the right to overthrow the government if seen fit. All of these ideas could be traced back to the Age of Enlightenment and showed that using these ideals could make a government function well. -
Declaration of Rights of Man
The DORMAC was a statement to the higher classes, showing the Third Estate’s non-support of some of the policies, and was not supported by King Louis XVI. The constitution adopted ideals like natural rights, equality, and resistance to oppression and made the third estate realize an opportunity for a better and more fair government. -
National Assembly is formed in France
This was a representation of the Third estate after being oppressed and deprived of their rights. The Third Estate felt stripped of their ability to make contributions when it came to politics and important matters. They had the same amount of voting power as the First and Second Estate, despite the fact that the Third Estate made up the majority of France. After the king and other estates rejected their request for more power, the Third Estate created the National Assembly. -
Tennis Court Oath
This proved that the third estate was willing to stand up to the other two estates by creating their own form of government. The document they created also lowered and nerfed the power of the monarchy, as this would make the government fairer. The event was a very important part of the French Revolution as the event is widely known to be the start of the revolution. -
Legislative Assembly is formed in France
The Legislative Assembly allowed for the king and queen’s powers to be checked, ensuring that no more unjust laws would be passed. This was the first time in France where the power of the monarch was limited and was one of the victories of the Third Estate. They were able to have an opinion in government, which then led to the split of factions in France. (Checks and balances). -
Bill of Rights signed
The Bill of Rights restricts the government's actions in order to protect the people's rights. A common belief during the Enlightenment was that one of the government's key jobs is to protect the people's rights of life, liberty, and property. It showed that these ideas carried on years after they were explained and brought up. -
Wollstonecraft’s "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" is published
This publication, arguing for equal rights between men and women says that with more rights and privileges, they could become capable workers in addition to being good housewives. This brought up the question of whether equality applied to both men and women, a highly controversial topic when brought up after the Enlightenment. -
Execution of Louis XVI
The execution of Louis XVI marked the end of the old regime and the rise of a new government where he was caught trying to escape and charged for treason. He was executed with his wife, Marie Antoinette. -
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Reign of Terror
A member from the committee of public safety known as Robspierre becomes one of the controlling members of government and his only goal is to eliminate anyone who is against the revolution, and he starts to turn into a dictator. This part of the revolution went against Enlightenment ideals and what the revolution stood for and was seen as one of the failures of the revolution. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
She was one of the factors of the start of the revolution, as one of the causes was that France was in debt as a Nation, yet the royals kept spending money on fashion/luxurious items for themselves instead of helping their people get out of debt. She also was known as Madame Deficit, as the people viewed her as a representative of all of France’s issues, and as soon as she was executed, it was seen as a victory against a symbol of the old regime. -
Napoleon’s coup
The coup overthrew the current government during the French Revolution, giving him a near-dictatorial position (First Consul). This worked because of the people's hope for stability and peace after the amount of violence they went through. This was seen as the end of the French Revolution.