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Day of the Tiles
Creditied as the start of the french revolution, Grenoble was the scene of unrest and financial hardship. Riots of merchant men and women rushed to the gates of the city to prevent judges from leaving the city who tok part in a Grenoble meeting. -
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Phase One
The beginning of the revolution sparked by many revolts and riots. -
The Third Estate declares a national assembly
The national assembly represented the common people of France and demanded that the king make economic reforms to insure that the people had food to eat. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate, took the Tennis Court Oath vowing "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". -
The storming of Bastille
Revolutionaries approached the Bastille and demanded that the military leader of the Bastille surrender the prison and hand over the gunpowder.They managed to get into the courtyard. Once inside the courtyard, they began to try and break into the main fortress. -
Declaration of the Rights of man and of the Citizen.
The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of man and of the Citizen. The rights of man are held to be universal. Valid at all times and in every place and it became the basis for a nation of free people protected equally by the law. -
Women's March on Versailles
A large group of women march from Paris to Versailles to demand lower bread and flour prices. They force the king and queen to move back to Paris. -
The Jacobin Club is formed
The Jacobins originated as the Club Breton at Versailles, where the deputies from Brittany met with deputies from other parts of France to concert their action. They eventually became identified with extreme egalitarianism and violence and which led the Revolutionary government. -
Flight to Varennes
King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their family unsuccessfully attempted to escape from Paris in order to counter the revolution. They escaped only as far as the town of Varennes, where they were arrested and returned to France. -
King Louis XVI signs the new constitution
France now had a constitutional monarchy but the monarch had shown no faith in the constitution. therefore the constitution was already compromised by king's betrayal. -
The Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France that provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention. -
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Phase Two
New reforms and ideas were created, the monarchy fell, and thousands of people were killed by the guillotine. -
National convention abolishes monarchy
The Legislative Assembly votes to abolish the monarchy and make France a republic, one year after King Louis XVI reluctantly approved the new constitution that stripped him of alot of his power. -
The king is executed
The day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in Paris. -
The War of the First Coalition
Despite the collective strength of Austria, Prussia, Britain, Holland and Spain compared with France, they were not really allied and fought without much coordination. Each power had its eye on a different part of France it wanted to appropriate after a French defeat which never occurred. -
Counter revolution revolt in the Vendee begins
The War in the Vendee was an uprising in the Vendee region of France that was considered by the Jacobin government in Paris to be counter-revolutionary and Royalist. The uprising was led by the newly formed Catholic and Royal Army. -
Reign of Terror
The revolutionary government was in crisis and France was being attacked by foreign countries on all sides and civil war was breaking out in many regions. Radicals took over the government and started the Reign of Terror. They arrested and executed anyone who they suspected might not be loyal to the revolution -
Levy-in-Mass instituted
In the face of invasion, able-bodied men aged 18 to 25 were conscripted. It formed an integral part of the creation of national identity, making it distinct from forms of conscription which had existed before this date. Similar to what we have in America known as "The Draft." -
execution of Marie Antoinette
After Louis XVI was put on trial for treason and executed, the campaign against Marie Antoinette grew stronger. She lost custody of her son, who was forced to accuse her of sexual abuse before a Revolutionary tribunal. She was convicted of treason and sent to the guillotine. -
Battle of Fleurus
The battle of Fleurus was the decisive battle in the two year long campaign in the Netherlands between the forces of revolutionary France and the powers of the First Coalition. By the end of the year, the French had conquered most of the Netherlands. The defensive phase of the Revolutionary Wars was over -
maximilien Robespierre executed
Robespierre and his allies were placed under arrest by the National Assembly. When he received word that the National Convention had declared him an outlaw, he shot himself in the head but only wounded his jaw. Shortly after, the National Convention attacked the Hotel he was at and seized Robespierre and his followers. The next day, Robespierre and some others were guillotined. The Reign of Terror was coming to an end. -
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Phase Three
A third constitiution was created and leadershiphad begun to corrupt. -
Chuches reopened/ separation of church and State
Dechristianisation had forced religion into the privacy of the home. So France announced the formal separation of Church and State. Churches were reopened, refractory priests were released from jail, and priests were permitted to practice religion on the condition that they promised to respect the laws of the Republic. -
New constitution is adopted, constitution of the year III
The Constitution of the Year III is the constitution that founded the Directory. Adopted by the Convention, it's preamble is the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and of the Citizen.
The Constitution established a liberal republic with a franchise based on tax paying.The central government maintained power, including powers to curb freedom of the press and of association and included an explicit ban on slavery. -
Napoleon's "Whiff of Grapeshot"
He saved the revolutionary government by dispersing a group of rioting citizens by using his "Whiff of grapeshot." He loaded a bunch of pellets into a cannon and fired it at the crowd. The French government was saved, but they decided to form a new government called the Directory. -
Napoleon's takes control of the Italian Army
Napoleon arrived in Italy and took command. The conditions he found upon arrival were unexpected as the army was falling apart. He court martialed the commander and disbanded the unit. Napoleon showed his skills by turning the mob that was the french army in Italy into an effective force. For this reason, many classified him as a hero. -
The Battle of Lodi
The Battle of Lodi was fought between French forces under Napoleon and an Austrian rear guard led at Lodi, Lombardy. The rear guard was defeated, but the main body of the Austrian Army had time to retreat. -
The Treaty of Leoben
The Treaty of Leoben was a preliminary peace agreement between the Holy Roman Empire and the First French Republic that ended the War of the First Coalition. It was signed by Emperor Francis II and Napoleon Bonaparte on behalf of the French Directory. Ratifications were exchanged in Montebello and the treaty came into effect immediately. -
Coup d'etat removes royalists from Directory
The war embittered existing conflicts between the Directory and the legislative councils in France and gave rise to new ones. These disputes were settled by coups d'etat, which removed the royalists from the Directory and from the councils, in which Bonaparte abolished the Directory and became the leader of France. -
Treaty of Campo Formio
The treaty of Campo Formio was a peace settlement between France and Austria, signed at Campo Formio, following the defeat of Austria in Napoleon Bonaparte’s first Italian campaign.The treaty preserved most of the French conquests and marked the completion of Napoleon’s victory over the First Coalition. -
French campaign in Egypt and Syria
The French campaign in Egypt and Syria was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, in attempt to defend French trade interests, weaken Britain's access to British India, and to establish scientific enterprise in the region. -
the battle of the Pyramids
The Battle of the Pyramids, was a major engagement during the French invasion of Egypt. The French army under Napoleon scored a decisive victory against the forces of the local rulers, wiping out almost the entire Egyptian army. -
The battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic on the Mediterranean coast off the Nile of Egypt. The battle was the climax of a naval campaign that had raged across the Mediterranean,as a large French convoy sailed from carrying an expeditionary force under Napoleon. The British fleet defeated the French. -
the second Coalition
The second coalition comprised Turkey, England, Austria, Russia. European armies were successful, a Russo Austrian army drove the French out of Italy and Britain, under the Duke of York, drove the French out of Holland. An attack was planned on France, by Britain, Austria and Russia. -
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Phase Four
Napoleon Bonaparte gained power throughout france and led the French army and was considered a hero by many. He lost the battle at waterloo and was eventually exiled and killed. -
Napoleon takes control
After France's misfortunes in war, Napolean returned. Napolean planned a military coup to topple the Directory. Napolean overthrew the Directory, dissolved the legislature, and instituded himslef as the leader of his dictatorship. He ended the French Revolution. -
Abolishment of the Directory
The Directory was a government in decline, it was corrupt and hated by the French. Some of the Directors solicited Bonaparte’s return from Egypt, who agreed to help them overthrow the government. The constitution for a new government was passed. Revealing his political ambitions, Bonaparte imposed himself as candidate for First Consul. -
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom. It was signed in the city of Amiens and the consequent peace lasted only one year. Under the treaty, Britain recognised the French Republic and it marked the end of the Second Coalition. -
New war with Britain
Britain declared war on France, and would remain at war for over a decade. During this period, Napoleon and British leaders concentrated on European affairs, but the conflict moved over into the Atlantic. -
Napoleon becomes emperor
The coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French took place at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Napoleon wanted to establish the legitimacy of his imperial reign, with it's new royal family and new nobility. -
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a conflict between Napoleon's army and Spain for control of the Iberian Peninsula. The war began when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal and escalated when France turned on Spain. -
French invasion of Russia
The French invaded Russia in an attempt to engage and defeat the Russian army. Napoleon hoped to compel the Tsar Alexander I to cease trading with British merchants in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. -
The hundred days
The Hundred Days marked the period between Napoleon's return from exile on the island of Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought, near Waterloo then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition, a British led allied army and a Prussian army. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. -
Napoleon Died
Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa after the deafeat at Waterloo. He later died, most likely of stomach cancer, and his body was returned to Paris.