French Revolution

  • Hobbes writes Leviathan

    Hobbes 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory.
  • Locke writes Two Treatises of Government

    The Two Treatises of Government is a work of political philosophy published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke.
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    French and Indian War

  • Robespierre comes to power

    Robespierre comes to power
    He was a French lawyer, politician, and one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution.
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    The American Revolution

    The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America.
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    France experiences "The Great Fear"

    The "Great Fear" occurred from 20 July to 5 August 1789 in France at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring, and the grain supplies were now guarded by local militias due to rumors that bands of armed men were roaming the countryside.
  • August decrees

    The August Decrees were nineteen decrees made in August 1789 by the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution.
  • Committee of Public Safety is formed

    The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror, a stage of the French Revolution
  • National Assembly composes "The Declaration of the Rights of Man."

    National Assembly composes "The Declaration of the Rights of Man."
    The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen) is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal.
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    Reign of Louis XVI

    Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793.
  • Louis XVI attempts to escape

    The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution.
  • Legislative Assembly is created

    Legislative Assembly is created
    It 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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    France goes to war with Austria

    European nations feared the spread of revolutionary fervor from France and were highly critical of the new government in France threatening to intervene to restore the power of King
  • Louis XVI is executed

    Louis XVI is executed
    His execution made him the first victim of the Reign of Terror.
  • Jean Paul Marat is killed

    Jean Paul Marat is killed
    Jean-Paul Marat, born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution
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    France experience "Reign of Terror."

    The Reign of Terror was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution."
  • Robespierre is executed

    As a member of the Committee of Public Safety, he was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended a few months after his arrest and execution in July 1794
  • Calling of the Estates General

    Calling of the Estates General
    Summoned by King Louis XVI to propose solutions to his government's financial problems, the Estates-General sat for several weeks in May and June 1789 but came to an impasse as the three estates clashed over their respective powers.
  • Tennis Court Oath

    Tennis Court Oath
    The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du jeu de paume) was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power

    Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power
    Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815.