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Meeting of the Estates General
The first meeting since the early 1600s called by the king to solve Frances problems, the main issue being that France was in debt from going into war so often. There were three estates all represented by 1 person, the third and poorest estate making up 90% of the population -
Tennis Court Oath
The third estate had begun to call themselves the National Assembly, and took the Tennis Court Oath, "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established" and began to protest for more representation for the third estate. -
The Storming of Bastille
The National Assembly stormed the prison and armory known as Bastille to show the other estates that they were going to fight back, as Bastille represented military and royal authority, and was in the center of the city. -
Declaration of Rights
The Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen was passed by the National Assembly and was a key document in the French Revolution. -
March on Versailles
7,000 angry women armed with pitchforks, pikes, and muskets marched in the rain from Paris to Versailles to protest the high price of food. They ransacked the armory for weapons and marched all the way to the Palace of Versailles, and besieged upon the palace, successfully pressing demands on the king in a dramatic confrontation. -
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period of violence incited by conflict between two political parties, and was marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution". The death toll from the guillotine along was 16,594 -
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Rise of Napoleon
Napoleon rapidly rose through the military ranks during the French Revolution, seizing political power in 1799, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. -
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Congress of Vienna
A congress of European ambassadors that reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic wars -
The Fall of Napoleon
After a disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon was abdicated from the throne and exiled to Elba two years later. He returned to power in 1815, only to suffer another crushing defeat and once again be exiled.