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Storming of the Bastille
Fearing that Louis was going to drive out the National Assembly by force, the people of Paris took action and captured the Bastille prison. This event is known to have ignited the French Revolution. -
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The French Revolution and Napoleon
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National Assembly Formally Abolishes Feudalism
The assembly outlawed the tithe, canceled all feudal dues and services owed by peasants, and removed the privileges that the First and Second estates had previously enjoyed. By August 4, 1789, the National Assembly had formally done away with feudalism in France. -
The Constitution of 1791
In 1791 the National Assembly finished writing a constitution for France. This constitution, limited the authority of the king and divided the government into three branches-- executive, legislative, and judicial. -
The End of Monarchy
The Legislative Assembly suspended the office of the king, Armed Parisians marched on the Tuileries Palace, the Paris home of the royal family. They killed many of the king's guards and imprisoned Louis and his family in the Temple.The Commune now rules Paris, and the Legislative Assembly tried to govern France. -
The Reign of Terror Begins
Execution of Marie Antoinette</a>The Natioanl Convention took steps to meet the threat of invaders. It set up the Committee of Public Safety to direct the army in crushing foreign invaders. It also established a special court, the Revolutionary Tribunal, to try "enemies of the Revolution". This event formally began the the period know as the "Reign of Terror". Check out the beheading of Marie Antoinette: <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL-4pIctRjA' > -
Napoleon Takes Power
Napoleon and his fellow plotters seized power through a coup d'etat, French for a "stroke of state". As Napoleon would later say, "I found the crown of France lying on the ground, and picked it up with my sword." -
Napoleon as Emperor
Napoleon's supporters wanted to make his power permanent and herditary. In another pebiscite in 1804, the French people voted to declare France an empire. Napoleon became Emperor Napoleon I and his wife became Empress Josephine. -
The Reorganization of Europe
By 1809, Napoleon dominated Europe. He forced Austria and Prussia to sign peace treaties that benefited France, and Russia allied itself with France. He abolished the Holy Roman Empiure and unified the northern Italian states into the Kingdom of Italy, under his control. -
Catastrophe in Russia
Nappoleon recruited a Grand Army of 600,000 soldiers from all over his empiree. In 1812 this army began a long march east to Russa. The French eventually captured Moscow, but it was a hollow victory, because the Russians had destroyed housing and food storages before they left. Napoleon was forced to order a retreat on 12th of October, 1812, and only 12,000 would eventually make it back alive. -
The Battle of Waterloo
The allied and the French armies met at Waterloo. The British-- under the command of the Duke of Wellington-- and their Prussian allies dealt Napoleon his final defeat. Napoleon gave up the throne, and the Bourbon monarchs once again took power.
