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The Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, was a key event of the French Revolution. Angry Parisians attacked the Bastille, a fortress-prison that symbolized royal oppression, to seize weapons and gunpowder. After hours of fighting, the fortress fell, showing that the king’s power could be challenged and helping spark the wider revolution. -
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The Haitian Revolution began in August 1791, when enslaved Africans in the French colony of Saint‑Domingue launched a coordinated uprising that would become the only successful large‑scale slave revolt in history. It marked the beginning of a 13‑year struggle that ultimately created the first independent Black republic. -
The execution of King Louis XVI took place on January 21, 1793, during the French Revolution. After being tried for treason, Louis was found guilty of conspiring against the revolution. He was executed by guillotine in Paris, marking the end of the monarchy and a decisive shift toward a French republic. -
The execution of Marie Antoinette occurred on October 16, 1793, during the French Revolution. After months of imprisonment, she was tried for treason and accused of conspiring against France. She was executed by guillotine in Paris, symbolizing the revolution’s final break from the old royal order. -
Napoleon’s forces captured Toussaint Louverture in June 1802, after luring him into negotiations and then arresting him under false pretenses. He was deported to France, where he died in captivity the following year. -
Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804. He crowned himself during a grand ceremony in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, symbolizing his control over France and the shift from republic to empire.