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Napoleon's Birth
Napoleon is born in Corsica, a small island in the Mediterranean that was a new colony (from Italy) of France. -
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Bad Harvest
Bad Hail Storms led to food shortages, increases in food prices and unemployment. This led to the Bread Riots. -
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Louis XVI Overspends
King Louis XVI overspent on war and luxuries, not what grandpa Louis XIV told him to do, and he ran out of money, so he asked Parliament to raise taxes. Parliament refused telling him that it was tradition to call the Estates-General and register the law. -
The Estate-General Meets
The Estates-General meet in Versailles for the first time in 175 years. The 1st and 2nd Estates have 300 representatives while the 3rd Estate has 600, a process that was used in 1614. Each group had only 1 vote which made th 3rd Estate unhappy as they had the majority of the people. -
The National Assembly
The 3rd Estate formed the National Assembly, they were the people who decided that they needed a new Constitution. -
Tennis Court Oath
The National Assembly meet 3 days later to find themselves locked out of Versailles. They decided to meet in a nearby indoor tennis court where they agreed to continue to meet until a new Constitution was made. This agreement was called the Tennis Court Oath. -
Bastille Day
900 people of Paris stormed the Bastille, an old fortress used as a prison and armory, hoping to find weapons to fight the king with. They didn't find any weapons so they freed the prisoners and cut off the warden's head. This day is now a symbol of the Revolution. -
New Flag
France gets a new flag, the tricolored flag they have today. -
August Decree
The National Assembly abolishes the legal privilege of the first two Estates. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
Was inspired by the English Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. It gave people the freedom of speech and press, it made all men equal under natural rights, it based political positions on talent not position, and it made sure no group was exempt from taxes. -
Napoleon becomes Lieutenant
After graduating from military school Napoleon is named Lieutenant of a small unit of men. Before the fighting even starts all the men desert and go home. -
Women's March on Versailles
6,000-7,000 fishwives go to the market looking for bread for the day and find none, they begin to march to Versailles, along with revolutionaries, to fix this problem. Louis XVI accepts the August Decrees in hopes to pacify the crowd. -
King Louis XVI's arrest
After the women and revolutionaries marched to Versailles the king did not fix the problem, he didn't know what the problem was. So the women found their way into the castle, beat everyone, and killed some guards. They were on their way to kill the king when they were stopped by Marquis de Lafayette who told them they should instead arrest the king and take him to Paris. -
Constitution of 1791
It was the first of many Constitutions, it created a limited monarch allowing the people to see which social group was in charge.. There was still a king but the Legislative Assembly would make the laws. This provided a more Conservative approach to the government. There were both Active and Passive Citizens, Active citizens were given a direct vote while passive citizens received an indirect vote. -
The Legislative Assembly meets
The Legislative Assembly met for the first time in 1791 they divided that they could try the king in a court of law if he turned against them. They also decided to hold an election that fall. -
King Louis XVI is Beheaded
It was decided that king Louis XVI was to be killed. He was killed quickly, and efficiently with a new device- the guillotine. It showed people that anyone could die like royalty. -
Napoleon becomes Captain
Upon being promoted to Captain Napoleon returns to Paris only to see the Sans-Culotte attack. This attack causes Napoleon's disgust with the mob. -
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September Massacres
The September Massacres were a series of very violent attacks. Many radicals supported this violence, including journalist Jean-Paul Marat. -
The French Republic is Set Up
The National Convention ran the country and abolished the monarchy. In turn they set up the French Republic. -
New French Calendar
The years started in September. There were 12 months with new names. There were 10 day sin a week to eliminate the Sabbath or 7th day (Sunday). -
Committee of Public Safety
During this time the Committee of Public Safety gain broad powers due to external and internal issues. This led Maximilian Robespierre to a rise in power, which led to the Reign of Terror. -
Jean-Paul Marat's Death
Jean-Paul Marat was executed at his home, in his bathtub. -
Paris Mob Attack
In Paris a mob attacked the royal palace and the Legislative Assembly. They took the king captive and called for a National Convention, they demanded two things. They demanded food and a new Constitution. The new Constitution had to benefit more than the Bourgeoisie. This mob called themselves the Sans-Culottes, meaning without knee breeches. -
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was led by the Jacobins who were led by Robespierre with the support of the Sans-Culottes. They wanted to stop those opposing to the Revolution. It was seen as temporarily necessary. -
Napoleon is named Brigadier General
The Committee of Public Safety made him brigadier general and while in this position he put down many uprisings in Paris. -
Law of Prairial
1,300 people were executed under this law. It gave Robespierre more power than ever. -
The Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a Parliamentary revolt that happened on 9 Thermidor Year II. It resulted in the fall of Robespierre and the Reign of Terror ended. -
Maximilian Robespierre's Death
Robespierre is executed and the Jacobins lose power. This is ironic because they wanted him gone so the executions would stop. -
French Army
The French army now has over 1 million troops. They are now the biggest army Europe has ever seen up to this point. The troops are now common people fighting for change. -
The Prairial Uprising
The Sans-Culottes led this uprising. The directory sent troops to put it down. It is called the Prairial Uprising because Prairial was a month of the new calendar. -
Constitution of Year III
The Constitution of Year III gave the Legislative branch 2 houses, the Council of Elders and the Council of 500. The Council of Elders was the upper house of 250 that accepted and rejected law. While the Council of 500 was the lower house that drafted the laws. -
13 Vendémiaire
Royalists fight is the streets of Paris, Napoleon uses grapeshot to defeat them and becomes a hero. -
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French Directory
The directory was the executive branch of the French government. The Council of Elders chose 5 people from a list presented by the Council of 500 and those chosen are the directory. -
Napoleon becomes the General of the French Armies in Italy
Because of his background in Italy the Directory thought it was a good idea to station him there. While there he defeated the Papal States and Austria. -
Napoleon is put in charge of the invasion of Britain
Napoleon knew attempting to attack Britain was a bad idea so he didn't follow the order. Instead he decided to attack Egypt, but he lost terribly. He beat the news of the loss home and he lied to the Directory. The directory really needed the lie. -
The Triumvirate
Napoleon and 2 other men (clergy and a lawyer) decided they wanted to overthrow the government. This triumvirate didn't last long because Napoleon overthrew the other two. -
Coup of 18 Brumaire
Everything up to this lead to a coup d'etat by Napoleon. Napoleon has been using the Revolution to his advantage up to this point and he continues to use it. -
France is Officially Catholic Again
Napoleon made a deal with the pope saying that he would recognize Catholicism as the majority religion if the Church didn't ask for their lands back. -
Consul for Life
After Napoleon overthrew the other two men in the triumvirate he named himself the consul of life. Basically he let the people vote and they loved him and they agreed with the plan. -
The French Empire
Napoleon declared that the Republic is over and France is now an Empire, and he is the Emperor. -
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Master of Europe
Napoleon was viewed as the master of Europe after he defeated Prussia, Austria and Russia. -
Napoleon began to Fall
Napoleon lost his hold on Europe after Russia defied their orders to stop trading with Great Britain. -
Napoleon invades Russia
Russia refused to fight, instead they used the Scorched Earth Technique. When winter came there was no wood for Napoleon to use for fires and his soldiers died by the thousand. -
Napoleon retreats to Poland
After attempting to survive the bitter cold of Russian winter Napoleon and his remaining soldiers retreated to Poland. Only about 40,000 of the 600,000 soldiers made it that far. -
Paris is Taken
Napoleon was weakened a lot by the Russian invasion. He is exiled to the island of Elba by the rest of Europe. -
Napoleon Escapes from Elba
Napoleon returns to France and, with the help of the people, he builds an army. He readies his army to attack so he could build up his empire again. He started by attacking Belgium. -
The Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon fought with Britain and Prussia who were commanded by the Duke of Wellington. He lost horribly and was once again exiled, this time to St. Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic. -
Napoleon's Death
Napoleon died in St. Helen of stomach cancer. He left behind a Bourgeoisie and Enlightened world.
