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Louis XVI calls estates General
This assembly was composed of three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. -
Tennis Court Oath
representatives of the Third Estate, finding their usual meeting place locked, gathered in a tennis court and swore to not disband until France had a written constitution. -
Storming of the Bastille
a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille, a state prison and armory, in a pivotal event that marked the beginning of the French Revolution, symbolizing the people's uprising against royal authority -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
outlining fundamental human and civil rights and influencing the development of democratic ideals globally -
Louis XVI brought to Paris
was forced on June 21 to return to Paris after the Flight to Varennes on June 21 he was captured and returned on June 25, 1791 .In 1789, faced with a grave financial crisis, the king summoned a meeting of the Estates General at the palace. Later that year, ceding to popular pressure, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette left Versailles for Paris. -
Execution of Louis XVI
Following the abolition of the monarchy in September 1792, Louis XVI was put on trial by the National Convention in December of that year for treason and other charges. -
Committee of Public Safety created
Supplementing the Committee of General Defence, created early January 1793, the Committee of Public Safety was created on 6 April 1793 by the National Convention. It was charged with protecting the new republic against its foreign and domestic enemies, fighting the First Coalition and the Vendée revolt. -
Fall of Girondins
The "fall" of the Girondins, a key event in the French Revolution, occurred during the insurrection of May 31 – June 2, 1793, leading to their purge from the National Convention and the rise of the Montagnards. -
Death of Marat
Jean-Paul Marat (24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was one of the leaders of the Montagnards, a radical faction active during the French Revolution from the Reign of Terror to the Thermidorian Reaction. -
Reign of Terror Begins
The Reign of Terror was a period of state-sanctioned violence and mass executions during the French Revolution, where thousands of people suspected of being enemies of the Revolution were arrested and executed. -
Marie Antoinette was executed
Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793, after being found guilty of treason by the Revolutionary Tribunal, following a trial that began on October 14. -
Execution of Dantonists
after being accused of counter-revolutionary activities and for opposing the Reign of Terror, which they had previously helped establish. -
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction, which marked the end of the Reign of Terror in France, began on July 27, 1794 (9 Thermidor in the revolutionary calendar), with the arrest and execution of Maximilien Robespierre and other radical revolutionaries. -
Robiespierre executed
Thermidorian Reaction, in the French Revolution, the parliamentary revolt initiated on 9 Thermidor, year II (July 27, 1794), which resulted in the fall of Maximilien Robespierre and the collapse of revolutionary fervour and the Reign of Terror in France -
Constitution of the Year III
The Constitution of the Year III, adopted in 1795, established a liberal republic in France after the Reign of Terror, with a bicameral legislature and a five-member Directory as the executive, but it ultimately proved unstable and was overthrown in 1799. -
Napoleon saves the Directory
In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, rather than saving the Directory, orchestrated the Coup of 18 Brumaire, a bloodless coup d'état that overthrew the Directory and established the French Consulate, with Napoleon as First Consul, effectively ending the French Revolution and paving the way for his rise to power. -
Napoleon becomes First Consul
In a coup d'état on November 9, 1799 (18 Brumaire), Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, establishing the Consulate and becoming First Consul, effectively the leader of France, paving the way for his rise to Emperor. -
Fall of the Directory
The Directory, the government of France established in 1795, collapsed due to widespread corruption, economic instability, and a lack of public support, ultimately leading to Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état in 1799 and the establishment of the French Consulate. -
Napoleonic Code
The Napoleonic Code, or French Civil Code, enacted in 1804, was a comprehensive legal framework that unified French law, established equality before the law for all male citizens, and secured property rights, while also reinforcing patriarchal structures and reintroducing slavery in French colonies. -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor
On December 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I in a lavish ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, establishing the First French Empire and solidifying his power, with Pope Pius VII present but Napoleon famously seizing the crown from the Pope's hands and placing it on his own head. -
Napoleon invades Russia
In June 1812, Napoleon's Grande Armée invaded Russia, aiming to force Tsar Alexander I to rejoin the Continental System and end trade with Britain, but the campaign ended in a disastrous retreat for the French due to scorched-earth tactics, harsh winter conditions, and Russian resistance. but his defeat came later in December 1812, after the Battle of Berezina and the disastrous retreat from Moscow. -
Napoleon defeated in Russia
Napoleon's disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia, marked by a scorched-earth policy, the brutal winter, and logistical challenges, resulted in the near-total destruction of his Grande Armée, a major turning point that contributed to his eventual downfall. -
Napoleon exiled to Elba
After being forced to abdicate the French throne in 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, where he ruled as its sovereign for about a year before escaping and briefly regaining power in France. -
Napoleon escapes Elba
On February 26, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte, exiled to the island of Elba, made a daring escape, landing in southern France with a small force and initiating the "Hundred Days" that led to his brief return to power before his final defeat at Waterloo. -
Monarchy Restored
Following Napoleon's abdication in April 1814, the Bourbon monarchy was restored in France, with Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, ascending to the throne, marking the start of the Bourbon Restoration period.