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The Estates General were convened by King Louis XVI. They concluded when the Third Estate, along with some members of the other estates, formed the National Assembly and invited the other two estates to join. This marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
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The Tennis Court Oath was a key event in the French Revolution, taking place on June 20, 1789. Members of the Third Estate, excluded from the Estates-General, met on a tennis court and swore not to disband until they had drafted a new constitution for France. This act marked the beginning of the people's political power against the king.
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A National Constituent Assembly is a body of representatives assembled specifically to draft or adopt a new constitution. The term can refer to a specific historical body, such as the one in France during the Revolution 1789-1791, or a more general concept used by various countries, including China and Venezuela, to establish a new constitution.
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The Storming of the Bastille took place on July 14, 1789, in Paris. Parisians stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of King Louis XVI's absolute power, seeking weapons and gunpowder. The fall of the Bastille represented the people's struggle against tyranny and became a symbol of liberty and revolution in France.
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The August Decrees, passed by the French National Constituent Assembly between August 4 and 11, 1789, put an end to feudalism and eliminated the special privileges of the nobility and clergy. These 19 decrees were adopted in response to the Great Fear, a wave of peasant uprisings across France. They represented a major turning point in the French Revolution, promoting the idea of equality before the law and laying the foundation for future legal reforms, including the Napoleonic Code.
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted by the French National Constituent Assembly on August 26, 1789, was a key document of the French Revolution. Influenced by Enlightenment ideas and the American Revolution, it proclaimed that all men are born free and equal in rights, guaranteeing liberty, property, and security. It laid the foundation for modern democracy and inspired later human rights declarations worldwide. -
A legislative assembly is a body that makes laws, with the name being used for a national legislature or one of its houses. The term is used in various countries, such as the lower house of the Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales, and the provincial legislatures in Canada. Its main functions include creating laws, allocating funds for government operations, and scrutinizing the government's performance.
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The Flight to Varennes was the failed attempt by King Louis XVI and his family to escape Paris on the night of June 20–21, 1791. They planned to reach Montmédy, near the French border, to join royalist forces and regain control. The royal family was recognized and arrested in Varennes, destroying the king’s credibility and increasing distrust toward the monarchy, which helped push France further toward revolution and the eventual abolition of the monarchy.
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A National Convention can refer to different contexts. Historically, it was the French assembly that ruled from 1792 to 1795, ended the monarchy, and founded the First Republic during a time of deep political turmoil known as the Reign of Terror. In the United States, it denotes the major political parties’ national meetings held every four years to officially nominate presidential candidates and set the party’s platform.
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On April 20, 1792, the French Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars and the War of the First Coalition. The revolutionaries hoped to spread their ideals and defend France from foreign monarchies. The conflict intensified internal divisions and transformed the revolution, leading to greater radicalization and shaping the political future of both France and Europe.
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The Storming of the Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, was a turning point in the French Revolution. Thousands of armed revolutionaries attacked the royal residence in Paris, forcing King Louis XVI to seek refuge in the National Assembly. The event led to the suspension of the monarchy, the imprisonment of the royal family, and the establishment of the French Republic, marking the end of royal authority in France.
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The execution of Louis XVI, the last king of France before and during the French Revolution, was carried out publicly on January 21, 1793, in the Place de la Révolution, now known as the Place de la Concorde, in Paris. His death marked the end of the absolute monarchy in France and consolidated the Republic, deepening internal conflicts and provoking international reactions that would affect to the revolution.
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Maximilien Robespierre, the main leader of the Reign of Terror, was executed by guillotine on July 28, 1794, in the Place de la Révolution, now called Place de la Concorde, in Paris. His death marked the end of the radical phase of the French Revolution and led to the fall of the Jacobins, shifting power toward more moderate revolutionary forces.
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The Directory was a five-member executive government that led France from 1795 to 1799, marking the final phase of the French Revolution. Created under the Constitution of 1795 to bring stability after the Reign of Terror, it faced major challenges such as economic hardship, corruption, and political unrest. Its weakness made it unpopular, and it eventually fell when Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, giving rise to the consulate.
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The Consulate was the French government from 1799 to 1804, created after the Coup of 18 Brumaire that ended the Directory. It was formally ruled by three consuls, but actual authority rested with the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. He strengthened his control over France and used the Consulate as a path to power, eventually proclaiming himself Emperor in 1804 and bringing the revolutionary era to a close.
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The empire period refers to the First French Empire, which lasted from 1804 to 1814 under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. It came after the French Revolution but was distinct from it. The Revolution itself ended in 1799 when Napoleon took control through the Coup of 18 Brumaire and formed the Consulate, marking the transition from revolutionary government to imperial rule.
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The Battle of Austerlitz, in 1805, was a decisive victory for Napoleon I and the French Empire against the Russian and Austrian forces of the Third Coalition. Often regarded as Napoleon’s greatest tactical triumph, the battle ended the War of the Third Coalition, strengthened France’s dominance in Europe, and reshaped the continent’s political map.
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The Battle of Trafalgar, in 1805, was a decisive naval clash between the British Royal Navy and the combined French and Spanish fleets during the Napoleonic Wars. Fought off Cape Trafalgar, Spain, it ended in a major British victory, securing naval supremacy for Britain and preventing Napoleon from invading England, a dominance that lasted for more than a century.
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The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was the largest and bloodiest engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, as well as Napoleon Bonaparte's most significant defeat. 1813, in Leipzig, Saxony, it pitted French forces against a coalition of Russian, Prussian, Austrian, and Swedish troops, marking the beginning of the decline of Napoleonic dominance in Europe.
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The Battle of Waterloo, fought in 1815 near present-day Waterloo, Belgium, was the final and decisive defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Seventh Coalition. This battle ended the Napoleonic Wars, leading to Napoleon’s exile to Saint Helena and bringing a lasting peace to Europe under the reshaped balance of power established at the Congress of Vienna.