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It originated in the French Revolution. Representatives of the Third Estate, seeking greater efficiency, began meeting separately on May 11, forming the Communes, and invited the other Estates to join. At the proposal of Abbé Sieyès, the Communes declared themselves the National Assembly. From this moment on, the Third Estate was considered a legitimate authority on par with the King. It was formally known as the National Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a constitution for France.
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They were a representative assembly which combined the three estates of France: clergy, nobility, and commoners. The Estates General met at Versailles to discuss the long-lasting economic and social issues of the kingdom. The Third Estate proposed to vote by head, granting them greater power, while the other two made a case to vote by order. This confrontation led to the foundation of the National Assembly and the commitment to write a new constitutional arrangement. -
It was lent by members of the French Third Estate on a royal tennis court. The Estates had been convened to resolve the country's fiscal and agricultural crisis. The deputies of the Third Estate knew they would be outvoted by the Church and the nobles. They found themselves excluded from their usual meeting room. So they called another one on June 20th and stipulated that they would not move from there until they established a constitution for France. -
On July 14, 1789, about 900 Parisians assembled and made the decision to attack the Bastille due to their fear that the king would take action against the National Assembly. Inside the Bastille were only 82 invalid soldiers. The governor of the Bastille called for assistance, but only 32 more men joined him. Knowing their situation, the defenders attempted to protect the weapons and raised the drawbridge. By noon, the crowd broke into the Bastille and took it. -
The National Assembly wanted to demonstrate its dedication to the people, and therefore wanted to ensure the achievements of the revolution, so they created the August Decrees to end feudalism. They ended both the manorial rights of the Second Estate and the tithes collected by the First Estate. -
Convinced that the human rights were being ignored, they decided to proclaim the Rights of Man in a formal declaration. It became one of the key symbols of the French Revolution’s ideals. The later declarations of 1793 and 1795 were lost, leaving only the 1789 version, which went on to inspire similar movements across Europe. -
The French Revolution's parliament was the Legislative Assembly, which was organized in September 1791, and was active until it was replaced by the National Convention which entered the First Republic on September 20, 1792. A left-right political system was created during this time that continues to this day.
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The king and his family attempted to leave France for Montmédy after being under house arrest, also due to the newly radicalized nature of the revolution. However, they were captured because a local postman from Varennes recognized them. They were then taken to Paris under guard, and four years later, the king was executed. -
It was the constituent assembly of France, succeeding the National Constituent Assembly. The Convention was a single parliament, elected by almost all men. During its mandate, the Convention approved the abolition of the monarchy and the proclamation of the Republic. In late 1793, the Committee, dominated by Maximilien Robespierre and his allies, imposed a regime of terror. After Robespierre's fall, they regained control and then created a new constitution in 1795.
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As there was a revolution in France, Austria wanted to continue having a king, so they declared war on them. As France wanted to expand its independence to other countries, they declared war on them so that the revolution would expand, not to gain territory, because now wars were not waged to gain territory, but rather to expand the revolution to other countries. -
They invaded the Tuileries Palace because the king ordered certain laws passed by the legislative assembly to be void, along with the Brunswick Manifesto, declaring that they would not harm the French royal family, thus a group of armed rebels went to raid the Tuileries Palace, where they encountered the Swiss Guard. The king then figured that it was prudent to flee through the tunnels. -
The king was executed four days after his trial by a simple majority vote. The man who carried out the execution had previously served as the royal executioner under the king’s reign and later became the executioner of the First French Republic. He was beheaded by guillotine in the town square, for the first time in a thousand years, France was no longer ruled by a king. -
Known as the Coup of 9 Thermidor, it marked the end of the Jacobin reign. Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety planned a public repression in which hundreds of thousands of citizens were arrested for suspected counterrevolutionary activities. Robespierre gave a speech the next day, along with his allies, to say nothing of their names. On the 28th, he was executed by guillotine along with some of his allies without trial. -
Was the system of government established in France. Its political structure included a bicameral legislative branch, the Corpus Legislative. During its early years, the Directory focused on ending the excesses of the Jacobin Terror, but political instability continued. France remained at war with various European coalitions. Under Bonaparte's command, French armies conquered much of Italy. These conquests brought a lot of money and works of art. Directory kept key Revolutionary reforms.
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This was the French government that came after the coup during the French Revolution. The Constitution of the Year VIII set up an executive with three consuls, but Napoleon was the first consul, leaving the other two with very little power. The ideas of representation and the parliament’s control were ignored. In 1804, Napoleon ended the Consulate by making himself emperor, creating his personal dictatorship.
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It was a historic empire. This government ended the Consulate and strengthened Napoleon’s personal power. It lasted until Louis XVIII came back after France was defeated by the European powers. However, Napoleon returned for a short time during the Hundred Days until his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Its fall ended French dominance in Europe and started the Bourbon Restoration.
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known as the Battle of the Three Emperors. He moved his army from the north toward the Allies to pursue them, ordered a retreat, and feigned weakness in order to tempt them. While this happened the right flank of the Allies was exposed to attack, giving the right flank a chance to collapse and be surrounded. After the loss, Emperor Francis I of Austria asked for a fure in the fighting, which began the steps toward the Treaty of Pressburg. Austria exited from the war, and lost territory. -
It was a naval battle during the War of the Third Coalition between the British Royal Navy, under Lord Nelson, and a combined French and Spanish fleet. The Spanish and French had 33 ships, while the British only had 27. Nelson used a tactic of dividing his troops into two perpendicular lines to break up the enemy's line and better attack them. Nelson was mortally wounded by a sniper's shot and died shortly before the end of the battle, but convinced of his complete victory. -
Also called the Battle of the Nations, it was Napoleon’s big defeat. This important battle was between the armies of the Sixth Coalition. It took place in Leipzig. Napoleon tried a new attack in Germany, but he could not reach Berlin and had to go back. The Allied armies tried to block his communication lines. They fought hard but could not completely beat him. In the end, Napoleon had to retreat. -
It was Napoleon’s last defeat and ended 23 years of wars. The French Imperial Army fought against the Seventh Coalition. Napoleon tried to beat the enemy armies one by one before they could join. He defeated the Prussians and held back the Allies for a time, but when they attacked, Wellington’s army stopped the French until the Allies arrived and beat Napoleon. Four days later, Napoleon gave up power for the second time and was sent into permanent exile on an island.