The French Revolution-Timeline
Call of the Estate General (May 5, 1789)
The French Revolution started because of King Louis XVI. France was losing a plethora of money and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The reason why they were in this state is because King Louis XV spent a lot of money; King Louis XVI lavishly spent money and during the American Revolution France gave a generous contribution. This series of events led up to the French Monarch convening to the Estate General to order a new land tax levy which the King hoped will ease his difficulty. The Estate General consisted of the clergy, the middleclass and the lower class citizens.
Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789)
On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate, led by Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, began to call themselves the National Assembly. On the morning of 20 June, the deputies were shocked to discover that the chamber door was locked and guarded by soldiers. Immediately fearing the worst and anxious that a royal attack by King Louis XVI was imminent, the deputies congregated in a nearby indoor tennis court where they took a solemn collective oath “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established”. This oath would come to have major significance in the revolution as the Third Estate would constantly continue to protest to have more representation.
Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)
The Bastille is a French prison which is located in Paris, France. On the afternoon of the 14th of July 1789 the Bastille was stormed by an angry and aggressive mob. The Bastille in during the French Revolution was a symbol of power and the monarchy’s dictatorial rule. The Bastille only held seven prisoners at the time but the mob didn’t come for them. They came for the huge ammunition storages that were kept in the prison. The governor wasn’t complying with the mob, so after a violent battle the mob seized control of the Bastille and the governor was killed with his head put on a spike for everyone to see.
March on Versailles (October 5-6, 1789)
The woman set out on a march from Paris to Versailles in the hopes to get bread for it was too expensive for them to buy. They were armed with pitchforks and pikes and muskets. To the beat of a drum, the woman chanted “Bread! Bread!”- for despite the fertile French soil, the populace of Paris were starving while The King and Marie Antoinette continued to feast at their salubrious country’s gaffe.
Royal Family attempts to flee (June 20, 1791)
The royal family attempted to flee Paris to Varennes. King Louis XVI realised that things were becoming too dangerous for them because of the Revolution. When they were caught in Varennes the trust of the revolutionary government to them faded completely and the revolutionary government became hostile towards to royal family.
Champ de mars massacre (July 17, 1791)
Champ de mars massacre wan an event when the citizens of France rallied against the decision of the National Constituent Assembly that King Louis XVI was still the king, even though he was under a constitution. This ended in a massacre.Two days before Champ de mars massacre, the National Constituent Assembly issued a decree that King Louis XVI would remain king under a constitutional monarchy. A constitutional monarchy is when the King or Queen doesn’t have absolute power. Instead they share the power with a constitution. A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.
The First invasion of the Tuileries (June 20, 1792)
This is one of the Revolutionary turning points. On this day a little more than three years after the attack on the Bastille, the people of Paris laid siege on the Tuileries. The Tuileries was the official home of King Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly.
Overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792)
The overthrow of the monarchy occurred on the 10th of August 1792. This was the day in which the French revolutionaries over threw the monarchy because they found Louis XVI guilty of treason.
Execution of the King (January 21, 1793)
This was the day that King Louis XVI was executed by the guillotine. The revolutionaries made Marie Antoinette watch as the King lost his head.
Reign of Terror (September 5 1793- July 28 1794)
The Reign of Terror was a period of about 6 months. The Reign of Terror was when most of the executions were done. It started after King Louis died and the first execution was Marie Antoinette. She was separated from King Louis and was just with her children. Her son Louis XVII suspiciously disappeared and they never saw him again.
Execution of the Queen (October 16, 1793)
This was the day that Marie Antoinette was executed by the guillotine. She was the first execution after the Reign of Terror started.
Execution of Robespierre (July 27 1794)
This was towards the end of the French Revolution. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was a lawyer, politician and one of the best know and one of the most influential people in the French Revolution. He was against the death penalty but he played the biggest role in the execution of King Louis XVI. Robespierre was a big figure in the French Revolution but he was like a dictator and a tyrant. The French people didn’t like him so the ordered his arrest. He was arrested alongside his brother, St-Just, François Hanriot, and Le Bas. They were trialed and sent to the guillotine the very next day.
The French Revolution- The cause
The French Revolution started because of King Louis XVI. France was losing a plethora of money and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The reason why they were in this state is because King Louis XV spent a lot of money; King Louis XVI lavishly spent money and during the American Revolution France gave a generous contribution. This series of events led up to the French Monarch convening to the Estate General to order a new land tax levy which the King hoped will ease his difficulty. But, was there more to play than his financial difficulty?
Some say that there are other causes that started the French Revolution. These causes aren’t just the political, economical and social problems. Some people say that The Enlightenment, Abuse of Absolutism, American Revolution and the Estates System. These aren’t the usual cause of a Revolution.
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was important. The ideas of the philosophers filtered into the Constitution that was written early on but the more radical parts of the revolution were motivated by a Paris mob (sans-culottes) who were not motivated by the Enlightenment anywhere near as much as the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie are middle class people who according to Marxist theory own the means of producing wealth and are regarded as exploiting the working class. Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis, originating from the mid-to-late 19th century works of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that analyses class relations and societal conflict using a materialist interpretation of historical development. The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution politically in that it effected what kind of France was to exist after the Fall of the Bastille and the Tennis Court Oath.
Abuse of Absolutism In France it was a monarchy. A monarchy is when there is a King or Queen who rules the country. The King or Queen had absolute power and had the last final in everything that happened. The political system was called the Ancien Règime which in English means Old Government. King Louis XVI abused his power by making unfair taxes and increasing the price and bread and other staples. The taxes were unfair because all the taxes were only applied to the lower class (peasants). They were the people with the smallest amount of money. This was one of the starting points of the French Revolution.
The American Revolution During the American Revolution, King Louis XVI spent a lump sum of money helping the Americans. This brought down the amount of money that the French had. Now, because of his hefty donations, he had to make a new tax. He couldn’t charge the aristocrats because they didn’t want to pay for paying for anything so he then had to charge the peasants and they weren’t too happy. This is another event that sparked the French Revolution.
The Estates System The Estates System was a bit like a parliament. It was made up of the clergy, the middle class and the third or lower class. The Estate System began a major problem. On the morning of 20 June, the deputies of the Third Estate were shocked to discover that the chamber door was locked and guarded by soldiers. Immediately fearing the worst and anxious that a royal attack by King Louis XVI was imminent, the deputies congregated in a nearby indoor tennis court where they took a solemn collective oath “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established”. This oath would come to have major significance in the revolution as the Third Estate would constantly continue to protest to have more representation.