Brief summary: Towards the end of the 18th century France suffered from financial problems so King Louis XVI convened a parliament called the Estates General . The Estates General pushed aside the king and abolished the privileges of the nobility and the clergy . The revolutionaries who did this then began to argue among themselves, and many were killed in a time known as the Terror . Other countries tried to take advantage of France's troubles and invaded with their armies. During the internal and external fighting, Napoleon took control of the country and later became emperor.
Longer summary A: Before the revolution France was an absolute monarchy . This means that the king had the power to make all the decisions about how to run the country. French kings held their court at Versailles near Paris, surrounded by many members of the nobility (the Second Estate) who advised them and helped them with their daily ceremonies. The nobility were the landowners and had many privileges, such as being able to become officers in the king's army and not having to pay taxes. The clergy (the First Estate) also enjoyed many privileges. Below them came the bourgeoisie or middle class (the Third Estate) containing people such as merchants, bankers, lawyers and doctors.
Longer summary C: The members of this group were in many cases richer and better educated than those of the first two estates and they were unhappy that they didn't have the same social , economic and political privileges. At the bottom of French society were the peasants who had to work on the nobles' land for no pay in what was called the feudal system.
Longer summary D: Towards the end of the eighteenth century France suffered from very serious economic problems which were caused by wars, the assistance given to Asmerican Revolutionaries and bad financial management. When these problems grew worse King Louis XVI, a rather weak man, was forced to call the Estates General, a parliament made up of the Three Estates that had not met for over 150 years. These three groups could not agree on the necessary reforms , including voting reforms, so the Third Estate proclaimed itself the National Assembly and gave itself the right to decide on taxation . he king took away their meeting place so they met in a Tennis Court and refused to leave until a constitution had been written.
Longer summary E: The king gave in to this and ordered the other two Estates to join the Third Estate. The parliament they formed was now called the National Constituent Assembly. At the same time as doing this the king ordered foreign troops to march to Paris and fired his popular minister of finance, Jacques Neckar. The working people of Paris were made angry by this and stormed the Bastille , which was a prison in the centre of Paris. Food shortages made the situation worse. Some time later a mob of angry, hungry women marched to Versailles and forced the king to return to Paris. All over the country there were revolts, as peasants attacked the lords and burned their castles. The king was alarmed by these revolts and tried to escape to Germany but was captured near the Luxembourg border and brought back to France. He was now seen as a traitor and imprisoned in the Tuileries .
Longer summary E: Shortly after this the Legislative Assembly replaced the National Constituent Assembly as the governing body of France. The Legislative Assembly contained groups of people with very different opinions on what reforms were necessary and how the country should be run. The problems of the country were made worse by battles with armies invading from Austria and Prussia and a civil war with the French province of the Vendée. To cope with these problems a group of 12 men called the Committee of Public Safety was formed. The committee was led by the Jacobins and supported by the sans-culottes .
Longer summary F: They tried to regain control of the country by deliberately causing terror in the people. Robespierre was the main supporter of the terror and argued for the execution of the king. He also sent Danton , a fellow revolutionary, to the guillotine. Robespierre himself was executed a short time later as the time of terror reached its climax. The Girondins , a more liberal government, took over, but it was weaker and unstable. Meanwhile the French armies were growing stronger and succeeded in throwing back the invaders from Austria and Prussia. During these battles a young soldier called Napoleon Bonaparte achieved great success and he eventually became Emperor.
Revolution Timeline 1:
| 1789 | |
| May 5 | King Louis XVI calls Estates General |
| June 20 | Tennis Court oath |
| July 9 | Proclamation of National Constituent assembly |
| July 14 | Storming of the Bastille |
Revolution Timeline 1:
| August 4 | Abolition of privileges |
| August 26 | Declaration of Rights of Man (Liberty, Equality , Fraternity) |
| October 26 | King is forced to return to Paris |
| 1791 | |
| June 20 | King tries to escape to Austria; captured at Varennes |
Revolution Timeline 1:
| October 1 | First meeting of Legislative Assembly |
| 1792 | |
| April 20 | Declaration of war on Austria |
| August 10 | King imprisoned |
| September 21 | First meeting of Convention; proclamation of Republic |
| 1793 | |
| January 21 | King Louis XVI executed |
| September 5 | The Terror |
Revolution Timeline 1:
| 1794 | |
| April 5 | Danton executed |
| July 28 | Fall of Robespierre |
| 1795 | |
| October 5 | Napoleon stops royalist coup |
| 1799 | |
| November 9 | Napoleon takes control of country |