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Louis XVI Summons the Estates General (5 May 1789)

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Louis XVI Summons the Estates General (5 May 1789)

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The revolution began shortly after King Louis XVI summoned the Estates General in order to address the national debt and subsequent tax skyrocketing. This summoning of the Estates General collected governing officials form all across France and separated them into three Estates: The Nobles, the Clergy, and the Commoners. The Commoners, realizing the other parties were going to conspire to give the highest taxes to the Commoners, would later start a new National Assembly to counter the upper classes and thus sparking the French Revolution.

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Creation of the First National Assembly (17 June 1789)

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Creation of the First National Assembly (17 June 1789)

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After realizing the nobles and the clergy were conspiring to throw the majority of the taxes onto the Commoners, the Commoners decided to hold a meeting at a tennis court in Versailles in which, since they already represented 96% of the French population, they declared themselves the National Assembly. This National Assembly immediately began demanding tax reforms from the French Crown to provide more money for the common people.

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After King Louis XVI had threatened to arrest the National Assembly for demanding radical tax reforms, citizens of Paris protested by storming the Bastille, a major prison complex that the French Crown had planned to use to imprison the National Assembly. The successfulness of the storming of the Bastille was an astounding representation of the decaying power of the French Crown and the growing power of the French people.

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To further lessen the power of the Nobility, the Clergy, and the Crown, the National Assembly officially abolished the Feudal System of France. This removed the nobility from being in charge of the Crown’s lands and thus also removing them from being in charge of the lower working classes.

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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (26 August 1789)

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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (26 August 1789)

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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was written and institutionalized by the National Assembly in August of 1789. The declaration officially abolished the privileges given to the aristocracy and abolished feudalism in France. It also abolished exemptions from taxation based on social or political positions, established equal rights among male citizens, and gave all male citizens a say in the legislature.

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Frustrated with the Monarchy and its unwillingness to cooperate with the people, a mob of peasant women gathered weapons from the Paris Garrisons and marched to the Palace of Versailles. There, they stormed the palace and demanded the Monarchy listen to the National Assembly and provide the people with food. When the King resisted further, they captured him and took him back to Paris.

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Royal Flight to Varennes (20-21 June 1791)

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Royal Flight to Varennes (20-21 June 1791)

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Following the French Royal Family's capture, the Royal Family attempted to escape from Paris and the revolutionaries who held them there. Their goal was to regroup with the loyalist army in Montmédy. However, the Royal Family only got as far as Varennes-en-Argonne before being recognized by locals and captured and returned to the revolutionaries in Paris.

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Arrest, Trial, and Execution of King Louis XVI (21 January 1793)

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Arrest, Trial, and Execution of King Louis XVI (21 January 1793)

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The National Assembly eventually held a trial for the captive King Louis XVI. The trial was relatively short, with the King being convicted of treason by an almost unanimous vote and was then beheaded via guillotine in Paris on January 21st.

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Robespierre and the Reign of Terror (September 1793- July 1794)

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Robespierre and the Reign of Terror (September 1793- July 1794)

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Maximilien Robespierre was a French revolutionary who rose to power in the revolutionary movements as a dictator of sorts and later oversaw many of the executions of suspected "counter-revolutionaries" during the Reign of Terror. The revolutionaries, believing Robespierre was becoming too powerful and dangerous to the revolution's image, eventually ousted him from his position of power and had him executed by guillotine on July 17th, 1794.

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Napoleon and the Italian Campaign (1796-97)

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Napoleon and the Italian Campaign (1796-97)

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The Coup of 18th Brumaire ultimately led to Napoleon being made the First Consul of France, and later to his crowning as the Emperor of France. Watch the video above for an in-depth take on the event.

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Napoleon Crowned as Emperor of France (2 December 1804)

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Napoleon Crowned as Emperor of France (2 December 1804)

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Following his becoming the First Consulate, Napoleon decided to hold a vote among the French people as to whether or not he should be crowned as an Emperor. The vote turned out conspicuously in his favor, and on December 2nd, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France by taking the crown from the Pope and crowning himself rather than letting the Pope place the crown on his head for him, signifying his rejection of the Church's authority over himself and over France.

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Haitian Revolution (21 August 1791 to 1 January 1804)

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Haitian Revolution (21 August 1791 to 1 January 1804)

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The Haitian Revolution occurred during the French Revolution, and thanks to its timing with the French Monarchy's demise from power, the revolution was eventually successful. Watch the video above to learn more.

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Haitian Revolutions: Crash Course World History #30

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During the War of the Third Coalition, Napoleon had just taken the Austrian capital of Vienna and forced the Austrians to retreat north when he received news that the Austrians were attempting to lure him into a trap of Russian and Austrian troops. Napoleon pretended his armies were in weak condition by retreating from Vienna and giving the allies the high ground. The allies took the bait, and after they had taken the high ground, the southern Russian forces spotted what had appeared to be a section of Napoleon's "weak" army. The Russians advanced down from the high ground to attack the section of the army. As this southern force advanced off the high ground, Napoleon launched a massive charge up the hill toward the remaining Austrian and Russian forces, destroying them quickly and then turning to fire down on the Russians who had descended to fight the smaller French force. The Russians attempted to retreat south across the frozen lakes, but Napoleon predicted this as well, and ordered his artillery stationed near the lakes to open fire, breaking the ice and sending hundreds of Russians into the icy depths of the lake. This sole battle effectively ended the War of the Third Coalition as another victory for Napoleon.

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The Battle of Trafalgar was a decisive battle in the French and Spanish war against the British Empire. Napoleon had planned to invade the British Home Isles using the combined efforts of the French and Spanish Navies to defeat the British Navy. What Napoleon had forgotten however was that Britannia rules the waves. A strike force of 33 British warships led by Admiral Horatio Nelson came out of the blue in a surprise attack, charging directly into the French/Spanish fleets outside the southern Spanish harbors. The British ships sailed perpendicular to the enemy ships and slid in between them, firing into the fronts and rears of the ships where there were few to no defensive armaments to fire back at them. Unfortunately, Admiral Nelson was killed in the battle, but almost the entirety of the French and Spanish fleets was destroyed, ending Napoleon's plans to invade the British Isles.

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Napoleon's Invasion of Russia (24 June- 14 December 1812)

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Napoleon's Invasion of Russia (24 June- 14 December 1812)

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Russia's economy was in bad shape following the embargoes France forced Russia and the rest of Europe to make against Britain. Eventually, Russia had no other choice but to reopen trade with the British, breaking the promise Russia had made to Napoleon and prompting Napoleon to invade. Watch the video above to see what happens next.

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Congress of Vienna (September 1814- June 1815)

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Congress of Vienna (September 1814- June 1815)

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The Congress of Vienna was formed to decide what to do with France following Napoleon's defeat at the hands of the allied Russians, Prussians, British, and Austrians, among other involved nations. The Congress of Vienna decided to reinstate the French Monarchy by giving the rule of France to King Louis XVII, the youngest son of the late King Louis XVI. The Congress of Vienna also decided to exile Napoleon from France by sending him to the island of Elba, where he would be crowned the "Emperor" of the island.

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Napoleon's Exile and the 100 Days (11 April 1814- 8 July 1815)

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Napoleon's Exile and the 100 Days (11 April 1814- 8 July 1815)

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The Battle of Waterloo was the downfall of Napoleon's remaining army, and the downfall of Napoleon himself. The battle began with a French assault on the Hougoumont Farm, which had little to no result in favor of the French. A series of cavalry charges were ordered at the center of the British lines, which were met with British square defense formations (which specialize in countering cavalry assaults). The French Imperial Guard followed in behind the cavalry, but were beaten back with a British force now high in morale thanks to the news of Prussian reinforcements from the west. together, the British and Prussian armies forced the French into a panicked retreat to the French border, signaling the end of the conflict.

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Napoleon's Exile and Death (7 August 1815- May 5 1821)

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Napoleon's Exile and Death (7 August 1815- May 5 1821)

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Following his surrender to the Allies, Napoleon was sent on a nine week journey to the island of St. Helena, an island located almost equidistant between the continents of South America and Africa. He was kept there by a total of 2,000 British soldiers and 2 British naval vessels that circled the island to ensure he could not escape. Napoleon died from unknown causes on May 5th, 1821, at the age of 51.