Timeline by CONOR D'ANTONIO

Estates General Convene at Versailles - May 1789

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:24:31 UTC

In May of 1789, King Louis XVI called a meeting with the Estates General to attempt to raise taxes due to the decreasing financial state of the country. This is due to the consistent spending of money he and his predecessors did not have. This was the only way Louis could dig himself out of the economic ditch he had dug without impacting his excessive lifestyle.

National Assembly Is Established - June 1789

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:30:52 UTC

Once the upper middle class of the Third Estate realized that with the system currently in place they would be unable to enact any kind of change they decided to establish the National Assembly. After the Assembly has been established they decided to take the Oath of the Tennis Court and vowed to not leave until a formal declaration had been composed.

The Storming of the Bastille - July 1789

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:38:22 UTC

The less civilized classes of the Third Estate felt the need to rise up and fight against the government similarly to the upper-middle class but they decided to do so with brute force rather than a formal declaration. While Sans-culottes decided to storm the Bastille, the peasants working in the fields started attacking and murdering the land owners with shovels. This was known as the Great Fear and spread aggressively through the countryside.

National Assembly Issue a Declaration - August 1789

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:42:07 UTC

Through the summer of 1789 the upper-middle class were able to draft and finalize the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The declaration was heavily inspired by the Declaration of Independence. The declaration called for a more equal society where the opinions of the general public had much more impact and people were not punished for their opinion.

The Bread March - October 1789

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:50:00 UTC

On the morning of October 5, 1789 a riot insured over the excessively high price of bread in a Parisian marketplace. The march began in Paris though the women made their way down to the Palace of Versailles and through means of persuasion and force they were able to have their request fulfilled and King Louis XVI, along with the royal family, returned to Paris.

Constitutional Monarchy - September 1791

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:53:00 UTC

Thanks to the greatly increasing pressure on King Louis XVI the absolutist Kingdom of France was disbanded and reformed into the constitutional monarchy that was the Kingdom of France. While this was a successful form of government for a short period of time, it wouldn't last.

Royal Family Arrested - June 1791

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 02:58:45 UTC

The royal family was eventually held accountable for their actions as they were arrested in 1891 following the royal family's failed attempt to escape to Montmédy. This act really showed how weak and desperate the royal family was and was a major turning point in the way that they were received by the general public of France. What followed after the Flight to Varennes was mass hysteria, this was due to the mixed emotions the people of France were feeling, some hated the royal family for this, others felt unsafe in their own homes due to the continuous violence committed right outside their homes.

The Declaration of Pillnitz, Austria Declared War - August 1791

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:04:48 UTC

The declaration of Pillnitz was created to try and get the European powers that surrounded France on the side of King Louis XVI rather than the French general public. This ended up doing quite the opposite as many countries saw this as a weakness in France's government. Not only was the weak state of the government evident to the citizens living in France but many of their enemies knew too and sensing weakness Austria declared war on France aiming to gain political power.

Louis XVI Is Taken Prisoner - August 1792

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:08:41 UTC

By this point the vast majority of the French population had had enough of Louis XVI antics. Attempting to raise taxes for your own personal gain rather than to support the country is one thing but attempting to escape those who you are meant to help and protect is another. This finally resulted in the imprisonment of King Louis XVI by a mob of Parisians.

France Is a Republic - September 1792

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:16:30 UTC

A major change finally occurred on September 22, 1792 where the French monarchy was abolished. All of the times that the French monarchs had ignored their citizens and used their power for their own personal gain rather than helping others had added up and tensions had gotten to a boiling point. Major change was needed and soon it came as the French monarchy was abolished and the First Republic was introduced giving the vast majority of power to the people.

Louis XVI Is Executed - January 1793

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:27:54 UTC

Once the government had been reformed Louis XVI refused to give up his power to the new republic. This led to him being charged with treason, a federal crime punishable by execution. Feeling a good sense of national pride and power and in some ways arrogance after moving on from the harsh and unfair ruling of King Louis XVI decides to declare was on the Netherlands, Spain, and Britain.

Tensions Rise in the National Convention - May 1793

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:33:24 UTC

Even though France had moved past the unfair ruling of King Louis XVI, things weren't all well. The new French government was made up of two conflicting parties the Montagnards and the Girondins. On one hand the Montagnards wanted to help out the poorer people that populated the most of France whilst the Girondins wanted to keep the power amongst the upper-middle class.

Girondins Imprisoned - June 1793

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:38:10 UTC

Robespierre established the Public Safety Committee whose goal was to defend the nation from enemies whether they were inside or outside of the country. Robespierre disagreed with the ideals of the Girondins and due to his high authority in the Public Safety Committee he was able to get them all arrested under the notion that they were a threat to the republic. This is what also lead to them being executed.

Reign of Terror - September 1793

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:42:30 UTC

During this time France's new government was very fragile and everybody knew it. This led to many of the political leaders who were deemed "suspicious" being executed publicly in France. While this was a time of mass victories on the military front, the core of the country was still very much struggling as the people in power were extremely paranoid of the old monarchy returning to power making their decades long fight for a people's country worth nothing.

Napoleon's Rise to Power and Eventual Fall - 1799 - May 1821

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:48:20 UTC

In 1799 after very tumultuous time in France a prominent military leader by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had been praised for his unmatched military tactics, had begun to win over the public of France like no one man had done ever. Once he officially came into power he was always hungry for more, this greed led to his exile two separate times. While he is regarded as one of the greatest military leaders ever, his time as the Emperor of France is often looked down upon. He died in 1821 due to stomach cancer.

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:54:27 UTC

I picked this source to learn about the Flight to Varennes because it gave a lot of context, not just of the event itself, but why it happened and what happened because of it.

AI Drawing of the March on Versailles

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 03:56:05 UTC

conordantonio27_ — 2023-12-04 04:00:18 UTC

I thought that this video was pretty informative and concise because it didn't include unnecessary information. I did think that in some areas it was a little too vague and could've offered a little more information.