Key Events of the French Revolution Timeline

An assembly of representatives from the three Estates was called to vote on taxation. King Louis XVI sought to change the taxation system so that all Estates would pay taxes (he needed more money).

The voting system was unfair: each Estate had only one vote, despite the unequal representation (303 Nobility, 291 Clergy, 610 Third Estate). The Third Estate demanded one-person, one-vote, but the other Estates disagreed.

This group declared themselves the National Assembly, representing “the People” rather than the Estates.

Louis XVI ordered the closure of the Salle des États. The National Assembly relocated to a nearby tennis court, swearing not to separate until they had established a constitution for France. Ideas of freedom and equality spread throughout Paris.

A majority of the clergy and 47 members of the nobility soon joined them.

Louis XVI concentrated troops around Paris, threatening the citizens. People began gathering arms, needing gunpowder stored in the Prison of the Bastille.

French citizens stormed the Bastille prison (a symbol of royal authority). This event is considered the real start of the revolution. Following this, the King began making concessions.

The National Assembly abolished Feudalism (the unfair tax system) and wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, marking the end of the Ancien Régime and the society of Estates.

Thousands of women marched to the royal palace intending to confront the Queen, who managed to escape. The King was forced to agree to share power with the revolutionary government leaders.

King Louis XVI and the royal family were captured in Varennes while attempting to flee to Austria for help from other monarchies. After this, the King was viewed as a traitor to the revolution.

The National Constituent Assembly drafted the first Constitution, which Louis XVI was forced to sign, establishing the Constitutional Monarchy.

Problems arose between revolutionary factions: the moderate Girondins and the more radical Jacobins, who sought the King’s complete removal.

Jacobin radicals gained influence. After completely deposing and imprisoning the King, the National Assembly became the National Convention, the first French government organized as a republic under the motto “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,” tasked with writing a new constitution.

King Louis XVI was executed on January 21st, accused by Robespierre of opposing the Revolution. Queen Marie Antoinette was executed later that October.

The Committee of Public Safety was created. This period, known as the Reign of Terror, was a dictatorship under Maximilien Robespierre, leading the Republic to become more radical. Approximately 40,000 people were executed under the Law of Suspects for opposing the government. All single men were conscripted into the army (levée en masse).

Robespierre was executed. The Jacobins were persecuted, and the Revolution moved in a more moderate direction after the Thermidorians took control.

The National Convention period was replaced by the Directory, a moderate republican government established after a coup d’état. They created a more moderate new constitution and brought peace to France. With Napoleon’s assistance, France won wars against European countries.

The Directory was overthrown by Napoleon’s Coup d’état. Seen as a hero for his military victories in Europe, Napoleon subsequently named himself emperor.