Timeline (Economic, Political, Religious, Social, International/Military/Imperial)
1774: King Louis XV dies; succeeded by grandson Louis XVI
1778: Louis XVI declares war on England in support of American Revolution
1787: Assembly of Notables; Parlement remonstrates against a land tax and is exiled
1788: June - Day of Tiles in Grenoble
August – France is declared bankrupt
August – Announcement of the Estates-General for May 1789
1789: January - Sieyès publishes What is the Third Estate?
March to April – Elections of Estates-General
5th May – Opening of Estates General
17th June – Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly
20th June – Tennis Court Oath
14th July – Storming of Bastille
Late July to early August – Great Fear, August Decrees on Feudalism and Declaration of Rights of
_____Man
October – Women’s march to Versailles
November – Church property seized
December – Assignat issued
1790: July – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy
November – Oath to the Civil Constitution is introduced
1791: 20th June – Royal family’s flight to Varennes
July – Louis is suspended from office
16th to 17th July – Petition and massacre on Champ de Mars
August – Declaration of Pillnitz
September – Constitution of 1791
1st October – Legislative Assembly meets
November – Decrees against émigrés and refractory priests
1792: April – Declaration of war on Austria
June – Dismissal of Girondin ministers]
20th June – Sans-culottes’ first journée to the Tuileries
July – Declaration La Patrie en danger
July – Publication of Brunswick Manifesto
10th August – Sans-culottes’ second journée to Tuileries
10th August – Suspension of the King
September – Massacres in Paris prisons (September Massacres)
20th September – Meeting of the National Convention
20th September – Victory at Valmy
21st/22nd September – Monarchy is abolished, and France becomes a Republic
1793: January – King’s trial and execution
February – French declaration of war on Britain and Uniter Provinces
March – Declaration of war on Spain
March – Creation of Revolutionary Tribunal and watch committees
March – beginning of revolt in Vendée
April – Formation of CPS and représentants-en-mission
May – First Law of Maximum
2nd June – Expulsion of Girondins, federalist revolts
July – Assassination of Marat
August – Levée en mass
September – Sans-culottes’ journée
September – Law of Suspects
1
, September – Law of General Maximum
October – Declaration of Revolutionary Government, execution of Marie-Antoinette and Girondin
_____leaders
December – Constitution of the Terror
1794: March – Arrest and execution of Hébertists
March to April – Arrest and execution of Dantonists
June – Festival of Supreme Being
June – Law of 22 Prairial
June – French victory at Fleurus
July (9 Thermidor) – Overthrow of Robespierre
November – Closure of Jacobin Club
December – Abolition of General Maximum
Part One: the end of absolutism and the French Revolution (1774-1795)
The Origins of the French Revolution: 1774 - 1789
Chapter 1: absolutism and the structure of the Ancien Régime
Ancien Régime = the Ancien Régime is the name used for the French system of government before the
Revolution. It means the ‘old system’ or ‘old rule’ and describes France before 1789 and the storming of
the Bastille
Absolutism
The person in charge has complete power (and there are no restrictions)
The head of the Ancien Régime was the King, Louis XVI, and in theory he was an ‘absolute monarch’
At his coronation, Louis swore an oath to God, not to his subjects (Divine Right of King’s)
Absolutism meant that there were no legal limits to the King’s power over his subjects, but, in
reality, Louis’ power was limited by 4 factors: he had been taught to take advice on important
decisions; his advisers/ministers came from a pool of career administrators and courtiers; he was
bound by the laws and customs of France; he needed the consent of the noble elite
Louis XVI as King
He was born in Versailles in 1754 and ruled as an absolute King
Belief in divine right à he was appointed by God to become King
There was no limit to his power
He became ‘dauphin’ following early deaths of his brother and father
Well educated
Married Marie Antoinette in 1770 – daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa
This was unpopular as Austria was blamed for France’s defeat in Seven Years’ War (1753-1763)
Had a child in 1778, and a son, a male heir in 1781
There are many different opinions on his character and his abilities
‘Lacking in will; honest and well-intentioned, he was far from being a great mind’ – George
Lefebvre (1939)
‘Devoted to his subjects, committed to reform, more a victim of circumstance than his own
failings’ – Paul Hanson (2009)
‘Took an intelligent, if fluctuating interest in matters of government – Peter Jones (2009)
He alone had the power to make laws and to ensure they were carries out, incarcerating those who
went against his will by lettres de cachet
Government
2
1774: King Louis XV dies; succeeded by grandson Louis XVI
1778: Louis XVI declares war on England in support of American Revolution
1787: Assembly of Notables; Parlement remonstrates against a land tax and is exiled
1788: June - Day of Tiles in Grenoble
August – France is declared bankrupt
August – Announcement of the Estates-General for May 1789
1789: January - Sieyès publishes What is the Third Estate?
March to April – Elections of Estates-General
5th May – Opening of Estates General
17th June – Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly
20th June – Tennis Court Oath
14th July – Storming of Bastille
Late July to early August – Great Fear, August Decrees on Feudalism and Declaration of Rights of
_____Man
October – Women’s march to Versailles
November – Church property seized
December – Assignat issued
1790: July – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy
November – Oath to the Civil Constitution is introduced
1791: 20th June – Royal family’s flight to Varennes
July – Louis is suspended from office
16th to 17th July – Petition and massacre on Champ de Mars
August – Declaration of Pillnitz
September – Constitution of 1791
1st October – Legislative Assembly meets
November – Decrees against émigrés and refractory priests
1792: April – Declaration of war on Austria
June – Dismissal of Girondin ministers]
20th June – Sans-culottes’ first journée to the Tuileries
July – Declaration La Patrie en danger
July – Publication of Brunswick Manifesto
10th August – Sans-culottes’ second journée to Tuileries
10th August – Suspension of the King
September – Massacres in Paris prisons (September Massacres)
20th September – Meeting of the National Convention
20th September – Victory at Valmy
21st/22nd September – Monarchy is abolished, and France becomes a Republic
1793: January – King’s trial and execution
February – French declaration of war on Britain and Uniter Provinces
March – Declaration of war on Spain
March – Creation of Revolutionary Tribunal and watch committees
March – beginning of revolt in Vendée
April – Formation of CPS and représentants-en-mission
May – First Law of Maximum
2nd June – Expulsion of Girondins, federalist revolts
July – Assassination of Marat
August – Levée en mass
September – Sans-culottes’ journée
September – Law of Suspects
1
, September – Law of General Maximum
October – Declaration of Revolutionary Government, execution of Marie-Antoinette and Girondin
_____leaders
December – Constitution of the Terror
1794: March – Arrest and execution of Hébertists
March to April – Arrest and execution of Dantonists
June – Festival of Supreme Being
June – Law of 22 Prairial
June – French victory at Fleurus
July (9 Thermidor) – Overthrow of Robespierre
November – Closure of Jacobin Club
December – Abolition of General Maximum
Part One: the end of absolutism and the French Revolution (1774-1795)
The Origins of the French Revolution: 1774 - 1789
Chapter 1: absolutism and the structure of the Ancien Régime
Ancien Régime = the Ancien Régime is the name used for the French system of government before the
Revolution. It means the ‘old system’ or ‘old rule’ and describes France before 1789 and the storming of
the Bastille
Absolutism
The person in charge has complete power (and there are no restrictions)
The head of the Ancien Régime was the King, Louis XVI, and in theory he was an ‘absolute monarch’
At his coronation, Louis swore an oath to God, not to his subjects (Divine Right of King’s)
Absolutism meant that there were no legal limits to the King’s power over his subjects, but, in
reality, Louis’ power was limited by 4 factors: he had been taught to take advice on important
decisions; his advisers/ministers came from a pool of career administrators and courtiers; he was
bound by the laws and customs of France; he needed the consent of the noble elite
Louis XVI as King
He was born in Versailles in 1754 and ruled as an absolute King
Belief in divine right à he was appointed by God to become King
There was no limit to his power
He became ‘dauphin’ following early deaths of his brother and father
Well educated
Married Marie Antoinette in 1770 – daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa
This was unpopular as Austria was blamed for France’s defeat in Seven Years’ War (1753-1763)
Had a child in 1778, and a son, a male heir in 1781
There are many different opinions on his character and his abilities
‘Lacking in will; honest and well-intentioned, he was far from being a great mind’ – George
Lefebvre (1939)
‘Devoted to his subjects, committed to reform, more a victim of circumstance than his own
failings’ – Paul Hanson (2009)
‘Took an intelligent, if fluctuating interest in matters of government – Peter Jones (2009)
He alone had the power to make laws and to ensure they were carries out, incarcerating those who
went against his will by lettres de cachet
Government
2
