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List of 10 Major Events of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was a major event in modern European history. The causes of the French Revolution

were many: the monarchy's severe debt problems, high taes, poor harvests, and the influence of new political

ideas and the !merican Revolution, to mention only a few. "tarting as a movement for government reforms,

the French Revolution rapidly turned radical and violent, leading to the abolition of the monarchy andeecution of #ing $ouis %&. Though the monarchy was eventually restored, the French Revolution changed

France and the rest of Europe forever. t inspired a number of revolutionary movements of the nineteenth and

early twentieth centuries that made the final end to institutions such as absolutism, feudalism, class privilege

and legal ine(uality, and spread the principles of natural right, e(uality and freedom throughout the world.

Meeting of the Estates General:- The Estates )eneral were reluctantly summoned by #ing $ouis %& in

*ay of +- with an aim to solve the monarchy/s financial crisis. There were three classes represented by the

Estates )eneral: the nobles, clergy and the rest of the population or the so0called Third Estate. Each estate had

only one vote. !s a result, the nobility and clergy could always overrule the Third Estate. Fearing they would

be forced to bear the burden of the financial crisis, the members of the Third Estate decided to form their own

1ational !ssembly. !fter being loc2ed out of the meeting of the Estates )eneral, they moved to an indoor

tennis court where they pledged the so0called Tennis 3ourt 4ath, vowing to remain there until a newconstitution had been written.

Fall of the Bastille:- 4n 5uly +6, +-, an angry crowd marched on the 7astille, a medieval fortress in east

8aris that was mostly housing political prisoners. To many people in France, it was considered as a symbol of

the much hated $ouis/ regime. !ngry, unemployed and hungry 8arisians saw it as a place to vent their

frustrations. The commander of the 7astille, *ar(uis de $aunay and his troops resisted for a few hours before

they surrendered to the mob. !fter learning about the fall of the 7astille, #ing $ouis %& withdrew the royal

troops from the French capital and recalled finance minister 5ac(ues 1ec2er whom he dismissed just three

days earlier. 9owever, he could no longer reverse the Revolution, while the 1ational !ssembly from 5uly

formally called the 1ational 3onstituent !ssembly; became de facto the French government.

March on Versailles:- *any people in 8aris and the rest of France were hungry, unemployed and restless. n

4ctober, a large crowd of protesters, mostly women, marched from 8aris to the 8alace of &ersailles, convinced

that the royal family and nobility there lived in luury, oblivious to the hardships of the French people. They

bro2e into the (uarters of . $ouis

conceded to their demands and agreed to go to 8aris with the mob, believing it would only be a temporary

inconvenience. !s they left &ersailles the crowd chanted that it was =bringing bac2 the ba2er, the ba2er/s wife

and the little ba2er/s apprentice?>

Flight to Varennes:- The 1ational !ssembly continued wor2ing on a new constitution for France. !fter much

debate, members of the !ssembly decided to impose limits to the #ing/s authority. The #ing would have veto

power but the 1ational !ssembly could overrule his veto. These restrictions appalled $ouis %& and *arie

!ntoinette. They also felt li2e prisoners in their Tuileries 8alace in 8aris. They decided to leave France and

see2 refuge in !ustria, hoping to eventually be reinstated on the throne as absolute monarchs. 7efore leaving,$ouis wrote a manifesto denouncing the Revolution. 4n 5une @A, ++, the royal family (uietly left 8aris.

They managed to get within a few miles of the border before being recogniBed in the town of &arennes and

forced to go bac2. The incident was devastating for the 1ational !ssembly. The #ing/s attempt to flee and his

denouncement of the Revolution came just as the new constitution was about to be implemented. 1ow they

had to deal with a monarch who was against the constitution and very unpopular with the people.

Dissolution of the National sse!"l#:- The long awaited constitution finally came into effect on "eptember

CA, ++. France was proclaimed a constitutional monarchy, while the 1ational !ssembly was dissolved and

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replaced by a new political body named the $egislative !ssembly. 1o member of the 1ational !ssembly was

elected to the new legislative body as it was agreed earlier that the members of the 1ational !ssembly would

not be allowed to hold a seat in the new parliament. The result was the loss of everyone with valuable political

eperience. The $egislative !ssembly was composed of various political factions, ranging from moderate

royalists to radical republicans.

$ar:- The issue of war dominated the debate in the new $egislative !ssembly. Tensions with the rest ofEurope continued to rise. Revolutionary France was viewed with both fear and anger by the European

monarchies, especially by the neighboring !ustrian monarchy. n France, the support for war was growing as

well. $ouis %& and hard line monarchists wanted war because they believed that foreign armies would easily

overthrow the new government. The revolutionaries, on the other hand, pushed for war because they thought it

would unify the nation and spread the ideas of the Revolution to the rest of Europe. 4n !pril @A, +@, France

declared war on !ustria.

ttac% on the &uileries 'alace:- n spring and summer of +@, the French government found itself in a very

difficult situation. The !ustrian army and its 8russian allies started advancing into the French territory.

Economic stagnation continued throughout the country. The #ing was widely viewed as a traitor for trying to

flee the country. The $egislative !ssembly was divided and 8aris was getting increasingly radicaliBed. 4n

!ugust +A, a crowd of about @A,AAA people attac2ed the Tuileries 8alace. The #ing and