Items36The creator’s order
  1. 1Estates General of 1789Estates General of 1789May 5, 1789 Louis XVI brought the clergy, nobility, and Third Estate to Versailles as the crown struggled to manage its finances. Their dispute over who had a voice in the meeting soon made the rules of representation more urgent than the business the king had called them to discuss.0
  2. 2National Assembly (French Revolution)National Assembly (French Revolution)June 17, 1789 Deputies of the Third Estate declared themselves a National Assembly. The change was more than a name: they claimed the right to speak for the nation without waiting for the three orders to agree separately.0
  3. 3Tennis Court OathTennis Court OathJune 20, 1789 Finding their meeting room closed, deputies gathered in an indoor tennis court and pledged to remain together until France had a constitution. The setting is memorable because the promise made the assembly something the king could no longer dismiss simply by clearing a room.0
  4. 4Storming of the BastilleStorming of the BastilleJuly 14, 1789 Parisians took the royal fortress after seeking weapons and ammunition. The fall of the prison showed the difference a crowd could make in a contest that had begun with speeches and votes at Versailles.0
  5. 5Great FearGreat FearSummer 1789 In many rural districts, fear of brigands armed villagers. In some places they turned on local lords and destroyed records that proved what peasants owed. The revolution's arguments about privilege now reached into everyday obligations in the countryside.0
  6. 6Abolition of feudalism in FranceAbolition of feudalism in FranceAugust 4–11, 1789 After reports of rural unrest, the assembly voted to dismantle feudal privileges. The resulting decree ended some obligations immediately and required compensation to extinguish others. That distinction explains why one dramatic night did not settle what peasants actually owed.0
  7. 7Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenAugust 26, 1789 The declaration set out freedom, equality before the law, and the idea that sovereignty came from the nation. The language gave people a standard against which they could judge the laws the revolution produced.0
  8. 8Women's March on VersaillesWomen's March on VersaillesOctober 5–6, 1789 Women from Paris marched to Versailles amid an acute bread shortage. The royal family went to Paris with the crowd the next day. With the king back in the capital, the cost of bread and the future of the monarchy could no longer feel like separate questions.0
  9. 9Civil Constitution of the ClergyCivil Constitution of the ClergyJuly 1790 The assembly reorganized France's Catholic Church, making bishops and priests elected officials. An oath of loyalty divided the clergy. The split brought revolutionary politics straight into the life of the parish.0
  10. 10Flight to VarennesFlight to VarennesJune 1791 Louis XVI and his family left Paris in secret but were stopped at Varennes and brought back. A constitution depended on cooperation between king and assembly. After the escape attempt, the king's willingness to accept that arrangement was much harder to believe.0