CRONOLOGY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
AND THE NAPOLEONIC ERA
1787 – Louis XVI ordered a meeting of an Assembly of Notables in the hope that they
would approve his new system of taxation
May 5, 1789 – The Estates General met for the first time since 1614
June 17, 1789 – The Estates General declared that they would only meet before the
king as a National Assembly
June 20, 1789 – The members of the Third Estate met on an indoor tennis court at
Versailles and vowed that they would not disband until they had created a new
constitution. This event is known as the Tennis Court Oath
June 27, 1789 – Louis XVI to recognize the National Assembly
July 14, 1789 – A mob of angry Parisians stormed the Bastille in search of arms with
which to defend themselves
Summer 1789 – The Great Fear plagued the countryside of France as peasants attacked
noble estates and burned all documents showing their debts and obligations
August 4, 1789 – Nobles in the National Assembly renounced their feudal rights and
effectively ended feudalism in France
August 26, 1789 – The Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted as
the forerunner to the French Constitution
October 5-6, 1789 – Thousands of angry Parisian women marched 12 miles from Paris
to Versailles to seek audience with the king. The mob forced the royal family
to return to Paris with them in a most bizarre parade
July 12, 1790 – The French government adopted the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
and effectively made the Catholic Church a state institution
June 20-21, 1791 – Louis XVI attempted to flee France but was caught and arrested
before he could get to the French border
August 27, 1791 – Other European monarchs threatened to intervene in the French
affairs and restore the old regime to power
1791 – 1792 – The Legislative Assembly convened and eliminated the traditional
provincial system, abolished slavery, and granted religious tolerance to
Protestants and Jews
April 20, 1792 – France declared war on Austria
August 10, 1792 The Sans-Culottes stormed the Assembly and demanded a National
Convention elected by universal male suffrage
September 21, 1792 – The National Convention met with the goal of abolishing the
monarchy and creating a new constitution
January 21, 1793 – King Louis XVI was guillotined for treason
July 28, 1794 – Out of concern for their safety, members of the National Convention
arrested Maximilien Robespierre and executed him
1795 – 1799 – The Directory ruled France ineffectively and inefficiently
August 22, 1795 Constitution of Year III was adopted in France
November 9, 1799 – Napoleon led a coup d’état in which he overthrew the Directory
and seized control of the government
July 15, 1801 – Napoleon signed a concordat with the Pope that gave the French
government virtual control over the Church of France
March 25, 1802 – Napoleon signed the Treaty of Amiens with Britain
December 2, 1802 – Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France
October 1805 – Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon’s navy at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Napoleon is forced to abandon his plans to invade England and never again
challenges the British navy
1806 - The military conflict between France on one side and the shifting coalition of
continental powers on the other had, reached a stalemate with Britain, as Britain was
the dominant sea power and Napoleon was dominant on the continent
March 1810 – Napoleon married Marie Louise of Austria
1812 – Napoleon led his troops into Russia and began the Grand Retreat in the winter,
returning with only 40,000 men out of 400,000
October 1813 – The Grand Alliance defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Nations
(Leipzig)
April 11, 184 – Napoleon is forced to abdicate his throne
1814 – Napoleon was exiled to Elba and Louis XVIII was crowned King of France
February 1815 – Napoleon escaped Elba and began his rule of the Hundred Days
June 18, 1815 – Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon in the famous Battle of
Waterloo
July 1815 – Napoleon is exiled to the island of St. Helena
May 5, 1821 – Napoleon Bonaparte dies of stomach cancer