French Revolution

  • Louis XIV

    Louis XIV
    Louis XIV 5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King. Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661 after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. He wasted a lot of money building the palace of Versailles, He raised taxes so he could have war. The people of france didnt want war but Louis thought different
  • Palace Of Versailles

    Palace Of Versailles
    Today, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the centre of the French capital. One of the most baffling aspects to the study of Versailles is the cost how much Louis XIV and his successors spent on Versailles. Owing to the nature of the construction of Versailles and the evolution of the role of the palace, construction costs were essentially a private matter. Initially, Versailles was planned to be an occasional residence for Louis XIV
  • Dr. Joseph Guillotine

    Dr. Joseph Guillotine
    Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. In December 1788, Guillotin drafted a pamphlet entitled Petition of the Citizens Living in Paris, concerning the proper constitution of the States-General. As a result, he was summoned by the French parliament to give an account of his opinions, which served to increase his popularity.
  • Jean Pual Marat

    Jean Pual Marat
    Jean-Paul Marat was born in Boudry in the Prussian Principality of Neuchâtel, now part of Switzerland, on 24 May 1743. He was the second of nine children born to Jean Mara. At the age of sixteen, Marat left home in search of new opportunities, aware of the limited opportunities for outsiders. His highly educated father had been turned down for several college (secondary) teaching posts. His first stop was with the wealthy Nairac family in Bordeaux. After two years there he moved on to Paris
  • George Jacques Danton

    George Jacques Danton
    In the provisional executive government that was formed between the king's dethronement and the opening of the National Convention (the formal end of the monarchy), Danton found himself allied with Jean-Marie Roland and other members of the Girondist movement. Their strength was soon put to the test. The alarming successes of the Austrians and the surrender of two important fortresses caused panic in the capital
  • Louis XVI

    Louis XVI
    The 19th-century historian Jules Michelet attributed the restoration of the French monarchy to the sympathy that had been engendered by the execution of Louis XVI. Michelet's Histoire de la Révolution Française and Alphonse de Lamartine's Histoire des Girondins, in particular, showed the marks of the feelings aroused by the revolution's regicide. The two writers did not share the same sociopolitical vision, but they agreed that, even though the monarchy was rightly ended in 1792.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

    Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
    The inspiration and content of the document emerged largely from the ideals of the American Revolution.[5] The key drafts were prepared by Lafayette, working at times with his close friend Thomas Jefferson,[6][7] who drew heavily upon The Virginia Declaration of Rights, drafted in May 1776 by George Mason
  • Political Clubs

    Political Clubs
    Political clubs were an important feature of the French Revolution from late 1789. These clubs began as another type of social event, not unlike the salons, circles and literary associations of the 1780s, with like-minded people gathering to discuss political matters. The first political clubs were formed early in the revolution and were relatively informal – however as the revolution progressed they became more organised and formalised.
  • The Estates Genral

    The Estates Genral
    In 1302, expanding French royal power led to a general assembly consisting of the chief lords, both lay and ecclesiastical, and the representatives of the principal privileged towns, which were like distinct lordships. Certain precedents paved the way for this institution: representatives of principal towns had several times been convoked by the king.
  • Womans March on the Palace of Versailles

    Womans March on the Palace of Versailles
    Despite its post-revolutionary mythology, the march was not a spontaneous event. Numerous calls for a mass demonstration at Versailles had already been made. Marquis of Saint-Huruge, one of the popular orators of the Palais-Royal, had called for just such a march in August to evict the obstructionist deputies who, he claimed, were protecting the king's veto power.
  • Fall Of The Bastille

    Fall Of The Bastille
    On 11 July 1789, with troops at Versailles, Sevres, the Champ de Mars, and Saint-Denis, Louis XVI, acting under the influence of the conservative nobles of his privy council, dismissed and banished his finance minister, Jacques Necker, who had been sympathetic to the Third Estate, and completely reconstructed the ministry.[
  • Marie Antoinette

    Marie Antoinette
    After eight years of marriage, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the first of her four children. Despite her initial popularity, a growing number of the population eventually came to dislike her, accusing her of being profligate, promiscuous, and of harbouring sympathies for France's enemies, particularly her native Austria. The Diamond Necklace affair damaged her reputation further.
  • Commitee of Public Saftey

    Commitee of Public Saftey
    On 5 April 1793, the French military commander and former minister of war General Charles defected to Austria, following the publication of an incendiary letter in which he threatened to march his army on the city of Paris if the National Convention did not accede to his leadership. News of his defection caused alarm in Paris, where imminent defeat by the Austrians and their allies was feared.
  • The Reign Of Terror

    The Reign Of Terror
  • Maximilien Robespierre

    Maximilien Robespierre
    When the Legislative Assembly declared war against Austria on 20 April 1792, Robespierre responded by working to reduce the political influence of the officer class, the generals and the king. While arguing for the welfare of common soldiers, Robespierre urged new promotions to mitigate domination of the officer class by the aristocratic; along with other Jacobins he also urged the creation of popular militias to defend France.
  • Enlightenment Thinkers ( Volitare, Rousseau, Montesquieu)

    Enlightenment Thinkers ( Volitare, Rousseau, Montesquieu)
    The most influential Enlightenment thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Thomas Hobbes based his theories on government on his belief that man was basically greedy, selfish, and cruel.
  • Causes Of Revolution

    Causes Of Revolution
    The causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution. The Revolutionary Wars beginning in 1792 ultimately featured French victories that facilitated the conquest of the Italian Peninsula.