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Fall Of The Basille
To many people in France, it was considered as a symbol of the much hated Louis’ regime. Angry, unemployed and hungry Parisians saw it as a place to vent their frustrations. The commander of the Bastille, Marquis de Launay and his troops resisted for a few hours before they surrendered to the mob. After learning about the fall of the Bastille, King Louis XVI withdrew the royal troops from the French capital and recalled finance minister Jacques Necker whom he dismissed just three days earlier. -
Tricolor cockade made compulsory for men to wear
Revolutionaries started wearing red, white, and blue cockades, or badges, to identify themselves as revolutionaries. The red and blue represented Paris, and the white represented the House of Bourbon. This cockade became a powerful symbol that its colours were later chosen for the French flag. La Marseillaise sung by volunteers from Marseilles on their arrival in Paris. Both the tricolor cockade and the song become a nationalist symbol as brings people closer to the idea of a French nation. -
Louis XVI is guillotined
The Convention put Louis XVI on trial for treason, and unanimously pronounced him guilty. As the revolution took hold in France, the ruling elites in other countries watched with growing fear. They were afraid that the events in France might inspire people in their own country to take similar actions. As a result, created threats. In response to outside threats and to ensure that the gains made during the revolution would not be lost, they executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1793. -
Robespierre is guillotined and end of the Reign of Terror
Robespierre arrested, guillotined without trial, along with other members of the Committee of Public Safety. End of the Reign of Terror. Also called The Thermidorian Reaction. Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety. Thermidor were "bourgeois". The Convention closed the Jacobin club, the most radical group. This ended the most radical phase of the French Revolution. -
13 Vendémiaire
This is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris. The battle was largely responsible for the rapid advancement of Republican General Napoleon Bonaparte's career. The Convention quickly realised that it was in severe danger. The defeat of the Royalist insurrection extinguished the threat to the Convention. Bonaparte became a national hero, and was quickly promoted to Général de Division. -
Battle of the Pyramids
Napoleon wins his Egyptian campaign with an army of 38,000. It was a battle fought between the French army in Egypt under Napoleon, and local Mamluk forces. It occurred during France's Egyptian Campaign and was the battle where Napoleon put into use one of his significant contributions to tactics, the massive divisional square. Actually a rectangle, the first and second demi-brigades of the division formed the front and rear faces, while the third demi-brigade formed the two sides. -
Napoleon escapes an assassination attempt
Threats against the life of Napoleon Bonaparte were not rare as his manner of ruling France did outrage many on all sides of politics. Royalists were the main plotters, although Napoleon preferred for political reasons to blame the rival Jacobins. Royalist plotters had positioned a horse and wagon bearing a barrel filled with gunpowder and shrapnel on the Rue Saint-Nicaise and lit the fuse as Bonaparte's carriage neared. Speed of the vehicle led to the bomb exploding seconds after he passed. -
Introduction of Civil Code (Code Napoleon)
The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified. The Code, with its stress on clearly written and accessible law, was a major step in establishing the rule of law. Napoleon set out to reform the French legal system in accordance with the ideas of the French Revolution because the old feudal and royal laws seemed to be confusing and contradictory to the people. Code established important provisions regard the la -
Joseph Bonaparte becomes king of Naples
Napoleon names his elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Naples, and appoints other family members to various other posts. He was the king of Naples, Sicily, Spain and the Indies. It is ironic to see how a republican like Napoleon, becomes a monarchist. He creates a law that only his family may rule France, hereditary comes into play. Joseph was a member of the Council of Ancients where he used his position to help his brother overthrow the Directory. He was a lawyer, politician, and diplomat -
The Congress of Vienna
Although representatives from all the states which had participated in the wars were invited, the principal negotiations were conducted by the "Big Four," Britain, Russia, France, and Austria. The congress met to reconstruct the map of Europe and develop a balance of power that would prevent another massive take-over by one country. Objective resulted in the redrawing of the continent's political map, and undo changes made by Napoleon in Europe. Napoleon is replaced with Louis XVIII, a Bourbon.
