The French Revolution
A revolutionary movement in France in the late 18th century that reshaped its political and social landscape.
The French Revolution was a crucial event in European history, lasting from 1789 to 1799. It marked the transition from absolute monarchy to republicanism in France, with key events including the storming of the Bastille, the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and the rise of figures like Maximilien Robespierre and Napoleon Bonaparte. The revolution led to significant political, social, and cultural changes, including the establishment of the First French Republic and Napoleon's subsequent rise as Emperor.
Important Events
- Abolition of Feudalism , 4 August 1789
- Abolition of the Monarchy , 21 September 1792
- Battle of Fleurus , 26 June 1794
- Battle of Valmy , 20 September 1792
- Brunswick Manifesto Issued , 25 July 1792
- Champ de Mars Massacre , 17 July 1791
- Civil Constitution of the Clergy , 12 July 1790
- Constitution of 1791 Adopted , 3 September 1791
- Coup of 18 Brumaire , 9 November 1799
- Declaration of Pillnitz , 27 August 1791
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen Adopted , 26 August 1789
- Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen Published , September 1791
- Establishment of the Consulate , 10 November 1799
- Establishment of the Directory , 2 November 1795
- Estates-General Convened , 5 May 1789
- Execution of Louis XVI , 21 January 1793
- Execution of Marie Antoinette , 16 October 1793
- Execution of Robespierre , 28 July 1794
- Execution of the Girondins , 31 October 1793
- Fall of Robespierre , 27 July 1794
- Festival of the Supreme Being , 8 June 1794
- Flight to Varennes , 20-21 June 1791
- Great Fear , 20 July – 5 August 1789
- Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 , 31 May – 2 June 1793
- Law of 14 Frimaire , 4 December 1793
- Law of 22 Prairial Enacted , 10 June 1794
- Law of Suspects Enacted , 17 September 1793
- Legislative Assembly Convened , 1 October 1791
- Levee en Masse Declared , 23 August 1793
- National Assembly Declared , 17 June 1789
- National Convention Established , 20 September 1792
- Reign of Terror Begins , 5 September 1793
- Storming of the Bastille , 14 July 1789
- Storming of the Tuileries Palace , 10 August 1792
- Tennis Court Oath , 20 June 1789
- The September Massacres , 2-6 September 1792
- Thermidorian Reaction , 27 July 1794
- Vendee Rebellion Begins , March 1793
- War Declared on Austria , 20 April 1792
- Women's March on Versailles , 5-6 October 1789
Key Figures
- Abbé Grégoire , Constitutional Clergyman
- Antoine Barnave , Constitutional Monarchist
- Antoine Lavoisier , Scientist
- Camille Desmoulins , Revolutionary Journalist
- Charlotte Corday , Assassin
- Condorcet , Political Theorist
- Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès , Political Theorist
- Georges Couthon , Jacobin Leader
- Georges Danton , Revolutionary Leader
- Gracchus Babeuf , Radical Activist
- Jacques Hébert , Radical Journalist
- Jacques Necker , Finance Minister
- Jacques Roux , Enragés Leader
- Jacques-Louis David , Revolutionary Artist
- Jean-Baptiste Carrier , Revolutionary Deputy
- Jean-Lambert Tallien , Thermidorian Leader
- Jean-Paul Marat , Radical Journalist
- Jean-Sylvain Bailly , Mayor of Paris
- Joseph Fouché , Minister of Police
- Lafayette , Military Commander
- Lazare Carnot , Military Organizer
- Louis Antoine de Saint-Just , Jacobin Leader
- Louis Philippe II , Revolutionary Aristocrat
- Louis XVI , King of France
- Louis XVII , Dauphin of France
- Madame de Staël , Intellectual
- Madame du Barry , Former Royal Favorite
- Madame Roland , Girondin Influencer
- Marie Antoinette , Queen of France
- Maximilien Robespierre , Revolutionary Leader
- Mirabeau , Revolutionary Orator
- Napoleon Bonaparte , Military Leader
- Olympe de Gouges , Feminist Activist
- Paul Barras , Directory Member
- Philippe Buonarroti , Ultra-revolutionary
- Pierre Vergniaud , Girondin Leader
- Thomas Paine , Revolutionary Supporter
Political Ideas
- Abolition of Slavery
- Anti-clericalism
- Citizenship
- Civic Virtue
- Civil Liberties
- Collective Rights
- Constitutional Monarchy
- Constitutionalism
- Dechristianization
- Deism
- Democracy
- Economic Egalitarianism
- Emancipation
- Emancipation of the Jews
- Enlightenment Philosophies
- Equality
- Equality Before the Law
- Equality of Opportunity
- Feminism
- Fraternity
- Freedom of Religion
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of the Press
- General Will
- Human Rights
- Humanism
- Individual Rights
- Legal Equality
- Liberty
- Meritocracy
- Nationalism
- Natural Rights
- Patriotism
- Popular Sovereignty
- Public Education
- Radicalism
- Rationalism
- Republicanism
- Revolutionary Justice
- Revolutionary Republicanism
- Secular Humanism
- Secularism
- Separation of Powers
- Social Contract
- Sovereignty of the Nation
- State Control of the Church
- Universal Suffrage
Revolutionary Factors
- Agricultural Failures
- Blocked Social Mobility
- Censorship and Repression
- Corruption of the Aristocracy
- Crisis of the Ancien Régime
- Debt from Wars
- Desire for Constitutional Government
- Diamond Necklace Affair
- Economic Hardship
- Enlightenment Ideas
- Extravagance of the Monarchy
- Failure of Reforms
- Failure of the Estates-General
- Famine and Bread Shortages
- Feudalism
- Financial Crisis
- Harsh Winters Leading to Crop Failures
- Heavy Taxation on the Peasantry
- Ineffective Governance
- Ineffective Ministers
- Inefficient Tax System
- Inequality Before the Law
- Inflation
- Influence of Philosophes
- Influence of the American Revolution
- Lack of Political Representation
- Oppression of the Third Estate
- Population Growth
- Privileges of the First and Second Estates
- Regressive Taxation
- Resentment of Church Privileges
- Resentment of Lettres de Cachet
- Resentment of the Seigneurial System
- Resentment of the Tithe to the Church
- Rise of the Bourgeoisie
- Role of the Parlements
- Social Stratification
- Spread of Revolutionary Ideas through Pamphlets and Salons
- Tax Exemptions for Nobility and Clergy
- Unemployment among Urban Workers
- Weak Leadership
Institutions, Government and Political Groups
- Commission of Twelve
- Committee of General Security
- Committee of Public Instruction
- Committee of Public Safety
- Committee of Surveillance
- Constitution of the Year III
- Constitutional Committee
- Consulate
- Cordeliers Club
- Council of Ancients
- Council of Five Hundred
- Council of State
- Cult of Reason
- Cult of the Supreme Being
- Dantonists
- Departments
- Enragés
- Estates-General
- Exagérés
- Federalists
- Feuillants
- General Assembly
- Girondins
- Hébertists
- High Court
- Indulgents
- Jacobin Club
- Legislative Assembly
- Maraisards
- Ministry of Police
- Monarchiens
- Montagnards
- Municipal Councils
- National Constituent Assembly
- National Convention
- National Guard
- Paris Commune
- Plain (Le Marais)
- Prefectures
- Revolutionary Armies
- Revolutionary Committees
- Revolutionary Surveillance Committees
- Revolutionary Tribunal
- Royalists
- Sans-culottes
- Sections of Paris
- Society of 1789
- Society of Revolutionary Republican Women
- The Directory
- Thermidorians
- Tribunate
- Ultras
Places of Importance
- Bastille
- Bordeaux
- Café Procope
- Carmelite Convent
- Champ de Mars
- Conciergerie Prison
- Cordeliers Convent
- Feuillants Convent
- Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles
- Hôtel de Ville
- Jacobin Club (Dominican Monastery)
- La Force Prison
- Les Invalides
- Luxembourg Palace
- Lyon
- Madeleine Cemetery
- Menus-Plaisirs du Roi
- Nantes
- National Assembly Hall
- Notre-Dame Cathedral
- Palace of Versailles
- Palais de Justice
- Palais Royal
- Place Dauphine
- Place de Grève
- Place de la Concorde
- Place de la Révolution
- Place Vendôme
- Revolutionary Tribunal (Palais de Justice)
- Rue Saint-Honoré
- Temple Prison
- Tuileries Palace
- Varennes
- Vendee Region
Revolutionary Symbols and Culture
- Assignats
- Ça Ira
- Citizen Soldiers
- Citizen Title
- Civil Marriage and Divorce
- Dechristianization Campaign
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
- Festival of Unity and Indivisibility of the Republic
- Goddess of Reason
- Guillotine
- Liberty Pole
- Marianne
- Metric System
- National Anthem: La Marseillaise
- Phrygian Cap
- Red Liberty Cap
- Revolutionary Art and Propaganda
- Revolutionary Calendar
- Revolutionary Cockade
- Revolutionary Fashion
- Revolutionary Festivals
- Slogan: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
- Tree of Liberty
- Tricolor Flag