causes French rev timeline Flashcards
1
Q
1740s
A
The Enlightenment, a period of intellectual curiosity, scientific investigation, philosophical and political debate, begins to reach its peak in France.
2
Q
April 1748
A
War of Austrian Succession is ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. War ended in a stalemate, with no advantage for France, however it greatly expanded debt.
3
Q
October 1784
A
Baron de Montesquieu publishes The Spirit of the Laws, a treatise on political philosophy. Montesquieu’s book explored different systems and conceptions of government, particularly the separation of powers.
4
Q
august 23 1754
A
Louis XVI born
5
Q
November 2 1755
A
Marie Antoinette, youngest daughter of Maria Theresa and the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, is born in Vienna.
6
Q
may 18 1756
A
The outbreak of the Seven Years’ War with Britain and her colonies, which further exacerbates the French debt crisis.
7
Q
1762
A
The French writer and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau publishes The Social Contract, which explores the relationship between individuals, liberty and the state.
8
Q
December 20 1765
A
Louis, Dauphin of France, dies of tuberculosis at Fointainebleau. His son, the future Louis XVI, becomes heir to the French throne.
9
Q
may 16 1770
A
The marriage of Louis, Dauphin of France (the future Louis XVI) and the 14-year-old Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.
10
Q
may 10 1774
A
The death of King Louis XV. His grandson, the Dauphin, becomes King Louis XVI.
11
Q
august 24 1774
A
The new king appoints the French economist Anne Robert Turgot as his finance minister
12
Q
April 1775
A
The American Revolutionary War begins, after American colonists and British soldiers open fire at Lexington.
13
Q
June 1775
A
Louis XVI is crowned as king.
14
Q
may 1776
A
After attempting some limited economic reform, finance minister Anne Robert Turgot is dismissed by Louis XVI.
15
Q
October 1776
A
Swiss banker Jacques Necker is appointed as Turgot’s successor.
16
Q
July 1777
A
The young French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette sails to America and volunteers to fight with the American revolutionaries. He is later given a general’s commission in the American Continental Army.
17
Q
feb 1778
A
The French governmentsigns a military alliance with the American Continental Congress.
18
Q
July 1778
A
Louis XVI formally declares war on Britain and orders a full mobilisation ofthe French army and navy.
19
Q
jan 1781
A
Jacques Necker publishesCompte Rendu, a comprehensive though rathermisleading account of the national finances of France.
20
Q
may 19 1781
A
Necker resigns as the controller-general of finances, after failures to implement reform and opposition from several quarters of the government.
21
Q
October 22 1781
A
Marie Antoinette gives birth to a son, Louis Joseph Xavier, Dauphin of France.
22
Q
1782
A
De Laclos publishes Les Liaisons Dangereuse (‘Dangerous Liaisons’), novel that depicts the French nobility as leisure loving, amoral and debauched.
23
Q
sep 3 1783
A
The Treaty of Paris brings the American Revolutionary War to a close. Involvement in the war has cost the French government more than 1.8 billion livres.
24
Q
nov 3 1783
A
The king appoints lawyer Charles de Calonne as the controller-general of finances.
25
august 1785
Marie Antoinette and her inner circle become embroiled in the ‘Diamond Necklace affair’, following the theft of a necklace valued at around 2 million livres.
26
may 31 1786
Cardinal de Rohan and others are acquitted by the Paris parlement for their role in the ‘Diamond Necklace affair’. While she was not involved or implicated in the trial, Marie Antoinette is discredited by rumours.
27
august 20 1786
New finance minister Charles de Calonne informs Louis XVI that the nation is facing bankruptcy. He proposes immediate reforms including a new land tax, a stamp duty and commutation of the corvee.
28
sep 26 1786
French ministers sign a trade agreement with England, containing reductions in duty for certain imports and exports.
29
29 dec 1786
Seeking to push through his reforms and bypass the parlements, Calonne orders the convocation of the Assembly of Notables.
30
feb 22 1787
The first Assembly of Notables opens. Over the following days it hears evidence and testimony about the nation’s financial plight.
31
march 1787
Calonne publicly floats his tax reforms, however they are opposed by the Assembly of Notables.
32
April 8 1787
Louis attempts to break the stalemate by dismissing Calonne as finance minister.
33
may 1 1787
The king appoints Etienne Brienne as finance minister, a move intended to win support from the Assembly of Notables.
34
may 25 1787
After debating and rejecting Brienne’s own package of taxation reforms, the first Assembly of Notables is dissolved.
35
June 1787
Brienne sends bills proposing taxation reform to the parlements.
36
June 27 1787
The Brienne government issues an edict commuting the corvee and replacing it with a money tax, approximately one-sixth of the taille.
37
July 1787
The Paris parlement rejects Brienne’s legislative proposals for reforming the taxation system.
38
august 1787
The king dismisses the Paris and Bordeaux parlements, ordering them into exile.
39
sip 1787
unable to register his taxation reforms, Brienne withdraws them and settles for an extension of the vingtieme.
40
oct 1787
The king allows the exiled parlements to be recalled and re-seated.
41
nov 19 1787
At Brienne’s suggestion, the king calls a lit de justice to push through several reforms. This triggers protests from the parlement and the Duke of Orleans.
42
nov 20 1787
The Duke of Orleans is exiled from Paris and Versailles by lettre de cachet after criticising the king’s treatment of the parlements.
43
jan 1788
The parlement registers further national loans but declares all lettres de cachet to be illegal.
44
may 3 1788
The Paris parlement issues a “Declaration of the Fundamental Laws of France”. Among its clauses were strong criticisms of lettres de cachet and a demand that the Estates General be convoked to verify any tax reforms.
45
may 4 1788
In response to the declaration above, the king issues lettres de cachet ordering the arrest of two members of the Paris parlement.
46
may 8 1788
The king and his ministers issue edicts removing some of the powers of parlements and formally abolishing the use of torture.
47
June 7 1788
Mobs protest in Grenoble and Brittany, demanding the reinstatement of their local parlement.
48
June 1788
Church representatives authorise a don gratuit of only 1.8 million livres, less than one quarter the figure sought by the government.
49
July 1788
Several provincial assemblies and gatherings demand the reinstatement of the parlements and the convocation of the Estates General.
50
July 13 1788
Much of France is struck by a severe storm with prolonged heavy hail. This decimates already struggling crops and contributes to poor returns at harvest time.
51
august 8 1788
After learning the state is unable to meet its loan repayments, Brienne schedules the Estates General for May 1789.
52
august 16 1788
Now virtually bankrupt, the government suspends making interest payments on some of its debts.
53
august 25 1788
Brienne resigns as finance minister and is replaced by Necker. His resignation triggers celebrations in Paris. Critics of Brienne are released from arrest or exile.
54
sep 25 1788
The parlement decrees that the Estates General convenes with the same structures and procedures as its previous assembly (1614). Several days later the parlement attempts to ban publications which demand political representation for the Third Estate.
55
oct 5 1788
Necker convenes another Assembly of Notables to discuss arrangements for the Estates General. He proposes that representation for the Third Estate be doubled.
56
nov 1788
The Society of Thirty, a group of liberal nobles in favour of constitutional reform, is formed at Versailles.
57
dec 12 1788
After refusing Necker’s proposal to increase Third Estate representation and failing to provide any solutions to the taxation crisis, the second Assembly of Notables is dissolved.
58
jan 9 1789
Paris records its 57th straight frost, as France suffers from one of its coldest winters. Reports of orchards dying and food stores spoiling are common.
59
jan 24 1789
Rules and instructions for electing delegates to the Estates General are finalised and sent out to districts.
60
jan 1789
Emmanuel Sieyes publishes What is the Third Estate?, a pamphlet emphasising the importance of France’s common classes and calling for greater political representation.
: Louis XVI orders the drafting and compilation of cahiers de doleances or ‘books of grievances’. These cahiers are to be presented at the Estates General.
61
feb 1789
Elections for delegates to the Estates General commence across France.
62
April 27 1789
Rumours about wage freezes triggers the Reveillon riots and Henriot riots in Paris.
63
may 2 1789
Delegates to the Estates General are now present at Versailles and are presented to the king at a formal gathering.
64
may 5 1789
The Estates General opens at Versailles. The opening session is addressed by the king, minister for justice Barentin and Jacques Necker, who expresses the king’s desire that voting be conducted by order rather than by head.
65
may 6 1789
The First Estate (voting 134 to 114) and Second Estate (voting 188 to 46) both endorse voting by order. The Third Estate refuses to meet separately or vote on the issue.
66
may 27 1789
Sieyes moves that delegates for the Third Estate affirm their right to political representation.
67
June 4 1789
Louis XVI’s seven-year-old son, Louis Joseph Xavier, dies of tuberculosis. His younger brother Louis-Charles becomes Dauphin of France
68
June 10 1789
Sieyes proposes that representatives of the First and Second be invited to join the Third Estate, in order to form a national assembly.
69
June 13 1789
At the Estates General, several delegates from the First Estate cross the floor to join the Third Estate.
70
June 17 1789
The Third Estate, now joined by some members of the First and Second Estates, vote 490 to 90 to declare themselves the National Assembly of France.
71
June 20 1789
After being locked out of its meeting hall, the newly formed National Assembly gathers in a nearby tennis court. There they take the famous Tennis Court Oath, pledging to remain until a constitution has been passed.
72
June 23 1789
At the seance royale, the king delivers a conciliatory speech to the Three Estates and calls on them to return to their separate chambers. He also proposes a reform package to share the taxation burden. The king’s demands are ignored by the National Assembly.
73
June 24 1789
More clergymen and nobles, including the Duc d’Orleans, elect to cross the floor and join the National Assembly.
74
June 27 1789
Louis XVI backs down and orders delegates from the First and Second Estates to join the National Assembly. On advice, he also orders the army to mobilise and gather outside Paris and Versailles.
A group of commissioners are appointed to reform and standardise France’s system of weights and measures.
75
June 30 1789
A crowd of 4,000 storms a prison on the left bank of the Seine, freeing dozens of mutinous soldiers.
76
July 1789
Food prices continue to soar, especially in the cities. In Paris, most workers are spending 80 percent of wages on bread alone.
77
July 1 1789
Louis XVI orders the mobilisation of royal troops, particularly around Paris.
78
July 2 1789
Public meetings at the Palais Royal express great concern at the troop build-up and the king’s intentions.
79
July 6 1789
The National Assembly appoints a committee to begin drafting a national constitution.
80
July 8 1789
The National Assembly petitions the king to withdraw royal troops from the outskirts of Paris.
81
July 9 1789
The National Assembly reorganises and formally changes its name to the National Constituent Assembly.
82
July 11 1789
Jacques Necker is dismissed by the king. He is replaced by Baron de Breteuil, a conservative nobleman who despises political change
Lafayette proposes that France adopt a ‘Declaration of Rights’, based on the American Bill of Rights.
83
July 12 1789
News of the sacking of Necker reaches Paris and generates outrage and fears of a royal coup. This triggers the Paris insurrection. The next two days are marked by demonstrations, riots, attacks on royal officers and soldiers and the sacking of monasteries and chateaux.
84
July 13 1789
Fearing a royalist military invasion, the people of Paris begin to gather arms. Affluent Parisians vote to form a citizens’ militia, the National Guard. The role of the National Guard is to protect the city and prevent property damage and theft.
85
July 14 1789
The Bastille, a large fortress, prison and armoury in eastern Paris, is attacked and stormed by revolutionaries. Several officials are murdered, including de Launay, governor of the Bastille, and de Flesselles, mayor of Paris.
86
July 15 1789
American Revolutionary War veteran the Marquis de Lafayette is appointed commander of the National Guard.
Advised that royal troops near Paris were at risk of becoming revolutionary, the king orders them away from the city.
87
July 16 1789
The National Constituent Assembly insists on Necker’s recall. The king relents and reappoints him.
Large numbers of royal troops massing outside Paris and Versailles are withdrawn.
88
July 17 1789
The first signs of the Great Fear begin to appear in rural France. The National Constituent Assembly begins drafting a constitution.
89
July 22 1789
Two prominent figures, finance minister Foullon and commissioner of Paris de Sauvigny, are murdered by Paris mobs.
90
august 1 1789
The National Constituent Assembly commits to drafting and accepting a declaration of rights.
91
august 4 1789
The National Constituent Assembly begins to dismantle seigneurial feudalism, with many noblemen in the assembly voting to surrender their own privileges and feudal dues. These reforms are codified in the August Decrees.
92
august 11 1789
The reforms of August 4th are ratified by the Assembly, albeit with several less-radical amendments.
93
august 26 1789
The National Constituent Assembly passes the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
94
sep 20 1789
he National Constituent Assembly votes 849 to 89 to create a unicameral (single chamber) legislative assembly.
95
sep 11 1789
The National Constituent Assembly votes 673 to 325 to grant the king a suspensive veto.
96
sep 15 1789
The king uses his suspensive veto and refuses to endorse the August Decrees.
97
oct 1 1789
The National Constituent Assembly gives in principle agreement to a constitutional monarchy.
98
oct 4 1789
News reaches Paris that royal soldiers at Versailles stomped on tricolour cockades at a drunken party.
99
oct 5 1789
Hundreds of Parisian citizens, including large numbers of women, march on Versailles, accompanied by the National Guard. During the night a mob invades the royal apartment and threatens the queen.
100
oct 6 1789
The king agrees to leave Versailles for Paris, accompanied by the mob and the National Guard. The royal family are received in Paris by a cheering crowd, after which they take up residence at the Tuileries.
101
oct 6 1789
The king agrees to withdraw his veto and ratify the August Decrees.
102
oct 9 1789
The National Constituent Assembly agrees to move from Versailles to Paris. It also declares Louis XVI to be “king of the French”, rather than “king of France”.
103
oct 22 1789
The National Constituent Assembly begins debating voting rights and the question of ‘active citizens’ and ‘passive citizens’.
