You've doubtless heard of the famous Bread Riots in France at the end of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette's reign. Shortly after the march on Versailles, and despite an attempt to escape, Louis and Marie Antoinette were taken captive.

The new leadership in France, a group of middle-class lawyers aided by the poor rabble of Paris, were split over their intention as to what to do with the former King and Queen. The majority, led by Robespierre, decided to execute them.

One unfortunate consequence of this was Austria's declaration of war (since Marie Antoinette was Austrian by birth). And so France, already hard-pressed with several bad harvests and general poverty following Louis and Marie Antoinette's extravagant spending, had to buckle down even further as they entered into a bitter armed conflict with their Austrian neighbors.

The new government, the National Convention, took over the ruling of France. At its head is Robespierre. The tactics? Terror, and the extermination of everyone who doesn't believe in the goals of the new Democratic Republic of France.






Since someone has always already said it better, here is the Encarta article on the French Revolution:

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557...Revolution.html


And here's the timeline:

1789

* January 24: The Estates-General is convoked for the first time since 1614
* April 27 - The Reveillon riots in Paris, caused by low wages and food shortages, led to about 25 deaths by troops.

Estates-General and Constituent Assembly

* May 5: Meeting of the Estates-General - voting to be by Estate, not by head
* May 28: The Third Estate (Tiers Etat) begins to meet on its own, calling themselves "communes" (commons)
* June 10: The Third Estate votes for the common verification of credentials, in opposition to the First Estate (the clergy) and the Second Estate (the aristocracy)
* June 13: Some priests from the First Estate choose to join the Third Estate
* June 17: The Third Estate (commons) declares itself to be the National Assembly
* June 20: Third Estate/National Assembly are locked out of meeting houses by royal decree; the Third Estate chooses to continue despite decree and decides upon a declarative vow, known as the "serment au Jeu de Paume" (The Tennis Court Oath), not to dissolve until the constitution has been established
* June 22: National Assembly meets in church of St Louis, joined by a majority of clergy
* June 23: Two companies of French guards mutiny in the face of public unrest. Louis XVI holds a Séance Royale, puts forward his 35-point program aimed at allowing the continuation of the three estates.
* June 24: 48 nobles, headed by the Duke of Orléans, side with the Third Estate. A significant number of the clergy follow their example.
* June 27: Louis recognises the validity of the National Assembly, and orders the First and Second Estates to join the Third.
* June 30: Large crowd storms left bank prison and frees mutinous French Guards
* July 1: Louis recruits more troops, among them many foreign mercenaries
* July 9: National Assembly reconstitutes itself as National Constituent Assembly
* July 11: Necker dismissed by Louis; populace sack the monasteries, ransack aristocrats' homes in search of food and weapons
* July 12: Camille Desmoulins announces the dismissal of Necker to the Paris crowd. The Prince de Lambesc appears at the Tuilleries with an armed guard - a soldier and civilian are killed.
* July 13: National Guard formed in Paris, of middle class men.
* July 14: Storming of the Bastille; de Launay, (the governor), Foulon (the Secretary of State) and de Flesselles (the then equivalent of the mayor of Paris), amongst others, are massacred.
* July 15: Lafayette appointed Commander of the National Guard.
* July 16: Necker recalled, troops pulled out of Paris
* July 17: The beginning of the Great Fear, the peasantry revolt against feudalism and a number of urban disturbances and revolts. Many members of the aristocracy flee Paris to become émigrés.
* July 18: Publication of Desmoulins' La France libre favouring a republic and arguing that revolutionary violence was justified.
* July 27: Louis XVI accepts the tricolor cockade.
* August 4: Surrender of feudal rights : The August Decrees
* August 26 The Assembly adopts The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
* September 11 The National Assembly grants suspensive veto to Louis XVI; Louis fails to ratify the August acts of the National Assembly.
* October 5-6: Outbreak of the Paris mob; Liberal monarchical constitution; the Women's March on Versailles
* October 6 Louis XVI agrees to ratify the August Decrees, Palace of Versailles stormed.

Louis and the National Assembly move to Paris.

* November 2: Church property nationalised and otherwise expropriated
* November: First publication of Desmoulins' weekly Histoire des Révolutions ...
* December: National Assembly distinguishes between 'active' (monied) and 'passive' (property-less) citizens - only the active could vote
* December 12 Assignats are used as legal tender

1790

* January: Former Provinces of France replaced by new administrative Departments.
* February 13 Suppression of monastic vows and religious orders
* March 5: Feudal Committee reports back to National Assembly, delaying the abolition of feudalism.
* March 29: Pope Pius condemns the Declaration of the Rights of Man in secret consistory.
* May National Assembly renounces involvement in wars of conquest.
* May 19 Nobility abolished by the National Assembly.
* July 12 The Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Demands priests to take an oath of loyalty to the state, splitting the clergy between juring (oath-taking) and non-juring priests.
* July 14: The first Fete of Federation begins, celebrating the fall of the Bastille.
* July: Growing power of the clubs (including: Cordeliers, Jacobin Club)
* July: Reorganization of Paris
* August 16 The parlements are abolished
* September: First edition of radical newspaper Le Père Duchesne printed by Jacques Hébert.
* September: Fall of Necker

1791

* January 30: Mirabeau elected President of the Assembly
* February 28: Day of Daggers; Lafayette orders the arrest of 400 armed aristocrats at the Tuileries Palace
* March 2: Abolition of trade guilds
* March 10: Pope Pius condemns the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
* April 2: Death of Mirabeau - first person to be buried in Pantheon, formerly the church of Sainte-Geneviève.
* April 13: Papal bull, Cavitas, condemning the Civil Constitution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is published
* April 18: Louis and Marie-Antoinette prevented from traveling to Saint-Cloud for Easter
* June 14: Le Chapelier law banning trade unions is passed by National Assembly
* June 20–25: Royal family's flight to Varennes
* June 25: Louis XVI forced to return to Paris
* July 10: Leopold II issues the Padua Circular calling on the royal houses of Europe to come to his brother-in-law, Louis XVI's aid.
* July 14: Second Anniversary of the fall of the Bastille is celebrated at the Champs de Mars - anti-Royalist demonstration, 50 killed by National Guard.
* July 15: National Assembly declares the king to be inviolable and he is reinstated.
* End of July: National Assembly declares the king to be inviolable and he is reinstated.
* July: Remains of Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire reburied in Pantheon.
* August 14: Slave revolts in Saint Domingue (Haiti)
* August 27: Declaration of Pillnitz (Frederick William II and Leopold II)
* September 13–14: Louis XVI accepts the Constitution formally
* September 30: Dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly

Legislative Assembly

* October 1: Legislative Assembly meets - many young, inexperienced, radical deputies.
* November 9 All emigrés are ordered by the Assembly to return under threat of death
* November 11 Louis vetoes the ruling of the Assembly on emigrés.

1792

* January – March : Food riots in Paris
* February 7: Alliance of Austria and Prussia
* March 20: Guillotine adopted as official means of execution.
* April 20: France declares war against Austria
* April 25: Battle Hymn of the Army of the Rhine composed by Rouget de Lisle. First execution using the guillotine.
* April 28: France invades Austrian Netherlands (Belgium.
* July 5: Legislative Assembly declares that the fatherland is in danger.
* July 25: Brunswick Manifesto - if the French royal family is not harmed, then French civilians will not be harmed.
* July 30: Austria and Prussia begin invasion of France.
* July: The tricolor cockade made compulsory for men to wear. La Marseillaise sung by volunteers from Marseilles on their arrival in Paris.
* August 1: News of the Brunswick Manifesto reaches Paris - interpreted as proof that Louis XVI was collaborating with the foreign Coalition.
* August 9: Revolutionary commune took possession of the hôtel de ville.
* August 10–13: Storming of the Tuileries Palace. Swiss Guard massacred. Louis XVI of France is arrested and taken into custody, along with his family. Georges Danton becomes Minister of Justice]].
* August 16: Paris commune presents petition to the Legislative Assembly demanding the establishment of a revolutionary tribunal and summoning of a National Convention.
* August 19: Lafayette flees to Austria. Invasion of France by Coalition troops led by Duke of Brunswick
* August 22: Royalist riots in Brittany, La Vendée and Dauphiné.
* September 3: Fall of Verdun to Brunswick's troops.
* September 3–7: The September Massacres of bishops & priests.
* September 19: Dissolution of Legislative Assembly.

National Convention

* September 20: First meeting of National Convention. French army stops advance of Coalition troops at Valmy.
* September 21: Abolition of royalty and proclamation of the First French Republic.
* September 22: First day of the French Revolutionary Calendar.
* December 3: Louis XVI brought to trial, appears before the National Convention (11 & 23 December). Robespierre argues that "Louis must die, so that the country may live".

1793

* January 21: Louis XVI guillotined.
* March 7: Outbreak of rebellion against the Revolution in the Vendée.
* March 11: Revolutionary Tribunal established in Paris.
* April 6: Committee of Public Safety established.
* June 2: Arrest of Girondist deputies to National Convention by Jacobins.
* June 10: Jacobins gain control of the Committee of Public Safety.
* June 24: Ratification of new Constitution by National Convention, but not yet proclaimed.
* July 13: Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday.
* July 17: Robespierre elected to Committee of Public Safety.
* July 28: Convention proscribes 21 Girondist deputies as enemies of France.
* August 23: Levée en masse (conscription) order.
* September 5: Start of Reign of Terror.
* September 9: Establishment of sans-culottes paramilitary forces - revolutionary armies.
* September 17: Law of Suspects passed.
* September 29: Convention extends the fixing of prices and wages.
* October 10: 1793 Constitution comes into force.
* October 16: Marie Antoinette guillotined.
* October 21: An anti-clerical law passed, priests and supporters liable to death on sight.
* October 24: Trial of the 21 Girondist deputies by the Revolutionary Tribunal.
* October 31: The 21 Girondist deputies guillotined.
* November 3: Olympe de Gouges, champion of rights for women, guillotined for Girondist sympathies.
* November 8: Madame Roland guillotined as part of purge of Girondists.
* November 10: Celebration of the Goddess of Reason at Cathedral of Notre Dame which was re-dedicated as the Temple of Reason.
* December: First issue of Desmoulins' Le Vieux Cordelier.
* December 23: Anti-Republican forces in the Vendée finally defeated and 6000 prisoners executed.

1794

* February: Final 'pacification' of the Vendée - mass killings, scorched earth policy.
* June 7: National Convention, led by Robespierre, passes decree to establish a Supreme Being.
* June 8: Festival of the Supreme Being.

And here our story opens, with Robespierre in power and the radical Jacobins fully behind him. Fear and turmoil await, for history can tell us no more of what will happen.

Summer 1794
*NOW IT IS UP TO US.