French Revolution Timeline Events

Great Fear Begins.

July 17th: The National Constituent Assembly begins drafting a constitution. The rumors of an “aristocratic conspiracy” by the king appear throughout France, known as “Great Fear“. In the provinces, the Great Fear of July led to the rise of peasant’s revolt against feudalism, lords, and municipal revolts.

Civil Code in France.

Napoleon held the Civil Code declared on March 21, which applied to all French people throughout the country. It dedicates the significant advances of the Revolution (freedom, property, secularism, abolition of the privileges of the Ancien Régime, etc.). Except for the rights of women who do not enjoy the same…

Law of 22 Prairial.

The Law of 22 Prairial, also known as the “Loi de la Grande Terreur”, the law of the Great Terror, was implemented on 10 June 1794. This increases the power of the Revolutionary Court, leading to mass executions.  

Conspiracy of members against Robespierre.

July 1: Robespierre speaks at the Jacobin Club, exposing a conspiracy of members against him inside the Convention, the Committee of Public Safety, and the Committee of General Security. July 9: Robespierre talks again at the Jacobin Club, denying he has effectively made secret hidden targeted lists of members inside…

Fall of Maximilien Robespierre.

Fall of Maximilien Robespierre.

July 26: Robespierre gives a violent speech at the Convention, demanding, without naming them, the arrest and punishment of “spies” in the Committees of Public Safety and Convention. The members first vote to publish the speech. Still, Billaud-Varenne and Cambon are the convention members, demand a list of names and…

Establishment of the Napoleon Empire

Establishment of the Empire.

Crowning of Napoleon emperor – The Republic was no more, France becomes an Empire. Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned as emperor on December 2, 1804, by the Pope at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Adoption of the Constitution of the X year.

At the height of his popularity, Napoleon decided to appeal to the people, and, on August 2, Bonaparte was elected Consul for life. Two days later, the Constitution of Year X proclaimed: it reorganized the Consulate to strengthen its powers.

Signing of the Concordat with the Pope.

Napoleon Bonaparte signed the “Concordat with the Pope” on July 15, 1801, in Paris. It puts an end to 10 years of the status of the Roman Catholic Church caused by the church reforms and laws passed during the French Revolution. The Catholic religion was declared the “religion of the…

1st Bank of France.

The Bank of France was the first bank in the history of France, founded on 18th January 1800 by Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1803 it received the monopoly right to issue banknotes in Paris.

End of French Revolution.

On December 24th, 1799: The Councils, now strongly under the control of Bonaparte, adopted the Constitution of the Year VIII. The new Consulate was formally established, with Bonaparte as First Consul, Cambacérès as Second Consul, and Charles-François Lebrun as Third Consul. Traditional histories mark this date as the end of…

French Revolution Timeline
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