Page 56 - 100 Events That Made History

The French

Revolution

When the king of France lost his HEAD
In 1789, French revolutionaries dreamed

of creating a fairer, more decent
country—but the dream soon turned into

a nightmare of bloodshed and chaos.

By the way…
At the fairy-tale farm
I had built at Versailles,
I pretended to be a
shepherdess, tending to
a flock of perfumed
sheep and lambs!

The mob killed
the governor
of the Bastille,
then paraded his
head through the
streets on a spike.
Rich and poor

In the 18th century, the nobles The people are revolting
and churchmen of France enjoyed Unrest turned to revolution on
huge wealth and privilege, while JULY 14, 1789, when an angry
ordinary people went hungry. mob rampaged through Paris
King Louis XVI and his queen, and broke into the Bastille
MARIE ANTOINETTE (above), fortress. They freed the seven
were caught between pleasing prisoners inside and, more
the different groups, and ended importantly, seized the huge
up angering them all. As time stocks of weapons and
passed, people grew impatient gunpowder stored there.
with the king. Revolution had begun.

What came before…

The Enlightenment was a time in
the 1700s when people began to For centuries, France had been
challenge traditional ways of divided into THREE CLASSES, OR ESTATES:
thinking. French philosopher churchmen, nobility, and common
VOLTAIRE said that all people people. The first two estates enjoyed
should have freedom of speech. many privileges and huge wealth.
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