The Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) was a pivotal event that marked the beginning of the French Revolution. An angry Parisian mob, seeking gunpowder and weapons, attacked the Bastille fortress-prison, a symbol of royal tyranny. The prison's governor, Marquis de Launay, was killed and his head paraded on a pike. Though only seven prisoners were held at the time, the fall of the Bastille became an iconic symbol of popular uprising against monarchy. July 14 is now celebrated as France's national holiday (Bastille Day). Who was the unpopular French king ruling at the time of the Bastille's fall?

The Reign of Terror (September 1793 - July 1794) was a violent period of the French Revolution when the revolutionary government, led by the Committee of Public Safety, executed thousands of suspected enemies of the revolution. Approximately 17,000 official executions by guillotine occurred, including King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and many revolutionary leaders themselves. The Terror ended with the fall of its chief architect, who was himself guillotined on July 28, 1794. Which radical Jacobin leader dominated the Committee of Public Safety and orchestrated the Reign of Terror?

Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. Born an Austrian archduchess, she married the future King Louis XVI at age 14 to solidify the Franco-Austrian alliance. Her extravagance, gambling, and perceived indifference to starving French peasants made her a target of revolutionary hatred. She was famously (though likely falsely) credited with saying "Let them eat cake" when told the poor had no bread. After Louis XVI's execution, she was tried for treason and executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793. Marie Antoinette was originally from which ruling house of Austria?

The Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789) was a pivotal moment in the early French Revolution. Members of the Third Estate (commoners), who had been locked out of their meeting hall by King Louis XVI, gathered at a nearby indoor tennis court. There, they swore not to disband until France had a written constitution. This oath demonstrated that political authority derived from the people, not the monarchy. The oath was organized by Honoré Mirabeau and Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès. Which revolutionary document was the direct result of the Tennis Court Oath?

The Guillotine became the infamous symbol of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. Designed as a humane and egalitarian method of execution (one blade for all social classes), it was named after Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who proposed its use, though he did not invent it. The device featured a falling angled blade (the "mutton chop") that decapitated victims instantly. Approximately 17,000 people were guillotined during the Terror, including King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and Robespierre himself. In which Paris square, originally named Place de la Révolution, did most public guillotine executions take place?

Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power ended the French Revolution's most radical phase. On November 9-10, 1799 (18-19 Brumaire Year VIII on the revolutionary calendar), Napoleon led a coup d'état against the Directory, the five-man executive body that had governed France since 1795. He established the Consulate, with himself as First Consul, effectively becoming the dictator of France. Five years later, he crowned himself Emperor of the French. Napoleon's legal reforms, known as the Napoleonic Code, influenced civil law worldwide. What was the name of Napoleon's coup that overthrew the Directory?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 26, 1789) was a fundamental document of the French Revolution, articulating the natural rights of all individuals. Influenced by the American Declaration of Independence and Enlightenment philosophers like Rousseau and Locke, it proclaimed liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression as sacred rights. It declared that law is the expression of the general will and that all citizens are equal before the law. Which Enlightenment philosopher's concept of the "general will" heavily influenced this declaration?

The Women's March on Versailles (October 5-6, 1789) was a crucial early event of the French Revolution. Thousands of Parisian women, angered by bread shortages and high prices, marched 12 miles from Paris to the Palace of Versailles. They forced King Louis XVI and the royal family to leave Versailles and return to Paris, effectively placing the monarchy under the control of the revolutionary crowd. This march marked the end of the king's absolute power and his isolation at Versailles. Which unpopular queen was particularly targeted by the marchers' demands?

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (July 12, 1790) was a revolutionary law that subordinated the Catholic Church to the French government. It required clergy to swear loyalty to the state, reduced the number of bishoprics, and mandated election of priests by citizens. The Pope condemned the law, leading to a deep split between "jurors" (clergy who took the oath) and "non-jurors" (refractory priests who refused). This conflict alienated many devout Catholics from the revolution. Which Pope formally condemned the Civil Constitution of the Clergy?

The Thermidorian Reaction (July 27, 1794) was the coup that overthrew Maximilien Robespierre and ended the Reign of Terror. Named after the revolutionary month of Thermidor (July), moderate revolutionaries in the National Convention turned against Robespierre and his allies, fearing further radicalization. Robespierre and 21 of his supporters were guillotined the next day. The Reaction dismantled the radical Jacobin apparatus, closed the Revolutionary Tribunal, and began a more conservative phase known as the Directory. Which French revolutionary month corresponds to the period of the coup that ended the Terror?