Humanities › History & Culture French Revolution Timeline: 1789 - 1791 Share Flipboard Email Print Louis XVI. Wikimedia Commons History & Culture European History European History Figures & Events Wars & Battles The Holocaust European Revolutions Industry and Agriculture History in Europe American History African American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Robert Wilde Robert Wilde History Expert M.A., Medieval Studies, Sheffield University B.A., Medieval Studies, Sheffield University Robert Wilde is a historian who writes about European history. He is the author of the History in an Afternoon textbook series. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 17, 2017 A narrative history of the French Revolution beginning in 1789. 1789 January• January 24: The Estates General is officially summoned; election details go out. Crucially, no one is really sure how it should be formed, leading to an argument over voting powers.• January - May: The Third Estate politicizes as cahiers are drawn up, political clubs form, and discussion takes place both verbally and through pamphleteering. The middle class believe they have a voice and intend to use it. February• February: Sieyes publishes 'What is the Third Estate?'• February - June: Elections to the Estates General. May• May 5: The Estates General opens. There is still no decision on voting rights, and the third estate believe they should have more of a say.• May 6: The Third Estate refuses to meet or verify their election as a separate chamber. June• June 10: The Third Estate, now frequently called the Commons, gives an ultimatum to the other estates: join in a common verification or the Commons would go on alone.• June 13: A few members of the First Estate (priests and clergy) join the Third.• June 17: The National Assembly is proclaimed by the former Third Estate.• June 20: The Tennis Court Oath taken; with the National Assembly's meeting place closed in preparation for a Royal Session, the deputies meet at a tennis court and swear not to disband until a constitution is established.• June 23: The Royal Session opens; the King initially tells the estates to meet separately and introduces reforms; the deputies of the National Assembly ignore him.• June 25: Members of the Second Estate begin to join the National Assembly.• June 27: The king gives in and orders the three estates to unite as one; troops are called to the Paris area. Suddenly, there has been a constitutional revolution in France. Things would not stop here. July• July 11: Necker is dismissed.• July 12: Revolt begins in Paris, caused in part by Necker's dismissal and the fear of royal troops.• July 14: The storming of the Bastille. Now the people of Paris, or the 'mob' if you prefer, will start to direct the revolution and violence will result.• July 15: Unable to rely on his army, the King gives in and orders troops to leave the Paris area. Louis does not want a civil war, when that might be all that would save his old powers.• July 16: Necker is recalled.• July - August: The Great Fear; mass panic across France as people fear a noble led backlash against their anti-feudal demonstrations. August• August 4: Feudalism and privileges are abolished by the National Assembly in perhaps the most remarkable evening in Europe's modern history.• August 26: Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen published. September• September 11: The King is granted a suspensive veto. October• October 5-6: Journee of 5-6 October: the King and the National Assembly move to Paris at the behest of a Parisian mob. November• November 2: Church property is nationalized. December• December 12: Assignats are created. 1790 February• February 13: Monastic vows banned.• February 26: France divided into 83 departments. April• April 17: Assignats accepted as currency. May• May 21: Paris is divided into sections. June• June 19: Nobility is abolished. July• July 12: The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, a complete restructuring of the church in France.• July 14: Feast of the Federation, a celebration to mark one year since the fall of the Bastille. August• August 16: Parlements are abolished and the judiciary reorganized. September• September 4: Necker resigns. November• November 27: The Oath of the Clergy passed; all ecclesiastical office holders must swear an oath to the constitution. 1791 January• January 4: Last date for clergy to have sworn the oath; over half refuse. April• April 2: Mirabeau dies.• April 13: The Pope condemns the Civil Constitution.• April 18: The King is prevented from leaving Paris to spend Easter at Saint-Cloud. May• May: Avignon is occupied by French forces.• May 16: Self-Denying Decree: National Assembly deputies cannot be elected to the Legislative Assembly. June• June 14: Le Chapelier Law stopping workers associations and strikes.• June 20: Flight to Varennes; the King and Queen attempt to flee France but only get as far as Varennes.• June 24: Cordelier organises a petition stating that liberty and royalty cannot co-exist. July• July 16: The Constituent Assembly declares that the king was the victim of an abduction plot.• July 17: Massacre at the Champs de Mars, when National Guard open fire on republican demonstrators. August• August 14: Rebellion of self-liberated enslaved people in Haiti begins in Saint-Domingue.• August 27: Declaration of Pillnitz: Austria and Prussia threaten to take action in support of the French king. September• September 13: The King accepts the new constitution.• September 14: King swears the oath of allegiance to the new constitution.• September 30: The National Assembly is dissolved. October• October 1: The Legislative Assembly convenes.• October 20: Brissot's first calls for war against the émigrés. November• November 9: Decree against the émigrés; if they do not return they will be considered traitors.• November 12: The King vetoes the émigrés decree.• November 29: Decree against refractory priests; they will be considered suspects unless they take a civic oath. December• December 14: Louis XVI requests the Elector of Trier disperse émigrés or face military action.• December 19: The King vetoes the decree against refractory priests. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Wilde, Robert. "French Revolution Timeline: 1789 - 1791." ThoughtCo, Sep. 6, 2020, thoughtco.com/french-revolution-timeline-1789-91-1221888. Wilde, Robert. (2020, September 6). French Revolution Timeline: 1789 - 1791. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-revolution-timeline-1789-91-1221888 Wilde, Robert. "French Revolution Timeline: 1789 - 1791." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-revolution-timeline-1789-91-1221888 (accessed March 26, 2023). copy citation Featured Video