On the eve of the Revolution, the Ancien Régime, with its lavish court, was so deeply in debt that it could no longer function. King Louis XVI saw only one way out: the convocation of the Estates-General. This assembly of the three estates—clergy, nobility, and the Third Estate—had not met for over 170 years. The king sought legitimacy for new taxes. But things turned out differently. When the Estates-General convened on May 5, 1789, open confrontation began. Even the question of voting by head or by estate led to conflict. The deputies of the Third Estate revolted. They broke away and founded the National Assembly.
August 8, 1788 · Louis XVI announces the convocation of the Estates-General.
January 14, 1789 · The electoral procedure is laid down. The municipalities are to hold the elections separately by estate and draw up so-called cahiers of grievances.
May 5, 1789 · Opening of the Estates-General at Versailles.
June 17, 1789 · The Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
June 20, 1789 · Tennis Court Oath. The deputies of the National Assembly swear not to separate until France has a constitution. In the meantime, many representatives of the other estates have joined the Third Estate.
June 27, 1789 · The king orders the nobility and the clergy to join the National Assembly.
Quotes
What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing. What does it demand? To become something. Sieyès, January 1789
This day, which my heart has long awaited, has finally arrived. Louis XVI at the opening of the Estates-General (5 May 1789)
We are here by the will of the nation and will yield only to the force of bayonets! Mirabeau, 23 June 1789, National Assembly.
On the eve of the Revolution, the Ancien Régime, with its lavish court, was so deeply in debt that it could no longer function. King Louis XVI saw only one way out: the convocation of the Estates-General. This assembly of the three estates—clergy, nobility, and the Third Estate—had not met for over 170 years. The king sought legitimacy for new taxes. But things turned out differently. When the Estates-General convened on May 5, 1789, open confrontation began. Even the question of voting by head or by estate led to conflict. The deputies of the Third Estate revolted. They broke away and founded the National Assembly.
