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(1755-1793) Archduchess of Austria and queen of France and Navarre, married to Louis XVI.

Marie Antoinette

(1755-1793) Archduchess of Austria and queen of France and Navarre, married to Louis XVI.

The Queen of France from 1774 to 1792. She was executed by guillotine in 1793 at the height of the French Revolution.

Marie Antoinette

The Queen of France from 1774 to 1792. She was executed by guillotine in 1793 at the height of the French…

A type of monetary instrument used during the French Revolution.

An Assignat

A type of monetary instrument used during the French Revolution.

"The taking of the Bastile, July 14, 1789. The Parisian mob, not satisfied with the formation of the National Assembly, demanded to be armed in their own defense; and when this was refused, rushed off to seize the store of arms kept in the Hotel des Invalides. Angered by the report that the guns of the old prison of the Bastile were to be trained on the people, they suddenly gathered around its walls and began an attack. This ancient prison had been the scene of many oppressions in the past. Its foul dungeons and the sufferings of those who were confined there had made it an object of popular hatred. During Louis XVI's reign, however, it had fallen into disuse, and it can not be said that at that time it was worse than any other prison. Nevertheless, to the mob it still stood as the symbol of despotism. The governor of the prison surrendered, but the mob murdered him, together with some others, and carried the heads of their victims on pikes through the streets. The few prisoners that were within were set free. Although were was nothing especially heroic about the taking of the Bastile, the event was of great significance, for it seemed to say that a new age had begun. Throughout Europe it was looked upon as a triumph of the people over despotism, and by the liberals of all countries it was hailed with joy."—Colby, 1899

Bastile

"The taking of the Bastile, July 14, 1789. The Parisian mob, not satisfied with the formation of the…

"Key of the Bastile. This key of the old Paris prison known as the Bastile, was sent by La Fayette to Washington after the destruction of that edifice by the infuriated populace on the 14th of July, 1789. This was the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was originally a royal place, built by Charles the Fifth of France in 1369. It was afterward used as a state prison, like the Tower of London, and became the scene of dreadful sufferings and frightful crimes. When the mob gained possession of it in 1789, they took the governor and other officers to the Place de Greve, where they first cut off their hands and then their heads. With the key, La Fayette sent a plaster model of the old building. The model, somewhat defaced from long exposure in the Alexandria museum, is among the collections of the National Institute, while the key retains its ancient position at Mount Vernon. It is of wrought iron, seven inches long. La Fayette, in his letter to Washington which accompanied the key and picture, dated 'Paris, March 17th, 1789,' said, 'Give me leave, my dear general, to present you with a picture of the Bastile, just as it appeared a few days after I had ordered its demolition, with the main key of this fortress of despotism. It is a tribute which I owe as a son to my adopted father; as an aid-de-camp to my general; as a missionary liberty to its patriarch.'"—Lossing, 1851

Bastile Key

"Key of the Bastile. This key of the old Paris prison known as the Bastile, was sent by La Fayette to…

The Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris remembered by the storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution.

Bastille

The Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris remembered by the storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution.

The storming of a medieval fortress and prison in Paris by revolutionaries, which represented royal authority.

Storming of the Bastille

The storming of a medieval fortress and prison in Paris by revolutionaries, which represented royal…

The flashpoint of the French Revolution, where the prisoners of the Bastille were released by revolutionaries.

The Storming of the Bastille

The flashpoint of the French Revolution, where the prisoners of the Bastille were released by revolutionaries.

The Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Lazare Carnot

The Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Three officials who were given supreme executive powers under the new French constitution of 1799.

The Three Consuls

Three officials who were given supreme executive powers under the new French constitution of 1799.

A leading figure in the French Revolution, as well as the first President of the Committee of Public Safety.

Danton

A leading figure in the French Revolution, as well as the first President of the Committee of Public…

A leading figure of the French Revolution, as well as the first President of the Committee of Public Safety in France.

Georges Danton

A leading figure of the French Revolution, as well as the first President of the Committee of Public…

Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de Lauzun, later duc de Biron, (April 13, 1747 – December 31, 1793) was a French soldier and politician, known for the part he played in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.

Armand Louis de Goutant Lauzun

Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de Lauzun, later duc de Biron, (April 13, 1747 – December 31, 1793)…

"A contemporary cartoon representing the French people hammering to pieces with their flails all the emblems of the feudal system, including the knight's armor and sword and bishop's crosier and miter."—Webster, 1920

The Destruction of Feudalism

"A contemporary cartoon representing the French people hammering to pieces with their flails all the…

A French Dandy of 1791

French Dandy

A French Dandy of 1791

What a man during the French Revolution wore.

French Revolutionary

What a man during the French Revolution wore.

Edmond-Charles Genêt (January 8, 1763 - July 14, 1834), also known as Citizen Genêt, was a French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution.

Edmond Charles Genest

Edmond-Charles Genêt (January 8, 1763 - July 14, 1834), also known as Citizen Genêt, was…

Francois Paul Jules Grevy had a party in the French Revolution.

Jules Grevy

Francois Paul Jules Grevy had a party in the French Revolution.

"The guillotine was used during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. Now that the power of the Girondists was broken, and military successes had strengthened the revolutionary party in control, France entered upon that part of the Revolution known as the Reign of Terror. The characteristic feature of the next few months was the wholesale murder of all persons suspected of hostility toward the Jacobin government or lukewarmness on its behalf. To be sure, the victims enjoyed the show of a judicial trial, but sentence was rendered without regard to justice or the facts of the case and execution followed quickly. The guillotine, named after its inventor, Dr. Guillotin, was a serviceable instrument for disposing quickly of the condemned, and hardly a day passed without seeing a score or more of suspected persons beheaded in the city of Paris alone."—Colby, 1899

Guillotine

"The guillotine was used during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. Now that the power of…

Device for beheading during the French Revolution.

Guillotine

Device for beheading during the French Revolution.

The guillotine was a decapitating execution device invented by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, remembered for its use in the French Revolution.

Guillotine

The guillotine was a decapitating execution device invented by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, remembered for…

A device used for carrying out executions by decapitation.

The Guillotine

A device used for carrying out executions by decapitation.

Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution.

General Lafayette

Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during…

A French military officer who led the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution, as well as fought in the American Revolutionary War as a general.

Lafayette

A French military officer who led the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution, as well as fought…

Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution.

Lafayette in 1777

Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during…

The tomb of General Lafayette.

Lafayette's Tomb

The tomb of General Lafayette.

A French military officer who served as a general in the American Revolutionary War, as well as the French Revolution.

Marquis of Lafayette

A French military officer who served as a general in the American Revolutionary War, as well as the…

A portait of the execution of Louis XVI by guillotine.

Execution of Louis XVI

A portait of the execution of Louis XVI by guillotine.

"It represents a dying lion, which, pierced by a lance, still guards with its paw the Bourbon lilies. The figure is hewn out of the natural sandstone. The monument commemorates the officers and men of the Swiss Guard who were slain in 1792, while defending the Tuileries against the Parisian mob."—Webster, 1920

The Lion of Lucerne

"It represents a dying lion, which, pierced by a lance, still guards with its paw the Bourbon lilies.…

(1744-1793) Involved in the French Revolution

Jean Paul Marat

(1744-1793) Involved in the French Revolution

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (March 9, 1749 – April 2, 1791) was a French writer, popular orator and statesman. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on the model of Great Britain. He unsuccessfully conducted secret negotiations with the French monarchy in an effort to reconcile it with the Revolution.

Mirbeau

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (March 9, 1749 – April 2, 1791) was a French…

A French revolutionary who advocated a constitutional monarchy, like Great Britain.

Mirabeau

A French revolutionary who advocated a constitutional monarchy, like Great Britain.

"France under Napoleon. The consulate was the form of government established after the overthrow of the Directory was peculiar. Republican forms were retained, but all the power was in the lands of the first Consul, and the man chosen to fill this office was Napoleon. He had two colleagues, each of whom was called Consul and enjoyed an appearance of authority, but from the first Napoleon as First Consul exercised all the powers of the state. He alone could promulgate the laws, and although there were a Tribunate, a Legislative Body, and a Senate, the men chosen as members of these bodies were Napoleon's friends. This constitution was submitted to the people and approved by a large majority."—Colby, 1899

Napoleon

"France under Napoleon. The consulate was the form of government established after the overthrow of…

Napoleon III

Napoleon III

Napoleon III

A British flag officer who is well known for his victory in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Horatio Nelson

A British flag officer who is well known for his victory in the Battle of Trafalgar.

"The present structure, begun in 1163 and completed about 1240, suffered severely during the French Revolution, when it was converted into a Temple of Reason. Extensive renovations and alterations were made during the nineteenth century. Two massive square towers, originally intended to support spires, crown the principle or western façade. Its three doors are surrounded by elaborate sculptures and surmounted by a row of figures representing twenty-eight kings of Israel and Judah. Above the central door is a rose window of stained glass and above this is a graceful gallery of painted arches supported on slender columns."

Notre Dame

"The present structure, begun in 1163 and completed about 1240, suffered severely during the French…

An illustration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. This building is also known as Notre Dame de Paris which is French for Our Lady of Paris. It is the church which contains the official chair of the Archbishop of Paris.

Notre Dame Cathedral

An illustration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. This building is also known as Notre Dame…

"The cleric wars a robe and ornamented mantle; the noble, a suit of black silk and a cap adorned with plumes; the representative of the Third Estate, a simple black suit without gold buttons or plumed cap."—Webster, 1920

Costumes of the Orders

"The cleric wars a robe and ornamented mantle; the noble, a suit of black silk and a cap adorned with…

An illustration of the Place de la Bastille which is a square in Paris where the Bastille Prison once stood. It was built between 1370 and 1383.

Place de la Bastille

An illustration of the Place de la Bastille which is a square in Paris where the Bastille Prison once…

An illustration of the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. It is the largest square in the French capital. It was named Place Louis XV after the king of the time.

Place de la Concorde

An illustration of the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. It is the largest square in the French…

A marriage under the Republic of the French Revolution.

Republic Marriage

A marriage under the Republic of the French Revolution.

Session of a Revolutionary Committee during the French Revolution.

Revolutionary Committee

Session of a Revolutionary Committee during the French Revolution.

Maximillien Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794) Well-known figure of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, which ended with his execution.

Robespierre

Maximillien Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794) Well-known figure of the French Revolution…

An influential figure in the Committee of Public Safety of France and was instrumental in the period of the Reign of Terror. He was executed in 1794.

Robespierre

An influential figure in the Committee of Public Safety of France and was instrumental in the period…

An influential figure of the French Revolution.

Robespierre

An influential figure of the French Revolution.

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) is one of the best-known figures of the French Revolution. He studied at College of Louis-le-Grand in Paris and became a lawyer. His supporters called him "The Incorruptible." He was an influential member of the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror that ended with his arrest and execution in 1794.

Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) is one of…

Members of the Assembly gathered together on the night of August 4th, 1789, and drew up the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which was a key document of the French Revolution.

The Session of August 4

Members of the Assembly gathered together on the night of August 4th, 1789, and drew up the Declaration…

"Trafalgar Monument, Battle of Trafalgar (1805). During the early part of the Napoleonic wars, England's successes were gained by her superior navy under the command of the most brilliant naval officer of the time, Lord Nelson. Nelson's last victory was won near Cape Trafalgar, off the coast of Spain, where he met the combined fleets of France and Spain. It was on the eve of this engagement that he sent to the vessels of the fleet the famous message, 'England expects every man to do his duty.' most of the enemies' ships were captured or sunk, and the victory gave England the control of the sea, but cost the life of her brave commander, who fell at the moment of victory."—Colby, 1899

Trafalgar Monument

"Trafalgar Monument, Battle of Trafalgar (1805). During the early part of the Napoleonic wars, England's…

(1725-1807) In charge of the French army that joined the Continental Army and fought in the American Revolution. When he returned to France he commanded the army of the North in the French Revolution.

Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Count De Rochambeau

(1725-1807) In charge of the French army that joined the Continental Army and fought in the American…