1. From Estates-General to National Assembly
11-1

2. Estates-General
May 5, Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General at Versailles
1st and 2nd Estate = 300 reps each
3rd Estate = almost 600 reps
Wanted a constitutional gov't that would make the clergy and nobility pay taxes, too

3. Estates-General Voting
Traditionally--1 Estate = 1 vote
First and Second could out vote Third
Third Estate wanted each representative to have a vote
This way they could have the majority (with the help of a few nobles and clerics)
June 17, Third Estate declared it was the National Assembly and would draft a new constitution

4. Locked Out
June 20th--Third Estate locked out of Estates- General meeting
So, they moved to a local indoor tennis court and swore to continue meeting until they had a new constitution
This is called the Tennis Court Oath
Louis XVI was prepared to use force against the Third Estate

5. Storming the Bastille
July 14, Parisians gathered in the courtyard of the Bastille (old fortress/prison/armory) to protest the price of bread
They heard a rumor that the king's troops were coming
The attackers lowered the draw bridge over the moat
French guard joined the attack
After 4 hrs of fighting the prison warden surrendered
The rebels released 7 prisoners and beheaded the prison warden

6. Storming the Bastille (con't)
The rebels were angered by the lack of munitions, and demolished the entire Bastille
Paris was abandoned to the rebels
King no longer controlled
The king was informed that this was not a revolt it was a revolution
The king could no longer trust royal troops
Revolts broke out all over France

7. Great Fear Peasant rebellions created a panic known as the Great Fear
Many rebels were afraid that the work of the National Assembly would be stopped by foreign troops
Peasants broke into houses of lords to destroy records of their obligations