Versailles in History

Provides music and entertainment for Louis XIV's Versailles festival.

Opens a major court festival at Versailles.

Opens the Versailles festival known as Les Plaisirs de l'Ile enchantee.

Presents La Princesse d'Elide during the Versailles festival.

Tartuffe is performed before Louis XIV and soon faces religious opposition.

Louis XIV sees Moliere's Tartuffe during court festivities at Versailles.

Sees Moliere's Tartuffe during court festivities.

Strengthens personal rule and administrative control during the early years of his direct reign.

Moves the royal court and government to Versailles.

Maria Theresa dies at Versailles.

Secretly marries Francoise d'Aubigne, Madame de Maintenon.

Issues the Code Noir for French colonies.

Louvois helps organize and transmit orders for the systematic destruction carried out during the French withdrawal from the Palatinate.

Faces England's declaration of war after French support for James II

Faces the enlarged Grand Alliance led by William III and Leopold I

Louis XIV authorizes the Brussels bombardment as a diversion intended to pressure the Allies during the siege of Namur.

The First Partition Treaty allocates Naples, Sicily and other Italian territories to the French Dauphin.

Pomponne is associated with French negotiations over the First Partition Treaty before his death.

Louis XIV resumes partition discussions with William III after Joseph Ferdinand's death.

The Second Partition Treaty reserves important Italian possessions for the French Dauphin.

Louis XIV convenes council over whether to accept the Spanish inheritance for his grandson.

Madame de Maintenon is present at court as Louis XIV weighs acceptance of the Spanish will.

The Grand Dauphin's line becomes central to the Bourbon claim to the Spanish throne.

The Duke of Berry remains part of the Bourbon family calculations during the Spanish succession crisis.

The Duke of Burgundy remains in the French succession while his brother Philip accepts Spain.

Louis XIV's acceptance of the Spanish will provokes alarm among France's rivals.

Louis XIV publicly recognises Philip of Anjou as King of Spain.

Philip of Anjou assumes the title Philip V of Spain.

Torcy manages French diplomacy during the Spanish succession crisis.

Considers Charles II's will naming Philip of Anjou.

Louis XIV considers the will of Charles II naming Philip of Anjou heir to Spain.

Louis XIV accepts Charles II's will on behalf of his grandson Philip of Anjou.

Philip of Anjou is proclaimed heir to Spain after Charles II leaves him the Spanish crown.

Recognises his grandson Philip as King of Spain.

Philip, Duke of Anjou, is presented at Versailles as the new King of Spain.

Louis XIV accepts Charles II's will naming Philip of Anjou as heir to the Spanish monarchy.

Louis XIV's decision threatens to unite Bourbon interests across France and Spain.

Nicolas Catinat is among the senior French commanders available as war over Spain becomes likely.

Philip V prepares to leave Versailles for Spain after being named heir to the Spanish throne.

Philip leaves Versailles for Spain to take possession of the Spanish throne.

Louis XIV supports his grandson Philip as king of Spain while seeking to preserve Bourbon influence.

Philip V leaves the French court to take possession of the Spanish monarchy.

Louis XIV issues measures preserving Philip V's French dynastic status, increasing European concern.

Vendome is considered among France's leading commanders as the Bourbon succession crisis develops.

Torcy prepares diplomatic communications explaining the Bourbon acceptance of Spain.

Chamillart faces rising military pressure as the Spanish succession crisis moves toward war.

Faces coalition resistance to Bourbon Spain.

Louis orders French troops into Dutch barrier fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands.

Louis issues letters preserving Philip V's theoretical place in the French succession.

Louis strengthens his position through an alliance with the Elector of Bavaria.

Louis XIV promotes Villars to Marshal of France after Friedlingen.

Villars is rewarded with promotion to Marshal of France after the victory at Friedlingen.

Louis responds to Savoy's defection by ordering military measures in Piedmont.

Louis XIV continues to support Philip V despite Allied attempts to replace him with Archduke Charles.

Louis XIV faces severe military pressure after Allied victories and the loss of major northern fortresses.

Louis XIV pursues negotiations with Britain as political support for the war weakens in London.

Louis XIV's negotiating position improves after Villars wins at Denain.

Louis XIV secures recognition of the Bourbon settlement in Spain while France makes concessions.

Dies at Versailles after a reign of seventy-two years.

Succeeds Louis XIV as a five-year-old king.

Fleury’s government committed French support to Charles Albert’s challenge against Maria Theresa.

The Holy Roman Empire will comprise of the lands of Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Venezia, Bohemia and Morovia, as well as the Imperial Cities scattered throughout Europe. France loses Canada & India

The Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire will officially review this pact for reknewal in five years, should it not be reknewed, this pact will expire in five years of its signing.

The Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire will officially sign a Mutual Defence Pact, and will come to the aid of the other should a foreign power agressivly and without provocation assail the lands and peoples of the other power.

The Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire will officially sign a Non-Agression Pact, and agree that, for five years, neither nation will engage in activity of a military or espianoge nature in subversion to the other nations territory or interests.

The Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire will recognize the soveirngty of both in their respective spheres.

The Kingdom of France is soveirgn in all lands which comprise of France or its breakaway Duchies, from the Cantabrian Range in the South, to the English Channel in the North, from the Bay of Biscay and Brittany in the West to the Alps in

the East.

The Treaty of Versailles recognizes the independence of the USA

An Edict granting religious freedom & legal status to French Protestants

Louis XVI opened the Assembly of Notables to seek support for fiscal reforms intended to address the monarchy's worsening financial crisis.

Louis XVI dismissed Charles Alexandre de Calonne after opposition to the comptroller-general's proposed fiscal reforms intensified.

Louis XVI dismissed the Assembly of Notables after it refused to endorse the government's principal taxation proposals.

Louis XVI announced that the Estates General would be convened in 1789 as the financial and political crisis worsened.

Louis XVI recalled Jacques Necker to the finance ministry as public confidence in the royal government's financial management deteriorated.

Louis XVI convened a second Assembly of Notables to consider how the forthcoming Estates General should be constituted.

Louis XVI's council granted the Third Estate twice as many deputies as either privileged order for the forthcoming Estates General.

Marie-Antoinette opposed the summoning of the Estates General.

Opposes the summoning of the Estates General

Among its early members were the dominating Mirabeau, Parisian deputy Abbe Sieyes, Dauphine deputy Antoine Barnave, Jerome Petion, the Abbe Gregoire, Charles Lameth, Alexandre Lameth, Robespierre, the duc dAiguillon, and La Revelliere-Lepeaux

Louis XVI issued regulations governing elections and the preparation of grievance lists for the forthcoming Estates General.

Deputies from Brittany meet during the Estates General and create the political network that later develops into the Jacobin Club

Deputies from Brittany meet during the Estates General and create the political network that later develops into the Jacobin Club.

Louis XVI took part in the ceremonial procession preceding the formal opening of the Estates General at Versailles.

Louis XVI opened the Estates General and called on the assembled deputies to help resolve the kingdom's financial crisis.

The 3rd Estate demands voting by head instead of by Estate

The 3rd Estate demands voting by head instead of by Estate.

The 3rd Estate demands voting by head instead of by Estate

Mirabeau proposed talks with the clergy to encourage union with the Third Estate during the verification dispute.

Olympe de Gouges asked the royal censor for permission to publish a Journal du peuple during the Estates General.

Mirabeau takes part in revolutionary political discussion while the Breton Club attracts wider national attention

Mirabeau takes part in revolutionary political discussion while the Breton Club attracts wider national attention.

Beauharnais was among the noble deputies who joined the Third Estate during the transformation of the Estates General.

Sieyes proposed that verified representatives declare themselves the national representatives, helping drive the Third Estate toward a new national assembly.

Mirabeau supported Sieyes's proposal that the verified deputies constitute themselves as representatives of the nation.

The commoners of the 3rd Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly

The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly. After its meeting hall was closed, deputies regrouped in the nearby Jeu de Paume.

The commoners of the 3rd Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly. Closes the 3rd Estates meeting place, they re-group at the Louvre tennis court

The commoners of the 3rd Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly

The commoners of the 3rd Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly

Bailly presided over the revolutionary assembly as the Third Estate transformed itself into a national representative body.

Louis XVI refused to accept the Third Estate's unilateral transformation into a National Assembly.

The commoners of the 3rd Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly

The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly. After its meeting hall was closed, deputies regrouped in the nearby Jeu de Paume.

The commoners of the 3rd Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly. Closes the 3rd Estates meeting place, they re-group at the Louvre tennis court

Louis XVI's authorities closed the National Assembly's usual meeting hall before the royal session, prompting deputies to meet in the tennis court.

Members of the National Assembly swear not to disband until there is a constitution

Members of the National Assembly swear not to disband until there is a constitution

Members of the National Assembly swear not to disband until there is a constitution

Members of the National Assembly swear not to disband until there is a constitution

Members of the National Assembly swear not to disband until there is a constitution

Bailly presided when deputies gathered in the tennis court and pledged to continue meeting until a constitution was established.

Sieyes helped formulate the oath by which deputies pledged not to separate until France had a constitution.

Talleyrand joined deputies of the Third Estate as the representative orders moved toward a single national assembly.

Louis XVI declared decisions taken by the self-proclaimed National Assembly invalid during the royal session.

Louis XVI ordered the deputies to leave the hall after the royal session, but the National Assembly refused to disperse.

Louis XVI offered reforms during the royal session while preserving important privileges and the traditional distinction between the three orders.

Louis XVI addressed the deputies in a royal session and attempted to restore separate deliberation by the three orders.

Mirabeau resisted the royal order to disperse after the Royal Session, symbolizing the Assembly's refusal to retreat.

Louis XVI ordered the remaining clergy and nobility to join the National Assembly, ending separate deliberation by the orders.

Sieyes helped organize the Club Breton, an early political network that later contributed to the Jacobin movement.

Lafayette supported Mirabeau's demand that troops concentrated around Paris and Versailles be withdrawn.

Mirabeau demanded the withdrawal of troops concentrated around Paris and Versailles during the escalating July crisis.

Louis XVI faced an Assembly that formally declared itself constituent and began drafting a new political order for France.

Mounier's constitutional report argues that the new constitution should be preceded by a declaration of fundamental principles.

Lally-Tollendal submits a proposed declaration of rights during the early constitutional drafting process.

Lafayette argues that a concise declaration should guide constitutional institutions by stating enduring principles of natural and social rights.

Lafayette presents his draft Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen to the National Assembly.

Louis XVI announced the withdrawal of troops from the Paris region after the fall of the Bastille transformed the political situation.

Sieyes presents a project for a declaration of rights during the Constituent Assembly's constitutional debates.

The Constituent Assembly decides to prepare a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen before completing the constitution.

Clermont-Tonnerre submits another declaration project as deputies compare competing formulations of fundamental rights.

Barere supports freedom of the press during the constitutional debates that precede adoption of the Declaration of Rights.

Deputies strongly contest the committee's proposed synthesis, forcing the Assembly to seek another drafting basis.

Demeunier is appointed to the five-deputy committee charged with combining the competing declarations of rights.

Sieyes submitted a project for a declaration of rights during the Assembly's constitutional debates.

The Assembly appoints a five-member committee to compare the submitted declaration projects and prepare a common text.

La Luzerne joins the committee assigned to examine and consolidate the proposed declarations.

Mirabeau presents the committee's synthesis of the submitted rights projects to the Assembly.

Barere supported freedom of the press during early constitutional debates in the National Assembly.

Redon joins the five-member committee established to produce a unified declaration draft.

Tronchet is appointed to the committee reviewing the legal wording of the various rights projects.

Barnave supports adoption of a declaration that can teach citizens the principles of political liberty.

Castellane argues that fundamental rights and liberties should be defined and placed at the head of the constitution.

Malouet argues that public order should be restored before the Assembly adopts an abstract declaration of rights.

Mounier remains cautious about issuing a declaration before the constitutional framework has been fully designed.

The Assembly begins abolishing feudal privileges on the night of 4 August, clearing the way for a declaration based on legal equality.

The National Assembly acclaimed Louis XVI as restorer of French liberty during the night when privilege was dismantled.

Debate over the declaration gives way temporarily to the dramatic abolition of feudal privileges during the August night session.

Petion supports explicit legal protection for freedom of the press while the Assembly debates civil liberties.

Petion supported explicit legal protection for freedom of the press during debates on civil liberties.

The Assembly decides to use the projects of Lafayette, Sieyes and the Sixth Bureau as the principal basis for renewed drafting.

The Assembly adopts most provisions of the Sixth Bureau project as the immediate basis for article-by-article debate.

The Constituent Assembly begins voting on the declaration article by article.

Robespierre spoke during debates on rights and religious liberty as the Assembly shaped the Declaration of Rights.

Robespierre participates in debate over religious liberty as the Assembly shapes the final Declaration of Rights.

Article 1 establishes that men are born and remain free and equal in rights, while allowing distinctions based on common utility.

Article 10 protects opinions, including religious beliefs, provided their expression does not disturb public order established by law.

Article 11 protects speaking, writing and printing while allowing legal responsibility for abuses of that liberty.

Article 12 states that public force exists for the benefit of all rather than the private advantage of those controlling it.

Article 13 requires public taxation to be distributed among citizens according to their ability to contribute.

Article 14 recognizes citizens' right to consent to taxation and supervise its amount, basis, collection, duration and use.

Article 15 gives society the right to demand an account of administration from every public official.

Article 16 states that a society without guaranteed rights and defined separation of powers has no constitution.

Article 17 protects property from deprivation except for legally established public necessity with just prior compensation.

Article 2 identifies liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression as natural and imprescriptible rights.

Article 3 locates the principle of sovereignty in the nation rather than in a monarch, estate or individual.

Article 4 defines liberty through freedom of action bounded by the equal rights of others and limits established by law.

Article 5 limits legal prohibitions to actions harmful to society and rejects compulsion unsupported by law.

Article 6 describes law as the expression of the general will and affirms equal access to public office according to capacity.

Article 7 rejects accusation, arrest or detention except in cases and forms established by law.

Article 8 requires penalties to be strictly necessary and based on a law established before the offence.

Article 9 establishes the presumption of innocence and condemns unnecessary harshness during arrest.

The Assembly completes the article-by-article voting that produces the seventeen-article declaration.

The Assembly completes the declaration before finishing the detailed constitutional institutions that will govern the new political order.

The adopted declaration makes national sovereignty a constitutional principle and denies independent authority to any individual or corporate body.

The preamble describes the declaration as a statement of natural, inalienable and sacred rights intended to guide government and citizens.

The final declaration protects religious opinions but makes their public exercise subject to legally defined public order.

The Constituent Assembly granted Louis XVI only a suspensive veto, limiting the king's ability to block ordinary legislation.

The name "Jacobins", given in France to the Dominicans (because their first house in Paris was in the Rue St Jacques), was first applied to the club in ridicule by its enemies. After the March on Versailles in October 1789, the club, still entirely composed of deputies, followed the National Constituent Assembly to Paris, where it rented the refectory of the monastery of the Jacobins in the Rue Saint-Honor‚

After the March on Versailles in October 1789, the club, still entirely composed of deputies, followed the National Constituent Assembly to Paris, where it rented the refectory of the monastery of the Jacobins in the Rue Saint-Honor‚

The National Guard arrive to restore order. Louis agrees to be escorted back to the Tuilereies

Louis XVI accepts the Declaration of Rights after pressure from the Assembly and crowds gathered at Versailles.

Lafayette led National Guard units to Versailles during the October Days and worked to protect the royal family.

Louis XVI faced the arrival of large Parisian crowds at Versailles demanding bread and political concessions.

Procession by the market women of Paris to petition the King in Versailles

Procession by the market women of Paris to petition the King in Versailles.

Louis XVI accepted constitutional provisions presented by the Assembly while crowds gathered at Versailles.

The National Guard arrive to restore order. Louis agrees to be escorted back to the Tuilereies.

Barras spoke in favour of the king and queen during the October crisis at Versailles.

Louis XVI left Versailles with the royal family under pressure from the Parisian crowd and National Guard.

Despite the declaration's equality language, subsequent electoral rules distinguish active from passive citizens and restrict political participation.

Appointed Member of Supreme Allied War Council

Appointed Member of Supreme Allied War Council

Serves as French military representative to the council.

Coordinates French army concerns with the new Allied planning body.

Helps frame Allied military conditions before the armistice.

Represents French diplomacy in late-war council discussions.

The Saar is placed under League administration after Versailles.

Laval is shot four times while reviewing the Legion des Volontaires Francais at Versailles, he survives his wounds and is returned to power in Vichy on April 18,1942

Laval is shot four times while reviewing the Legion des Volontaires Francais at Versailles, he survives his wounds and is returned to power in Vichy on April 18,1942

Captures Versailles en-route to Paris