Key Events of the French Revolution (1790-1791)

January, 1790

The first release of assignats is circulated. The National Constituent Assembly approves further printings.

January 4th, 1790

The king attends and addresses the National Constituent Assembly and is greeted with cheering and oaths of affection.

January 28th, 1790

Legal and commercial restrictions on Jews are officially lifted.

February, 1790

British parliamentarian Edmund Burke gives a speech in the House of Commons, condemning the French Revolution.

February 19th, 1790

The Marquis de Favras is found guilty of plotting to organize an armed force, rescue the king, and initiate a royalist counter-revolution. He is executed by hanging.

March 8th, 1790

At the instigation of Barnave, the National Constituent Assembly approves self-government for French colonies, but stops short of abolishing slavery.

March 16th, 1790

Lettres de cachet are formally abolished.

March 21st, 1790

The gabelle tax on salt is suspended.

May 17th, 1790

The French astronomer Jérôme Lalande proposes the introduction of a decimalized calendar.

May 21st, 1790

The local government of Paris is reorganized into 48 sections.

May 28th, 1790

A group of planters in the French colony of Saint-Domingue gather to declare their independence from France.

June 19th, 1790

The National Constituent Assembly decrees the abolition of all noble ranks and titles.

July 12th, 1790

The National Constituent Assembly passes the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

July 14th, 1790

The Fête de la Fédération, a celebration of the revolution and the first anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, takes place in Paris.

August 18th, 1790

Royalists and émigrés gathered at Jales in southern France form the first counter-revolutionary assembly.

September 6th, 1790

The parlements are formally abolished.

November, 1790

The first edition of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France is published in London.

November, 1790

A number of counter-revolutionary riots break out in the city of Lyons.

November 27th, 1790

A decree of the National Constituent Assembly requires all clergymen to swear an oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

January 30th, 1791

Honoré Mirabeau is elected president of the National Constituent Assembly.

February 5th, 1791

Juring priests are elected as the first bishops in the new 'Constitutional Church'.

February 28th, 1791

The 'Day of Daggers' or 'Poignard conspiracy': a group of 400 armed nobles invade the Tuileries to protect the king. The nobles were disarmed by Lafayette and the National Guard.

March 2nd, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly suppresses all guilds and trade monopolies.

March 10th, 1791

Pope Pius condemns both the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

April 2nd, 1791

The death of Honoré Mirabeau.

April 18th, 1791

The royal family attempts to leave Paris for a summer palace at Saint-Cloud, but their journey is prevented by a Paris mob.

May 7th, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly permits non-juring priests to conduct religious services.

May 15th, 1791

Amid growing rebellion in the colonies, the National Constituent Assembly gives blacks born to free parents equality with white settlers.

May 16th, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly passes Robespierre's self-denying ordinance, preventing its deputies from standing for election to the Legislative Assembly.

June 14th, 1791

The National Assembly passes the Le Chapelier Law, prohibiting worker unions, associations, and strikes.

June 20th, 1791

The royal family attempts to flee Paris to a loyalist stronghold in Montmedy, before being intercepted and arrested at Varennes.

June 21st, 1791

Responding to the flight to Varennes, the National Constituent Assembly suspends the king.

June 25th, 1791

The king and the royal family are returned to Paris under guard.

July 10th, 1791

Austrian emperor Leopold II issues the Padua Circular, calling on all European monarchs to protect the French royal family.

July 16th, 1791

After three days of debate, the National Assembly rules that the king was abducted and restores his status and privileges, provided he endorses the new constitution. This decision causes outrage in the Jacobin and Cordelier clubs.

July 16th, 1791

The Jacobin club decides to protest against the king at the Champ de Mars. This decision causes a split in the Jacobin ranks, prompting around 250 monarchists to form the Feuillant club.

July 17th, 1791

The Champ de Mars massacre. Jacobins and Cordeliers rally on the Champ de Mars to construct a petition calling for the abolition of the monarchy. The National Guard opens fire on a rowdy group, killing between 20-50 people.

July 18th, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly criticizes the Champ de Mars protestors. In the coming days, it orders the suppression of radical newspapers, bans seditious meetings, and reorganizes the National Guard.

August, 1791

The commencement of elections for the Legislative Assembly, the body that will replace the National Assembly. Only 'active citizens' are permitted to participate.

August 8th, 1791

The National Assembly begins deliberating on the draft constitution.

August 14th, 1791

Slave uprisings break out in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti).

August 15th, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly bans the wearing of religious dress in public.

August 27th, 1791

The rulers of Prussia and Austria issue the Declaration of Pillnitz, affirming their support for Louis XVI.

August 29th, 1791

Elections for the Legislative Assembly are commenced.

September 14th, 1791

The king formally ratifies the Constitution of 1791 and swears an oath of allegiance to the new state.

September 28th, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly issues a decree abolishing slavery in France, though not in its colonies.

September 30th, 1791

The National Constituent Assembly meets for the last time and votes to dissolve.

October 1st, 1791

The Legislative Assembly meets for the first time.

November 9th, 1791

The Legislative Assembly orders all émigrés to return to France 'under pain of death.' Those who do not return will have their lands confiscated by the state.

November 9th, 1791

The Legislative Assembly introduces procedures for civil marriage and divorce.

November 11th, 1791

The king vetoes the Legislative Assembly's November 9th decree on émigrés.

November 16th, 1791

The lawyer and radical reformer Jérôme Pétion is elected to succeed Bailly as mayor of Paris.

November 29th, 1791

The Legislative Assembly orders the arrest of all non-juring priests.

December 19th, 1791

The king vetoes the Legislative Assembly's order for the arrest of non-juring priests.