French Revolution Timeline: 1795 to 1799 (The Directory)

February

  • February 3: The Batavian Republic proclaimed in Amsterdam.
  • February 17: Peace of La Jaunaye: Vendéan rebels offered an amnesty, freedom of worship and no conscription.
  • February 21: Freedom of worship returns, but church and state are officially separated.

April

  • April 1-2: Germinal uprising demanding the 1793 constitution.
  • April 5: Treaty of Basle between France and Prussia.
  • April 17: The Law of Revolutionary Government is suspended.
  • April 20: Peace of La Prevalaye between Vendéan rebels and the central government with the same terms as La Jaunaye.
  • April 26: Representatives en mission abolished.

May

  • May 4: Prisoners massacred in Lyons.
  • May 16: Treaty of the Hague between France and the Batavian Republic (Holland).
  • May 20-23: Uprising of Prairial demanding the 1793 constitution.
  • May 31: The Revolutionary Tribunal closed.

June

  • June 8: Louis XVII dies.
  • June 24: Declaration of Verona by self declared Louis XVIII; his statement that France must return to the pre-revolutionary system of privilege ends any hope of a return to monarchy.
  • June 27: Quiberon Bay Expedition: British ships land a force of militant émigrés, but they fail to break out. 748 are caught and executed.

July

  • July 22: Treaty of Basle between France and Spain.

August

  • August 22: Constitution of the Year III and the Two Thirds Law passed.

September

  • September 23: Year IV begins.

October

  • October 1: Belgium annexed by France.
  • October 5: Uprising of Vendémiaire.
  • October 7: Law of Suspects cancelled.
  • October 25: Law of 3 Brumaire: émigrés and the seditious barred from public office.
  • October 26: Final session of the Convention.
  • October 26-28: The Electoral Assembly of France meets; they elect the Directory.

November

  • November 3: The Directory begins.
  • November 16: The Pantheon Club opens.

December

  • December 10: A forced loan is called.

1798

  • November 25: Rome is captured by Neapolitans.

1799

March

  • March 12: Austria declares war on France.

April

  • April 10: The Pope is brought to France as a captive. Elections of the Year VII.

May

  • May 9: Reubell leaves the Directory and is replaced by Sieyés.

June

  • June 16: Aggravated by France losses and disputes with the Directory, the ruling Councils of France agree to sit permanently.
  • June 17: The Councils overturn the election of Treilhard as Director and replace him with Ghier.
  • June 18: Coup d'état of 30 Prairial, 'Journee of the Councils': the Councils purge the Directory of Merlin de Douai and La Révellière-Lépeaux.

July

  • July 6: Foundation of the neo-Jacobin Manège club.
  • July 15: Law of Hostages allows hostages to be taken among émigrés families.

August

  • August 5: A loyalist uprising occurs near Toulouse.
  • August 6: Forced loan decreed.
  • August 13: Manège club shut down.
  • August 15: French General Joubert is killed at Novi, a French defeat.
  • August 22: Bonaparte leaves Egypt to return to France.
  • August 27: An Anglo-Russian expeditionary force lands in Holland.
  • August 29: Pope Pius VI dies in French captivity at Valence.

September

  • September 13: The 'Country in Danger' motion is rejected by the Council of 500.
  • September 23: Start of Year VIII.

October

  • October 9: Bonaparte lands in France.
  • October 14: Bonaparte arrives in Paris.
  • October 18: The Anglo-Russian expeditionary force flees from Holland.
  • October 23: Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, is elected president of the Council of 500.

November

  • November 9-10: Napoleon Bonaparte, aided by his brother and Sieyès, overthrows the Directory.
  • November 13: Repeal of the Law of Hostages.

December

  • December 25: Constitution of the Year VIII proclaimed, creating the Consulate.
Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Wilde, Robert. "French Revolution Timeline: 1795 to 1799 (The Directory)." ThoughtCo, Jan. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/french-revolution-timeline-the-directory-1221891. Wilde, Robert. (2020, January 29). French Revolution Timeline: 1795 to 1799 (The Directory). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-revolution-timeline-the-directory-1221891 Wilde, Robert. "French Revolution Timeline: 1795 to 1799 (The Directory)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-revolution-timeline-the-directory-1221891 (accessed April 26, 2024).