1791 in France explained
Events from the year 1791 in France.
Incumbents
Events
January
- On 28 January Robespierre discussed the organisation of the National Guard in the Assembly;[1] for three years a hot topic in French newspapers.
February
- 28 February – Day of Daggers; a confrontation between the guards and nobles.
March
May
- On 9 May, the Assembly discussed the right to petition.
- On Sunday 15 May the Constituent Assembly declared full and equal citizenship for all free people of color.
- On 16–18 May when the elections began, Robespierre proposed and carried the motion that no deputy who sat in the Constituent assembly could sit in the succeeding Legislative assembly.
- On 28 May, Robespierre proposed all Frenchmen should be declared active citizens and eligible to vote.[2]
- On 30 May, Robespierre delivered a speech on the abolishment of the death penalty but without success.[3]
June
- 14 June – The abolition of the guild system was sealed; the Le Chapelier Law 1791 passed, which prohibited any kind of workers' coalition or assembly.
- 20–21 June – During the Flight to Varennes, Louis XVI and his family attempt to escape Paris, but are instead arrested at Varennes.
July
- 11 July – The ashes of Voltaire are transferred to the Panthéon. An estimated million people attended the procession.
- Between 13 and 15 July the Assembly debated the restoration of the king and his constitutional rights.[4]
- Saturday 17 July – The Champ de Mars massacre occurs in Paris. Jean Sylvain Bailly and Marquis de LaFayette declared a ban on gathering followed by martial law.[5]
- 19 July, the King was restored in his functions.
August
A proclamation by Frederick William II of Prussia and the Habsburg Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, affirms their wish to "put the King of France in a state to strengthen the bases of monarchic government."
Battle of Tellicherry: Off the south-west coast of India: a British Royal Navy patrol forces a French convoy bound for Mysore to surrender.
September
- 3 September – The French Constitution of 1791 is accepted.
- 4 September – Louis XVI receives the title of King of the French.
- 13 September – Louis XVI accepts the final version of the completed constitution.
- 14 September – The Papal States lose Avignon to France.
- 28 September – Law on Jewish emancipation is promulgated, the first such legislation in modern Europe.
- On 29 September, the day before the dissolution of the Assembly, Robespierre opposed Jean Le Chapelier, who wanted to proclaim an end to the revolution and restrict the freedom of the clubs.
October
November
Births
Deaths
References
Sources
Notes and References
- Walter, G. (1961) Robespierre à la tribune, p. 220, 223. In: Robespierre, vol. II. L’œuvre, part IV. Gallimard.
- Book: Edelstein, Melvin. The French Revolution and the Birth of Electoral Democracy. 9 March 2016. Routledge. Google Books. 48. 9781317031277.
- https://www.academia.edu/20132338/The_Choices_of_Maximilien_Robespierre?email_work_card=view-paper The Choices of Maximilien Robespierre by Marisa Linton
- https://archive.org/details/mmoiresauthenti00robegoog/page/n195 Mémoires authentiques de Maximilien Robespierre, p. 527
- Discours de Danton, p. 152