On 20 June 1789, the National Assembly gathered at an indoor tennis court in Paris. Its members took an oath not to separate until they had defined a new constitution, with the King remaining as head of state.

Louis XVI attempted to quash the Assembly, instructing the three Estates to meet separately. They refused. Sensing a shift in the balance of power, members of the clergy and nobility flocked to join the National Assembly. The King, resigned to the situation, finally commanded all three Estates to join together, which they did on 30 June.

Rising bread prices and fears of an aristocratic conspiracy fuelled violent popular protests on the streets of Paris. On 14 July, rebels stormed the prison fortress of the Bastille, a symbol of royal authority. Paris fell from the King's control.

As the old order crumbled, the National Assembly began work on the new constitution. Instead of being based on the old values of birth, rank and legal privilege, the foundations for the revised social and political order were individual liberty, civic equality and wealth.

The Terror >>