Why 1789 is the timeline year
The Estates General met at Versailles in May 1789 amid a deep political and financial crisis. Representatives then challenged the old balance of authority. On 20 June, deputies took the Tennis Court Oath, promising to remain together until France had a constitution. These steps preceded the best-known Paris uprising.
The Bastille was stormed on 14 July. The Palace of Versailles places the palace at the heart of the early Revolution and traces how events in Paris changed decisions at court. In October, the royal family left Versailles for Paris. That sequence explains why a timeline card uses 1789 without claiming that the whole Revolution took place on Bastille Day.
A date with several possible starting points
If a question asks for the beginning of the French Revolution, historians can point to different moments in 1789: the assembly, the oath, or the Bastille. Each emphasizes a different change. The year is more stable than a single opening date and makes the card fairer when placed among other events.
For chronological comparison, the Revolution came shortly before Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815. That gap is useful: a revolution began, governments changed, wars followed, and the final battle against Napoleon happened a generation later. Collapsing those events into one date would hide the scale of the period.
Where does it fit?
An easy trap is to put Waterloo immediately after 1789 and forget that twenty-six years passed. If you can place Magna Carta well before the Revolution and the Wright flight long after Waterloo, you have three useful anchors even if you cannot recall the precise day of the Bastille.
Before: Magna Carta at Runnymede (1215). Then The French Revolution begins (1789). After: The Battle of Waterloo (1815). These are three separate markers: try putting them in order without looking at the years.
Source for the date
The date and scope of the event were checked against the sources linked below. The explanations and comparisons are Time Tussle editorial text.
Palace of Versailles ↗
