The storming of the Bastille is still celebrated in France for several reasons. It is a commemoration of an important day in French history, a celebration of the values of the Revolution, and a day for France to be patriotic. What did the great fear and the reign of terror have in commo...
What caused/led up to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution? What did Blackbeard's flag mean? What was the Stamp Act Congress, and what is its significance? What was the significance of the Constitution of 1857? What is significant about the LA riots?
Reign of Terror, period of the French Revolution from September 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794, during which the Revolutionary government decided to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution (nobles, priests, and hoarders)
The Bastille was a fortress built to protect Paris during the Hundred Years’ War. It came from the French word “bastide” which means stronghold. Later on it served as a prison during the reign of King Louis XVI. By the late 1700s, France was under the harsh rule of the Bourbon mona...
Napoleonic Code, French civil code enacted on March 21, 1804, and still extant, with revisions, that was the main influence on the 19th-century civil codes of most countries of continental Europe and Latin America. Learn more about the Napoleonic Code’s
Levee en masse, a French policy for military conscription. It was first decreed during the French Revolutionary wars (1792–99) in 1793, when all able-bodied unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 25 were required to enlist. Learn more about levee en m
Maastricht Treaty, international agreement approved by the heads of government of the states of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands, in December 1991. The treaty established a European Union (EU), with EU citizenship granted to every person
Pullman Strike, in U.S. history, railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest in June and July of 1894. The federal government’s response to the unrest marked the first time that an injunction was used to break a strik
38th parallel, popular name given to the latitude line that roughly demarcates North Korea and South Korea. It was chosen by U.S. planners near the end of World War II as a boundary; the U.S.S.R. was to accept the Japanese surrender north of the line, an
Demilitarized zone (DMZ), region on the Korean peninsula that demarcates North Korea from South Korea. It roughly follows latitude 38° N (the 38th parallel), the original demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea at the end of World War II. L