The French Revolution began in which year?

• A. 1776
• B. 1789
• C. 1804
• D. 1812

Answer: (B)

The year the Revolution began is 1789, driven by a financial crisis and widespread inequality that pushed the French people to challenge the Ancien Régime. In 1789 the Estates-General was convened for the first time in many years, leading the Third Estate to form the National Assembly and push through early constitutional assumptions. The storming of the Bastille that July became a powerful symbol of popular action, and later that year the National Assembly moved to end feudal privileges and established principles that would underpin a new political order. These events together mark the start of the Revolution. The other years correspond to different moments in history—1776 is tied to the American Revolution, 1804 to Napoleon’s coronation as emperor, and 1812 to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. So 1789 is the correct starting point.