January

The year began in Paris with the splits in the National Assembly becoming even more apparent - the Revolutionary Jacobins divided into factions supporting Robespierre and Brissot's Girondins, the latter of whom favoured war to further revolutionary aims. The Assembly itself demanded to know from Austria whether the Declaration of Pillnitz had effectively invalidated the Austro-French alliance of 1756. The economic situation also worsened and the end of the month saw food riots in Paris.

The principles of the revolution were however more successful - the slave revolt in Santo Domingo, inspired by it, made further gains. In London, a pro-Jacobin society, the London Corresponding Society was established.

The Russo-Turkish war finally ended after 4 years with the Treaty of Jassy on the 9th, under which Russia gained territory up to the Dneister river, (the modrn-day boundary between Russia and Moldavia), and in the Crimea.

February

Fear of the spread of revolutionary discontent prompts Prussia and Austria to confirm their agreement on military policy at the Convention of Vienna on the 7th.

March

Leopold II dies suddenly in Strasbourg on the 1st and is succeeded by his son, Franz II, as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The 24- year old Emperor spent most of his early years under the tutelage of Joseph II and is of a more absolutist nature.

The temperature rises in Paris as the National Assembly approves the use of the guillotine on the 23rd. The Girondins topple the Feuillants from government and are invited by Louis XVI to form the new administration on the 23rd.

On the 27th, France demands that Austria dissolves all alliances contracted without her fore-knowledge and that Austria withdraw her troops from the French frontier.

Elsewhere, Gustavus III of Sweden dies from wounds inflicted by an assassin on the 29th. Not to be too distracted, Britain continues her expansion in India under Lord Cornwallis, finally defeating Tipu Sultan on the 16th.

April

The situation in Europe finally boils over. Feeling threatened by the closer collaboration of other European states, the Girondin government forces Louis XVI into declaring war on the Habsburgs and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the 20th. Overwhelmingly supported by the National Assembly, the declaration is specifically addressed to the 'King of Hungary and Bohemia', the Habsburgs' secondary title - so as not to antagonise other German states.

The French military attempt to move quickly - even allowing women into the ranks of the army, (where they fought at Valmy and Jemappes). It is around this time that the 'Marseillaise' is believed to have been composed. On the 29th, French armies advance into the Austrian Netherlands, but are swiftly repulsed.

The USA continued to distance itself from the Old World and declares its neutrality on the 22nd. Its economic independence had been completed on the 2nd, when the first dollar coin was minted.

May

As fighting continued between Austria and France, Russia took the opportunity to invade Poland on the 18th. Austria was alarmed, as she favoured the preservation of what remained of Poland.

The Wall Street Stock Exchange was founded on the 17th.

June

The collapse of the French attack on the Austrian Netherlands induced Franz II and Frederick William II to agree on a 3-pronged assault on Paris under the overall command of the Duke of Brunswick, leader of the Prussians. Prussia formally declared war on the 26th.

Meanwhile, the power struggle in France continued. On the 15th, the Feuillants regained control of the government, but were unable to prevent the sacking of the Tuileries palace on the 20th by the mob demanding the end of the remaining royal powers. In an attempt to counterstroke, General Lafayette fails to break up the jacobins by force on the 29th.

July

In a declaration believed to have been written by an emigre, the Duke of Brunswick issues a proclamation at Koblenz on the 14th, threatening the Parisians with a terrible retribution, if they don't restore the King.

Actual Austro-Prussian preparations proceed very slowly and are further distracted by the success of Russian-backed Polish nobles in changing Poland into a looser confederation on the 24th.

August

Allied threats against the Revolution back- fire, as the Paris mob again seize the Tuileries and capture the King on the 10th. The following day, a 'revolutionary commune' is established in Paris and the Assembly calls a National Convention. Royalist newspapers were banned and their presses seized.

On the 19th, the Allies cross the frontier and advancing slowly seize Longwy and Verdun.

In Britain, the 'Mutiny on the Bounty' court-martial of 10 captured seamen began. However, Fletcher Christian and 15 others eluded capture on Pitcairn Island.

September

The latest Republican reverses set off riots in Paris on the 2nd, which last three days, causing the loss of more than 1,100 lives. The French government order a second front to be opened and on the 8th, invade Savoy.

In the north, Kellerman defeats the cautious Brunswick at the Cannonade of Valmy on the 20th. Although losses were slight on both sides, it finally persuaded Brunswick, who had only invaded reluctantly, to withdraw. Despite not being militarily sufficient, the victory made the radicals in Paris more confident. The very next day, at its first meeting, the National Convention abolished the French Monarchy and declared a Republic on the 22nd.

In the south, the swift seizure of Savoy from the Kingdom of Sardinia induced the French to attack them again at Nice on the 29th. The French army of' the Rhine also took Speyer.

Thomas Paine, author of "The Rights of Man", a book he published in 1791 in support of the American and French Revolutions, fled London for Paris after being charged with treason.

October

The French continue their advances, especially across the lightly-defended German left bank of the Rhine, which was the main area of Royalist emigre concentration. They reach the Rhine itself by taking Worms on the 4th and Mainz on the 21st. These advances force the Allies to lift the siege of Lille on the 7th and abandon Verdun on the 9th.

French units then took Frankfurt on the 23rd and to spread the Revolution, established a Jacobin Club in Mainz on the same day. French armies were now in position to return to the offensive in the north and so, on the 27th, Dumonoriez led them back into the Austrian Netherlands. The French also advanced into Switzerland, seizing Basle on the 30th.

November

The French advance into the Austrian Netherlands continued and the Allied army under Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen is defeated at Jernappes on the 6th. Brussels falls on the 14th and Antwerp on the 29th.

Greatly alarmed by these advances, the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in Ratisbon authorises a maximum 'triplum' call-out of Imperial troops, to be ready by February 1793.

In Spain, very much a bystander thus far, King Charles IV appoints Manuel Goday, Duke of Alcudia, as his First Secretary, (Prime Minister).

December

The Prussians drive the French from Frankfurt on the 2nd, but otherwise, France consolidates her hold on the left bank of the Rhine - putting down an attempted revolt in Brussels on the 7th. King Louis is formally charged before the National Convention on the 11th. Elsewhere, the French colonies in the Caribbean take sides between monarchists and revolutionaries.

The British move closer to conflict as Parliament votes to support Pitt's preparations for war.

In the USA, George Washington is reelected President on the 5th. Russia's success in Poland still concerns the Central European states - Prussia, half-hearted about France, occupies Danzig and Little Poland.

General

Thus ended the first year of wars that were to engulf most of Europe's 180 million inhabitants and many more elsewhere. Gradually all the major players were being dragged in - many through fear of the spread of the ideals of the French Revolution. Wars induce the seeds of many social changes - women were even part of the French army and in Britain, the cause of equal rights for women was advanced by Mary Wollstonecraft, a leading radical.

European overseas expansion also continued - mainly in the name of trade. The Russians under Laxman were able to breach the strict Japanese seclusion under the Shoguns, but the British were less successful in their attempts under Lord MacCartney to improve trade with China. Her explorers were more successful in modern-day west Canada - MacKenzie began his crossing of the Rockies from the Praries towards the Pacific, while George Vancouver had spent most of the year exploring the Pacific coast itself from the sea.

Sources

The main source of the chronology has been Longman's Chronicle of the World, but much of the general background and detail of events comes from various reference books, ranging from MacCartney's 'The Habsburg Empire' to the Reader's Digest Library of Modern Knowledge.

The Year 1792: Introduction