The Assembly of Vizille or Estates General of Dauphiné was the result of a meeting of various representatives in Grenoble. Its purpose was to discuss the events of
The Day of the Tiles, one of the first revolts preceding the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
Day of the Tiles
On 7 June 1788, riots broke out all over the town of
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
. Soldiers sent to quell the disturbances forced the townspeople off the streets. Some sources say that the soldiers were sent to disperse parliamentarians, who were attempting to assemble a parliament.
[La "Journée des tuiles" à Grenoble](_blank)
Herodote.net
/ref> However, the townspeople climbed onto the roofs of buildings, hurling roof-tiles at the soldiers in the streets below, hence the name. This drove royal troops out of the city in the first outbreak of political violence that became the revolution.[From Failed Reforms to Revolutionary Crisis](_blank)
''A Short History of the French Revolution'', Jeremy D. Popkin, Prentice-Hall
Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...
, 14 July 2005
The Assembly
In July, Claude Perier
Claude-Nicolas Perier (28 May 1742 – 6 February 1801) was assured an important place in French history when he opened his Château de Vizille near Grenoble to the famous meeting of the estates of the Province of Dauphiné (21 July 1788) heraldin ...
, inspired by all of the liberal ideas around him, assembled a meeting in the room of the ''Jeu de Paume
''Jeu de paume'' (, ; originally spelled ; ), nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or (in France) ''courte paume'', is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, a ...
'' in his Chateau de Vizille and hosted the meeting which was previously prohibited in Grenoble. Almost 500 men gathered that day at the banquet hosted by Claude. In attendance there were many "notables" including churchmen, businessmen, doctors, notaries, municipal officials, lawyers, and landed nobility of the province of Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
.
Demanded at this meeting: the Convocation in Paris of an Estates-General (a form of national parliament). This meeting marked the first portion of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Opposition to absolutist monarchy finally came out into the open, with increasing support for its demands, culminating in the meeting of the Estates General.
Footnotes
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1788 in France
1788 in politics
History of Grenoble
Dauphiné Alps
Causes of the French Revolution