The Magic Flute Study Guide - Manitoba Opera

1791 Timeline
1791 was an eventful year; La clemenza di Tito premiered on September 6, The Magic Flute
premiered on September 30, and W.A Mozart died on December 5, at age 35. Here are other
events that occurred in 1791:
The Brandenburg Gate, a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and
Germany, was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace
and built from 1788 to 1791.
The Day of Daggers or 'Day of Poignards' was an event during the French Revolution
which occurred on February 28, 1791, when the Marquis de Lafayette arrested 400
armed aristocrats at the Tuileries in Paris.
The Flight to Varennes (June 20-25, 1791 ) was a significant episode in the French
Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family were
unsuccessful in their attempt to escape, from the radical agitation of the Jacobins in
Paris. This represented a turning point after which popular hostility towards the
monarchy, as well as towards Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, became more pronounced.
They were only able to make it as far as Varennes.
On August 22, the slaves of Saint Domingue rose in revolt and plunged the colony
into civil war. The plantation owners retaliated by massacring black prisoners as they
were being escorted back to town by soldiers. Within weeks, the number of slaves that
joined the revolt was approximately 100,000.
On August 26, John Fitch and James Rumsey, rivals battling over claims to the invention,
each were granted a federal patent for the steamboat. They devised different systems for
their steamboats.
The Declaration of Pillnitz, on August 27, was a statement issued at the Castle of
Pillnitz in Saxony by the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and Frederick William
II of Prussia, calling on European powers to intervene if Louis XVI of France was
threatened. The statement helped begin the French Revolutionary Wars.
The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution of
France. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was adopting constitutionality and
establishing popular sovereignty, following the steps of the United States of America.
During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France
from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and
revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and
of the National Convention.
On December 15, 1791, the new United States of America ratified the Bill of Rights, the
first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, confirming the fundamental rights of its
citizens.
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