The emergence and spread of Terror Sep. 1792 - Sep. 1793 Flashcards
(46 cards)
Political differences between the Girondins and Montagnards + their key representatives
- The Jacobins had a strong-support base in Paris and believed in the centralisation of government, whereas the Girondins had a wide-support base in the provinces and believed in the revolutionary idea of decentralisation.
- Jacobins drew their support from the radical sans-culottes in Paris whereas the Montagnards were suspicious of them and tries to limit their influence, not wanting their impulsive behaviour to hinder the progress of the revolution somehow
- The Jacobins believed in a radical, militant approach to bring about enlightened change (i.e., violent repression of counterrevolutionaries) whereas the Girondins believed in more moderate methods
- The Montagnards were represented by figures like Robespierre, Danton and Marat, whereas the Girondins were represented by figures like Brissot and Roland (their main spokesperson)
Details of the establishment of the republic (when was it declared, and committee)
- On 22nd September, the Convention declared France a Republic.
- A constitutional committee comprising 10 deputies was set up in order to draw up proposals for a new constitution to replace that of 1791, but the constant argument between Jacobins and Girondins made it hard for any agreement to be made.
What victory enabled the Girondin to put in some controversial policies? And give an example of one policy?
- A victory against the Austrians by the Girondin general Dumouriez on 6th November won the Girondins some respect, enabling them to win support for some provocative decrees.
- On 19th November, the Convention produces the ‘Edict of Fraternity’, promising ‘fraternity and assistance to all people who wish to recover their liberty’. This was essentially an invitation to all European peoples to rise up against their respective monarchies, and a suggestion that France would be willing to provide material and moral support. This destroyed the potential coexistence of revolutionary France with the rest of Europe, arguably driving the expansion of the first coalition in early 1793.
How did the Jacobins increase support for themselves?
- The Jacobins exploited the increasing political instability of the rural areas (i.e., with the Chouan rebellion starting to break out in late 1792) to argue for a policy of greater centralisation.
What was discovered which framed Louis as guilty?
- On 20th November, the armoire de fer was discovered. This was an iron box, found in the Tuileries, which contained papers showing Louis’ correspondence with the Austrian royal family, and therefore provided direct proof of his ‘counter-revolutionary’ activity. This gave more weight to the Jacobins’ argument that Louis’ death was the only possible solution.
Give details of the debate on whether Louis should have a trial? What did Robespierre think, in particular?
- Soon the debate became even more radical, to the point at which Jacobins such as Robespierre were not just suggesting that Louis should suffer the death penalty, but that he should not even have a trial. He argued in a speech on 4th December that ‘to propose the trail of Louis XVI is to question the revolution’ as it opens up the possibility of him being innocent and the patriots who accuse him being deemed unjust/guilty/liars. He exclaimed, ‘Louis must die because the country must live’.
- The Girondins (including figures such as Condorcet) argued that a trial was necessary in order to avoid creating a civil war in France, not provoke further hostility from Austria and Prussia, and so that people couldn’t call the revolution anarchic.
When was the decision taken to try Louis? Why was he already essentially doomed?
- On 3rd December, a decision was taken to try Louis. However, even before the trial begun it was clear that there was no chance of it being in his favour because the Convention acted as both judge and jury. This was of doubtful legality because there was no provision in the constitution for the legislative body to act as a court. Revolutionary principles are already being comprised in the name of the revolution.
Give four examples of things Louis was accused of in his indictment + the date it was read
- On 11th December, the prepared indictment was read to Louis XVI at the Convention. It accused him of…
a) Locking the newly formed National Assembly out of their meeting place on 20th June 1789, but it claims that he drove them out ‘with violence’, which is just factually incorrect. He was preparing the room for the Séance Royale planned for 23rd June so locked the doors and had guards stand outside, but fundamentally it was a misunderstanding and no actual violence was used against the deputies.
b) It accuses him of conspiring with Mirabeau and Lafayette on 17th July regarding the Champ de Mars massacre. They use a letter written to Lafayette as evidence, but the letter only points to the fact that they were in communication, not that Louis actually ordered them to start shooting at Champ de Mars.
c) It accuses him of conspiring with emigres.
d) Essentially, a lot of the things he was accused of either wasn’t really a crime because they’re saying he acted autocratically whilst he was an absolute monarch, and much of the other evidence is severely distorted.
What was Louis’ defence?
- Louis’ defence was given on 26th December, and his lawyers used the argument that a king would not be accused of treason. This was a bad move and made him look even worse (though execution was by now probably inevitable) because he seemed to be using ideas of divine right to defend his position when he should’ve talked in more revolutionary language (i.e., by saying that, yes, he may have acted despotically whilst he was a despot, but that he was actually largely compliant and accepting of the revolution once the new constitution had been formed in late 1791)
What was the outcome of the voting in January 1793? And when was Louis executed?
- From 15th – 17th January, votes were taken on various questions proposed by the Convention.
a) On whether he was guilty: 693 voted guilty, and none voted against, though there were some abstentions
b) On what his sentence should be: 26 voted for reprieve (meaning being acquitted), 286 voted for detention and banishment or solitary confinement, and 361 voted for death without conditions (i.e., only after the war) - On 21st January, Louis XVI was executed at the ‘Place de la Revolution’. There were cries of “ong Live the Republic’ by the people.
Key military developments early 1793
The execution of Louis helps to unify European governments against France, placing more military pressure on the republic…
o In January, Portugal entered the anti-French coalition
o In early February, France declares war on Britain and the Dutch Republic
o In early March, France declared war on Spain
So… from March France was fighting a powerful coalition of European countries, comprised of Austria, Piedmont-Sardinia, Prussia, Spain, Britain, Portugal and the Dutch Republic
Immediate consequences of the escalating war for France in early 1793
- French troops are driven out the Austrian Netherlands
- British, Austrian and Spanish troops all mounted attacks into France
- On 1st March: in Belgium, the Austrians had counter-attacked and turned the flank of Dumouriez’s advance into Holland
- In April, the Austrians besiege the ‘Republic of Mains’
Evidence of the war producing an economic strain on France
o By January 1793, the assignat were down to 5% of their face value
o Requisitioning and bulk-purchasing to supply the French army over the Autumn of 1792 meant that the supply of basic commodities was heavily disrupted: by February 1793, the price of sugar was doubled or possibly triple its value in 1790, and the price of soap had also more than doubled.
o Average food prices rose 90% from 1791 to 1793 – increased discontent amongst the sans-culottes
What was the sans-culottes’ reaction to the economic strain on France? (February riots)
o Between 22nd and 24th February, French citizens were making petitions to the Convention and Jacobin club for price caps due to the high rates of inflation (economic strains put public pressure on the government to actively improve the situation – eg, by getting rid of hoarders)
o On 25th February, when the people’s demands for price caps weren’t answered, there was a wave of attacks on grocery shops and warehouses (but order was restored by Santerre’s National Guards on 26th)
How did disturbances in Brittany make terror more likely?
o On 3rd March, an armed royalist uprising begins in Brittany
o One Breton agitator urged people to pay no taxes ‘since there’s no more king and there are no more laws’
o However, Brittany was better garrisoned than the Vendee so within one month the Breton risings had been supressed and districts were complying with the levy decreed in February (ie meeting the required numbers)
How did the emergence of the rising in the Vendee make terror more likely?
o The uprising in the Vendee region began as a protest against the levy for 300,000 men which had been decreed on 24th February and was being conducted in March
o Started as clashed between peasants and National Guards
o By early March, recognizable leaders had begun to emerge, including the ex-soldier Stofflet who led 10,000 men
o On 14th March, a ‘Catholic and Royal Army of the Vendee’ was officially pronounced
o The Convention was forced to send 30,000 men from the front to the Vendee area to quell the revolt in May – internal disturbances hindered the war effort, so needed to be removed in order for the War of the First Coalition to be won (terror needed as a means of ‘cleansing’ the nation)
How did sans-culottes put pressure on the Convention to set up the instruments of terror? (March)
o The communes and Jacobins started calling for the establishment of a revolutionary tribunal to try traitors
o 9th – 10th March: there was an attempted insurrection by sans-culottes under the radical journalist Hebert (and including enrages like Varlet) BUT the communes refuse their support and order is restored by Santerre’s 9,000 troops
What happened on 10th March?
The convention accepted the Jacobin club and communes’ calls for a revolutionary tribunal to try traitors to be set up. The Convention also stated that deputies should be sent out to all the departments as ‘representatives on mission’ to explain and expedite war emergency measures
What are key events regarding Dumouriez?
o 12th March: Dumouriez openly denounces French policy in Belgium (heightens tensions in Paris and increases suspicion on his loyalties)
o 6th April: Dumouriez defects and flees across the Austrian lines – Dumouriez’s association with the Girondins didn’t reflect well on them, and only heightened the Montagnard/Girondin internal conflict in the Convention
What are key events in mid-late March which make terror more likely?
o 19th March: summary execution decree provides for the trial and execution of armed rebels within 24 hours of capture. These trials were hled without a jury and there was no appeal – decentralisation and radicalisation of terror
o 21st March: watch committees are established (comites de surveillance) throughout the country to scrutinize the activities of foreigners and suspects
When does the CPS start functioning? How is it changed?
o 6th April: the Committee of Public Safety formally starts functioning, BUT by this time its numbers had been reduced from 25 to 9, where the members were renewed monthly
Describe the trial of Marat? What’s the significance?
o 12th April: the Girondins call for Marat to be impeached, and the motion is passed overwhelmingly. He is accused of undermining the authority of the Convention, and of inciting murder and pillage. The 33 sections of Paris respond to this attack by calling for the expulsion of 22 named deputies who were considered not radical enough.
o 24th April!!! Marat is acquitted by the new Revolutionary Tribunal and carried shoulder high by sans-culottes back to the Convention
Significance is that the sans-culottes, as well as the Jacobins, become more suspicious of the Girondins and whether they are trying to hinder the progress of the revolution.
Describe the establishment of the first maximum? What triggered it? What’s the significance?
o 3rd May: the Convention is mobbed by 8,000 demonstrators who declared themselves in a state of insurrection until price controls were introduced
o 4th May: the first maximum for grain and bread, giving the local authorities wide powers of search and requisition, is formally promulgated
Another example of the Convention giving in to the demands of the sans-culottes - makes them more likely to press for political and economic terror later onwards.
What is the difference between the CGS and CPS? When were they set up?
o The Committee of General Security (had existed since mid-1792) had overall responsibility for police security, surveillance and spying
o The Committee of Public Safety (6th April) was supposed to be the higher authority that would supervise and speed up the implementation of terror. It comprised of 9 individuals who were re-elected by the Convention each month, though was initially supposed to be 25. Danton wanted a committee without extremists so initially seven out of the nine were members of the Plain (including Barere).
