robespierre: hero or villain?
hero | villain |
|---|---|
provided stability | believed he has a ‘divine right’ |
eliminated the dominance of the Church | killed thousands |
turned the tide of war in france’s favour | executed indiscriminately; including friends |
abolished slavery in france | created a ‘terror state’ that set the template for other countries ie stalin’s ussr |
introduced a new metric system | silenced opposition n stifled political debate |
established virtue within french politics | curtailed the freedom of press n overturned other gains made in 1789 |
debate: robespierre was incorruptible
he argued for the use of terror as a means to protect the gains of the revolution and eliminate counter-revolutionaries
well