Topic 6
Dumouriez
Dumouriez, the French commander was defeated by the Austrians in March 1793
he then plotted with the Austrians to overthrow the Convention - prompoted politicians to suspect the loyalty of some army commanders
when his army didn’t follow him, he deserted to the Austrians
since the Girondins had backed Dumouriez, his defection weakened their position in the Convention and within the clubs
The Vendee
war expansion and conscription caused the Vendée uprising.
February 1793: government ordered a levy of 300,000 troops; revolt began in March.
peasants already disliked the Revolution due to higher land taxes.
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy increased hostility in the strongly Catholic Vendée, where many non-juring priests remained.
sale of Church lands was unpopular as bourgeois owners raised rents.
By May 1793, 30,000 troops were sent from the front lines to crush the revolt.
Despite its scale, the Vendée never seriously threatened Paris.
Economic Issues
to pay for the war, more assignats were printed which reduced its value
by February 1793, the purchasing power of the assignat was down 50%
Emergence of Government by Terror
the unification of war and economic crisis declares a state of emergency which justifies anything (terror)
this terrorist government came into being due to the need to organise the Republic against external and internal enemies
the war drives the terror (bad war→ domestic terrorism)
Committee of General Security (CGS)
March 1793, a Revolutionary Tribunal was set up in Paris to try counter-revolutionary suspects
Danton said ‘let us embody Terror’ to ‘prevent the people from doing so’
due to resistance to conscription and Dumouriez’s defection, representatives-on-mission were sent to the provinces to work alongside commanders
the summary execution degree provided for trial and execution of armed rebels within 24 hours of capture (no jury or appeal)
Committee of Public Safety
April 1793, the Convention set up the CPS
its purpose was to supervise and catalyse the activities of ministers
the CPS depended on the support of the convention
Overthrow of the Girondins
June 1793, 80k national guardsmen + sans-culottes surrounded the Convention and demanded the expulsion of Girondins from the Assembly a maximum price imposed on all essential goods - the 1st time armed force was used against an elected assembly
to avoid conflict, the Convention agreed to the arrest of 29 Girondin deputies
Marat was assasinated by a royalist in the mistaken belief that it would end the Revolution
The Federal Revolt
caused by expulsion of Girondins, resentment over the maximum price controls and conscription, and centralisation
the rebels resented the influence that Paris and its commumne had on the convention
the revolts were uncoordinated and isolated and ultimately failed
the Jacobins used the revolts as "proof" of a massive internal conspiracy, justifying the suspension of the 1793 Constitution.
The New CPS
a new CPS was formed in summer 1793: the 12 members were all Montagnards or Plain
Robespierre
joined the CPS in july 1793
he was known as ‘the incorruptible’ as he didn’t seek power or wealth
Sans-Culottes
sans-culottes grew in influence in July 1792 when the National Guard opened up to ‘passive citizens’
their power and dominance was so significant that no one could control Paris without their support
they detest aristocracy, the ancien regime, and believe in direct democracy
as they had put the Jacobins in power, a series of concessions were made to them by the CPS:
maximum price controls on essential goods
to fight the war
a new constitution written by Saint-Just aimed at establishing revolutionary principles
The Enrages
the economic situation continued to deteriorate in summer 1793
drought reduced the grain supplies into Paris by 75%
a group called The Enrages demanded action from the government
Robespierre wanted him eliminated as he threatened the Commune and Convention with his tangible actions on the streets
he was arrested as a counter-revolutionary and took his life in prison in 1794
The Economic Terror
September 1793, the law of the General Maximum was passed to control prices
this law set the common people against eachother
peasants hated it as it had negative economic impacts on their production but the sans-culottes wanted it so they could afford bread
the sans culottes went into the countryside with the armee revolutionairre and enforced it
December 1793, the assignat’s value increased by 48%
The Political Terror
3 forms:
official terror controlled by CPS and CGS centered in Paris, whose victims were brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal
the terror in federal revolt areas such as Vendee and Lyon
the terror in other parts of france under the reps-on-mission and armee revolutionairres
September 1793, the Tribunal had heard 260 cases and 25% of them ended in death sentences
Provincial Repression
end of 1793, the federal revolts had been supressed by the regular army
Vendean rebels were crushed and Lyon, Marseille and Toulon were brought back under republican control
January to May 1794, the army moved through the provinces killing any peasant they saw
October 1793, the CPS ordered the destruction of Lyon - this was an example for other areas not to rebel
Law of Suspects
March 1793, the Law of Suspects was passed, where the government delegated some of its power to local Revolutionary committees who worked closely with reps-on-mission and armee revolutionairres to confront counter-revolutionary activity
mass arrests took place (around 500,000)
the number of official executions that took place was around 16,600
Religious Terror
the existence of Catholicism as a belief challenged the revolution
a campaign of Dechristianisation began, driven by the sans-culottes, reps-on-mission and armee revolutionairres
the destruction of churches was a symbol of the revoluitionaries’ determination to destroy anything connected with the ancien regime
the Paris Commune stopped paying clerical salaries in May 1793
Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral became a Temple of Reason
The New Calendar
October 1793, a new revolutionary calendar was introduced with the aims of:
emphasise a complete break with the past, particulary the Church
to sweep away any traces of the ancien reigme
The Dictatorship of the CPS
towards the end of 1793, the government had achieved these things to strengthen the revolution:
federal revolts crushed
food supplies moving into towns and cities
increased assignat value
driving out foreign armies from domestic areas
in October 1793, the CPS passed a decree that the government was to be ‘revolutionary until the peace’
→ this created more space for terror
The Law of Frimaire
December 1793, the Law of Frimaire was pased which did 2 things:
the CGS was responsible for police, internal security and the Revolutionary Tribunal
the CPS was to control foreign policy and purge + direct local government
→ shows the terror changing as centralisation increased
Robespierre justified this by arguing that a dictatorship was necessary to drive out foreign and internal enemies of the revolution
Opposition: Hebert
left-wing opposition came from Jacques Hebert and his followers (Hebertistes)
Robespierre disliked them as their dechristianisation campaign turned Catholics (a large part of France) against the revolution
when Hebert called for an insurrection in March 1794, him and his supporters were arrested and later guillotined
the CPS took advantage of this and strengthened their grip over France:
Parisian revolutionary army was disbanded → threat
the Commune was purged and filled with Robespierre’s supporters
reps-on-mission were called back to Paris → threat
Cordeliers club was closed
Opposition: Danton
right-wing opposition came from Danton, who wanted to halt the terror and centralisation
Danton had alot of support in the Convention and was deemed a threat by the CPS
his call for peace was viewed as wanting to restore the monarchy
April 1794, Danton was executed along with Desmoulins (his supporter)
→ all the purging led France to live in an atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion
The Great Terror
June to July 1794, in Paris
May 1794, in order to control the repession, the government abolished the provincial Revolutionary Tribunals in May so that all counter-revolutionaries were brought to Paris → increased centralisation
June 1794, the Law of Prairal was passed which:
broadened the definition of counter-revolutionaries
removed any semblance of a fair trial
in the Great Terror, nearly 1600 people were executed → no one dared criticise the CPS
Overthrow of Robespierre
Catholics
Robespierre disliked the dechristianisation as it created enemies of the Revolution
he wanted to unite Frenchmen with his Cult of the Supreme Being which the Convention accepted in May 1794
Catholics detested it as it rejected Catholicism
most members of the CGS opposed it as they saw it as trying to restore Catholicism
ordinary revolutionaries opposed it as they saw Robespierre as making himself a priest in a new religion
Sans-Culottes
Robespierre’s popularity among the sans-culottes started to decrease due to:
the execution of Hebertistes
the end of direct democracy
the raising of the Maximum on prices in March which led to inflation + decreased assignat value
CPS and CGS
in April 1794, the CPS set up its own police bureau with Robespierre in charge
the CGS saw this as interference with its own internal security → led to division between CPS and CGS
The Coup of Thermidor
during the division, Robespierre took a month away from office which:
tarnished his reputation as incorruptable
let the CPS govern without him and they question whether they need him
they speculate what hes up to due to paranoia state
July 1794, Robespierre made a speech attacking unnamed colleagues who plot against the government → everyone in the Convention thinks its them so they stick together against Robespierre
9 Thermidor, Robespierre was shouted down by the Convention after trying to make a speech and the Convention then voted for his arrest along with Saint-Just
Augustin, Robespierres brother, asked for the same fate and took his life
28th July 1794, Robespierre and others executed
the Coup of Thermidor brought an end to the Terror