Terror

• The reign of Terror was formally initiated


  September 1793
• Reign of Terror


  The most violent phase of the French revolution, during which around 16,600 French citizens were officially executed
• Famous victims of the Terror


  • Marie Antoinette, the former Queen, who was executed on 16 October 1793
• Reasons for the Terror

  • Outbreak of war
  • Threat of a counter-revolution
  • Political rivalries
• Threat of a counter-revolution


  Most important reason for the outbreak of the Terror
• Threat of counter-revolution


  • Small groups of Vendean peasants participated in attacks on symbols of the republic government
  • Département officials, juring priests and Republican Sympathisers were abused, beaten, driven out of region or murdered
• Threat of counter-revolution


  The Terror was a natural response to protect France and the Revolution
• In June 1793, the Catholic and Royal army marched north and laid Siege to Nantes, but their attack failed after only 2 days
• Threat of counter-revolution


  The Terror was used as a means of protecting France through uniting the French in support of violent action against counterrevolutionaries
• The September massacres began on 1 September 1792 when between 1100 and 1300 out of the total 2600 prisoners in Paris were killed
• The period between June 10th and the fall of Robespierre on July 27th, 1794, became known as the Great Terror, during which almost 1405 people were executed in Paris, around 200 more than the previous 12 months
• Outbreak of war


  Less important as a reason for the Terror than the threat of counter-revolution
• In spring of 1793 the Girondins declared war on the Parisians radicals, Orchestrating an investigation of the Paris commune and the arrest of Jean-Paul Marat, a Montagnard deputy
• By early 1793, the enragés and sans-culottes of Paris were urging the national convention to resolve food shortages and do something about extortionate prices
• Political rivalries


  Less important as a reason for the Terror than the threat of counter-revolution
• During the insurrection of 31 May-2 June 1793, around 20,000 Parisians and a contingent of radical national guardsmen gathered outside the convention and demanded the expulsion of its Girondin members, which the Montagnards agreed to support