The highlights of this period are the abolition of the monarchy, the execution of Louis XVI, the intensification of the war with the formation of the First Coalition and the 1793 constitution.  Most of the period, however, is dominated by the Reign of Terror.  This is an important part of the syllabus and candidates are expected to undertake an in depth study of it.

The abolition of the monarchy and the execution of the king (Louis XVI)

The first action of the Convention was to abolish the monarchy on the 21^st September 1792, and to declare that the first year of the French Republic began on the 22^nd September 1792.  The question was what to do with the king.  The Girondins wanted to spare his life, but the Jacobins demanded his death as a matter of political necessity and not so much as of justice.  After a trial of more than six weeks, Louis XVI was found guilty of high treason.  With a majority of 70 votes, he was sent to the guillotine, where he died on the 21^st January 1793.  This was the first victory for Jacobins, for the idea began to take root that the Girondins were no longer faithful to the revolution since they had tried to protect the king.

The formation of the first coalition

Causes of its formation

i) The Edict of Fraternity – November – 1792:  

After their success at Valmy on 20 September 1792, the French took the offensive along the entire border from the Mediterranean to the Baltic.  Nice and Savoy were occupied as well as Speyer, Worms, Mainz and Frankfurt.  The Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) were invaded and the Austrian troops driven out.  The French armies were welcomed everywhere as liberators by a large part of the inhabitants.  In the first flush of victory, the Convention decreed the Edict of Fraternity in November 1792.  By this Edict, the Convention declared that all nations who wished to rebel against their rulers would be offered assistance.  This was a challenge, indeed to all the monarchs of Europe.

ii) Declaration on the river Scheldt:  

Shortly before the Edict of Fraternity, the Convention had declared that the river Scheldt was open to the shipps of all nations.  This was a challenge and a severe blow to the Dutch, who since the peace of Westphalia in 1648, had held the sole navigation rights over the river as well as to their British protectors.  Savoy, Nice, Belgium and the Rhineland were incorporated into France.  France was really exporting the revolution to other nations.

iii) The execution of Louis XVI:  

The execution of Louis XVI further brought matters to a head.  This sent shock waves across Europe, especially among the monarchs.  They felt threatened by the events in France. They felt the Revolutionary ideas had to be stopped before they affected their own people.  In response to the declaration of war on Britain and the Netherlands by France, the First Coalition was formed on the 1^st February 1793. It consisted of Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Britain and the Netherlands.

The supremacy of the Jacobins

The struggle between the Girondins and the Jacobins intensified daily.  The resistance to attempt to peg food prices further antagonized the starring mob of Paris.  On the 2^nd of June 1793 the National Guard, and the order of a new so-called Insurrectionary Commune, which had taken over the authority in the meantime, forced the Convention to have a score of Girondin leaders arrested.  Some escaped, and the rest were put under guard in Paris. The Jacobins were now in power.

The constitution of 1793

The first action of the Jacobins was an attempt to reconcile public opinion in the provinces by drawing up a new constitution. A draft was ready within a few weeks, and on the 24^th of June, the Convention approved the constitution of 1793. More than the constitutions of 1791 and 1795, it embodied the idea of direct representation by the people.

Study Guides

i) Why did France go to war in April 1792?

ii) Why did King Louis XVI become increasingly isolated during 1792?

iii) How well prepared was France for the war in 1792?

iv) How did the feeders (miltant revolutionaries and republicans) and the Brunswick manifesto lead to removal of the King?

Terms of the constitution

i)There would be no property qualification for voters or candidates

ii)Every male citizen of twenty-one years and older would have the vote to elect deputies to the legislative Assembly.

iii) Executive Authority would be in the hands of a committee of 25 members chosen by the legislative Assembly.  

iv) A declaration of rights promised freedom of worship and of labour employment.

The constitution, however, was never implemented because of the situation within and outside France.  The security situation had deteriorated so much that normal government was suspended, leading to the so-called Reign of Terror.

The Reign of Terror (1793 – 1794)

Candidates are expected to be able to define the Terror as well as explain its causes and results.  They are also expected to discuss how the Terror achieved its objectives, that is, the machinery of the Terror.

What was the terror?

This was the period in the Revolution when the government of France as embodied in the Convention, deliberately adopted a policy of terror in order to instill fear in the Republic in the hearts of the royalists, traitors, counter – revolutionaries and war profiteers. The Terror was an emergency and temporary measure meant to run for one-year 1793 – 1794.  Normal government was suspended during the reign of Terror.

Causes of the terror

The Terror was caused by the deteriorating situation both internally and outside France.

a)The internal revolts

Revolts broke out in about sixty departments south and west of Paris, where royalists, non-juring priests and Girondins made common cause to overthrow the Jacobins reign. Some of the departments which were in revolt included La-Vendee, Lyons and Marseilles. The peasants, especially in La Vendee had rebelled against the recruitment of troops.

In Paris and elsewhere, the price of bread, which had been stabilized the precious year, rose shaply. Necessities such as soap, sugar, and coffee were unobtainable. There was an unparalleled shortage of food and the assignats dropped only to about 30 percent of their normal value.

The external threat – The first coalition

With the formation of the First Coalition, matters took a serious turn almost immediately. The defeat and treason of Dumouriez were followed by the loss of the Netherlands. Spanish troops crossed the Pyrenees. The crisis was aggravated by the simultaneous invasion by Prussian and Jordanian forces, while the British fleet began a blockade of French harbours.

Therefore, with these clear and dangerous threats to the Revolution, it was clear that drastic measures only would save the Republic, hence the Reign of Terror.

The machinery of the terror

The Committee of Public safety

The threat to the Republic posed by foreign armies and internal revolts had an immediate effect on internal politics.  The Convention entrusted all executive authority to a secret committee of nine members, known as the Committee of Public Safety. The most important member was Danton.  The Committee controlled the ministers as well as the various committees of the Convention.  By means of political commissioners, it kept a close watch on local governments in the provinces and incited them to action.  On the 10^th of July 1793, the Committee of Public safety- which was in charge of external security, assumed dictatorial powers.

The committee of General Security

This committee controlled the police, investigated the reports of secret informants and arrested conspirators and suspect persons.  In other words, it was in charge of the internal security during the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror can be divided into the economic, religious and political/military Terror. This is because the terror was to make itself felt in the economic, religious and political spheres.

i)The economic terror

The purpose of the economic terror was really to organize the people with a view to supress the state of war.  In this manner, military supplies could be obtained at reasonable cost. The clashing interests of the consumer and the producer could be coordinated. A central Food committee contributed to the success of the policy. Bread was rationed, food and war supplies were earmarked for the war effort at fixed prices. According to the law of the Maximum, the Convention only could set the maximum prices of all basic commodities. Because some of the farmers were no longer selling their grain to government because of low prices offered by the latter, two drastic measures were introduced. These were food requisitioning – whereby the government used force to get the grain from the farmers and making hoarding punishable by death.  Stringent financial measures were taken to ward off the financial crisis, e.g. a compulsory levy of 1 000 000 Francs on the rich.

ii) The religious terror

In religious matters, the payment of salaries to priests was left in abeyance and the Christian religion was viewed with suspicion and scorn. The Herbertists, a small group of fanatics under Herbert and Fouche, who controlled the Paris Commune, wanted to take matters even further.  All churches in Paris were closed, and steps were taken to institute atheism, as the official religion. Luther Cathedral or Notre Dame, an actress was crowned as the Goddess of Reason.  The provinces followed the example of Paris, and thousands of churches were closed, or converted into “temples of reason”

The republican Calendar replaced the Christian – Gregorian one. The twelve months of the year were re-named after seasons, and the names of saints in the calendar were replaced by names of plants, trees and fruits. Every month was divided into three periods of ten days, so that the Christian Sunday fell away. These measures, were, however, not as popular as anti-clericalists had hoped.  Robespierre, who personally held deistic convictions regarded the excesses of the Herbertists as a blot on the name of the Republic, and feared that there would be serious repercussions abroad. The Committee of Public safety also realized that the majority of the French were still loyal to the Roman Catholic Church.  In addition, there was the possibility that the religious terror could become a source of social confusion and political disunity.  With the support of Danton, the Hebertists were consequently accused condemned by the Revolutionary Tribunal, and sent to the guillotine.

The political terror

The political terrorism of the Reign of Terror was extensive. The “law of suspects” determined that all suspects should be charged immediately. Suspects were described as all persons who showed that they sympathized with “tyranny”. As a result, few royalists, Girondins or people who were in the slightest, dissatisfied with the Revolution, escaped.  In Paris, the Committee of General Security had the task of arresting suspects, while in the provinces, vigilance committees were responsible. It has been calculated that about 500 000 people were arrested. Between January 1793 and June 1795, the Revolutionary Tribunal, a special court not bound by the ordinary rules of court and legal procedures, sent about 2800 people among them Marie Antoinette and the duke of Orleans, to the guillotine. Many others were the victims of a senseless butchery, while their property was confiscated.  The worst atrocities occurred in the provinces.

The military terror

On the recommendations of the Committee of Public Safety, the Convention proclaimed a general mobilization for military service and labour.  It was an important step in the direction of full-scale war.  An army of 750 000 men was soon raised through conscription or levee en masse.  All men between the ages of 25 and 40 were drafted into the army. Tribute must go to the efforts of the energetic Carnot. He transformed an ill-disciplined and ill-equipped French army into an efficient army.

The results of the terror – positive results

While the above measures were frequently senseless and cruel, they had an important effect.  The Reign of Terror was viewed by normal and civilized citizens as an imperative in order to overcome a national state of emergency. Not only treason, but even indifference or laxness towards the Republic became dangerous.  In addition, the greatest dangers, as well as the threats from abroad, could be countered during October 1793 with a good measure of success.  France ended the year 1793 with excellent victories.

i) Firstly, the external enemy, which is the first coalition was repulsed across every border, and the counter-revolutionary sprit was contained.

ii) The internal revolts in the departments like La Vendee were suppressed.

iii) Due to the economic terror, the value of the assignats remained fairly firm. In other words, the economic scene improved drastically.

Negative results

i) The terror had resulted in the deaths of many innocent people through the Law of Suspects.

ii) The dechristianizing activities of the Hebertists had compromised the unity of the nation as the Roman Catholic Church was the majority religion in France.  Later Robespierre, who believed in the binding force of religion, did not want to reintroduce Roman Catholicism.  He introduced a new deistic religion characterized by two things – the cult of the Supreme Being and the immorality of the soul.

iii) Robespierre’s dictatorship:- Instead of ending the Terror after it had accomplished its purpose, Robespierre intensified it.  This intensification was totally unjustified as it was prompted by personal selfish ambition.  It resulted in the execution of Danton and fifteen of his followers.

iv) The Thermidorian Convention (July 1794 – October 1795). In the month of Thermidor (July), the Reign of Terror reached a turning point. The fear that Robespierre was heading for total dictatorship had rapidly been growing. Robespierre became so obsessed with power that he wanted through the law of Prairial (June) 1794, to silence all criticism. This alienated him from most members of the Committee of Public safety. Consequently on the 27^th of July (9 thermidor), he was arrested. The following day, the 28^th July 1794, he was guillotined with 21 of his followers.

Consequences of the fall of Robespierre

• The committees of Public Safety and that of Generals security lost their despotic powers
• The Revolutionary Tribunal was abolished.
• The Jacobins club was closed.
• The Convention retained its grip on the Revolution, and the remaining Girondins regained access to the Convention.
• The economic tyranny was relaxed and forced loans were abolished.
• A list of the laws against the non-juring priests and against the émigrés were revoked.
• Religious freedom was reinstated.
• The bourgeoisie regained the political control which it had temporarily lost to the rash efforts to establish a republican democracy.  To forestall any further attempt to restore the monarchy, the bourgeoisie in the Convention drew up the constitution of year III (1795).