French Rev Key Terms Section 3 Flashcards
What drove France to Republic?
> King’s inflexibility or lack of command & use of veto - more split by war
Flight to Varennes 1791 - undermined constitutional monarchy & deepened mistrust
Tension over religion
Increased protest for removal of King by SC & radicals
Radicals threatened power of National Covention - needed to take control
SC increased in violence/radicalism because Legislative Assembly didn’t act on petitions
Revolutionaries split = no unity
Group that desired no monarchy grew in influence
Threat of émigrés - fear induced support for radical ideas
Difficult to remove ancien regime and maintain monarchy - church and monarchy traditionally inseparable
The Republic
Founded 22nd Sept 1792 = deputies of new National Convention declared France a Republic; known as “First Republic”
Lasted until Napoleon’s declaration of Empire in 1984
Led by NC = based on “liberty, equality, fraternity”
1st Act = Monarchy abolished & all royal/church property claimed by NC
New Republican Calendar
Adopted 1793 & used until 1805
Officially started 22nd Seot 1793 -> Vendemiaire Year 1
Months renamed to suit seasons
12 months & 10 days to a week
Debate in NC on what to do w/ Louis Capet now no longer King due to political faction issues
Girondins fundamentally more cautious; wanted to protect & consolidate gains already achieved (saw dominant Robespierre as potential dictators)
Jacobins/Montagnards saw gains only as starting point for further reform & progress & accused Girondins for lacking faith in revolution
Shared beliefs of Jacobin/Montagnards & Girondins
Supported Republican Govn
Supported the War & determined to achieve French victory
Believed in need for further enlightened reform to improve govn, economy & society
Beliefs of Jacobins/Montagnards
Strong support in Paris; wanted centralised govn
Supported by sans-culottes & ready to respond to their demands e.g. imposing controls over food prices & wages
Wanted radical, militant approach to force change
Wanted to see King put on trial & executed
Robespierre - dominant; Danton; Marat
Beliefs of Girondins
Strong support in Provinces; wanted decentralised govn
Suspicious of sans-culottes, fearing their activism; believed economic controls would curb ‘liberty’ & favoured free market economy
Wanted more moderate, measured approach needed to bring about change
Hesitant about action against King & less inclined to support death penalty; though prepared to accept his guilt
Brissot
Roland
Beliefs of The Plain
Represented departements outside of Paris; in middle of both factions
Their loyalties were unpredictable
Mostly associated w/ Girondins
Girondin Success
Believed in spreading revolutionary ideas acorss Europe by war; they dominated NC early on
Able to defer Louis’ trial due to French war victories
Jacobins & power of Parisians
Saw war @ home as more important & so focused on harnessing power of Parisians
Keen for trial of Louis = as long as alive he was threat of restoring monarchy
Repercussions of war felt within France
growing inflation = increased the restlessness of sans-culottes
outbreak of sporadic peasant uprisings = known as Chouan rebellion in West France
hostile to religious changes of the revolution
resentful to wartime levies
disturbances in France w/ high areas of refractory priests
real split emerging between Paris & provinces
THUS Jacobins exploited these issues to argue for greater centralisation
Amoire de fer
Roland announces it to NC; iron box containing papers showing Louis’ correspondence w/ Austrian royal family = proof of Louis’ counter-revolutionary activities; seen as finality of Louis’ fate
Trial of Louis Capet
NC decide to trial him w/ NC as judge & jury (3 Dec 1792)
Robespierre argued or immediate death arguing King had already been judged by the people & therefore didn’t need a trial “Louis must die because the country must live”
Louis’ defence given to NC arguing king could not be accused of treason (rejected by NC)
Girondins suggested a referendum (27 Dec 1792) BUT this was dismissed by Jacobins/Montagnards & many of Plain as undermining of their elected deputy status
Votes instead on 3 big questions
Is the King Guilty?
- 693 = Guilty
- 0 = Innocent
- 28 = Absentees
Should there be a referrendum?
- 424 = No
- 283 = Yes
What should happen to Louis Capet?
-721/749 deputies voted
-2 = Imprisonment
-26 = Reprieve (they didn’t believe it was constitutional)
-46 = Death after war (killing King would make more counties unite against France)
-286 = Detention/Banishment/Solitary Confinement
-361 = Immediate Death
ALL MADE GIRONDINS LOOK FOOLISH; AS THEIR SOFTER APPROACH LOSES THEM SUPPORT AS MORE OF THE PLAIN SIDE W/ JACOBIN/MONTAGNARDS!
Execution of King
Announced verdict to public 20th Jan 1793
Louis execution = guillotined 21st Jan 1793
Soldiers lined streets to maintain order; 100,000 ppl crowded to see execution in square
Louis’ final speech drowned out by drums & cries of “Long Live the Republic” from crowds
His body covered in quicklime to make him rot faster
Declaration of Sovereignty
A Self-governing state
This & Louis’ execution motivated French people
Started next radical stage of revolution
Decision to execute Louis & need for stronger centralisation played into hands of Jacobin/Montagnards
Factors for Regicide
> King’s Actions: Flight to Varennes; Amoire de Fer (HUGE TRIGGER AS HARD EVIDENCE LOUIS IS TRAITOR); dismissal of Girondin ministers; suspensory veto; resisting revolution; authoritarian personality; conspiring w/ Austrian enemy
External Pressures: Declaration of Pillnitz; Brunswick Manifesto; War
Internal Pressures: Federalist Revolt; Vendee uprising; Choan Peasants Riots
Factions: Jacobins gaining influence for radical ideas; Robespierre’s speech; responding to extreme groups to earn influence e.g. Sans-Culottes
First Coalition: SHAPPPE
Spain Holland Austria Piedmont-Sardinia Prussia Portugal England (Great Britain)
War of First Coalition
First in series of revolutionary wars; largely British financed; SHAPPPE wanted territorial gains e.g. Austria/Prussia wanted Poland
France started out poorly; Britain/Austria/Spain all attacked France
Internal French revolts in West & South France hindering military effort
Committee of General Security (CGS)
Oct 1792 = responsible for policing/administration of justice; originally 30 deputies but reduced to 12 @ beginning of 1793
Had to report to National Convention
Draft of 300,000 men
Feb 1793 = start of conscription (resonates that of Ancien Regime); thought people would be keen to show support for revolution
Representants-en-mission
March 1793 = deputies sent by National Convention to maintain law/order in departements; had unlimited powers!
See public order maintained, oversee conscription into army, put down urban revolt, arrest considered suspects, ensure food supplies, supervise levies
More powerful than local govn
Also ensured morale of troops & loyalty of generals (generals doubted due to defections of Lafayette & Dumouriez)
Reported daily to CPS & weekly to National Convention
Resonate intendants of Ancien Regime!
Revolutionary Tribunal
March 1793 = established to trial counter-revolutionaries
Included 5 judges, public prosecutor & jury
Counter-revolution made a crime
Centralised because national Convention dictate elections
Comites de surveillance
March 1793 = established in all communes or sections to seek suspicious behaviour (surveillance/watch committees)
No direct powers of arrest; suspected people handed to tribunals & put to death if found guilty
Required to draw up lists of suspects to give to CGS
Commitee of Public Safety (CPS)
April 1793 = established 2 days after Dumouriez defected; essentially a ‘war cabinet’ set up to look at war & its consequences; dominated by Danton
Responsible for war, diplomacy, supplies, control of army & application of revolutionary laws
Had authority over CGS
Robespierre elected to it; Jacobins/Montagnards securing power
Meetings closed to outsiders
Reported weekly to NC
Measures accompanied by propaganda; fear would ensure compliance
Restricted rights, centralised power & increased fear
Rising in the Vendee
March 1793 = area in central-west France; Catholic area w/ many refractory priests (ideal breeding ground for rebellion as religious resentments strong)
Sale of church lands brought new bourgeoise land-owners = raised rent
Peasantry no worse off than they had been in Ancien Regime (due to inflation & lack of food supplies) = created hostility
Why Vendee uprising?
Catholic & Royal Army of the Vendee formed; began as a protest against the levy for 300,000 men (March 1793) as they resisted conscription
Disliked church reforms; some paying more land tax than in AR; anti-monarchy but also anti-Jacobin control; resented Centralisation
What happened @ Vendee uprising of March 1793?
Seized Cholet - major city
Massacred local officials, juring priests & National Guard (guerrilla warfare throughout countryside)
National Convention forced to send 30,000 men to control rebellion (May 1793); sacrificing forces from external battles of war!
Rebells seized bridges, land & were heading for Paris (June 1793) = put pressure on NC (Jacobins blamed Girondins as they encouraged freedom of speech)
Battle of Chatillon (5 July 1793) = Vendean rebels defeat Jacobin forces; success for rebellion; 6,000 Republicans total w/ 2,000 killed & 3,000 imprisoned
National Convention decreed destruction of Vendee (1 Aug 1793)
Army of 100,000 arrived in Nantes (6 Sept 1793) & fail to get upper hand until Oct
Vendeean army eventually destroyed (Dec 1793) w/ 15% Vendee died; republicans could take their vengeance
Sans-Culottes disturbances
Feb/March 1793 = becoming more millitant; angry at rising prices; made repeated calls for price controls on goods BUT NC blocked these decrees
Inflation due to British naval blockade & war in colonies; assignats dropped to 1/3rd of true value
Drought summer 1793 = poor food supply
War going bad
Not much better than 1789 under AR
Robespierre initially showed little sympathy but then realised political advantage (support his campaign against grain hoarders & further discredit Girondins)
Demands of The Enrages
Enraged people = wanted execution of hoarders; purge of any army officers not winning; campaigned against those profiting from high food prices; encouraged Sans-Culottes in their food riots
Significance of Radical Jacobin journalist Marat
Wrote articles blaming Girondins for France’s problems in his paper L’Ami du Peuple; portrayed them as bourgeoisie businessmen = produced series of attacks on Girondins printing press inspired by Marat’s words 9/10 Mar 1793
Consequently, Girondins wanted Marat’s arrest on grounds of inciting murder, pillage & attacking authority of NC
Marat tried by Revolutionary Tribunal but found innocent = delighted Paris Sans-Culottes
All portrayed Girondins as enemies of liberty
Significance of Dumouriez
Flees to Austria after his soldiers desert him as he calls them to remove National Convention
Dumouriez was Girondin, so used as evidence by Jacobins to argue Girondins are traitors
Gradual migration of people to support Jacobins
Significance of 3rd May 1793
8,000 Sans-Culottes surround National Convention demanding price controls on bread
Robespierre establishes first price controls on wheat & flour (won this vote for 1st time due to pressure by SC on deputies)
BUT Girondins opposed price controls
Price Controls HERE = referred to as First Law of General Maximum (more extensive controls put in place Sept 1793 in Second Law of the General Maximum)
Compulsory Loan
May 1793 = imposed on wealthy to raise funds
Robespierre calls for rising against “corrupt deputies’ in NC
26 May 1793 = demanded expulsion of Girondins
Roused thousands of SC from sections supported by NG & they surrounded Convention in crowd 80-100,000 (2 June 1793)
Resisting deputies had no choice but to give in; no deputies allowed to leave until had given support for Robespierre’s notion that 29 Girondins be expelled 7 placed under house arrest
75 deputies abstained 7 signed protest against such action (only looked more suspicious themselves)
Hebert had key role; the Montagnards won the day & in future were able to dominate Convention
Robespierre’s growing popularity
Girondins unable to stop growing radicalism evident in NC, Paris Commune & Paris sections
Robespierre more popular - spent days in Covention & evenings in Jacobin club
Led calls for action
Branded Girondins as traitors
Federalist Revolt
1793; Expulsion of Girondins propelled revolt in départements where Girondin support was strongest
=reacting against centralisation by Jacobins in Paris; 60/83 departements protested against expulsions
Included expulsion of few Jacobin deputies too
Armies willing to fight to reinstall Girondin deputies
Coupled w/ rebellions in Vendee, the Federalist Revolt posed real danger of civil war
Conflict in Toulon
People went further as revolt against Jacobins merged w/ royalist revolt
City appealed for help from Anglo-Spanish fleet & proclaimed Louis XVII as King; it was key naval base w/ 26 French ships (⅓ French Navy!), so a revolutionary army was swiftly sent to lay siege to the city
Napoleon Bonaparte heavily involved in conflict; Toulon taken in Dec 1793 thanks to him
Toulon uprising causes other cities to denounce Jacobins; though other uprisings successfully crushed July-Oct 1793 as representants-en-mission sent to force cities back into line
Jacobin/Montagnards New Constitution
24 June 1793 = Linked to new modified version of Declaration of Rights of Man & Citizen
Established an Executive Council to be subservient to Assembly
Decreed universal male suffrage
All entitled to public assistance; state must provide work
Aggressively egalitarian constitution = stressed society more important than individual
Originally endorsed by national plebiscite in 1794 w/ 1,801,918 votes in FAVOUR & 11,610 AGAINST; BUT never put into practice due to wartime situation!!
Robespierre realises importance of support from Sans-Culottes
New Constitution abandoned
10th August 1793 = social change unsuitable during time of such strenuous war
Govn had to be “revolutinary until the peace”
Levee en Masse
23rd August 1793 - order forcing all to participate in war efforts by National Convention
All men without immediate dependents (bachelors & childless widows aged 18-25yrs) gave military service; France not needing soldiers so decision to call young men was tactical
Married men to force weapons & transport services
Women to make tents & serve in hospitals
Children to shred linen for lit
Old to excite courage of warriors, preach hatred of kings & unity of Republic in public spheres
Outcome of Levee en Masse
Whole System Boomed!!! = new manufacturing process developed to increase gunpowder supply; factories & workshops improved to meet increasing supply/demand; Paris manufactured weapons (Oct 1793); professional training centre set up in South-West France (800 students); reorganisation of naval defences
State of Army by 1794
1 million + men in arms
14 well trained & supplied armies
Tightened discipline
Representants-en-mission ensure high morale & loyalty of troops/generals
Military defeat or failure became political crimes = want to avoid by all costs
Distinction between regular soldiers & volunteered soldiers disappeared
White Ancien Regime uniform replaced by Blue volunteers uniform
Armies made to go on the offensive = situation gradually improved
Carnot & Saint-Just replaced “aristocratic generals” w/ younger commanders committed to revolution
17 old generals executed in 1793 = wanted to ensure total commitment to revolution
War Successes of 1793
Siege of Dunkirk lifted (Sept)
Battle of Hoondschoote (Sept) = claimed as victory due to new system of levee en masse!
Battle of Wattignes (Oct) = result of better supplies & morale
Internal federalist revolts & counter-revolutionary forces crushed by late 1793
War of First Coalition = huge French war effort boosted & Committee of Public Safety proclaimed (Oct) “the cowardly satellites of tyranny have fled before you”
What did expulsion of leading Girondins mean?
There was no ‘moderate’ faction in National Convention
Montagnards & spokesman Robespierre could dominate govn
CPS control of Executive Council
Could suspend orders of Executive Council if it deemed them counter to national interest
If 2/3rds of CPS voted an act than Executive Council had to carry it out = power of Executive Council weakened
CPS also took authority of Committee of General Security (CGS) = easier than both being responsible for internal security
Oversaw actions of Representants-en-mission set up to ensure total commitment to war effort & crush opposition in provinces
Oversaw governance of war (including appointment of generals), appointment of judges/juries for the Revolutionary Tribunal, provisioning of the armies/public, maintenance for public order & the state bureaucracy
CPS control of National Convention
CPS reported to Convention on weekly basis; but w/ Montagnards control in Convention policies put forwarded were easily passed & process became a ‘rubber stamping’ exercise
Convention readily produced funds for ‘special missions’ - providing CPS w/ significant independence & funding to pursue its aims
Few limits on CPS powers
Deputies meant to change per month, but didn’t!
Instead a clique of dominant members emerged = e.g. Robespierre, Saint-Just, Couthon, Carnot
Had to report to National Convention once a week, but became more of ‘rubber-stamping exercise’
CPS’s powers virtually unchanged (Sept 1793 - July 1794)
BUT CPS’s intense & ruthless campaigns to destroy all counter-revolutionaries & win war brought arbitrary govn & the ‘Terror’ to France!
CPS Elections
Robespierre replaces Danton Barere = Spokesman Carnot = Head of war effort Couthon = Man in wheelchair Saint-Just = Muderous reputation "Angel of Terror"
Terror
5th September 1793 - 27th July 1794
Name given to period when revolutionary govn tried to destroy suspected counter-revolution through escalation of vigilance & executions
In Provinces = representants-en-mission carrier out local terror
Economic Terror = Caused by Maximum
Religious Terror = involving dechristianisation
Influence of Sans-Culottes
In order for Montagnards to raise support (& remove the moderate Girondins in the Covention) they had to ‘sell themselves’ to the SC; Robespierre uncomfortable with this but knew it was necessary
Increased agitation of SC after radical journalist Marat murdered by disgruntled Girondins - Charlotte Corday (13th July 1793) & grain shortages/ unemployment increased tensions = led to rioting constant in Paris
Reasons to fear Sans-Culottes
Journees = proved power of the people
Power = influenced groups in power due to imitation/pressure
Huge influence over National Guard whop acted for Paris Commune
Jacobins ideals
Centralised govn - based in Paris
Free market
Democracy
Unification of language - law accessible to all & understanding of rights
Sans-Culottes Ideals
Affordable food & punishment of grain hoarders
Price controls
Fairer representation in National Convention
United w/ Jacobins in hatred of Girondins
Murder of Marat
13th July 1793 = had been hiding in Paris sewer (since after 1791 Champ de Mars Massacres)
Though still produced articles in his newspaper - L’Ami du Peuple
Murdered by Charlotte Corday (disgruntled Girondin from provinces)
Rumours sparked she was one of many counter-revolutionaries in Paris = increased riots in PAris
Sans-Culottes demanded also suspects be arrested = demands for action = posed threats to authority of CPS & NC
Significance of 5th September 1793
Sans-Culottes march on National Convention demanding lower bread prices (w/ price controls), higher wages & attack on those oppressing the people (like grain-hoarders)
National Convention had little choice & had to promise action against grain-hoarders & counter-revolutionaries
Also allowed 2 popular Sans-Culottes activists - Billaud-Varennes & Collot d’Herbois - to join CPS
Armees Revolutionnaries
9th Sept 1793 = National Convention establishes Sans-Culottes paramilitary forces intended to force farmers to surrender grain & attack hoarders
Raised in Paris & provinces
Members paid, armed & led by military commanders
Wanted to preserve revolution
Passes responsibility/power over to Sans-Culottes = binding them to State = Jacobins given a powerful mob
BUT looses farmers loyalty = which discourages food production
30,000 part of it, who thus do not follow authorities & given constitutional power
Law of Suspects
17th Sept 1793 = redefined the idea of ‘suspect’ (Nobles, Emigrees & relatives, Officials removed from office, Officers suspected of treason & Hoarders of goods = ALL SUSPECTS
Could be arrested because of conduct, relationships, words or writings
The Comites de surveillance (watch committes, established March 1793) had to draw up lists of suspects, issue warrants for arrest & give their lists to Committee of General Security (CGS)
People in power enjoying control
New Law of General Maximum
29th Sept 1793 = replaced First Law of Maximum (May 1793) - ineffective
Set maximum price for grain, flour, meat etc
Imposed wage regulations
Hunger/Poverty equally as dangerous as counter-revolutionaries
Fears that economic struggle would create more radical revolutionaries
The Maximum w/ the prohibition of metal money & Forced loan of the rich (Sept 1793) = Temporary stability of assignat
Law of Suspects just before made people conform to economic Maximum = if they resisted, they were also resisting ideas of revolution & would make them enemy of State
Economic security bound people to regime
BUT damaging to encounter as encouraged grain-hoarding again
Committee of Subsistence
26th Oct 1793 = ensured food supplies in Paris & big towns
What helped create atmosphere in France of THE TERROR?
Law of Suspects (17th Sept 1793) Armees Revolutionnaires (29th Sept 1793)
Conclusion of Stirrings of Terror
Success of War brought by Levee en Masse & Carnot
Pressures of Internal/External war as Marat’s death encouraged Sans-Culottes to rise again (5th Sept 1793) = forced Jacobins to concede to legislation that radicalised revolution again bringing Terror
Terror made CPS more dominant in running of France
