FTE 5: The Origins of the Terror

Question 1

The September Massacres were regarded as a necessary evil by the Montagnards.

Answer 1

• Following the fall of Verdun, there was a real threat that the Prussian army would link up with counter-revolutionaries in Paris to bring down the revolution.
• As Justice Minister, Danton turned a blind eye to the killings, which also helped to appease the sans-culottes and win their support for the war effort.

Question 2

The Battle of Valmy was an important turning-point in the early days of the French Republic.

Answer 2

• If the Prussians had won Valmy, Paris would have fallen and the Revolution halted.
• Instead, Valmy turned the tide of war in favour of the French Republic; the subsequent victory at Jemappes enabled the army to expand to the Netherlands.

Question 3

The Montagnards suspected the motives of the Girondin deputies who opposed the execution of the king.

Answer 3

• Leading Girondins had been ministers in Louis XVI’s government in 1792, and were rightly accused of having opposed the violent overthrow of the monarchy on 10 August.
• The Girondins’ proposal of an ‘appeal to the people’ was seen by the Montagnards as a means of stirring up counter-revolution in the provinces.

Question 4

The Terror emerged in early 1793 as a response to the threat of invasion.

Answer 4

• Representatives-on-mission were sent out into the provinces to oversee the war effort, including the raising of troops and the collection of war taxes.
• The Committee of Public Safety was created as a committee to organise the war effort.

Question 5

The Terror emerged in early 1793 as a response to the threat of internal counter-revolution.

Answer 5

• The watch committees were responsible for monitoring suspects and foreigners.
• The Revolutionary Tribunal was established to try suspected counter-revolutionaries.
• The Law of 19 March, or the ‘summary execution decree’, allowed for rebels captured bearing arms against the republic to be summarily shot.

Question 6

The Girondins made a serious mistake by putting Marat on trial in April 1793.

Answer 6

• Marat was a divisive figure (and many Montagnards regarded him as too radical), but his trial at the Revolutionary Tribunal led to an outpouring of public sympathy in his favour.
• Following his acquittal, the sans-culottes accused the Girondins of attacking a patriot and siding with counter-revolutionaries (such as Dumouriez).

Question 7

The Journée of 31 May – 2 June showed the organisation and influence of the sans-culottes over Revolutionary politics in 1793.

Answer 7

• Following news of the overthrow of Jacobins in Lyon, 80,000 National Guardsmen surrounded the National Convention and directed their cannon at it.
• The deputies were prevented from leaving until they had agreed to the arrest of 29 Girondin deputies.

Question 8

The Montagnards saw it as necessary to maintain the support of the sans-culottes in order to win the war.

Answer 8

• On 4 May 1793, the Montagnards proposed and passed a maximum price on bread to win over the sans-culottes.
• The Montagnards accepted the purging of the Girondins in June 1793.
• The Constitution of 1793 (drafted by leading Montagnards) included radical principles such as universal suffrage (for men), the right to work, the right to education and the right to insurrection.
• The levée en masse was a direct response to sans-culottes demands for conscription.
• The Journée of 4 September 1793 led to further radical changes (see Section F Q2).

Question 9

The threats facing the French Republic in the summer of 1793 were extremely serious.

Answer 9

• The First Coalition encircled France, with British and Austrian troops threatening in the north, and Italian and Spanish troops in the south.
• The Anglo-Austrian army numbered 160,000 soldiers by the summer of 1793 and was threatening to capture Paris and destroy the republic.
• The rebels in the Vendée had won several battles with republican troops and had laid siege to the major port city of Nantes.
• Federalist disturbances took place in 60 out of 85 departments: federalist rebels in Lyon threatened to raise an army to march against the National Convention.
• In Toulon, the British fleet occupied the town from August 1793.

Question 10

The threats facing the French Republic in the summer of 1793 were less serious than they appeared to be.

Answer 10

• The First Coalition failed to coordinate their attacks. The British forces under the Duke of York moved north to occupy Dunkirk, whilst the Austrians moved south. They were defeated by a republican army at Wattignies in October 1793.
• Foreign armies could not compete with the vast numbers of troops raised by the levée en masse in July 1793, which provided 750,000 troops for the French armies.
• The Vendée rebels failed to capture Nantes or to win foreign support. They had been completed defeated by the end of 1793.
• Most federalist disturbances were quickly suppressed, and the main centres of revolt in the south failed to work together to defend themselves against government forces.