Section 3, 1792 - 1794

Question 1

When was Louis’ Trial & Execution?

Answer 1

Trial in Jan 1793
Executed 21st Jan
Louis is put on trial, believing that if imprisoned he’ll become a martyr, or if deported he’ll rally forces against the rev, so is sentenced to death
Louis’ son, dubbed Louis XVII by the French People, dies in prison of tuberculosis 2 years later

Question 2

Who was involved in the War of the First Coalition by February 1793?

Answer 2

Following Louis’ execution, a number of European powers, including Spain & Portugal, agreed to join forces to fight the French revs
On the 1st of February, France also declared war on the Netherlands & Britain, weighing to their opposition to the Hapsburg’s and their strong alliance

At this time, France is at war with The Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Prussia, Britain, Spain, The Netherlands & Portugal

Question 3

What is the significance of General Dumoriez in the War of the First Coalition?

Answer 3

Upon trying to seize Belgium from the Netherlands, he captures the town of Breda
Defeated by Austrian forces at Aachen and Liege & is forced to retreat, eventually defecting to the Austrian side

Question 4

What was the Revolutionary Tribunal?

Answer 4

This had existed in a provisional capacity since the 2nd journee of the sans culottes to the Tuileries, & was used to try King Louis XVI, but was made into a nationwide body in March of 1793 as a force designed to trial suspected counter revs
Caused by increased counter rev sentiment in France (risings in Marseilles, Lyon and, the Vendee)
Courts involved 5 judges, and attempted to operate within the penal laws of 1791
A key part of perpetrating ‘the terror’

Question 5

What was the Committee of Public Safety?

Answer 5

Est April 1793
A provisional gov tasked with handling domestic & international counter-rev forces, particularly the risings in Vendee
Successfully raised a large force thanks to the Levee en Masse in August
Given executive power in December

Question 6

What was the First Law of Maximum?

Answer 6

May 1793
Sets a cap on how much employers can pay their employees, as a result from the financial hardships stemming from poor harvests & international warfare

Question 7

What was the Commission of the Twelve?

Answer 7

Girondin deputies set it up May 1793
An investigative body who attempted to offset the anti-moderate force that was the Committee of Public Safety set up by the Montagnards

Question 8

What was significant about the arrest of Jacques Hibert?

Answer 8

May 1793
Jacobin journalist
The Commission of the 12 arrested Hibert, leading to public outcry & riots by his supporters that continued even after his release
At this time, influential Jacobin figures like Marat call for the suppression of the commission, effectively ending it

Question 9

How was French opinion regarding the direction of the revolution split into two factions by June 1793?

Answer 9

The Montagnards: sought increase in radical and revolutionary action
The Girondins: felt that there should be a more moderate approach taken

Question 10

What was the expulsion of the Girondins by the Montagnards/Jacobins

Answer 10

June 1793
Robespierre proposed the motion that the Girondins were a threat to the republic
The montagnard supporting Sans Culottes surrounded the Convention Hall in Paris, pressuring the deputies of the convention to pass the motion
29 Girondin deputies were expelled from the convention and placed under house arrest
Undermined the authority of the Girondins
Montagnards followed Robespierre’s lead after this point, leading to their seizure of control over the Committee of Public safety, which eventually led to a mass execution of Girondins

Question 11

When was Marat assassinated?

Answer 11

July 1793
Marat was a revolutionary newspaper writer, who advocated for rev ideals, & encouraged the punishment of counter-revs
Assassinated by Girondin sympathiser Charlotte Corday, who blamed him for the September Massacres the year prior

Question 12

What was the significance of the assassination of Marat in 1793?

Answer 12

July
Marat made into a martyr, by painter Jaques Louis Davide, with his painting ‘The Death of Marat’, depicting Marat’s death in a sympathetic light, politically charging a great deal of revolutionaries

Question 13

What was the Sans-Culottes Journee?

Answer 13

Aug 1793
Parisian Sans Culottes state their desires, and threaten the National Convention, who are based in Paris, with the aim to get what they want:
A democratic constitution
Harsh punishment for political enemies
Price controls on essential items

Question 14

What was the August 1793 Levee en Masse?

Answer 14

Forced conscription
Gathers a massive force to fight the 1st Coalition forces

Question 15

What was the Law of General Maximum?

Answer 15

Sep 1793
(not to be confused with the First Law of Maximum in May)
Max price of essential commodities set at about 130% of the average prices the year prior, and the maximum wage was increased by about 50%

Question 16

What was the Terror?
What sparked the Terror?

Answer 16

Citizens fear accusations of being counter revolutionary
Groups targeted by this were Nobles, emigres, officials suspended from office, officers suspected of treason and those who were found to hoard goods
The Law of Suspects, Sep 1793

Question 17

What was the the Law of Suspects?

Answer 17

Sep 1793
A law declaring that all outward or suspected enemies of the rev were to be imprisoned and tried, with the responsibility of provident proof of innocence placed on them
Sparks the Terror

Question 18

What was the Revolutionary Government?

Answer 18

Oct 1793
The National Convention declared themselves as revolutionary, putting the moderate Girondin leaders on trial and executed
Introduced a new calendar
Beheaded Marie Antoinette
This sparks a period of time in which the French government blindly enforces the revolutionary laws put in place

Question 19

What is the significance of the fall of Toulins?

Answer 19

Dec 1793
After months of being laid siege to, Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the counter-revolutionary forces in the port town of Toulins, forcing the Anglo-Spanish fleet providing aid to flee
Provides Napoleon with prestige

Question 20

What was the Constitution of 1793 (/the Terror)?

Answer 20

Dec 1793
Introduced a new set of rev principles:
Universal manhood suffrage
Equal voting rights for men
Abolishment of monarchy
Emphasised rights of work, education & public assistance
Separated state and church, encouraging religious tolerance, weakening the hold of Catholicism in France
Decentralised the government, providing more autonomy to people in the departments

Question 21

Who were the Hebertists?

Answer 21

Followers of Hebert
A year after his initial arrest at the hands of the now-fallen Girondins, Hebert was still calling for extreme revolutionary change, and acted now as something of a spokesperson for the Sans Culottes

Question 22

What were the consequences of the arrest & execution of Hebertists?

Answer 22

March 1794
Hebert & a number of the Hebertists were arrested by the committee of public safety, & shortly after executed
This act lost the faith of many Jacobins & the Sans Culottes in the Montagnard Convention & the Terror, as their belief in their ideological security was now shaken

Question 23

Who were the Dantonists?

Answer 23

Followers of Danton, a significant revolutionary minister, who was a radical force after the breakout of the revolution, but stepped back from politics after the expulsion of the Girondins, being opposed to the use of force
March - April 1794, Danton & the Dantonists were executed after pleading for an end to the Terror as a moderate voice
He was charged with royalist sympathies, but more than likely he was executed as he presented an oppositional stance to the beliefs of Robespierre

Question 24

What was the Cult of Reason?

Answer 24

June 1794
Radical individuals such as Hebert, advocated for the new age religion of the Cult of Reason
Mainly atheist
Centred around the concept of worshipping the idea of ‘Reason’ itself
Robespierre against this

Question 25

What was the law introduced by Robespierre in June 1794 & what did it lead to?

Answer 25

Law of 22 Prairial
Encouraged citizens to turn over suspects of being counter revolutionary (a term who’s definition had been broadened in the description of the law) to the revolutionary tribunal
Removed the need for witnesses and defence counsel, meaning most cases brought to the court had something of a split chance of ending with acquittal or death, the latter being particularly common
Led to a month-long period known as the Great Terror (& Robespierre’s demise)

Question 26

What was the Festival of the Supreme Being?

Answer 26

June 1794
Robespierre opposed the Cult of Reason (atheist), even though he disliked Catholicism, he believed that it had its purpose in maintaining order
To tackle the Cult of Reason & Catholicism, he created a new state religion called the ‘Cult of the Supreme Being’, centred around a ‘Supreme Being’ (Robespierre)
As a way of commemorating the religion, he organised a festival (of the supreme being) to take place on Champ de Mars in Paris
According to contemporary paintings, such as one by Jacques Louis Davide, the festival had a wide turnout

Question 27

What was significant about the French Victory at Fleurus?

Answer 27

June 1794
The French defeated the coalition forces at Flanders, seizing the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium), and marking a turning point for the French army, which had continued victories until the end of the first war of the coalition

Question 28

What was the Coup of Thermidor?

Answer 28

July 1794
The overthrowing of Robespierre
Robespierre stated that he believed there were counter revs among the convention, creating fears by many deputies of being killed on incorrect suspicions
Robespierre was overthrown from power on the 27th & executed the next day, having already been shot (possibly by himself)