The spread of the Terror Flashcards
Victims of Terror 1792-1794
40,000 victims of the Terror, 17,000 of those guillotined
Revolutionary Tribunal
March-September: 260 cases, September-December: 500,000 cases
When was Marie Antoinette’s trial and execution?
14th October 1793 and 16th October 1793
Who else was condemned to death?
Brissot, Vergniaud and nineteen other Girondin leaders
Who was being tried on 24th October 1793?
21 expelled Girondin leaders - all condemned to death and guillotined in 31 minutes on 31st October
Who was executed on 6th November 1793?
Duc d’Orleans due to his ties with Dumouriez and the royal family, Madame Roland condemned to death 2 days later and Bailly and Barnave executed
When was Saint-Just’s speech?
10th October 1793 - named CPS as provisional government - used to justify local watch committees, armees revolutionaries, spies, and agents
Dechristianisation
sans-culottes supported a move to close churches and destroy religious symbols, spread to provinces, official policy by Paris Commune in October 1793 - attacks on religious buildings led to an order in November to close all remaining Churches
When was the Festival of Reason?
November 1793 as a culmination of dechristianisation efforts - not authorised by Convention but their decision to adopt a new non-religious calendar helped
When was the Law of 14 Frimaire II?
4th December 1793 - gave CPS direct power over ministers, generals, representatives on mission, local government. Popular societies closed down
When were revolutionary armies scrapped?
March 1794
Indulgents
Danton, Desmoulins: wanted a scaling back of the Terror
Herbertistes
Claimed Robespierre was establishing a dictatorship, demanded hoarders to be executed, property redistributed, led dechristianisation campaign
What did Hebert call for in March 1794 and what happened?
An insurrection. Saint-Just made a speech denouncing them and Hebert was arrested along with 18 supporters for being foreign agents who wanted a military dictatorship which would lead to monarchy
When were the Hebertistes and Indulgents guillotined?
24th March 1794 and 5th April 1794
How did the CPS take advantage of this?
Parisian revolutionary army disbanded, Cordeliers Club closed, Commune purged
When was the COSB established?
7th May 1794 (18 Floreal) - Robespierre made a speech to the Assembly persuading them to declare faith in the COSB, festivals celebrating important dates (July 14th 1789, August 10th 1792) and for the COSB on 20 Prairial
What did the COSB call for?
Suppression of aristocratic gatherings, vague terminology to allow them to brand anyone as counter-revolutionary, idea of new deity, back track from dechristianisation, Terror no longer driven by sans-culottes
When and what was the Law of 22 Prairial?
10th June 1794. Proposed by Couthon - all those accused of political crimes to be taken before Revolutionary Tribunal, citizens obliged to denounce suspects, anyone can arrest a counterrevolutionary without proof, no need for spoken witnesses, no defence lawyers
When was the Great Terror?
10th June - 26th July 1794
Victims of the Great Terror
35% nobles, 25% clergy, 40% bourgeoisie (more class based than before - 85% came from Third Estate)
How many had been beheaded in the Great Terror?
Over 1,500
When was a maximum wage set?
23rd July/5 Thermidor 1794 - to force back illegally rising wages
Tensions between CPS and CGS
CGS became increasingly hostile due to COSB and they weren’t consulted about 22 Prairial, Robespierre had set up separate police network thereby infringing on CGS power
How long did Robespierre stop attending the CPS?
3 weeks in July
When did Robespierre address the Convention?
26th July 1794 (8 Thermidor) - accused committees of conspiring against public liberty, suggested purges need, attacked CPS members and hinted he was about to issue another list of traitors but didn’t, and din’t actually name people
What happened on 27th July 1794 (9 Thermidor)?
Saint-Just arrived to deliver a speech but interrupted and accusations levied against Robespierre - decree to arrest him, Saint-Just, Couthon, Le Bas passed unanimously (Coup of Thermidor)
When was Robespierre sentenced to death?
28th July 1794 (10 Thermidor), as well as his 22 associates. A further 71 death sentences pronounced the next day
