REGIME OF TERROR: ANTECEDENTS, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Regime of Terror, also known simply as The Terror, was a period of the French Revolution between 1793 and 1794. During this stage the Robespierre government decided to take drastic measures to finish off anyone who opposed the French forces, such as priests, nobles and hoarders.

The move was taken in response to the civil war that was raging in the Vendée and the large number of hostile armies that were surrounding France. On September 5, 1793, a decree was issued announcing that "terror" would be the main order of the day, which started the so-called Regime of Terror.

The execution of Marie Antoinette

During this period of chaos, more than 16,500 French died; almost 3,000 dead fell in Paris. Although the date of the beginning of this regime is disputed by some historians (some say that it began earlier), the end of this regime occurred in July 1794, with the fall of Maximiliano Robespierre.

Background

French Revolution

The French Revolution occurred as a consequence of the social and economic collapse of France. It was unleashed in 1789, after large numbers of people died from lack of food and rising prices. The population of France had grown enormously, but there was no way to feed everyone.

In addition, the lack of money meant that the lower class could not pay more taxes to support the country's economy and the richest refused to do so.

When the revolution broke out, the country set out to become a republic, culminating in the incarceration of Louis XVI, the then king of France.

September Massacres and First Republic

During the revolution and before the king was imprisoned, a Legislative Assembly was established in 1792 to make this the main source of power in France. After its establishment, the king went to a secondary level, where he no longer had enough political power to appease the situation.

The fear of the revolution caused a large number of Parisian civilians to enter the city jails to massacre the prisoners. Not only nobles and clergymen were killed, but also thieves and prostitutes. This event, which occurred in September 1792, was known as the September Massacres.

The republic was already up and running, but the problems remained and the Assembly was merely focusing on warfare. In 1793 he established a special body called the Public Safety Committee, which was headed by Robespierre. This entity was responsible for establishing the Regime of Terror.

Causes

Radicalization of the lower class

France's lower class, who had been looked down upon for years, had a much more radical thinking after the revolutionary forces established the First French Republic. They began to demand that anyone who opposed the reforms to provide welfare to the poor be treated with violence.

Initially, this was not easy to comply with, as the new Congress of France was divided between the conservative reformists (who opposed violence) and the more radical (who supported the use of force to ensure that the law was respected).

When the more radical reformists gained control of Congress, the French poor class began to demand that their interests be defended more radically. Based on this, it was considered to issue arrest warrants for anyone who tried to benefit as a result of taxes.

Enlightenment Ideas

As it was presented in the ideas of the European Enlightenment, after the fall of the monarchy the new leaders of France began to think that they should act for the good of the people in general. In other words, the actions taken by the government should be in favor of the well-being of the citizens.

This gave new ideas to Robespierre and the leaders of the republic, who embellished the word "terror" to refer to a necessary control that the government had to establish to keep its citizens safe. Anyone who resisted the government was considered a tyrant and, therefore, an enemy of the republic.

It is possible to see the rise of the Regime of Terror as the natural (albeit violent) predecessor of the ideas of Rousseau, who said at the time that everyone was born with rights. Therefore, the government was responsible for ensuring that these rights were respected.

Consequences

Increase in deaths and damage to the country

During the Regime of Terror, executions became a day-to-day punishment in France. Violence increased significantly, with a total of more than 16,000 deaths during the course of the regime.

The deaths that occurred not only included ordinary people, but also quite prominent figures in politics at the time. The most important characters assassinated during this stage of the revolution were Louis XVI and his wife Antonieta, who tried to escape the country but could not.

In addition, the end of the Regime of Terror had as its main death that of Robespierre himself. He was tried for his crimes and sentenced to the guillotine.

The damage also affected the infrastructure and economy of France. The revolutionaries destroyed a variety of mansions and castles in the country, as well as several prisons where a considerable number of prisoners were murdered.

The political instability of this period also caused a huge lack of employment, which deteriorated the economy of the country.

Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

The Public Welfare Committee gave Napoleon Bonaparte a number of military responsibilities that he knew how to carry out. Among these was the attack on Toulon, a French city that the British had invaded. His victory was overwhelming, and this made him climb in the military field until he became a hero for France.

Napoleon Bonaparte

The influences that Napoleon's military actions had during the Reign of Terror made him a candidate to lead the country. Then, in 1799, he and a group of allied military men organized a coup to establish the First Empire of France and proclaim himself the leader of the country.

References

1. The French Revolution, John and Abigail Adams for PBS, (nd). Taken from pbs.org
2. Dechristianisation during the Reign of Terror, Museé Virtual du Protestantisme, (nd). Taken from museeprotestant.org
3. Marie Antoniette, PBS, (nd). Taken from pbs.org
4. The Reign of Terror, Alpha History, (nd). Taken from alphahistory.com
5. Reign of Terror, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017. Taken from Britannica.com
6. Robespierre and The Terror, History Today, 2006. Taken from historytoday.com
7. Napoleon Bonaparte, Biography, (nd). Taken from biography.com