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The Reign of Terror, also known as simply The Terror, comprised a period in the history of the
French Revolution from 1793
- 1794 characterized by the brutal repression of suspected counter-revolutionaries by use of state terrorism. The Reign of Terror played out under the direction of the Committee of Public Safety, a committee of twelve,
including leader Maximilien Robespierre, who later fell
victim to his own campaign of terror.
The Terror is very aptly named. Revolutionary tribunals summarily condemned thousands of innocent civilians to death by the
guillotine. Mobs beat some victims to death. Sometimes people died for their
political opinions or actions, but often for little reason whatsoever beyond mere suspicion. Most of the victims received an
unceremonious trip to the guillotine in the "tumbrel". Loaded on these carts, the victims would
proceed through throngs of jeering men and women.
The Terror started on September 5, 1793 when the National Convention voted to
implement terror measures to repress counter-revolutionary activities. The ensuing Reign of Terror lasted until the spring of
1794, and killed (estimates vary wildly) anywhere between 18,000 to 40,000 people. In the single month before it ended, 1300
executions took place.
The events of 9 Thermidor (27
July 1794) and the subsequent guillotining of Robespierre (28 July 1794) marked the end of the Reign of Terror and the start of
the Thermidorian Reaction.
The Reign of Terror is the subject of Charles Dickens' novel
A Tale of Two Cities. It was also the setting for an early
episode of Doctor Who, in which the Doctor and his companions travelled back in
time to 1794 and encountered Robespierre.
The White Terror took place in 1815 following the return of King Louis XVIII
to power; people suspected of having ties with the governments of the Revolution or of Napoleon sufferred arrest and execution.
Quote
- La terreur n'est autre chose que la justice prompte, sévère, inflexible. - Maximilien Robespierre ("Terror is
nothing other than prompt, severe, inflexible justice.")
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