Discuss with critics of the reign of terror.
Describe the reign of terror in France.
Discuss with critics of the reign of terror.
Discuss the rationale for the reign of terror in France.
Reign of Terror: -
The fall of the Girandists undermined liberal ideology at the French National Convention, and instead of it , established a reign of terror led by the Jacobins. The Reign of Terror lasted from 2nd June 1793 to 27th July 1794. Robespierre was one of the architects of the Reign of Terror . He was a staunch opponent of counter-revolution and was keenly interested in building a national defense system. But in the end, the reign of terror came to an end with Robespierre's guillotine in the midst of terror.
Reasons for establishing Reign of Terror : -
The reign of terror was established in France for a number of reasons. The reasons were -
1. The execution of Louis XVI frightened the European monarchies and they formed a strong alliance against France.
2. The prices of essential commodities skyrocketed, and this led to a revolt in 60 of France's 83 departments.
3. During this time of crisis, the French market was dominated by black marketeers.
4. As a result of rising prices, political instability, black market, etc., people became anti-republican.
5. The monopoly and tyranny of the commune infuriated the departments.
6. With the fall of the Girondist party, armed movements against the commune began in the cities of Lions, Marseille, Bordeaux, etc.
7. Since no legal system was introduced for the neglected peasants, they too revolted in support of Louis XVII.
In this situation, the leaders of the Commune and Jacobin parties realized that in order to establish national unity, it was necessary to spread fear everywhere. Based on this idea, Jacobin party established a reign of terror in France.
Organizations of Reign of Terror : -
1. The Committee of Public Safety was formed and was tasked with governing and maintaining order in France.
2. All powers of the police department in maintaining law and order in France are vested in the Committee of General Security .
3. A compulsory loan scheme of one thousand million francs was introduced.
4. ‘’ The law of maximum ‘’ was introduced and the prices of all commodities were fixed.
5. To suppress the counter-revolution, the revolutionary court was divided into four parts.
6. A large army was formed in the interest of the Committee of General Security .
7. The Law of Suspect was introduced for the arrest of pro-monarchy or anti-republican individuals.
8. The law of conscription was introduced and the rule of compulsory joining the army was introduced.
9. By creating a square of revolution, the guillotine beheading of royal and anti-republican was arranged.
Various incidents and activities during the Reign of Terror : -
All the organizations of the terror were completely used to launch terror. Terror spreads through mass killings, counter-revolution, strangulation of individual freedom, etc.
(a) Opponents of the revolution were destroyed with the help of terror. Fearing retribution, everyone joined the army, leading to France's success in foreign wars.
(b) Strict tax collection increases France's reserves. All kinds of property of the emigrants were confiscated.
(c) Lions, Nantes, Wendy's, La Veda - etc. City rebellions were brutally suppressed. Many gerontologists and royalists were killed by the guillotine. Verganiad and Briso, the main leaders of the Girondist party, were executed.
(d) Queen Antoinette, Madame Ronla, Duke of Orleans, were sentenced to death for inciting counter-revolution. Almost everyone in the royal family was killed by the guillotine.
(e) About twenty thousand people were killed and about five thousand were taken prisoner under the reign of terror.
Robespierre's Guillotine: The End of Terror: -
Although Robespierre was not the father of the terrorist regime, he was the main organizer of the terror regime. He tried to suppress all forms of resistance and opposition through terror. To his workers he was a symbol of revolution and a humanist. His popularity was unquestionable. But he spread panic everywhere through the arbitrary use of the guillotine. His popularity was severely undermined by this dictatorship and the escalation of terrorism, and Fouche formed public opinion against him, and was finally assassinated by the guillotine on July 28, 1794.
Judging the rationality of the reign of terror: -
The need to judge whether a person is a real criminal under the rule of terrorism was gone. In fact, there was no need for terror after September 1793. But Robespierre continued his reign of terror to retain his power. Many precious lives have to be sacrificed to terror. The regime of terror severely damaged the lives and liberties of the citizens. The best example of this is - Lucien, the wife of Camille DeMulla, was identified as a counter-revolutionary for begging the life of her husband's and was killed by guillotine.
The reign of terror was unprecedented. The Committee of General Security established its monopoly in all spheres by disempowering all kinds of constitutional institutions. When this committee fell into the hands of Robespierre, the reign of terror became even more terrible. However, judging by the immediate situation, some terror was needed to establish national unity. But the kind of terror that was introduced was anti-humanitarian, anti-democratic and anti-revolutionary.
As a result of the reign of terror, the ideals of the French Revolution died out. Human life and liberty are severely curtailed. In fact, there was no need for terror after September 1793. But terrorism is perpetuated to satisfy party interests and personal ambitions. "Terrorism cripples the revolution," said Louis Blanc. ''
But there were also some positive aspects to the reign of terror. For example, the reign of terror made it possible to control the price of food, distribute land among the landless, and establish women's property rights. The reign of terror was also particularly effective in countering foreign attacks. The biggest success of terrorism was to resist the British, Austrian, Prussian forces. So the historian Riker called the reign of terror "a marvelous product of practical statesmanship."
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