The History Book

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Robespierre’s single-minded pursuit

of revolutionary purity reached an

improbable climax with his creation

in 1794 of a new religion, the Cult of

the Supreme Being. It was intended

as a focus of, and spur to, patriotic

and revolutionary virtues, the

superstition of the Catholic Church

replaced by a belief dedicated to

reason celebrating the natural laws

of the universe. The megalomania it

suggested contributed significantly

to his sudden downfall, and at the

end of July 1794, Robespierre was

put to the guillotine.

Order restored

With the end of the killings—more

particularly with the establishment

of yet another government, the

Directory, at the end of 1795—order

of a sort was restored. Tellingly,

it was achieved in part by the

Directory’s willingness to use force

against the Paris mob, ordered by

Napoleon Bonaparte, then a young

general in the revolutionary army.

Furthermore, France’s armies,

boosted by mass conscription, were

reversing early defeats, apparently

poised to carry the revolution into

new territories. Emboldened, France

reinforced its assertion of what it

claimed were its “natural frontiers”

on the Rhine, which in reality

meant an audacious extension of

French rule into Germany. By 1797,

it had inflicted crushing defeats

over Austria in the Low Countries

and in northern Italy. France was

ready to re-assert what it saw as

its natural primacy in Europe.

Historical significance

Whatever the importance of the

French Revolution, it remains the

subject of continuing and intense

historical debate. Its notional goals

were clear: the ending of repressive

monarchy and entrenched privilege;

the establishment of representative

government; and the championing

of universal rights. But the reality

was confused and often violent.

Furthermore, by 1804 Napoleon

had effectively swapped one form

of absolutism for his own, albeit

one vastly more effective than any

France had known since Louis XIV.

Yet the revolution’s consequences

reverberated well into the 20th

century. It remains a pivotal moment

in the belief that freedom should

underpin the civilized world. ■

CHANGING SOCIETIES

Maximilien

Robespierre

Robespierre (1758–94), a

lawyer and a member of the

third estate in 1789, was

the chief architect of the Terror

that gripped France between

September 1793 and July 1794.

He was a consistent champion

of the dispossessed, as well as

a remarkable orator, capable of

astonishingly intense speeches

that electrified his supporters

and opponents alike. He was

also a fierce opponent of the

Revolutionary Wars, believing

that a strengthened army

risked becoming a source of

counter-revolutionary fervor.

Initially, at least, he was also

opposed to the death penalty.

His change of mind was

startlingly absolute. When

persuaded that terror was

the most effective means

of preserving the revolution,

he embraced it implacably,

arguing that it was the natural

handmaiden of the virtue

he felt should drive the

revolution. He remains the

original, chilling model for

all those who have since

championed state violence in

the interests of a supposed

greater good.

The French Revolution set out with the idea of building

a new state that would take the Enlightenment principles

of liberty, equality, and brotherhood as its foundation.

This idea asserted that

all people were equal

under the law and

ended aristocratic

privilege.

A new under standing

of liberty suggested that

all were free to behave as

they chose if they did

no harm to others.

This was the hope that

the revolution would

usher in a newfound,

rational spirit of

brotherhood.

Liberté Égalité

Fraternité

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