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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror, or simply the Terror (la Terreur), was a climactic period of state-sanctioned violence during the French Revolution (1789-99), which saw the public executions and mass killings of thousands of counter-revolutionary 'suspects'...
Definition
Committee of Public Safety
In the French Revolution (1789-1799), the Committee of Public Safety (French: Comité De Salut Public) was a political body created to oversee the defense of the French Republic from foreign and domestic enemies. To achieve this goal, the...
Definition
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction refers to the period of the French Revolution (1789-1799) between the fall of Maximilien Robespierre on 27-28 July 1794 and the establishment of the French Directory on 2 November 1795. The Thermidorians abandoned...
Article
Power Struggles in the Reign of Terror
The autumn of 1793 saw the Jacobins consolidate their authority in France as the Reign of Terror intensified and the Jacobins' defeated rivals were executed by guillotine. Yet the dominant Jacobins disagreed over the direction the French...
Definition
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794) was a French lawyer who became one of the primary leaders of the French Revolution (1789-1799). From his initial rise to stardom in the Jacobin Club, Robespierre went on to dominate...
Definition
Louis-Antoine de Saint-Just
Louis-Antoine de Saint-Just (1767-1794) was a prominent figure of the French Revolution (1789-1799). After his election to the National Convention in September 1792, he led the push for the execution of King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792...
Definition
French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period of major societal and political upheaval in France. It witnessed the collapse of the monarchy, the establishment of the First French Republic, and culminated in the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte...
Definition
Camille Desmoulins
Camille Desmoulins (1760-1794) was one of the most prominent journalists during the French Revolution (1789-1799). A fervent republican, he played an important role in the Storming of the Bastille, when he called the people to arms. Although...
Definition
Revolt of Lyon
The Revolt of Lyon against the rule of the National Convention was a counter-revolutionary rebellion that played a role in both the Federalist Revolts and the Reign of Terror during the period of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Beginning...
Definition
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (1759-1794) was a French lawyer who became a prominent leader of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Danton played a major role in the overthrow of the French monarchy and the subsequent establishment of the First French...