A History of Violence in the French Revolution

Abstract

The aim of the French Revolution was to reform the Old Regime of absolute monarchy according to the principles of Enlightenment. It succeeded but also brought about terrible fits of violence. This contradiction had always challenged the judgement of the contemporary witnesses as well as the reflection of subsequent historians. Was it the result of a fortuitous drift due to the circumstances (fierce resistance of the counter-revolution, unexpected conflict with the Church, unwished wars with European monarchies)? Was it an expression of the barbaric standards of the people under the Old Regime? Or was it a necessary consequence of the very option of a radical rational revolution? This article demonstrates that violence was inevitable but the circumstances made it much worse. Four unexpected events contributed to the radicalization of the Revolution: the decree of the 27th November 1790 on the reorganization of the Church; the flight of Louis XVI to Varennes (20−21 June 1791); the election of inexperienced new deputies in the Legislative Assembly which succeeded the “Constituante” in October 1791; the declaration of the war to Austria on 20th April 1792. Nonetheless, above all, in a completely new context the competition for power and the ill-fated role played by a limited group of publicists triggered, the disastrous spiral which led to the Terror.