Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror (French: La Terreur, lit. ‘The Terror’) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to the Federalist revolts, revolutionary fervour, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety. While terror was never formally instituted as a legal policy by the Convention, it was more often employed as a concept.

Historians disagree when exactly the “Terror” began. Some consider it to have begun in 1793, often giving the date as 5 September or 10 March, when the Revolutionary Tribunal came into existence. Others cite the earlier September Massacres in 1792, or even July 1789 when the first killing of the revolution occurred. Will Durant stated that “strictly, it should be dated from the Law of Suspects, September 17, 1793, to the execution of Maximilien Robespierre, July 28, 1794.”

The Terror concluded with the fall of Robespierre and his alleged allies in July 1794, in what is known as the Thermidorian Reaction. By then, 16,594 official death sentences had been dispensed throughout France since June 1793, of which 2,639 were in Paris alone. An additional 10,000 to 12,000 people had been executed without trial, and 10,000 had died in prison.

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The Reign of Terror (1793–1794) was a violent period during the French Revolution, led by the Committee of Public Safety and Maximilien de Robespierre, where perceived enemies of the revolution, including nobles, clergy, and even fellow revolutionaries, were arrested, given unfair trials, and executed, primarily by the guillotine. Driven by fear of counter-revolution and invasion, the government passed the [Law of Suspects] to target anyone suspected of disloyalty, leading to thousands of deaths and the eventual fall of Robespierre himself.
 

Causes: 

• Fear of Counter-Revolution: France was at war with European powers, and rumors of foreign invasions and internal treachery by “émigrés, spies, and counter-revolutionaries” created widespread panic.
• Economic Hardship: The working class attributed economic suffering to conspiracies by enemies of the revolution, increasing pressure for tough action.
• Radical Politics: Parisian radical groups like the Jacobins and Cordeliers, along with the sans-culottes, demanded that the Convention take stronger measures against those deemed threats to the new republic.

Key Aspects:

• [Committee of Public Safety]: This powerful body, dominated by Robespierre, exercised virtual dictatorial control, implementing harsh measures against opponents. 
• [Law of Suspects]: Passed in September 1793, this law broadly defined enemies of the revolution to include anyone who seemed indifferent to it, allowing for arrests based on mere suspicion. 
• Mass Executions: Thousands were arrested, imprisoned, and sent to the guillotine, with an estimated 17,000 officially executed and many thousands more dying in prison or without trial. 
• De-Christianization: The revolution sought to replace religious authority with reason, leading to the closure of churches and the adoption of the revolutionary calendar as part of a broader de-Christianization movement. 

End of the Reign of Terror: 

• The Reign of Terror ended with the overthrow and execution of Robespierre in July 1794, marking the collapse of the Committee of Public Safety.
• This shift led to the release of prisoners and the reestablishment of more moderate governance by the Directory.