THE TREATY OF BASEL AND THE CONSTITUTION OF 1795.
♦Conquest of Holland.♦
While internally France was a prey to bankruptcy, hunger, crime, and
civil strife, the triumph of her armies continued uninterruptedly.
After the evacuation of Belgium by the English and Austrians, in June
1794, the Prussians, in danger of being outnumbered and isolated,
abandoned their positions round Kaiserslautern and fell back on the
Rhine. The Austrians retreated to the same river, while the English
and Hanoverians, under the Duke of York’s command, withdrew behind the
Lower Meuse. One French army invested the great fortress of Mainz,
while Pichegru pressed on into North Brabant. Little defence was made.
The Dutch army was small, and there was no probability that the country
would rise. Not only had the French numerous and influential partisans
amongst the political opponents of the House of Orange, but the
peasantry, alienated by the brutal and plundering habits of the allied
troops, were eager to be relieved of their presence. The invaders were,
however, not above 46,000 strong, and short of clothes, arms, and
munition for besieging purposes; so that the English army of 30,000
men, competently led, would have been sufficiently strong to hold them
in check. But the Duke was a bad general, and his men were demoralised
by their retreat. He remained helplessly on the north side of the
Meuse, while the fortresses in North Brabant fell one after another.
The French, after effecting the passage of the Meuse by a bridge of
boats (October 19), found their further advance barred by the mouths of
the Rhine, the broad and rapid rivers Waal and Leck. Here, however,
the inclement winter came to their aid. By the middle of January
1795, the rivers were covered with ice which bore the passage of men,
horses, and cannon. The English forces retreated eastwards, leaving
the French masters of the country. The Stadtholder fled to England. A
revolutionary movement broke out in the principal towns, and the French
were everywhere accepted as friends. The fleet, which was frozen up
in the harbours of the Texel, was prevailed on to capitulate by an
attack of a body of French cavalry advancing on the ice. The English
and Hanoverians finally abandoned the country, and the conquerors left
the seven united provinces in possession of nominal independence and
their federal form of government; but forced them to conclude a treaty
of alliance which reduced the country to the position of a satellite of
France, and put its resources at her disposition (May 12).
♦Foreign policy of the Convention.♦
The brilliant achievements of her armies had revived in France the old
passion for military glory and conquest which had been distinctive of
the reign of Louis XIV. The war, begun with the object of securing
France against invasion, was being pursued with the object of extending
the frontiers of the Republic. The national triumph over foreign foes
became the one point in respect to which there existed a strong bond of
sympathy between France and the Convention. Girondists, Thermidorians,
and Montagnards, if only for the sake of winning popularity, vied with
each other in seeking to gratify the national pride and ambition;
and the point of view of the Republican Government was practically
identical with that of the Emperor, or of the King of Prussia,
namely, that there must be no laying down of arms without acquisition
of territory. A small minority of deputies would have restored the
conquered Rhine lands to the Empire and constituted Belgium into an
independent republic, if they could on such terms have obtained a
European peace. But the majority, including all the more prominent men
who by turns sat on the Committee of Public Safety and directed foreign
affairs, to whatever party they belonged--Boissy d’Anglas, Thibaudeau,
Merlin of Thionville, Merlin of Douai, Carnot, Siéyès, Cambacérès,
Rewbel, Larevellière-Lépeaux--aspired to incorporate Belgium with
France, and on the side of the Empire to extend the frontier, if not to
the Rhine, at least to the Meuse.
If, however, the country, proud of its conquests, desired to retain
them, its exhaustion made it eager for the conclusion of hostilities,
and the necessity of at least confining the field of war to narrower
limits was recognised even by those deputies whose policy was most
aggressive and ambitious. As in France, so also in Spain, in Prussia,
throughout Italy, the Austrian dominions, and the Empire, a general
desire for peace existed. In none of these countries had there been
from the first any national enthusiasm for the war, while the large
expectations with which governments began hostilities had been blown
to the winds. There was no longer any thought of restoring the Bourbon
monarchy in France, nor probability of making conquests at her expense;
and, in fact, those continental Princes alone cared to continue the
struggle who looked forward to effecting, at the cost of third and
weaker States, the enlargement of their own dominions.
♦Policy of Thugut.♦
As yet Austria had, during the course of the war, made no territorial
acquisition. In the second division of Poland, Russia and Prussia
alone shared. The chancellor, Thugut, the director of Austrian foreign
policy, and the one statesman of mark whom Austria possessed, was
a continuator of the schemes formerly entertained by Joseph II.
for the extension and consolidation of the Austrian dominions. He
possessed the entire confidence of his master, Francis II., but the
position which he held was isolated, and his authority limited. Had
he attempted to draw upon the resources of the various kingdoms and
duchies subject to the Emperor, as the Convention had drawn upon the
resources of France, he would have incited disturbance and revolt on
every side. The administration, more especially of the war department,
was inefficient and lax, and the public service suffered in consequence
of the negligence or wilfulness of officials high in place. Thugut was
the son of a poor boatbuilder, and the court nobility never forgot his
origin, and thwarted him on every opportunity. Thugut, however, proud,
despotic, and ambitious, would not be diverted from his course by
misfortune in war, by the factious opposition of a court nobility, or
by the ill-will and discontent of subject populations. On the retention
of Belgium he laid no great stress. Belgium lay far from the seat of
government, and though wealthy, its wealth was not at the arbitrary
disposition of the Emperor. If, however, he were to resign Belgium,
Thugut required an ample equivalent for the loss elsewhere, and before
bringing to a close the French war, designed further to acquire an
indemnity equal to that which Prussia had obtained by the second
partition of Poland. There were three courses by which Thugut saw
possible opportunities of making acquisitions. He might make Austrian
influence supreme in Germany by the annexation of Bavaria, or he might
extend the Austrian dominions in Italy, or, again, he might acquire new
possessions in the East, at the expense of Poland and of the Porte.
For the time he had no thought of entering into negotiation with the
Republic, because he expected best to gain his ends by making common
cause with England and Russia, which two Powers were both urgent for
the continuation of the war.
♦Alliances between Austria and Russia.♦
The third partition of Poland was at this time at the point of
accomplishment. The insurrection which broke out in the Spring of 1794
had been suppressed by Russian troops, under the command of Suwaroff,
the famous conqueror of the Crimea. The Poles had received two crushing
defeats. The national hero, Kosciusko, had been wounded and made
prisoner. Warsaw, the capital, had surrendered (November 8) after the
storm of its suburb Praga, when, for a long time, no quarter was given,
and, as it was said, 10,000 persons, including many non-combatants,
were either drowned in the Vistula or perished by the sword. Poland,
having thus been obliterated from the list of independent kingdoms,
Catherine II. again turned her attention to the destruction of the
empire of the Porte. She sought to secure the good-will of Austria,
and by insuring the continuance of war in the West, to avert the
possibility of interference on the part either of England or of France.
The evident reluctance with which the Prussian Government continued
to take part in the French war was sufficient cause for Catherine to
favour Austria in dividing the remains of Poland. But, on the other
hand, she could not exclude Frederick William II. from all share in
the partition without incurring risk of driving him to take up arms
against herself. A treaty was concluded between Russia and Austria,
determining the partition that was to be made between the three
Powers, which the Emperor and the Czarina undertook to carry into
effect, whether the King of Prussia were content or not with the share
allotted to him (January 3, 1795). At the same time they entered into
an alliance directed against Turkey, and agreed that in case of war
Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bessarabia should be converted into a Russian
dependency, and that Servia and Bosnia should pass to Austria. The plan
of exchanging Belgium for Bavaria was revived, and Catherine further
engaged to support the Emperor in making acquisition of Venetian or
other territory.
♦England’s foreign policy.♦
Between France and England the strong sense of national hostility
which existed when the war first broke out had increased in intensity.
There was no name so hated in France as the name of Pitt. The English
statesman, who by his gold sustained the arms of the Coalition, had
also, according to popular report, by his bribes and emissaries been
the author of the Terror, and was held responsible for all the internal
ills under which France suffered. In England, the feeling of hatred
was fully reciprocated. The ideas of the Revolution were regarded
with abhorrence, the Convention with loathing, and the triumph of
the French armies did but excite the stronger determination to go on
fighting until both Holland and Belgium were wrested from the grasp
of the atheistic and regicide Republic. If England had ignominiously
been beaten on the Continent, she had been victorious at sea. Corsica
had been occupied, and George III. proclaimed (February, 1794). A
naval battle had been fought, commonly called the battle of June 1,
when the French fleet, sailing out of Brest, had been defeated by
Lord Howe, and driven back shattered to the coast (1794). Tobago, St.
Martinique, Guadaloupe, and other French West Indian islands were
already in English possession, and St. Domingo, the most important of
French colonies, threatened with conquest. If now the Dutch fleet was
pressed into the service of France, on the other hand the rich Dutch
colonies, possessions coveted by England, such as Ceylon and the Cape,
were open to seizure. The Cabinet was indeed intensely eager that the
Continental war should continue, and was making every exertion to fan
the zeal of Austria, and to draw Russia on to render active assistance.
Instead of subsidising Prussia, England now subsidised Austria. In
return for a loan of 4,600,000_l._ the Emperor undertook to put 200,000
men in the field (May 4, 1795). A treaty was, at the same time, entered
into between England and Russia, in which Catherine agreed to send
12,000 men to fight against France. Subsequently, in the autumn, a
Triple Alliance was concluded between the three Powers, and separate
negotiations renounced (September 28).
♦Treaty of Basel.♦
While thus Austria, Russia, and England were drawing closer together,
Prussia was fast backing out of the war. Both military and official
circles were thoroughly weary of it. The country had no interests
peculiar to itself to defend, and the Government no acquisitions in
view, beyond what had already been obtained in Poland. It was, however,
but with reluctance that the King, who had lost none of his repugnance
to the Revolution, consented to the opening of the negotiations held
with Barthélemy, the French Ambassador at Basel. The main difficulty
in coming to terms was the disposition of Prussian possessions on the
left bank of the Rhine, of which the cession would imply readiness on
the King’s part to resign to France all the territory of the Empire
on that side. The Committee of Public Safety demanded absolutely
whatever belonged to Prussia on the left bank. But Frederick William
was unwilling formally to abandon the cause of the Empire, and the
Committee was too desirous of concluding peace to refuse a compromise
which, in reality, yielded to France the point required. In the public
articles of the treaty it was merely stated that French troops should
remain in occupation of Prussian territory on the left bank until the
making of peace between France and the Empire; but in a secret article
the King declared his readiness to abandon his territory on the left
bank in return for an equivalent on the right, if France kept the
Rhine as her boundary when she made peace with the Empire. A second
matter of difficulty was the question whether the Empire was to obtain
the benefits of peace. The King could not leave the Northern States to
be overrun by French armies without lowering the position of Prussia
within the Empire. He accordingly proposed that France should agree to
a truce with the Empire, and afterwards accept Prussian mediation. The
Committee refused these demands, but consented to a line of demarcation
being drawn across Germany, and to regard as neutrals the States lying
to the north of it. It was also agreed that the Committee should accept
the services of the King in treating with the separate States of the
Empire. On these terms peace was concluded at Basel (April 5), and
ratified with applause by the Convention. The Empire was henceforth
torn in half. The Northern States under the wing of Prussia enjoyed
neutrality, while the Southern remained subjected to the miseries of
war.
♦Treaty with Spain.♦
Spain, shortly after Prussia, made her peace with France. Before the
revolution the two countries had been united by a treaty, entitled the
Family Compact (1761), which placed Spain, ruled by a younger branch
of the House of Bourbon, in political dependence on France. Dynastic
reasons had therefore had a large share in causing Spain to join the
coalition. No desire existed in the country for the triumph of the
allies. In possession of a large colonial empire, at the expense of
which she lived, Spain was intensely jealous of England’s superiority
at sea, and feared, in case of the ruin of the French navy, only to
retain her colonies at the good-will of her too powerful ally, and to
be forced to throw open their trade to English vessels. The war was
conducted without vigour. Nearly the whole of the revenue was absorbed
in the maintenance of the fleet, and the army did not consist of
35,000 men. During 1793 the French, however, had not been able to
muster at the Pyrenees an equally strong force. The Spaniards had
crossed the mountains and had occupied French territory. But in 1794
the tide of success had turned. The French armies were reinforced,
and drove the Spaniards back over the frontier (October-November). At
Madrid reigned confusion, alarm, and incapacity. The country was taxed
to the utmost extent it could bear. The Government had not credit
to borrow. Insurrectionary movements were feared in the towns. The
peasants of Catalonia, Navarre, and Biscay were warlike, and ready
to rise against the invaders; but the Government dared not give them
encouragement, through fear lest they should seize the occasion to
demand the re-establishment of provincial rights.
The weak and incapable king, Charles IV., was led by his wife, Marie
Louise of Parma, whose favourite, Godoy, was the real ruler of Spain.
This man, whose object was whether by war or peace to maintain himself
in power, after much vacillation opened negotiations with the French
Government. The Committee of Public Safety was eager to bring the
war to a close, but still persisted in demanding in return for the
evacuation of Spanish territory, the cession of the Spanish part of the
island of St. Domingo. The advance of the army of the Western Pyrenees
to the Ebro created a panic, which induced Godoy to yield the point,
and in July peace between France and Spain was on such terms made at
Basel.
♦Expedition to Quibéron.♦
[Illustration: QUIBERON BAY
E. Weller
]
Siéyès, Rewbel, and the other members of the Committee of Public
Safety, regarded these treaties with Prussia and Spain merely as
steps towards the final goal they had in view, namely, the conclusion
of a European peace ceding to France the Alps and the Rhine as her
boundaries. After making peace with Prussia and Spain, they hoped to
obtain the alliance of Prussia to aid them in crushing Austria in
Germany, and the alliance of Spain to aid them in crushing England at
sea. For the time, want of resources caused a practical cessation of
hostilities on the Upper Rhine. The Austrian armies on the right bank,
short of money and food, remained on the defensive. The French armies
on the left bank lived with difficulty at the cost of the conquered
territories, which, having long been the seat of war, were suffering
extreme misery. Meanwhile, the attention of the Government was drawn
towards the west, where war still smouldered in La Vendée, and where
a new war had broken out north of the Loire. In the large forests
and uncultivated tracts in which the provinces of Brittany, Maine,
and Anjou abounded, many bands of insurgents appeared, composed of
brigands, deserters from the armies, fugitive Vendeans, and returned
emigrants. They were called ‘Chouans,’ after one of their leaders,
a smuggler, who had himself received the nickname--derived from
‘chouette,’ a small owl--either from his surly, morose habits, or from
his using the owl’s cry as a signal. Though without organisation, and
under the conduct of a number of independent chiefs, the war proved
as difficult to suppress as the war in La Vendée. In the autumn of
1794 it spread into Normandy, and threatened to assume the form of a
general insurrection. The peasants, who resented the suppression of
their religion and the persecution of their priests, when they did
not join the marauders were in connivance with them. Raids were made
on republican posts, supplies cut off from towns, and many isolated
murders committed. In support of the movement, emigrants and priests
came from England, bringing with them munitions of war, and money both
in coin and forged assignats. So serious did the danger become, that
the Committee appointed Hoche, at this time the most distinguished
general whom the Republic possessed, to the command-in-chief of the
forces north of the Loire. During the Terror, his services to his
country had been requited by imprisonment, and but for Robespierre’s
sudden destruction, he would have fallen a victim to the guillotine.
Besides being an able soldier, Hoche was a sincere and patriotic man in
both public and private life, single-minded, straightforward, and pure.
The irksome and inglorious task now entrusted to him he carried out
with characteristic firmness and moderation, and while taking severe
measures for the repression of rebellion, he did all in his power to
win the good-will of the inhabitants, by treating them justly and
restoring discipline amongst his troops. He allowed the churches to be
reopened, and by leaving the clergy unharassed, sought to destroy their
enmity towards the Republic. Both the Convention and the insurgents
desired a breathing time in which to recruit their forces. Charette,
and other Vendean leaders, made an engagement to lay down arms and
recognise the authority of the Republic, on condition that indemnity
should be granted to themselves, that liberty of worship should be
allowed, and that the national guard should be under their command
(February 17). Many Chouan chiefs recognised the Republic on the same
terms (April 20). These agreements were merely armed truces. The
insurgent leaders retained their authority, and were but waiting the
arrival of means from England to resume their arms.
Fortunately for the Republic, its enemies were unready and disunited.
The concurrence of a general conflagration in the West, and of the
advance of 200,000 men across the Rhine, would have called to mind
the hazards run in 1793. Hostilities, however, still flagged on the
Rhine, while in the West jealousy and discord destroyed the chances
of successful resistance to the Republican armies. Amongst the
emigrants no union existed. Those who had fled in 1790 regarded with
contempt and aversion those who fled at a later date, and confounded
Constitutionalists with Robespierrists and Terrorists under the common
name of Jacobins. The leader of the expedition from England, Count
Joseph of Puisaye, was in ill-favour with the supporters of the Count
of Provence, because in 1789 he had been on the popular side. Hoche,
aware of their designs, arrested the Baron of Cormaton, the most
able of the Chouan chiefs, and seven other leading conspirators (May
15). The war in consequence was renewed in Brittany, but Charette,
who did not care to act as second to Puisaye, remained quiet in
La Vendée. The expedition from England disembarked at Carnac, the
little town at the head of the peninsula which encloses on one side
the Bay of Quibéron. Pitt had forborne to risk the lives of English
troops until assured that the emigrants were able, in accordance
with their representations, to acquire a firm footing in the country.
The force consisted of about 5,000 emigrants and between 1,000 and
2,000 French prisoners of war. Large bodies of Chouans came to the
commander and joined the invaders, and Fort Penthièvre, guarding the
connection between the peninsula and the mainland, was besieged and
taken. Meanwhile, however, quarrels broke out between the leaders
of the expedition and between the emigrants and the Chouans. Hoche,
having brought together 12,000 men at Auray, defeated the rebels, and
forced them back from their position at Carnac on to the peninsula
of Quibéron, where, with women and children, 20,000 persons were
collected. By aid of French prisoners of war who deserted, Fort
Penthièvre was, at the dead of night, surprised and captured (July 20).
The crowded peninsula lay open to the Republican army. Amid scenes
of utter confusion and distress an effort to reach the English ships
was made. Some succeeded in escaping, but several thousands were left
behind and made prisoners. The lives of the Chouans were spared, but
there remained more than a thousand emigrants. The Convention refused
mercy to emigrants, and all of them were shot in accordance with the
law.
♦Death of the Dauphin.♦
In dealing thus harshly with the captured emigrants, the Convention
was actuated by fear of danger to itself from the classes by which
it had recently been supported. After the insurrection of Prairial,
the working classes of Paris, defeated and leaderless, disappeared
for the time from the scene of political action. The Convention found
itself left face to face with its late ally, the middle classes, which
had taken part against the insurgents through dread of a Terrorist
reaction, but which now sought to turn the victory to their own
account. To the rule of the Convention intense aversion was felt and
freely expressed. There were in Paris concealed Royalists, most of
them persons belonging to the old privileged orders, who sought by
intrigue and conspiracy to effect a reaction in favour of the emigrant
Bourbon Princes. But such were comparatively few in number. The
middle classes desired merely complete liberty of worship and return
to constitutional forms of government. Though the Republic did not
possess their confidence or affection, they did not avow themselves
Monarchists nor aim definitely at the re-establishment of monarchy.
The formation of a strong united monarchical party was prevented both
by the conduct of the emigrants and by the want of a name to which
constitutional monarchists could rally. The late King’s brothers, the
Counts of Provence and Artois, as well as his more distant relations,
were emigrants. The young Dauphin, his only son, died at this time in
the Temple (June 8). In the summer of 1793 the child had been parted
from his mother, and placed under the charge of a shoemaker, Simon,
who treated him with roughness, if not brutality. In January 1794 he
was confined in a small dark room, of which the door was barred up,
and communication between him and his keepers maintained by means of
a grating, through which was passed daily a little bread, meat, and
water. Here he remained till after the fall of the Robespierrists in
July. When again brought into the light he was found covered with dirt,
apathetic, and diseased. His material condition was from this time
improved, but none of the care necessary to revive his spirits and to
save his life was given. The companionship of his sister, imprisoned
in the same building, was refused, and it was not until he was visibly
dying that resort was had to medical advice. Of the thousands who
perished in the course of the revolution none suffered so cruel or so
unmerited a fate as this innocent child, separated from every friend,
and slowly killed by misusage and neglect.
The death of the young Prince was a subject of rejoicing to
Republicans, but served as an additional cause of indignation against
the Convention. The probability of a Royalist insurrection in Paris
was increased by the landing of the emigrants at Quibéron. The
Thermidorians became alarmed for their own safety, and denounced as
Royalists the same journalists and national guards, whose action they
had before the insurrection of Prairial abetted and applauded. But,
since the proscription of the Mountain, they had lost the power of
controlling the Assembly, and the reaction, though impeded by their
resistance, still continued its course.
♦State of the Church.♦
Accepting what had already been done in many parts of the country,
the Convention passed a law sanctioning the provisionary use of
churches for the exercise of worship, but prohibiting any persons from
officiating in them before making a promise of submission to the laws
of the Republic (May 30). At Paris twelve, and subsequently fifteen,
churches were reopened. The oath imposed by the civil constitution of
the clergy was thus abandoned, and, in fact, the civil constitution
itself. Within the limits assigned by this law and the law which had
been passed in February (p. 227), the Church was left at liberty
to effect its own reorganisation. The constitutional Bishops, of
whom the majority had not abdicated, headed by Grégoire, Bishop of
Blois, made every endeavour to recover for the Church its former
influence. The work was accomplished with rapidity. The religious
persecution in itself had tended to destroy the sceptical spirit
which had prevailed amongst the middle classes in 1789, while the
mass of the constitutional clergy were men who had proved themselves
worthy of respect by remaining throughout the Terror faithful to their
convictions. Within a few months the clergy were again exercising
their former functions without obstruction. Internal divisions,
however, remained unhealed. Some of the nonjurors, who had never
taken the oath imposed by the civil constitution, made the promise
of submission to the laws of the Republic, and officiated in public
buildings, but refused to recognise the authority of the former
constitutional Bishops. Others of the nonjurors refused even to promise
submission to the laws, and officiated in secret in barns and private
houses, under constant fear of proscription and death. There were thus
three classes of priests, all at enmity with each other: (1) those who
had taken the oath required in 1790; (2) those who had refused this
oath, but had since promised submission to the laws; (3) the so-called
refractory priests, who had not taken the oath required in 1790, and
now refused submission to the laws. As a rule the lower and middle
classes were attached to the constitutional clergy, while nobles and
Royalists followed the nonjurors. It was in the East, the South, and
the West that the refractory priests had most influence.
♦Constitution of 1795.♦
The re-establishment of constitutional government, loudly demanded
by public opinion, was held by the majority in the Convention
itself necessary for the security of the Republic. On one side the
Constitution of 1791 was lauded by the Monarchists; on the other side
the Constitution of 1793, framed by the Mountain after the ejection
of the Girondists, but never put into force, was demanded by the
Jacobins. To the Convention both were unacceptable; the first because
it admitted a king, the second because it appeared impracticable. The
Terror had dissipated faith in the political virtue and intelligence of
the people, and the same men who in 1791 had been the warmest advocates
of decentralization and extreme forms of democratic government, were
now opposed to manhood suffrage, or to giving to local authorities
the opportunity of usurping sovereign powers. The appointment of a
committee to revise the Constitution of 1793 led to the adoption of
what was in reality a new form of government. The Constitution of
the year III., or 1795, was based on the liberal principles of 1789.
It guaranteed individual liberty, liberty of worship, liberty of the
press, and security of property and of person. As in the Constitution
of 1791, a low property qualification was required for voting in
primary assemblies, a higher one for voting in secondary assemblies.
Primary assemblies elected, as hitherto, justices of the peace for
the canton and municipal officers; secondary assemblies elected the
judges of the higher courts, the upper administrative bodies, and
the deputies to the Legislature. The number of administrative and
municipal bodies was greatly reduced. The administration of districts
was entirely abolished. Only communes with a population of over 5,000
retained separate municipalities. Communes of which the population
was below this number, included in any one canton, had a municipality
common to all. To every administrative and municipal body was added a
commissioner, nominated by the Government, whose duty was to see that
the laws were executed. Precaution was taken against the revival of an
authority at Paris rival to the Legislature. Communes of over 100,000
inhabitants were divided into districts, each with a municipality of
its own. Paris had thus twelve municipalities. The Legislative body
was formed of two Houses, a council of five hundred, and a council of
250 Ancients. Both Houses were elected on the same principle, but the
Ancients had to be forty years of age. Both were renewed by a third
of their number yearly. To the five hundred belonged the introduction
of laws; the Ancients had the right of rejecting them. At the head
of the executive was a Directory of five members, selected by the
Ancients out of a list drawn up by the five hundred. These Directors
appointed the ministers, in number six, and ordered the disposition of
the armed forces. They had no veto on legislation, and neither they nor
the ministers might sit in either council. One Director had to retire
yearly, so that the whole body would be renewed in the course of five
years.
♦Vendémiaire 13.♦
This Constitution, put in force as it stood, would have given France
a government formed of new men. But the members of the Convention,
long accustomed to the exercise of power, were unwilling to resign it,
or to hazard the maintenance of the Republic by allowing Royalists
and Monarchists an opportunity of obtaining a majority in the new
Legislature. It was determined to apply at once the principle of
renewing the Legislature by a third of its number every year. A
special law bound the secondary assemblies to elect two-thirds of
their deputies out of the Convention, so that only a single third in
either council would be formed of new men (August 22, Fructidor 5).
There were further to be no new elections till the spring of 1797,
so that for a year and a half the domination of the republican party
was secured. A second law required that if, in consequence of double
elections, all the seats reserved for members of its own body were not
filled, the Convention should elect the deputies required to make up
the number wanting (August 31, Fructidor 13). The new constitution was
submitted to the primary assemblies, and accepted by large majorities,
but with it were coupled these two accessory laws. At Paris popular
indignation was fanned into revolt by the emigrants and royalists. The
Convention depended for its safety on 4,000 troops of the line, and a
few hundred Jacobins and workmen hastily armed for its defence. On the
other side were 20,000 national guards. These, however, were under
two great disadvantages. They had no competent general, and they had
no artillery, all the sections having been deprived of their cannon
after the insurrection of Prairial. The forces of the Convention were
commanded by the deputy Barras, who entrusted the organisation of
resistance to Napoleon Bonaparte, a young general, who was the ablest
man in the service of the Republic, but whose name as yet was hardly
known beyond military circles, where his reputation stood high as the
officer to whose genius was owing the capture of Toulon in 1793. In all
haste a strong force of artillery was brought from a camp at Grenelle,
a few miles from Paris, and stationed round the Tuileries, so as to
command the approaches from the Rue St. Honoré and the Church of St.
Roch, which the insurrectionists occupied. The combat was sharp, but
soon decided. Before nightfall the insurgents were on all sides in
flight and dispersed (October 5, Vendémiaire 13).
The insurrection, thus quelled, strengthened the Thermidorians and
more violent party in the Convention. New laws were passed, designed
to keep the defeated party down and to insure that power should remain
in the hands of its actual possessors. Deported priests, returned to
France, were ordered to quit the country on pain of suffering, in
accordance with the laws, death as emigrants. Relations of emigrants,
in the first or second degree, such as fathers, brothers, sons, uncles
and nephews, were prohibited from holding any office, judicial,
legislative, or administrative (October 25). This measure, known as the
law of Brumaire 3, was of great political importance. It deprived a
very large number of persons of rights, guaranteed by the Constitution,
and was calculated to prevent the new Government rising above the
character of a purely party Government. Before the arrival of the new
deputies, those of the old members who retained their seats elected to
be Directors five men, all bound by interest to support the Republic,
since all had voted for the death of Louis XVI.
The new Government was therefore formed only in an insensible degree
of new men. The five Directors--Larevellière-Lépeaux, Rewbel, Carnot,
Letourneur, and Barras--the six ministers, and the two councils, stood
in the place of the Committee of Public Safety and the Convention;
but the change was one of name and form, not of system. There was
no change, either in the internal or in the foreign policy of the
Government.
As the Government remained practically unchanged, it could not, by
any possibility, be strong. It had none of that authority which comes
from representing the national will. What that will might be, it was
at the time hard to say. The nation itself had given up the task of
impressing its mind upon its rulers, and contented itself with private
disapprobation of their conduct. In Paris, where that disapprobation
had been expressed in action, it had been promptly silenced by military
intervention, and it was by no means unlikely that the army, which
was now the only strong organisation remaining in the country, might
hereafter intervene against the Directory as it had lately intervened
in its favour.
It was the more likely that this would happen because the army did not
owe its strength to its organisation alone. As far as it is possible
to judge, it fairly represented, for the time, the popular sentiment
of the nation. At the outset of the revolution, zeal for improvement
and change had seized upon every variety of mind and upon every class
of the community. The higher minds looked forward to liberty of speech
and thought, and through them to the raising of mankind in the scale of
human progress. The masses looked forward to material equality, to the
removal of the load of outrage and oppression under which they groaned.
For some time it seemed as if these objects could be achieved together.
It was not long before the attempt to grasp too much at a time brought
failure with it. Liberty was trodden down in practice, whilst it
was adored in word. Fraternity became but an excuse for fratricide.
Equality remained as the one aim to be pursued at all hazards, and
the equality which was most in favour was the lower and more material
equality which appealed to the masses of unlettered peasants. For one
man who cared about moral and spiritual advancement there were at least
a hundred who cared only to have a guarantee for their purchases of
confiscated property, and an assurance that they should be under no
disadvantages because they were not of noble birth. Such feelings,
strong in the nation, were strong in the army. The soldier has never
much sympathy for the machinery of a free government. It is his duty
in life to obey orders, not to impose them on his superiors. But the
soldier of revolutionary France was the champion of material equality.
He had offered it to the peoples which he had invaded. It had given to
him that which he prized most, the right of promotion to the superior
ranks of the service, irrespective of birth.
A body which is thoroughly organised, and which represents the
dominant ideas of a people, is, in reality, irresistible. For the
perfect organisation of the army one thing was wanting--a general
who could inspire it with confidence. That general would be found in
the young chief who had fought the battle of the Convention against
the insurgents of Vendémiaire. Because the nation itself was as yet
unprepared to appear upon the scene, the revolutionary epoch was
followed not by the Constitutional but by the Napoleonic age.
Yet the striving of the political revolutionists had not been in vain.
The time would come when the pursuit of merely material gains would
bring ruin and desolation with it, and the old ideals of the thinkers
of the eighteenth century would again be welcomed by a generation
wearied by military despotism, and which would therefore seek to
establish social and political institutions on a safer basis than
Mirabeau or Vergniaud had been able to do. Nor do even the wild schemes
of Chaumette and St. Just form a mere episode in French history, though
wisely to lighten the load which inevitably falls on the shoulders of
the poor and unfortunate, and thus to diminish the amount of human
suffering, is a work which opens up problems which these men attempted
rashly to cut with the axe of the executioner, but which are now
understood to be amongst the most complicated subjects of political
thought. To trace the fate of the ideas which were thrown up in the
course of the French Revolution would require many volumes. It is
because these ideas were so many sided and so powerful that the French
nation accepts the Revolution, in spite of the errors and crimes of the
revolutionists, as the source of its mental as well as of its political
life.
INDEX.
America, assisted by France, 25;
declaration of Independence by, 26
Army, the French, mutinies in, 73;
disorderly condition of, 105;
extraordinary measures for the enlistment of, 146;
conscription introduced for, 170;
treatment of, by the Hébertists, 188;
reorganisation of, 189
Artois, the Count of, emigrates, 63;
appeals to foreign Powers, 86
Assignats, first issue of, 68;
fresh issues of, 94;
continued issue and depreciation of, 149, 172, 224, 225
Austria, relations of, with Prussia and Turkey, 97, 98;
forms a defensive alliance with Prussia, 104;
war declared by France against, 105;
ill-feeling towards Prussia of, 161;
Thugut, minister of, 162
Avignon, massacre at, 110
Bailly, is chosen mayor of Paris, 47;
addresses the King on his visit to Paris, 48;
execution of, 178
Barbaroux, asks Marseilles to send men to Paris, 116;
execution of, 208
Barère, selfish indifference of, 200;
applauds the financial results of the Terror, 207
Barnave, is a leader of the Centre and Left, 53;
is a rival of Mirabeau, 57;
is popular in the Jacobin Club, 65;
supports the King after the flight to Varennes, 90;
joins the Feuillants, 92;
execution of, 178
Basel, peace of, 238
Bastille, the attack upon, 45;
capture of, 46
Belgium, invaded by the French, 111;
invaded by Dumouriez, 130;
question of the annexation of, 131;
its annexation decreed, 141;
is reconquered by the allies, 161;
is again conquered by the French, 213
Berthier, murder of, 48
Billaud-Varennes, elected to the commune of Paris, 120;
is placed on the Committee of Public Safety, 167;
sanguinary character of, 200;
opposes Robespierre, 217
Bonaparte, Napoleon, suppresses the insurrection of Vendémiaire, 250
Bordeaux, Girondist sentiments of, 157
Bouillé, suppresses a mutiny at Nancy, 73;
supports the flight to Varennes, 89
Brienne, ministry of, 27
Brissot, political opinions of, 76;
calls for a republic, 90;
trial and execution of, 177
Brunswick, the Duke of, publishes a manifesto, 114;
conducts the invasion, 123;
retreats from Valmy, 124;
commands one of the armies of the coalition, 141;
takes Mainz, 161;
is obliged to retreat, 192
Burke, his Reflections on the French Revolution, 138
Caen, Girondist sentiments prevail at, 157
Cahiers, the, 29
Calendar, the republican, 180
Calonne, ministry of, 27
Cambon, financial measures of, 195
Carnot, directs the movements of the armies, 189;
arranges the campaign of 1794, 212;
escapes from prosecution after the insurrection of Prairial, 231
Carrier, conduct of, at Nantes, 186;
execution of, 223
Cathelineau, crosses the Loire, 160;
is killed, 161
Catherine II., patronises French philosophers, 22;
extends her dominions in Poland and the Crimea, 96;
proposes a second partition of Poland, 135
Cazalès, defends the monarchy, 51
Champ de Mars, the, massacre of, 91
Charette, commands part of the Vendean army, 160;
fails to cross the Loire, 161
Chaumette, elected to the commune of Paris, 120;
his position in the commune, 169;
attacks religion, 179
Chollet, defeat of the Vendeans at, 182
Chouans, the, insurrection of, 241
Church, the French, position of, before the revolution, 6, 15;
demands of the Cahiers respecting, 31;
its property appropriated by the Constituent Assembly, 67;
the civil constitution provokes a schism in, 74;
schism continued in, 101;
treatment of, by the Hébertists, 179;
Robespierre’s behaviour towards, 216;
improvement in the condition of, 228;
condition of, after the Terror, 246
Civil constitution of the clergy, the, enacted, 69;
position of the Legislative Assembly towards, 101
Clavière, minister of Finance, 105;
is dismissed, 112;
is restored to office, 117
Clermont-Tonnerre, 52
Coburg, commands one of the armies of the coalition, 141;
relieves Maestricht, 142;
takes Condé and Valenciennes, 161;
evacuates Belgium, 213
Collot d’Herbois, elected to the commune of Paris, 120;
becomes a member of the Committee of Public Safety, 167;
sanguinary character of, 200;
opposes Robespierre, 217
Committee of General Security instituted, 146
Committee of Public Safety, instituted, 145;
acquires power over the Convention, 166;
does not dare to risk a collision with the Commune, 167;
composition of, 200;
gains over the mob, 203;
dictatorship of, 204;
dissatisfaction of Robespierre with, 205;
extension of the Terror by, 208;
Robespierre’s management of, 214;
discord in, 217;
reorganisation of, after the Terror, 221
Commune of Paris, the, first organisation of, 81;
dispersion of the municipal council of, 116;
reconstruction of, 119;
organises the September massacres, 121;
re-election of, 129;
heads the movement for the proscription of the Girondists, 153;
its power independent of the Convention, 167;
controls the revolutionary army, 174;
is attacked by Robespierre, 198;
is reconstituted by Robespierre, 205;
is broken up, 221
Condé surrenders, 161
Conscription, the, resorted to, 170
Constituent Assembly, the, fusion of the orders in, 38;
its dissolution desired by the Queen, 43;
abolishes feudal services, 49;
formation of parties in, 51;
wishes to establish constitutional government, 55;
constitutional provisions of, 58;
annuls regulations impeding the circulation of corn, 59;
removes to Paris, 62;
completes the constitution, 65;
appropriates Church property, 67;
enacts the civil constitution of the clergy, 69;
increase of party spirit in, 70;
abolishes titles of nobility, 71;
leaves the King without authority, 72;
presents the constitution to the King, and dissolves itself, 93
Constitution, of 1791, 65, 92;
of 1793, 158;
of 1795, 247
Convention, the National, summoned, 117;
elected, 123;
parties in, 124;
its galleries occupied by Jacobins, 129;
offers to help all peoples desirous of freedom, 131;
decrees the union of Nice and Savoy, 133;
decrees the opening of the Scheldt, and orders the generals to
proclaim the sovereignty of the people, 134;
condemns the King, 140;
decrees the annexation of Belgium, and declares war against
England, 141;
institutes the Committee of Public Safety, 145;
orders the transportation of priests, 147;
forbids the emigrants to return on pain of death, 148;
refuses to proscribe the Girondists, 153;
is compelled to order the arrest of the Girondists, 155;
resistance in the departments to, 157;
falls into the hands of the extreme party in the Mountain, 165;
its comparative weakness, 166;
orders a levy _en masse_, 170;
orders requisitions to supply Paris, and institutes a revolutionary
army, 174;
passes the law of suspected persons, 175;
sends twenty-one deputies before the Revolution Court, 176;
submits to the Commune, 180;
accepts the Worship of Reason, 181;
Reorganises the army, 189;
its legislative work, 193;
reorganises the Revolutionary Court, 215;
overthrows Robespierre, 219;
parties in, after the fall of Robespierre, 222;
restoration of Girondist deputies to, 223;
reaction in, 224;
looks for the support to the party of reaction, 227;
foreign policy of, 233;
becomes unpopular with the middle classes, 244
Cordeliers, the Club of the, presided over by Danton, 82;
demands a republic, 91
Corday, Charlotte, admires the Girondists, 163;
assassinates Marat, 164
Couthon, is placed on the Committee of Public Safety, 167;
his conduct in Auvergne, 185;
supports Robespierre, 200;
arrest of, 219;
execution of, 220
Custine, takes Frankfort, 130;
is driven out of Frankfort, 141
D’Alembert, writings of, 14;
Danton, presides over the Cordeliers, 82;
calls for a republic, 90;
becomes Minister of Justice, 117;
stirs up resistance against invasion, 121;
resigns his ministry, 125;
is attacked by the Girondists, 127;
advocates the condemnation of the King, 140;
breaks with the Girondists, 144;
loses authority in the Convention, 165;
wishes to stop the Reign of Terror, 197;
is executed, 204
Dauphin, the, death of, 245
De Launay, murder of, 46
Delessart, advocates peace, 104;
is charged with treason, 105
Departments, France divided into, 65
Desmoulins, Camille, urges the Parisians to take arms, 44;
political opinions of, 77;
advocates a republic, 90;
supports Robespierre, 109;
wishes to stop the Reign of Terror, 197;
publishes _The Old Cordelier_, 199;
execution of, 204
D’Espréménil, defends the old system, 51
Diderot, writings of, 14
Directors, appointment of, 251
Dumouriez, minister of foreign affairs, 105;
resigns, 112;
commands the army, 121;
occupied the Argonnes, 123;
gains a victory at Jemmapes, 130;
proposes the invasion of Holland, 135;
fails in an invasion of Holland, 142;
is defeated at Neerwinden, 143;
takes refuge with the Austrians, 144
Economists, the, 16
Egalité, Philip. _See_ Orleans, Duke of
Elizabeth, Madame, execution of, 178
Emigrants, the, begin to leave France, 63;
increasing numbers of, 71;
are encouraged by the princes on the Rhine, 101;
confiscation of the revenues of, 111;
are forbidden to return on pain of death, 148
Empire, the defective organisation of, 96;
anti-French feeling in, 102;
joins the coalition against France, 141
Encyclopædia, the, 14
England, political condition of, 23;
dislikes the annexation of Belgium by France, 133;
opposes the opening of the Scheldt, 134;
state of political opinion in, 136;
war declared by France against, 141
Europe, prevalence of Voltairian ideas in, 21
Federation, Feasts of the, 70
Feraud, murder of, 230
Feudal nobility, privileges of, under the monarchy, 1–5;
abolition of, 49
Feuillants, the club of the, foundation of, 92
Fleurus, battle of, 213
Foulon, murder of, 48
Fouquier Tinville, public prosecutor, 176
France before the revolution, political condition of, 1;
economical condition of, 8;
progress of reforming ideas in, 22
Francis II., the Emperor, war declared by France against, 105;
hopes to make conquests in France, 135
Frankfort, occupied by Custine, 130;
stormed by the Prussians, 141
Frederick II., patronises French philosophers, 22;
extends his territories, 97
Frederick William II., concludes the treaty of Reichenbach, 97;
is prevented from helping Louis, 99;
urges a march to Paris, 123;
agrees to the second partition of Poland, 135
Gensonné, sits in the Legislative Assembly, 100;
trial and execution of, 177
Germany. _See_ Empire, the
Germinal, insurrection of, 226
Girondists, the principles of, 100;
ecclesiastical policy of, 101;
warlike tendencies of, 102;
enter the ministry, 105;
opposition aroused against, 106;
hope for the establishment of a republic, 111;
dismissal of their ministers, 112;
make overtures to the King, 115;
form the right of the Convention, 125;
weakness of, 126;
attack Robespierre and Danton, 127;
increasing weakness of, 142;
break with Danton, 144;
attacked by Robespierre, 145;
economical doctrines of, 149;
movement for the proscription of, 153;
arrest of the leaders of, 155;
causes of the failure of, 156;
feeling in the departments in favour of, 157;
suppression of the movement in favour of, 158;
trial and execution of the leaders of, 177;
restoration of the survivors of, 224
Gobel, Archbishop, resigns office, 180
Grégoire, Bishop, refuses to resign office, 180
Guadet, sits in the Legislative Assembly, 100
Hague, the, the treaty of, 210
Hébert, elected to the Commune of Paris, 120;
his position in the Commune, 169;
his character and aims, 170;
calls for a reign of terror, 175;
attacks Christianity, 179;
supports the system of terror, 183;
is opposed by Robespierre, 197;
execution of, 204
Hoche, commands the army on the Moselle, 192;
is sent to command in the west, 242;
defeats the Chouans at Quiberon, 244
Holland, proposed invasion of, 135;
failure of Dumouriez in an attack upon, 142;
is conquered by Pichegru, 232
Hondschoote, battle of, 191
Houchard, defeats the enemy and is guillotined, 191
Isnard, desires war with Austria, 103;
threatens that Paris shall be destroyed, 154
Jacobins, the club of, formation of, 64;
affiliation of provincial clubs to, 80;
asks for the King’s deposition after the flight to Varennes, 91;
opposition to the Girondists in, 106;
gives its confidence to Robespierre, 109;
proposes to dethrone the King, 115;
takes part against the Girondists, 129;
Robespierre’s influence at, 201;
closure of, 223
Jalès, camp of, 110
Jemmapes, battle of, 130
Joseph II., the Emperor, reforms attempted by, 23;
wishes to incorporate Bavaria, 97
Jourdan, gains the victory of Wattignies, 191
June, battle of the first of, 237
Kaunitz, is indifferent to the progress of the revolution, 98
Kellermann, commands at Metz, 121
Kléber, commands against the Vendeans, 182
Lafayette, proposes the adoption of the tricolour, 47;
is a leader of the Centre and Left, 53;
supports the system of two chambers, 54;
refuses to support Mirabeau, 57;
extent of the influence of, 60;
arrives at Versailles, 61;
guards the King, 63;
supports the King after the flight to Varennes, 91;
joins the Feuillants, 92;
commands on the Eastern frontier, and denounces the Jacobins, 112;
appears at the bar of the Assembly, 113;
support of, rejected by the Queen, 114;
is acquitted by the Assembly, 116;
flies from the country and is imprisoned by the Austrians, 119
Lally-Tollendal, 52, 63
Lameth, the brothers, are amongst the leaders of the Centre and Left,
53;
distrust Mirabeau, 57;
join the Feuillants, 92
La Vendée. _See_ Vendeans, the
Legislative Assembly, the, composition of, 99;
ecclesiastical policy of, 101;
growth of warlike tendencies in, 102;
declares war against the King of Hungary, 105;
decrees that Volunteers shall come to Paris, 112;
proclaims the country to be in danger, 114;
suspends the King, and summons a National Convention, 117;
last sitting of, 124
Le Mans, defeat of the Vendeans at, 183
Leopold II. the Emperor, is urged by the Queen to intervene in
France, 94;
concludes the treaty of Reichenbach, 97;
concludes the treaty of Sistova, 98;
refuses to help Louis, 99;
seeks to avoid war, 103;
claims a right of interference in France, 104;
death of, 105
Levy _en masse_, 170
Longwy, siege of, 121
Louis XIV., monarchy of, 2
Louis XV., misgovernment of, 3
Louis XVI., accession of, 18;
character of, 19;
takes part in the American war, 25;
design of, in summoning the States General, 32;
opens the States General, 33;
weakness of his position, 34;
attempts to hinder the fusion of the orders, 39;
dismisses Necker, 44;
visits Paris after the capture of the Bastille, 47;
idea of retreating to Metz, considered by, 60;
is brought to Paris, 62;
swears to maintain the Constitution, 70;
appoints reactionary ministers, 81;
refuses to be guided by Mirabeau, 83;
dislikes the civil constitution of the clergy, 86;
desires that the constitution may fail, 87;
attempts flight, 88;
is stopped at Varennes, 89;
his deposition proposed and rejected, 90;
accepts the constitution, 93;
deception practised by him, 93;
hopes that the allies will reach Paris, 105;
refuses to sanction a decree against the nonjurors, 111;
refuses to sanction a decree for the meeting of Volunteers at
Paris, and dismisses the Girondist ministers, 112;
is visited by the mob, 113;
is driven from the Tuileries and suspended, 117;
causes of the fall of, 118;
trial of, 139
Lyons, royalist insurrection at, 157;
surrender of, 181;
vengeance taken on, 186
Mainz, surrender to the French, 130;
is retaken by Brunswick, 161
Malouet, 52
Marat, political opinions of, 78;
attacks the Girondists, 109;
takes part in the September massacres, 122;
acquittal of, 145;
assassination of, 163
Marie Antoinette, character of, 20;
urges the King to hinder the fusion of the orders, 39;
distrusts Mirabeau, 57;
appears at a military banquet at Versailles, 61;
is brought to Paris, 62;
becomes unpopular, 86;
effect of her counsels on her husband, 87;
urges the King to fly, 88;
is arrested at Varennes, 89;
urges the Emperor to intervene, 94;
refuses the help of the constitutionalists and the emigrants, 95;
is threatened by the mob, 113;
refuses to be saved by Lafayette, 114;
execution of, 177
Marseillaise, the, 116
Maury, the Abbé, defends the clergy, 51
Maximum laws, the, enacted, 171;
difficulty of enforcing, 175;
re-enacted in a new form, 203;
cease to be observed, 224;
are repealed, 225
Merlin of Douai, 53
Mirabeau, character and policy of, 35;
is chosen as a representative of the Third Estate, 37;
is a leader of the Centre and Left, 53;
opposes Necker, 55;
statesmanlike policy of, 56;
difficulties in the way of, 57;
attacks Necker, 58;
close of the career of, 82;
death of, 84
Miranda, fails to take Maestricht, 147
Molleville, reactionary opinions of, 105
Monarchy, the French, rise of, 1;
centralisation of the government of, 7
Mounier, 52, 63
Mountain, the, proposes the deposition of the King, 115;
struggles with the Girondists, 125;
urges the condemnation of the King, 140;
obtains the creation of the Revolutionary Court, 143;
obtains the command of the Committee of Public Safety, 146;
principles of, 148;
supports a coercive economical policy, 152;
fills the clubs with its supporters, 162;
is held in subserviency by the committees and the commune, 192;
is divided in opinion after Robespierre’s fall, 222;
asks for the constitution of 1793, 226;
transportation of the leaders of, 227
Municipality of Paris. _See_ Commune of Paris
Nancy, mutiny at, 73
Narbonne, conduct of, a minister of war, 105
National Assembly, the title of adopted by the Third Estate, 38.
_See_ Constituent Assembly
Necker, first ministry of, 25;
second ministry of, 29;
gives advice to the States General, 33;
weakness of policy, 34;
is opposed to the dissolution of the Assembly, 43;
dismissal of, 44;
recalled to office, 47;
fails to guide the Assembly, 55;
finally resigns office, 81
Neerwinden, battle of, 143
Nice, occupied by the French, 129;
annexed, 133
Nonjurors, the, refuse to swear to the civil constitution of the
clergy, 75;
are deprived of their pensions, 101;
are threatened with banishment, 111;
transportation of, 180
Notables, the, meeting of, 27
Orders, the privileged, exempted from taxation, 8
Orleans, Duke of, takes the popular side, 42;
is said to have aimed at the throne, 63;
sits with the Montagnards, 125;
trial of, 176;
is executed, 178
Paris, anarchy in, 42;
assault upon the Bastille in, 45;
establishment of a municipality and a national guard in, 47;
difficulty of provisioning, 59;
the King brought to, 62;
organisation of, 81;
proposed formation of an armed camp for the defence of, 111;
preparations for insurrection in, 116;
election of a new commune of, 119;
massacres in, 121;
predominates over the departments, 126;
is ruled by the new commune, 120
Parliaments, the, oppose the King, 25, 28
Pétion, sits on the extreme left in the Constituent Assembly, 53;
becomes Mayor of Paris, 112;
death of, 208
Pichegru, defeats the allies on the Rhine, 192;
conquers Flanders, 213;
conquers Holland, 232
Pilnitz, conference at, 98
Pitt, internal policy of, 24;
refuses to join foreign powers against France, 98;
character of the statesmanship of, 136;
strives to maintain peace, 138
Plain, the, position of, in the convention, 128
Poland, first partition of, 96;
establishment of a new constitution in, 98;
hostility of Catherine II. to, 99;
proposed second partition of, 135;
insurrection of, 210;
second partition of, 211;
third partition of, 236
Portugal, joins the coalition against France, 141
Prairial, insurrection of, 231
Privileged orders, the, position of, 8;
aims of, 29
Provinces, the, insurrections in, 48;
anarchy in, 109
Prussia, its relations with Austria, 97;
forms a defensive alliance with Austria, 104;
is drawn into a war with France, 105;
its jealousy of Austria, 161;
concludes peace with France, 238
Quiberon, peninsular of Hoche’s victory at, 244
Reason, the worship of, 181
Reichenbach, treaty of, 97
Rennes, Girondist sentiments of, 157
Revolutionary army, the formation of, 173
Revolutionary Court, the, establishment of, 143;
deputies first sent before, 176
Rights of Man, declaration of the, 58
Robespierre, sits on the extreme Left in the Constituent Assembly, 53;
is applauded by the Jacobins, 65;
hesitates to decide for the King’s deposition, 90;
proposes a law forbidding re-election, 92;
leads the opposition against the Girondists, 107;
opposes the war, 108;
is elected to the Commune, 120;
is attacked by the Girondists, 127;
proposes the imprisonment of the leading Girondists, 145;
supports the insurrection against the Girondists, 153;
becomes a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety, 167;
attacks the Hébertists, 197;
causes of the influence of, 201;
procures the destruction of the Hébertists by abandoning Danton,
202;
is dissatisfied with the Committee of Public Safety, 205;
reduces the Terror to a system, 208;
inaugurates the worship of the Supreme Being, 214;
reorganises the Revolutionary Court, 215;
comes into collision with the Committee of Public Safety, 217;
his imprisonment, 219;
execution of, 220
Roland, is minister of the interior, 105;
attempts in vain to restore order, 109;
is dismissed, 112;
projects of a retreat to the Loire discussed in the house of, 115;
is restored to office, 117;
resignation of, 145;
death of, 178
Roland, Madame, directs the actions of her husband, 115;
execution of, 178
Rousseau, doctrines of, 16
St. Just, is placed on the Committee of Public Safety, 167;
makes requisitions at Strasburg, 185;
character and aims of, 206;
arrest of, 219;
execution of, 220
Santerre, commands the national guard, 122
Sardinia, the King of, war declared against, 130
Saumur, is taken by the Vendeans, 160
Savoy, occupied by the French, 129;
annexed, 133
Scheldt, the opening of, 134
September massacres, the, 121
Servan, is minister of war, 111;
is dismissed, 112;
is restored to office, 117
Siéyès, writes a pamphlet, 30;
is a leader of the Centre and Left, 53
Sistova, the treaty of, 98
Smith, Adam, publishes the ‘Wealth of Nations,’ 24
Spain, joins the coalition against France, 141;
concludes peace with France, 239
States-General, the, summoned, 28;
discussions on the constitution of, 31;
meeting of, 33;
fusion of the orders in, 38.
_See_ Constituent Assembly
Supreme Being, the, worship of, 214
Tallien, conduct of, at Bordeaux, 185;
his position after the revolution of Thermidor, 223
Taxation, exemption of the privileged orders from, 8;
character of, under the monarchy, 9;
system of, established by the Constituent Assembly, 94
Tennis Court Oath, the, 40
Terror, the Reign of, commencement of, 165
Thermidor, revolution of, 219
Thermidorians, the, party of, 222
Third Estate, double representation of, 31;
adopts the title of the National Assembly, 38
Thouret, 53
Thugut, becomes foreign minister of Austria, 162;
foreign policy of, 234
Tories, the English, 136
Toulon, resists the Convention, 157;
capture of, 181;
vengeance taken on, 186
Turcoing, Pichegru’s victory at, 213
Turgot, ministry of, 18
Turreau, devastates La Vendée, 209
Valenciennes, surrenders, 161
Valmy, cannonade of, 124
Varennes, the flight to, 88
Vendeans, the, rise in insurrection, 147;
mode of fighting of, 159;
first successes of, 160;
are driven back into their own country, 161;
destruction of the army of, 182;
continuance of the war against, 208
Vendémiaire, insurrection of, 249
Verdun, siege of, 121
Vergnaud, sits in the Legislative Assembly, 100;
qualities of, 126;
trial and execution of, 177
Versailles, arrival of the mob at, 61;
the King removed from, 62
Veto, given to the King, 58
Voltaire, opinions and influence of, 14, 21
Wattignies, Battle of, 193
Weissenburg, the lines of, 192
Whigs, the English, 136
White Terror, the, 229
Wurmser, commands the Austrians on the Rhine, 192
York, the Duke of, commands the English Army in the Netherlands, 161;
is driven from Dunkirk, 191;
commands the English forces in the campaign of 1794, 212;
fails to defend Holland, 232
Young, Arthur, describes the economical condition of France, 11
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Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.
Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
the corresponding illustrations.
The index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page
references.