Reign Of Terror and The French Revolution:

The Reign of Terror was a period of one year which extended from 1793 to 1794.

Revolutionary Wars began during 1792. Many political clubs came into existence and one among those was the Jacobin club. It’s members belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society. Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.

The Jacobins, on successful implementation of their planned insurrection, imprisoned the royal family, abolished Monarchy and declared France a Republic. Later, following the death of Louis XVI, Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. 

The people who he considered as Enemies of the Republic – Ex nobles and clergy, members of other and his own political parties, who did not agree with his methods – were arrested, imprisoned and tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If the court found them guilty, they were guillotined.

( The Guillotine was a beheading device.)

Changes under the Robespierre Government:

• Meat and bread were rationed
• Peasants were forced to sell their grains at fixed prices
• All citizens were required to eat the equality bread
• All French men and women were Citoyen and Citoyenne
• Churches were converted into barracks or offices.

The fall of the Jacobin government gave an opportunity to the wealthier middle classes to seize power. A directory was appointed to safeguard against the concentration of power under one man. All this political instability paved the way for the rise of the military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.