Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror was a 10 month period during the French Revolution in which mass executions were carried out daily by guillotine and mass drownings, known as Noyades.

Fast Facts:

The Reign of Terror was led by Maximilien Robespierre, a Jacobin
The guillotine was often referred to as "Madame Guillotine" or "The National Razor"
Death toll estimates range from 16,000 to 40,000
Roughly 250,000 people were imprisoned
At the height of "The Terror," 50 people were being executed each day
The public executioner in Paris during this period was Charles-Henri Sanson

Background and Causes

While composing the new French Constitution, after the execution of King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, the new French government faced increasing factionalization and internal strife.

Though some focused on external threats to the Revolution, from nations like Austria who had threatened the nation unless it restored a monarchy, many Jacobins, a radical Far Left party, and their leader, Robespierre, feared internal agitators and counter-revolutionaries more. Former French nobles and members of the clergy, most obviously, stood to benefit if the Revolution failed.

The Committee for Public Safety

On April 6, 1793, the Jacobins formed the Committee for Public Safety, with Robespierre as its President, essentially establishing a new de-facto dictatorship in France. Violence and threats were used to defend the government from any criticism or external threat, and thousands were tried (by the Paris Revolutionary Tribunal) and executed on the charge of counter-revolutionary activities.

The End of the Reign

After groups within the National Convention grew weary of the bloodshed, a plot was formed to overthrow Robespierre. He was executed by guillotine without trial, along with 14 followers, on July 28, 1794. The Committee for Public Safety disbanded soon after.